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LATEST NEWS

7 Keys World Premieres at SXSW!

31st December, 2023

Daniel has kept the keys to the places he's lived in. Lena wants to use them - on the ultimate tour of London, a weekend of getting to know each other intimately in other people's homes. This risky fantasy soon becomes a deadly threat.

7 Keys is dark, alluring, and provocative thriller that fuses genre, introduces complex characters, and cinematic portrayal of the female gaze. It is written and directed by the award-winning Joy Wilkinson, who specialises in the female-driven genre. 7 Keys is produced by Dylan Rees (4 8 Fourteen Films), and Cassandra Sigsgaard (Jeva Films), and stars Emma McDonald and Billy Postlethwaite.

We were very pleased to be involved in this project, with the grade completed by Senior Colourist Emily Russul Saib, overseen by Lead Post Producer Jeff Halsey. 

The film was shot in such a way to ensure that they had lots of flexibility, and the team wanted each of Daniel’s 7 past homes to be a very distinct colour, working their way through the rainbow with each new location. This posed an interesting creative challenge for our colourist Emily, with some locations presenting a more complex palette to achieve. Emily enjoyed working closely with Joy, giving extra attention to a few pivotal moments to evoke a special feel, in particular at the end of the third home (key 3), on the balcony in the last home (key 7), and the last shot.

“7 Keys is a pulsing thriller about a romance that goes wrong and a portrait of the city today, it’s a story for our world obsessed with dating apps and property porn, a generation trying to make a connection and find their corner of the capital, while the gap between the haves and have-nots continues to grow. I’m excited to bring some fresh blood to the [thriller] genre, with character-driven, sensual suspense and a single mum protagonist who has depth, flaws and surprises for us.” - Joy Wilkinson, Director

Festival page

OnSight posts IMAX version of QUEEN ROCK MONTREAL

31st December, 2023

Watch the trailer here.

QUEEN ROCK MONTREAL will be released in over 400 IMAX theatres globally for four days beginning January 18th, 2024.

IMAX and Pathé Live in partnership with Mercury Studios and Queen Films announced, for the very first time, one of the world’s biggest bands will perform on cinema’s biggest screens with the global release of QUEEN ROCK MONTREAL, exclusively in IMAX beginning January 18th, 2024. This exhilarating live concert from 1981 is a window into Queen in their most unalloyed form, giving audiences a larger-than-life, front-row immersive experience. The film was digitally re-mastered for the first time into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience®.

“It’s so wonderful to know that all these years later so many people want to experience the original band that I am so proud to have been a part of,” said Roger Taylor. “What a blast…it felt like actually being on the stage!”

“Experiencing ‘QUEEN ROCK MONTREAL’ in IMAX is like stepping into a time machine — it’s an opportunity to see the band perform their most iconic hits in a visceral, immediate way I thought was no longer possible,” said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. “The way this film was shot and now restored and presented in IMAX is truly awe-inspiring, and second only to being there in the house back in ’81.”

We provided full picture post on the film including grading, restoration and remastering for the giant screen. With over 30 years' experience, our award-winning team of creatives and technologists are renowned for providing post solutions for this format. Initially OnSight provided Mercury Studios and Head of Post Production Rosie Holley, with some remastering tests of the film back at the beginning of 2019. The results from these tests were so outstanding that our MD Simon Craddock introduced Mercury Studio’s to the IMAX team later that year. 

Most of the restoration and remastering work was completed by OnSight during the Covid-19 lockdown back in 2020 but it still took some time to make it to IMAX. Silver Salt assisted with preliminary film fixes and an open gate 4K scan of the 35mm film print was used to create the full height IMAX version of this historic Queen performance. Revealing new parts of the original frame, extensive restoration was required before finishing and enhancement work could begin. Following grain reduction and image processing a fresh colour grade was applied by Senior Colourist Andy Lee, thereby digitally re-mastering the look of the film to the highest standard possible for the IMAX Experience®. Working directly with IMAX, OnSight optimized for the IMAX format and delivered the film for additional adjustments using proprietary IMAX tools for further image enhancement including the IMAX DMR® (Digital Media Remastering) process.

