Crash & Sue colorist Sue Lakso garnered kudos from Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Wally Pfister, A.S.C., for her transfer and color correction of ‘Good Run,’ a short film, which he directed and shot for Discover Boating, an education and awareness initiative developed by the nation boat manufacturers.

The poignant three-minute, 45-second film, which recently debuted as a viral video on www.discoverboating.com, and is currently a favorite on YouTube.com and a number of other Internet video portals. Crash & Sue also provided color correction, EFX and finishing services for other elements of the expansive, integrated marketing campaign created by Carmichael Lynch/Minneapolis ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® which includes the :30 second national TV spot, ‘Dogs Need Weekends Too.’

For the film, Lakso met the challenge presented by the mix of film and videotape formats and styles that tell the story of an elderly man cherished memories of boating. The short opens with a bright light illuminating a room with a single chair and an old film projector in it. The man, near the end of his ‘Good Run’ on earth, sits down and begins to watch home movie clips that recall a lifetime of the special moments on the water.

The montage begins with grainy black-and-white footage of the man as a young boy enjoying boating on the lake with his dad. Accompanied by the tender lyrics and music of the Kate Rusby song, ‘A Sleepless Sailor,’ subsequent sepia-toned clips of him as a teen, capture his joy as he takes the helm of a boat. They’sre followed by glossy black-and-white footage of his days as a young sailor in the Navy. The man life-long passion for boating is further revealed through color-saturated footage of him and his new bride boarding a flower-bedecked boat on a sun-dappled lake, and family movies of him as young father, taking his family water-skiing.

The home movies end with a shot of the man grandson, donning his old captain cap, and brimming with excitement, as he introduced to boating for the first time. The film closes with the projector light dimming as the door opens, once again revealing the bright light. The old man walks out of the room into the light. ‘Life better with a boat,’ reads the end tag.

The film director and cinematographer, Wally Pfister, transferred his S8mm and 16mm footage in Los Angeles and then sent it to award-winning colorist Sue Lakso, of Crash & Sue, the Minneapolis-based full-service postproduction/FX house, Lakso transferred all the 35mm material with her C-Reality telecine, and then performed the film and tape-to-tape color correction and color treatments on the Crash & Sue DaVinci 2K.

Sue Lakso gave a sepia tone to vintage-style footage, added magenta tones to color clips for a time-aged look, and altered some scenes to look like home-movies-gone-to-video. In between clips, the film cuts back to shots of the elderly man in the chair, which Lakso gave a very high-contrast, look with rich black tones.
“A Good Run”

‘The clips follow the progression of this man life ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® and his growing love of boating over the decades,’ says Lakso. ‘To make the film authentic, the look and style of this sequence of clips had to reflect the evolution of home movie technology and formats over the years. The agency creatives had developed a strong vision of the film and knew what they wanted. Working closely with them allow me to use all the capabilities of my toolset to make it happen.’

Soon after Crash & Sue Derek Johnson onlined the film and it was delivered, Lakso was surprised to get a call from director/cinematographer, Wally Pfister congratulating her on a job well done.

‘It was very thoughtful of him,’ notes Lakso. ‘Pfister was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Cinematography on ‘Batman Begins’ and ‘The Prestige.’ Receiving a phone call from a talent of his caliber praising your work doesn’st happen every day.’

Carl Blackwell, vice president of marketing and communications for Discover Boating and the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA), was also pleased with the film. ‘Regardless of viewers’s boating experience, ?‚àö√ë‚àö‚â§Good Run’s delivers an emotional message about the power of boating that will stay with the audience long after they view it,’ he comments.

‘It is always a pleasure working with Sue and all of the staff at Crash and Sue. She has amazing talent and is very passionate about her work,’ noted Tracy Tabery-Weller, senior broadcast producer for Carmichael Lynch. ‘We knew that the many formats we shot on would need special attention, and Sue made it all come together beautifully.’

Lakso also recently transferred and color corrected a number of humorous television commercials for Discover Boating campaign, including ‘Dogs,’ a heartwarming spot which showcases different breeds enjoying time on boats ?‚àö√ë‚àö¬® bringing home the tag message, ‘Dogs need weekends too.’

About Crash & Sue
Crash & Sue is an award-winning, full-service postproduction house offering premier transfer, editing, visual effects, animation, finishing, and audio services. Their client roster includes BMW, Porsche, Harley Davidson, Coca Cola, Northwest Airlines, Target, Best Buy, United Way, Timex, Volvo Trucks, Kmart, United Airlines, and Polaris, to name a few. For further information about Crash & Sue talent and services, contact Executive Producer Donna Drewick at 612.338.7947 or go to crashandsues.com.

CREDITS
Credits:’A Good Run,’ 1×3:45 Product: Viral video Client: Discover Boating

Agency: Carmichael Lynch/Minneapolis: Executive Creative Director: Jim Nelson, Group Creative Director/Art Director: Carol Henderson, Senior Broadcast Producer: Tracy Tabery-Weller, Copywriter: Karen McKinley.

Production Company: Independent Media, Inc./LA : Director/DP: Wally Pfister. Telecine and Color Correction: Crash & Sue’s/Minneapolis: Colorist: Sue Lakso. Offline: Butcher Edit/Santa Monica: Editor: Jack Douglas. Online/VFX: Crash & Sue/Minneapolis: Online editor/VFX: Derek Johnson, Post Producer: Heidi Habben. Music: Purchased rights to Kate Rusby ‘A Sleepless Sailor.’

Related Link:
www.discoverboating.com