During the COVID period, we helped to create a short authorial film by Marek Káčer. The director wrote a simple ballad, prepared a screenplay, and filmed the movie himself as a cameraman. We used several visual effects in the film, including visible ones such as dead souls underwater or flying light. In some shots, we also used subtle invisible effects, such as modifying the facade of a building in the background of a lake or a photo of a deceased girlfriend in the houseboat at the beginning of the film, which was added later because the production had not yet selected an actress during the scene shooting. The film was produced by CineVision, a company focused on creating short fiction films, with whom we have been working with for a long time.
Year: 2019 B&W Color Grading, relighting and adding elements
Marek Káčer’s short psychological thriller creates ghosts that appear in the mind of the protagonist. In the film, we used a striking black and white color grading and enhanced the lighting conditions that were not possible during filming. We took care of both visible and “invisible” visual effects, such as stabilizing the set so that the viewer does not see the wall shaking when the character hits the door, as well as visible effects such as blood that follows the actor from under the door. The production company CineVision premiered the film at the Lumiere cinema in Bratislava, from where it went on to other Slovak cinemas.
The short animated student film by Martin Smatana has gained international recognition, won dozens of awards, and now holds a distinguished place in the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA). The film’s phenomenal success is due to the excellent storyline and the dedicated work that was put into it. Additionally, the high-quality post-production, which we completed in our studio, was an integral part of the film’s success. The director, Martin Smatana, and cinematographer, Ondřej Nedvěd, also contributed their skills to post-production. This Czech-Slovak-Polish co-production was filmed partially in the prestigious Polish studio CETA, with many scenes filmed on a blue background. We made visual adjustments to over 100 shots to harmonize the background with the stop-motion animation, which was captured frame by frame. This created a smooth and cohesive whole that demonstrates how crucial quality post-production and visual effects are in the film industry. They can enhance a good idea and elevate it to unimaginable heights. The film premiered at the Berlinale International Film Festival and has since achieved remarkable success.
You can find the complete list of awards and nominations here and more information here.
Daniel Rihak’s short film, which was nominated for the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) student film shortlist, has won the awards for Best Directing and Best Sound at the Acko student festival. Our studio provided complete visual post-production services, which involved color grading and vfx. We skillfully adjusted the lighting in scenes that were shot on a boat at Strbske Pleso, since proper lighting was not possible during filming. In addition, we created few visual effects shots, such as adding reflections of the landscape to a car window, and made a few retouches. We also made minor adjustments, such as enhancing the display of a mobile phone to make its contents more legible.
The short film, directed by Marek Káčer and produced by CineVision, features renowned Slovak actors Martin Huba and Emília Vášáryová in the lead roles, and has received recognition at both national and international festivals. We used strong color grading to enhance the film’s unique blend of cheerful and melancholic tones. Our team also provided both invisible and visible visual effects – for instance, we retouched a crew member who was holding a fence to prevent it from falling while the actor jumped over it, and we created a fly that wakes up the main character at sunrise by not only using sound, but also by flying around in the shots during the opening scene.
Tereza Tara, a graduate of FAMU, directed a stylized documentary film in which we restored images that were damaged during recording on a memory card. Utilizing the expertise gained from working at the film institute, where Michal Šabík, the founder of our studio, developed digital tools for restoring old films, we were able to recreate the footage to match the original images. The end result is a newly restored image that accurately reflects the original footage.
The CineVision-produced short historical drama directed by Marek Kácer has been showcased at numerous international film festivals and has earned recognition in Sydney and New York. Our team ensured that the color grading of the footage aligns with the director’s vision of the first Czecho-Slovak Republic era. We also implemented subtle visual effects, such as removing street names to enhance the film’s authenticity and accuracy.
The short gangster comedy was produced for the 48 Hour Film Project 2017, an international competition in which each crew had to create a film within a 48-hour time frame. The film featured popular actors Táňa Pauhofová and Alexander Bárta. We took care of color grading to achieve a bold color palette that suited the film’s comedic and quirky tone. We also added invisible effects, such as hiding the policeman until he emerges from the forest, and made minor modifications, such as retouching license plates and enhancing headlights.
More information about this interesting short movie can be found here.
This short film won the Audience Award at the global 48 Hour Film Project competition, which involved writing, shooting, editing, and color grading within a two-day timeframe. We handled the color grading by strategically shifting, saturating, and stylizing colors to complement the comedic acting in the film.
Martin Smatana’s short stop-motion animation film has been recognized with numerous international awards, including a premiere at the Berlinale film festival. Smatana produced the film during his studies at VŠMU, with TeapotVFX founder Michal Šabík contributing as the main gaffer during production and handling color grading in post-production.
For a comprehensive list of the film’s awards, please click here.
Marek Kácer’s short period comedy takes inspiration from silent film and old advertising visuals, and features a multitude of visual effects. One notable example includes our use of compositing techniques, where we replaced the greenscreen behind the actress inside a 1940s car with a separately shot background. We also improved the fictitious movie theater in the film’s finale, and employed color grading techniques throughout to achieve the desired atmosphere and aesthetic.
Marek Káčer and the CineVision production company collaborated to produce a short poetic road movie. We enriched the film’s summer ambiance through color grading, employing warm-toned colors. In addition, we incorporated basic visual effects in the film, including digitally manipulating the equipment in the cafe and altering the protagonist’s ID card information.
Zuzana Mariankova’s student film, a gangster drama shot in film-noir style and starring actor Tomáš Maštalír, was shot by cinematographer Maxim Kľujev for his bachelor film in 2015, with his brother Nazarij Kľujev producing it. Despite being a student project, the filmmakers aimed to achieve a professional post-production look, so they enlisted our color grading services to adjust the colors of the image to match the overall atmosphere and mood of the film. Today, Mariankova is a sought-after and award-winning filmmaker who continues to direct, including television work.
The short drama by Teodor Kuhn, which won the award for Best Short Student Film at the RIFF Independent Film Festival in Rome, involved adding bars to the windows of a building that represented a prison, via visual effects. Since the building appeared in both day and night sequences, we ensured the effect was consistent and effective in different lighting conditions.
Richard Staviarsky’s short tragicomedy was a collaboration with VŠMU and was shot on a Canon 5D MK II digital camera, which marked the beginning of using still photography-focused cameras for shooting films. In post-production, we color graded the material to create a “filmic” look and feel.
