James Wicks

Before & After: México de Noche (1968) reel 9

The most challenging part of restoring the color in this film was finding the true color in night scenes. Solving the color shift in the club scene (see below), was preparation for this scene.
On the left: the color in the 35mm 2K .dpx film scan was heavily damaged, due to its age. On the right: the color restored using DaVinci Resolve. The color is fully restored to its original luster.
This video is a scene from reel 9 of México de Noche (1968). Directed by: Arturo Martinez

Credits: Senior Colorist, DaVinci Resolve

Before & After: México de Noche (1968) reel 1

Faded color is a main staple of the classic Spanish-language films I am doing color restoration and color correction on. On the left: the color in the 35mm 2K .dpx film scan was heavily damaged, due to its age. On the right: the color restored using DaVinci Resolve. The color is fully restored to its [...]

Faded color is a main staple of the classic Spanish-language films I am doing color restoration and color correction on.
On the left: the color in the 35mm 2K .dpx film scan was heavily damaged, due to its age. On the right: the color restored using DaVinci Resolve. The color is fully restored to its original luster.

Credits: Senior Colorist, DaVinci Resolve

Before & After: Mientras México Duerme (1986) reel 8

This is a different reel, from the same film below. The difference here is the color has shifted to a different hue. On the left: the color in the 35mm 2K .dpx film scan was heavily damaged, due to its age. On the right: the color restored using DaVinci Resolve. This is the way it [...]

This is a different reel, from the same film below. The difference here is the color has shifted to a different hue.
On the left: the color in the 35mm 2K .dpx film scan was heavily damaged, due to its age. On the right: the color restored using DaVinci Resolve. This is the way it would have looked more than a quarter century ago.
This video is a scene from reel 8 of Mientras México Duerme (1986). Directed by: Miguel M. Delgado

Credits: Senior Colorist, DaVinci Resolve

Before & After: Mientras México Duerme (1986) reel 3

I’m doing color restoration and color correction on dozens of classic Spanish-language films. On the left: the color in the 35mm 2K .dpx film scan was heavily damaged, due to its age. On the right: the color restored using DaVinci Resolve. This is the way it would have looked more than a quarter century ago. [...]

I’m doing color restoration and color correction on dozens of classic Spanish-language films.
On the left: the color in the 35mm 2K .dpx film scan was heavily damaged, due to its age. On the right: the color restored using DaVinci Resolve. This is the way it would have looked more than a quarter century ago.

This video is a scene from reel 3 of Mientras México Duerme (1986). Directed by: Miguel M. Delgado

Credits: Senior Colorist, DaVinci Resolve

Rosauro Castro (1950): Before and After

It may sound strange for a Colorist to say, but black and white films, and Film Noir, hold a special place for me. I love the way a great director will play with light and shadows. Rosauro Castro is a great example of this. This 1950 classic film was once thought to be lost, but [...]

It may sound strange for a Colorist to say, but black and white films, and Film Noir, hold a special place for me.
I love the way a great director will play with light and shadows. Rosauro Castro is a great example of this. This 1950 classic film was once thought to be lost, but was found recently.
I was honored to help bring back the rich luster and textures of this wonderful film.

Rosauro Castro (1950): Color Correction before and after

Credits: Senior Colorist, DaVinci Resolve

Mexico de Noche (1968): Before and After

Mexico de Noche is a 1968 film, directed by Arturo Martinez. It’s a crime drama, shot in 35mm and in color. On the left, the 2k .dpx film scan. On the right, the color restored. The the .dpx sequence came from a very good film print, which helped immensely to restore the color. However, as [...]

Mexico de Noche is a 1968 film, directed by Arturo Martinez. It’s a crime drama, shot in 35mm and in color. On the left, the 2k .dpx film scan. On the right, the color restored.
The the .dpx sequence came from a very good film print, which helped immensely to restore the color. However, as good as the print was, the color had faded over time. DaVinci Resolve helped me restore the color to rich, lush colors.

