Cinelab Film & Digital in DaVinci Resolve

UK's only full-service film laboratory and digital dailies facility talks about its decision to further invest in its post-production capabilities.

As a film lab and film facility, Cinelab provides the broadest range of processing and digital services in Europe. They cover all areas, from initial negative processing to finishing and delivery and can process, scan and grade from S8mm, 16mm, 35mm, to 65mm.

On Set Tech and Cinelab had worked closely together for several years, sharing secure premises and completing multiple complex and rewarding hybrid projects (Rocket Man, Last Night in Soho and The Electrical Life of Louis Wain).

In 2021, a new step in their history was made when the two companies joined forces, with DaVinci Resolve forming the backbone of Cinelab’s workflow. 

"DaVinci Resolve's toolset allows a level of collaboration between our departments that ensures the creative intent is realised throughout every step of the chain, whether working in the most remote of locations or the highest spec grading suite."

Adding: "Advanced colour management and ACES integration provide unrivalled control over our colour pipelines, ensuring colour consistency throughout the entire process." 

"Additionally, tools such as colour trace, gallery/look management and DRX sidecars provide dedicated and flexible interfaces for organising grades and moving colour information between set, our dailies colourists and post," says Joshua Callis-Smith the Chief Technical Officer/Colourist at Cinelab. 

Cinelab also uses DaVinci Resolve's shared databases and project collaboration features across its facility to create fluidity between its teams. "This allows us to organise multiple projects running over long periods whilst creating an environment that allows both our dailies teams and colourist to work simultaneously," explains Callis-Smith. 

On top of this, Cinelab can take advantage of the remote rendering built into DaVinci Resolve to farm out renders to multiple machines, allowing it to utilise all the equipment in the facility when needed.

According to Callis-Smith, the decision to invest further in DaVinci Resolve was made to enhance Cinelab's grading capabilities. 

"We wanted to offer more flexibility and increase the productivity of our colourists when it comes to collaborating with creatives," he concludes. The advanced panel streamlines the grading process, putting more control and unrivalled precision in our colourists' hands, allowing them to create the best images possible."