Colorful Combination of Characters

The latest installment into the family friendly Cheaper by the Dozen franchise depicts how a blended multiracial family can grow together despite the challenges of their circumstance. Color plays no small role in establishing the onscreen family dynamic. "This project has a really fun, poppy look,” says Light Iron senior colorist Corinne Bogdanowicz. “We focused on making it bright and open, with an emphasis on making all of the characters look great. We also played up all the fun colors that the set and wardrobe put in place.

"The overall grade was built to be fun and colorful without being garish,” Bogdanowicz continues. “There are a lot of natural tones in the movie, but we also played up pops of color whenever we could. A lot of scenes have many characters in the frame — lots of kids! So sometimes I had to use power windows to make sure everyone looked great. Our main color correction was done in HDR, with the SDR being derived from that.”

Bogdanowicz credits the close collaboration with Cheaper by the Dozen cinematographer Mitchell Amundsen and director Gail Lerner for the movie’s eye-catching visuals. “I had worked with Mitch several times before, so I had a good idea of his style going into the project,” the colorist shares. “We worked remotely to set looks and talk about the direction of the movie. The director, Gail, came into the color sessions in person. This movie was a wonderful collaboration, with beautiful, fun images."