Picture Shop’s Paul Ensby colors electrical documentary film about pop duo, Sparks.
Edgar Wright’s debut documentary The Sparks Brothers, which features commentary from celebrity fans Flea, Beck, Jack Antonoff, Jason Schwartzman, Neil Gaiman, and more, takes audiences on a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers/bandmates Ron and Russell Mael celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band’s favorite band.Senior Colorist Paul Ensby who has embellished the looks of documentaries such as Senna, Diego Maradona, Coup 53 and Amy worked closely with Director Edgar Wright, Cinematographer Jake Polonsky BSC, Editor Paul Trewartha and Producer Laura Richardson to grade the film, which involved blending an eclectic mix of materials. “This very entertaining documentary was one of the best project experiences I’ve had in recent years,” said Ensby.“Edgar, Paul, Jake and Laura were great company throughout and were fully supportive of the creative process which consisted of blending in not only a mountain of archive material but also numerous animations, graphics and new interview footage of various well-known fans. It’s always a challenge with these kinds of projects but so rewarding at the end part of the process,” concluded Ensby. As an accomplished Director, Wright brings experience working on commercially and critically successful films such as Baby Driver and Shaun of the Dead. Working with a highly skilled and experienced colorist on his first documentary ensured the project was in safe hands. “Paul's excellent reputation preceded him, having graded some of my favorite documentaries, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with him on The Sparks Brothers. His attention to detail and creative flair brought both the archive and our monochrome RED footage to life,” said Wright. “Paul also handled our vast array of archive formats, text and animation with great skill and put me at ease knowing I was working with a safe pair of hands on my first documentary. It was a great pleasure to work with Paul, who is a genuinely lovely man and brilliant colorist, and I look forward to working with him on my next doc, whatever that may be,” concluded Wright. Cinematographer Jake Polonsky BSC and Editor Paul Trewartha also acknowledged Ensby’s reputation of excellence in documentary film color-grading. “We had a very good experience working with Paul Ensby on The Sparks Brothers,” said Polonsky.“I knew Paul from his work on Asif Kapadia's archive-based documentaries, and I knew he'd bring a wealth of knowledge to our project. His attention to detail was greatly appreciated, and he pulled all the visual strands of the film together brilliantly for us,” concluded Polonsky. “It was a pleasure to work with Paul on The Sparks Brothers. He’s a consummate professional; diligent, creative and fast which was essential when working through a film constructed from such a diverse range of material. Most importantly he’s a good guy and a team player,” added Trewartha. The Sparks Brothers is coming to cinemas in North America on June 18th and releases in the UK on July 30th.