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Trailers with drastically different color timing than final release


Josh Bloomer

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I've noticed a few cases of trailers - all from the late '90s - that feature much different color grading than what's been seen in their eventual release. Two examples are "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Sleepy Hollow" - two films that have very distinct and stylized looks due to (I think) some kind of photochemical image processing, like ENR or CCE. However if you look at their trailers, they seem not to feature this special look at all, looking far more "natural" by comparison.

What causes this mismatch? Would the ENR or CCE (or whatever specialized processing they were using) only have been applied to theatrical prints, and not the trailers? If that's the case, it just seems surprising that the trailers wouldn't try to replicate such a substantial and deliberate artistic quality of the film - why not just apply the same special processing techniques to the trailer prints as well? Or might this indicate some kind of revisionist color grading done in telecine for the subsequent home video transfers, in which case the trailer would represent more accurate colors regarding what was seen theatrically? (I've never seen the films mentioned above in 35mm - all I have as reference are their home video releases as well as the trailers that are the subject of this post)

Here are some comparison frames from the films mentioned above:

Sleepy Hollow - https://youtu.be/6RsKwn_Je1k

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Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - https://youtu.be/Y8MXn5No1Jc

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I also notice this is the case with The Matrix (1999), but this I know is already quite an infamous case for all its color tampering in home video releases...

Trailer link: https://youtu.be/vKQi3bBA1y8

6m6R5v6.jpg

 

Edited by Josh Bloomer
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A lot of trailers are done by separate houses than the films actual editorial team. They may be getting a rough grade or even ungraded footage to work with so they just do what they think will tell the story outside of the desires of the DP etc.  Usually the director has some input but again these trailers are usually cut way before the final grade is done. 

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