I was first introduced to the show when the script had been written and sent through to me. Director Tom Shankland wanted me to understand the timeline between the abduction in 2006 and the present day search with Tony and how it needed to be an obvious visual transformation yet not over stylised. Once I read the script it was very clear that our main objective was to establish a clear transition through time, and the challenge was to find a way to communicate this via the colour grade, despite the fact that both periods are of a similar era. 35mm vs Red Epic The brief from Tom and DOP Olë Bratt Birkeland was to represent the transition in time in an “obvious but subtle” way, whilst avoiding a super saturated or high contrast bleached look; it needed to be much more delicate than that. Olë and I carried out extensive tests before the shoot, where we looked at various options to successfully differentiate between 2006 & 2014. We looked at the comparison between 35mm and the Red Epic to see if we could use these in combination with each other or stick with one format. We were all pleased with how the two compared as there is always an organic feel to 35mm that adds an emotional depth that’s not always possible with digital formats. The desired effect was for the audience to connect with Tony’s emotional journey and it was important to retain this throughout. Additionally, the 35mm added a richness and texture to the skin that the Red was missing. After much exploration and comparison of the options, we both felt confident that the desired emotional connection and the subtle representation of different time periods would be achievable with some complex grade work. After the first test Olë also had some ideas about how to achieve the same results with filters, so with some more shots in the can, we tested again, but this time with just the Red and with the combination of filters, lenses and lighting, and from this point, we felt we were making constructive progress towards achieving the initial brief. Grading technique When we began working on the grade, we loaded Olë’s LUT and used this as a reference to create our own custom curve in the Nucoda, which provided me with a greater scope for adjustment and allowed a natural roll off to the highlights. After creating our initial LUT which set the shot in a great starting place I mainly used the LGG (lift gamma gain) controls in the Nucoda to balance each shot. Olë shot some of the scenes using the Reds HDRX setting so that he wouldn’t have to sacrifice any detail in either the black or the whites to achieve the look we were after; which was ultimately to keep it all feeling natural and real. This was an additional tool that helped me shape some of the scenes. For the most part, the main objective of the show was achieved by applying a warm golden feel with less contrast for 2006 then a cooler look with more contrast for 2014. The main challenge was that the main time periods also featured scenes set at different times of day. The grade needed to be sympathetic to this and it was essential to retain both the feeling of warmth for 2006, even at night time, and the cool crispness of 2014 at midday. In some of the scenes, we had to ensure we were preserving the intensity of the drama whilst remaining true to the look of each time period. We approached these scenes with the same palettes of warmth and coolness respectively. At relevant points, we used the blacks to cool off the darker areas, whilst keeping a warmth to the mid-tones and highlights. As the edits evolved some of the shots were re-arranged within their scenes, therefore deviating from the original script, and these needed to be re-worked entirely in order to modify the time of day. Working with the 4K Red Raw files and adjusting the ISO and Kelvin level made this process a lot easier, giving me more opportunity to be creative with the colour temperature and contrast. The scenes that happen in 2006 were shot with very strong natural exterior light that can be particularly harsh on facial detail. To help aid a more youthful look with the actors in these scenes. I used an isolation of the skin’s mid-tones combined with a shape to generate garbage matte. Then using the Gamma control to subtly flatten the contrast it added a slight softness to the skin detail without resorting to blur tools. Exterior boat scene The missing was always aiming for a natural feel to the grade but there was one opportunity to push away from this when we are in the mind of Vincent’s mum. These scenes take place on a boat out at sea in an exotic location. This was a real opportunity to push the colour palette away from what we had been working on. For these scenes, Olë wanted to push the colour palette and create an enriched feeling. I used Brightness Regions and Colour Curves in combination with blending tools, to push in complementary colours which added a stronger sense of saturation without the need to over crank the chroma and introduce noise Pool scene Two of my favourite scenes to grade comprised of one of the shortest that needed time to pass quickly and one of the longest scenes that needed to add more progression to the time passing to make the scene work. The short scene is when Tony is in the pool with Oliver before he goes missing. This scene needed to start in the early evening and finish at dusk within 5 shots. The scene starts with Tony and Oliver in the pool and this needed a golden feel to it. I didn’t want to add a blanket wash to the shots as I wanted the shadows to have a coolness as the night was drawing in and adding a colour wash would have made this scene look false. I used a Luma key to isolate just the mid-tones I then used colour curves to push yellow into the image. This keeps the black looking natural and the highlight unaffected by a colour cast. As the scene progressed I strengthen this effect until the scene ended with sun down. Interior boat scene The second scene was the murder on the boat. This scene was shot mid-afternoon but after the edit changed from the original script this scene needed to happen towards the late evening. For some of the shots in the scene I adjusted the Kelvin level in the Red Raw settings and ISO to darken the shots down to bring the mid to top end of the image down to a closing evening feel. I then duplicated the shot and composited it over the top with a black isolation so I could adjust the ISO at a different level fundamentally creating my own HDR image. When the scene settled in the boat interior I used a combination of ISO adjustment, kelvin temperature, shapes and tracking to create the feeling of night. Tom had the great idea of subtitling highlighting and isolating particular yellow items in reference to Oliver’s scarf that would be peppered through the narrative timeline like a trail of breadcrumbs visualising teasing and hinting to us Oliver’s story. With this idea for the ‘’visual yellow accents’’ peppered through the scenes. I needed to be very subtle so that it carried throughout the drama timeline from 2006 to 2014 whenever possible. It was very important that we pushed this where we could. This was harder to do during the 2014 scenes due to the cooler palette. For this, I used Hue curves to reduce all the other Hues allowing the yellow to pop without the need for extra saturation which would lose detail in the yellow objects and compromise the natural feel. This also meant that I wasn’t constantly trying to pull isolations, shapes and tracking ultimately reducing the grading time. Ross Baker www.halopost.com All images and clips copyright © Company Pictures
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.