I watched series 1, initially as I am a fan of Suranne Jones, and it was simply brilliant with its submariner setting.(beware if you are even slightly claustrophobic!)
Now I hear tell there is a series 2, this time set in the air (why not?) and it was apparently graded, conformed and finished by Blazing Griffin Post using DaVinci Resolve Studio.
Blazing Griffin Post’s team continued its association with the drama series, providing all aspects of picture finishing in 4K using ACES, with both SDR and HDR deliverables.
Senior Colourist Colin Brown, who led the DI grade on series one, collaborated with series two Director Andy De Emonny and Cinematographer Matt Wicks. “The second series is a departure from the first, and we had to capture that in the look,” begins Brown. “The story is set between Glasgow and the fictional country of Wudyan in the Middle East. With two drastically different locations, we had to decide how to navigate that visually.”
“We experimented with different colour palettes for the primary locations,” he explains. “The Glasgow scenes feature a cooler palette, occasionally leaning towards green. In contrast, we used warmer hues to convey the Middle East’s heat and intensity. Given that many of the latter scenes were shot in Scotland, it was crucial that we convincingly depicted the Middle East.”
While the series is a work of fiction, Brown worked to balance the idea of realism with dramatic effect. “In the opening drone scene, we wanted the RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) to appear more sinister,” he explains. “To achieve that, I isolated the drones and added more contrast to the metallic elements of the body, which helped them stand out. Resolve’s tracking feature was beneficial in achieving this complex task as the drones were fast moving.”
Online Editor Lewis Carmichael worked closely with Blazing Griffin Post’s VFX artist Sam Goodwin to deliver picture enhancement and digital fixes using Fusion Studio, which was linked to the DaVinci Resolve project timeline via VFX Connect.
“There were lots of screen replacements as well as complex paint outs and wire removal,” notes Carmichael. “This way, we could combine Resolve’s edit and color features and enjoy the extended features of Fusion standalone. Whether it was rendering down shots, compound clips or Fusion clips, VFX Connect saved us a huge amount of time, especially when it came to client playback, as some shots featured multiple layers of graphics, all at 4K resolution.”
Blazing Griffin Post developed a new workflow for series two, allowing for a single HDR10 project timeline. “It dramatically sped up our approach from series one, creating a more efficient finishing workflow,” Carmichael concludes. “Whether it’s late stage editing, visual effects updates, quality control (QC) fixes, or any other changes, we only need to apply changes once to a single timeline.”