This important film has been finished to the highest standard possible to be shown on the world's largest screens. It was a labour of love for OnSight who have worked with Mercury Studios for over a decade.

“Working on this special project has been a labour of love and technical first for Mercury Studios. We were in safe hands with OnSight with their vast experience working with IMAX on big screen presentations, they were able to support the collaboration with IMAX on a technical level with the patience and expertise a project and artist of this calibre deserve, it’s been an absolute pleasure.” - Rosie Holley, Head of Post Production, Mercury Studios

Look at tickets here.

Gladiators premieres in the USA on Love Nature!

31st December, 2023

‘We’re so happy with how Gladiators turned out. The OnSight team pulled out all the stops to create a stunning HDR audio-visual feast. The uncompromising detail in picture and sound design takes you right inside moments of pure drama.’  - Martin Williams, Executive Producer

The 4 part natural history series will come out in the USA on the 20th of January on Love Nature, where you can unlock the killer secrets and ingenious tactics of nature’s toughest fighters. The show takes you to four incredible ecosystems around the world where wild gladiators, from the smallest ants to the biggest bears, battle for the ultimate prize: survival. Narrated by Sean Bean!

Talesmith’s Gladiators is created for Love Nature and Sky, with Showrunner Alex Hemingway, Directors Amabel Adcock and Will Benson, Production Manager Jolene Filmer, Executive Producers Ruth Roberts and Martin Williams.

We were pleased to complete full Picture and Sound post for this project, with Colour by Emily Russul Saib, Pre-mix by Andy Coles, Dubbing Mixer Andrew Wilson, Online Editors Adam Sample and Andrew Fisun, Conform Editor James Davies, and DAC Morgan Hood, overseen by Senior Post Producer Joana Coelho. The post for Gladiators was a great experience for our team, who relished and rose to the challenge of complex archive footage of differing qualities and frame rates and tight deadlines.

A little more on the ecosystems and the inhabitants you can expect to meet in Gladiators:

‍WATER HOLE

On the great savannah of southern Africa, the dry season is tightening its grip on a small watering hole. Here, a group of gladiators – big and small – are being drawn into dangerous proximity. 

WILD COAST

Australia, a land cast adrift at the time of the dinosaurs. Isolated for millions of years, the animals here are like nowhere else on Earth. Evolution has transformed them into freaks of nature…and the wiliest gladiators on the planet. 

JUNGLE RIVER

Across the tropical Americas, a dense and vibrant jungle dominates. Here, a group of young gladiators are looking to earn their stripes. 

TIDELANDS

In America’s far North, shrouded by forests and encircled by jagged peaks, lies a tidal arena of rivers, marshes and shorelines.  The animals here are the ultimate fighters.

GRAND THEFT HAMLET: where Shakespeare meets video games

31st December, 2023

Grand Theft Hamlet is a Machinima feature documentary about two out of work actors attempting the impossible task of mounting a full production of Hamlet inside the ultra violent world of Grand Theft Auto Shot entirely in game, and were Winners of the 2023 Stage Innovation Award. Grand Theft Hamlet premiered at SWSX, winning the Jury Award for Feature Documentary, and went on to screen at CPH:DOX!

It’s January 2021. The UK has just entered its 3rd lockdown and all theatres remain closed. For actors Sam and Mark, the future looks bleak. As the pandemic drags on Mark who lives alone is increasingly socially isolated, while Sam is panicking about how he is going to support his family. They channel their midlife frustrations by immersing their avatars in the horrifically violent yet beautifully rendered virtual world of Grand Theft Auto Online. They steal cars and shoot strangers, but also find moments of calm reflection walking through meadows of wildflowers. In one gaming session they stumble across a theatre and have an idea. Why not stage Hamlet inside the game? Well, there are several reasons why not, chiefly that most people in the game are intent on murderous destruction, not polite appreciation of a theatrical production. But wasn’t theatre just as dangerous and rowdy a business in Shakespeare’s time, and isn’t Hamlet, a play about revenge the perfect choice for this place?