Mexico de Noche, 1968: Color Correction before and after

Credits: Senior Colorist, DaVinci Resolve

Mientras Mejico Duerme (1986): Before and After

Mientras Mejico Duerme is a 1986 crime-drama directed by Miguel M. Delgado. The restoration team had done a bang-up job removing the usual signs of age: flicker, scratches, etc. But like many films of this era, the colors had faded with time. By the time I got the 35mm .dpx scans I spent a lot [...]

Mientras Mejico Duerme is a 1986 crime-drama directed by Miguel M. Delgado.
The restoration team had done a bang-up job removing the usual signs of age: flicker, scratches, etc. But like many films of this era, the colors had faded with time. By the time I got the 35mm .dpx scans I spent a lot of time probing around, looking for a good color reference.
The RGB Mixer in DaVinci Resolve played a key role in helping me bring back the colors.

Mientras Mejico Duerme (1986): Color Correction before and after

Credits: Senior Colorist, DaVinci Resolve

The Golden Age of Mexican Cinema

I’m Senior Colorist on a massive project to restore hundreds of classic films from the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema and get them ready for U.S. distribution via cable and satellite. The films are scanned in Mexico City, and sent to West Palm Beach on LTO tape drives. Before I get them, restoration teams have [...]

I’m Senior Colorist on a massive project to restore hundreds of classic films from the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema and get them ready for U.S. distribution via cable and satellite.

The films are scanned in Mexico City, and sent to West Palm Beach on LTO tape drives. Before I get them, restoration teams have removed the dirt, and scratches that time has inflicted on these classic Spanish-language films. Then, the .dpx sequences are sent to me for color grading and correction.

As a Colorist, each film presents its own unique set of challenges. My primary goal is to stay as true as I can to the director’s final cut. I use DaVinci Resolve to help bring back the colors, or in the case of black and whites restore their luster, for viewing in 1080HD.

Click here to see before and after samples.

Los Campeones Justicieros (1971): Before and After

Campeones Justicieros is a 1971 action-adventure movie directed by Federico Curiel. While the print was in very good condition for a film from this time period, the colors had faded with time. The richness, and vibrance was missing. After the restoration team had removed the scratches and dirt from the film scan, I was able [...]

Campeones Justicieros is a 1971 action-adventure movie directed by Federico Curiel. While the print was in very good condition for a film from this time period, the colors had faded with time. The richness, and vibrance was missing.
After the restoration team had removed the scratches and dirt from the film scan, I was able to go down deep and pull out amazing colors that hadn’t been seen in nearly 40 years.

Los Campeones Justicieros (1971): Color Correction before and after

Credits: Senior Colorist, DaVinci Resolve

Wellington Greenmarket

“This is fantastic….wish we had met years ago!” That was the reaction from my first time client, after seeing his :15 second commercial that I produced and created for him. My client was recommended to me by Rob Nelson, one of the finest still photographers in South Florida! The commercial I produced is unique for [...]

“This is fantastic….wish we had met years ago!”
That was the reaction from my first time client, after seeing his :15 second commercial that I produced and created for him. My client was recommended to me by Rob Nelson, one of the finest still photographers in South Florida!

The commercial I produced is unique for a number of reasons:
First, it is comprised solely of photographs, some taken by Rob in his studio, and some that I took on location at the Wellington greenmarket.

Second, there is so much going on at the greenmarket that I wanted to show as much as I could on screen. But in the TV world, :15 seconds goes by so quickly, what to do?

After sketching out some ideas, I drew my inspiration from the graphics driven title used in in the classic television series, Mannix, which used split screens in the opening title sequence to convey energy and excitement.

Using split screens helped me convey more of the Wellington Greenmarket in a brief amount of time.

Credits: Producer, Writer, Director, Motion Graphics, Senior Colorist.

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