In the film, haunted by visions and recurring nightmares years after a near death experience, Vanessa Shepherd finds herself living in the town of Abaddon, unable to break free from its unexplainable hold on her. When people around her suddenly and inexplicably begin to die, she soon uncovers her terrifying connection to the Abaddon Hotel, the Carmichael Manor and the mysterious murders that have been occurring for decades. The fifth installment of the series, “Lineage” was directed by Stephen Cognetti, with cinematography by Brian Keenan and color grading by Mark Todd Osborne.
Osborne was brought aboard by producer Joe Bandelli. “He had heard of my reputation and wanted someone who could handle not just the technical demands of a horror film but also bring a nuanced, cinematic eye to the color,” said Osborne. “It was one of those projects where I immediately felt a creative spark.”
Working closely with Cognetti and soon Keenan, Osborne set an early look for the film by developing creative in camera LUTs that could be used in production. “I built the LUTs in DaVinci Resolve using camera test footage, experimenting with different tonal curves and color separations that would preserve skin tones while enhancing shadow detail.”
While the first films in the franchise were more in the style of “found footage” stories, “Lineage” was the first shot in a narrative format. The ability for Keenan to create more cinematic imagery brought new challenges to Osborne in post production. “There are some really dark scenes in the beginning of the movie, so that meant enhancing atmosphere in suspenseful moments, subtly muting certain colors to create unease, and even introducing tiny color temperature shifts to cue emotional changes,” added Osborne. “The goal was consistency with the on set vision, but with the polish and precision only possible in the final grade.”
On set, the LUT created by Osborne helped provide production with an idea of what the final image might be, but without forcing Keenan into problematic areas. “I made sure the LUTs weren’t overly baked in, so we’d have flexibility in post,” continued Osborne. “We thought of them as a roadmap; they guided the shoot, but still left room for me to push the creative boundaries later. Once we moved into post, I used a mixture of my initial LUT and a fresh new start using DaVinci Resolve’s Film Look Creator as a base cinematic look. From that point, I began to refine the look for each scene.”
For Osborne, the film provided a wide variety of styles he could enhance, both the present day horror elements as well as flashback material, with a much different look. “The prologue opening sequence takes us back to the 80s, where a crucial event takes place. I was able to create a look that felt moody, nostalgic, and somewhat different from the rest of the film that takes place in current times.”
“Hell House LLC: Lineage” is currently available on Shudder.