This documentary is shot entirely inside the world of Grand Theft Auto. It's ground-breaking and necessary - especially at a time when more and more of our lives (even a cultural artefact as ancient as live theatre) move online. The documentary asks what is this space? How do we use it now and what else is possible inside it? Can we transport this ancient story inside a brand new one? And will it still make sense? The cinematic potential of Los Santos is immediately apparent, with its glittering, mind-blowingly detailed cityscape and surrounding countryside, the ray-traced rendering of light, ever-changing weather systems and intricate sound design. By using the in-game phone camera we were able to get intimate close ups and cinematic pans across landscapes – enabling a more cinematic visual language  and moments of pathos, emotion and lyricism to exist within the chaos and violence of this undiscovered country.

Grand Theft Hamlet is directed by Rustic Mascara aka Sam Crane and Pinny Grylls, and produced by Julia Ton (Project 1961) and Rebecca Wolff (Grasp The Nettle Films), with Executive Producers Hazel Pictures and Park Pictures. 

We were delighted to be a part of this unique project, and completed full Picture and Sound Post.

Watch Teaser here.

Arthur’s Whisky is now on Sky Cinema!

30th December, 2023

The feel-good comedy Arthur’s Whisky released on Sky Cinema on the 1st of January, starting off the new year with the wonderful trio of Diane Keaton, Patricia Hodge, and Lulu.

Arthur’s Whisky, directed by Stephen Cookson, with cinematography by David Mackie, and a screenplay by Alexis Zegerman, centres on a widow who discovers her recently deceased husband invented an elixir which makes the drinker look young again. Sharing it with her two friends, the three women paint the town red only to discover they are no longer equipped to be young in the modern world.

“Working with such an incredibly talented actress as academy award-winner Diane Keaton is a dream come true. She leads our brilliant ensemble cast featuring Patricia Hodge, David Harewood, Hayley Mills, Bill Paterson, Adil Ray, Boy George as well as the iconic Lulu.” - Stephen Cookson, Director

We were pleased to complete full post production for this film, with Andy Coles as re-recording mixer, Andy Lee as colourist, Adam Sample as senior on-line editor, Dan Bourne performing Additional Visual Effects, overseen by Lead Post Producer Jeff Halsey. The pre mix was completed at OnSight, with the final mix at Pinewood Powell theatre.

"Along with Director Stephen Cookson and the whole post team on Arthur’s Whisky we have been very appreciative of the flexibility, reactivity and overall high standards that the talented team at Onsight have brought to the film. Thank you all." - Pippa Cross, CrossDay Productions

Arthur’s Whisky is represented by Arclight Films, and the project is produced by Cookson and Peter Keegan of CK Films, in association with CrossDay Productions, and Pippa Cross. The film is financed by Sky, MEP Capital, Arclight Films, OnSight, Sherborne Media and Filmology. The film released as a Sky Original in the UK & Ireland on Sky Cinema on the 1st of January 2024. Executive producers are Gary Hamilton of Arclight Films, Andrew Kotliar and Matt Cohen from MEP Capital, George Bennett of Worldmakr, Alastair Burlingham of Sherborne Media, Jack Christian from Filmology, and Julia Stuart and Laura Grange at Sky and Leighton Lloyd.

“Arthur’s Whisky is a hilarious and universal story about second chances, with the undeniable talent of Diane Keaton leading our cast, we are delighted to be part of this incredible project and are so excited to introduce the film to our distributors around the world.” - Gary Hamilton, Arclight chairman 

Watch the trailer here.