Part Survivor and part Fear Factor, the story of the Donner Party has always captured our fascination.
A story about hopelessness, perfecting the aesthetic was as much about the absence of color as it was about its enhancement. In order to capture the harsh conditions, SPY’s colorist Chris Martin worked with filmmakers John Moore and T.J. Martin to create a pallid feel throughout the environment.
Martin drained the color out of the scenes and allowed for just enough skin tone to come through. Skin tone played an important role in telling the filmmakers’ story as it needed to reflect the characters’ declining health and how skin reacts under harsh conditions. The end result being a color palette that looks, well, good enough to eat.*
The Donner Party is directed by TJ Martin and stars Crispin Glover.
*if you thought we were mature enough not to make a cannibalism joke, you were wrong.
A story about hopelessness, perfecting the aesthetic was as much about the absence of color as it was about its enhancement. In order to capture the harsh conditions, SPY’s colorist Chris Martin worked with filmmakers John Moore and T.J. Martin to create a pallid feel throughout the environment.
Martin drained the color out of the scenes and allowed for just enough skin tone to come through. Skin tone played an important role in telling the filmmakers’ story as it needed to reflect the characters’ declining health and how skin reacts under harsh conditions. The end result being a color palette that looks, well, good enough to eat.*
The Donner Party is directed by TJ Martin and stars Crispin Glover.
*if you thought we were mature enough not to make a cannibalism joke, you were wrong.
