One of the summer’s most eagerly-anticipated features, on June 2nd Wonder Woman at last brought the beloved and enduring comic character to movie audiences. Directed by Patty Jenkins (Oscar-winning feature Monster and highly-acclaimed series The Killing) and shot by Matthew Jensen, ASC (Chronicle, Game of Thrones), the film unveils a version of DC’s Amazon warrior that is both classic and contemporary. Starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine, Wonder Woman possesses a unique look and Company 3 was there to help bring the bring the action-packed film to life, satisfying the expectations of millions of the title character’s fans worldwide.

“We started talking about the color over a year ago,” says Company 3 Senior Colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld. “That’s not uncommon with a movie of this size. There’s so much work to be done and each decision affects the next. I started by just talking with Patty Jenkins; the overall ideas about the look originated with her. Then Matthew Jensen came on and other department heads all contributed significantly and finally I did my work in the grade, but, ultimately, it was all in the service of what she envisioned.”

The color design, specific to Wonder Woman‘s world, was shot on film, as were the other movies based on DC Super Heroes (Sonnenfeld also colored Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice). “I always enjoy coloring a movie that was shot on film,” says the colorist. “When it’s shot well, as this certainly was, it can look beautiful and can deliver great contrast and skin tones. It also provides so much flexibility in post that it’s a pleasure to work with.”

During production, Company 3 in London, near the stages where principal photography took place, scanned all the film negative into DPX file format, and Dailies Colorist James Slattery built a grade based on conversations with the filmmakers and Sonnenfeld. Jenkins, Jensen and other key crewmembers and executives could see the temp color taking shape during the shoot. Color decisions from the sessions stayed with the material in the form of metadata to provide Sonnenfeld and the filmmakers a conceptual starting point prior to commencement of the final grading process.

In addition to the standard DCI theatrical version, Sonnenfeld also created color passes for various flavors of 3D (including in Dolby Cinema), flat Dolby Cinema, and IMAX versions.

“It was really a very enjoyable project to work on,” Sonnenfeld sums up, “and the response has been great, which is always exciting.”

Film Name: WONDER WOMAN
Copyright: © 2017 WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC. AND RATPAC ENTERTAINMENT, LLC
Photo Credit: Clay Enos/ TM & © DC Comics
Caption: GAL GADOT as Diana in the action adventure “WONDER WOMAN,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.