Colourist Felix H sken discusses the 4K/HDR image workflows for the Paramount+ drama series
By Contributor
Published: February 16, 2024 Updated: February 19, 2024
Colourist Felix H sken discusses the 4K/HDR image workflows for the Paramount+ drama series
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
What if someone told you that you inherited one trillion dollars? Most would dismiss it as a joke, which is exactly what John, a bike courier in Berlin, did when he received the news that he was the sole heir to a trillion-dollar fortune. The money came with a catch; he must restore humanity's lost future.
While the protagonist in One Trillion Dollars faces an almost impossible task, similarly the creative team of the series, produced by W&B Television and Paramount Television International Studios based on Andreas Eschbach's 2001 novel, worked hard to make the right decisions and implement a UHD HDR image workflow right from the outset. Cologne-based freelance colourist Felix H sken (BVK, AAC, CSI) worked as a colour consultant and was responsible for the final DI grade at Rotor Film, Berlin. In his role, he worked closely with DoP Yoshi Heimrath (BVK).
When we talk about colour grading, this entails enhancing the DoP's creative intent while ensuring the technical quality of the images. The earlier the colourist becomes involved, the better; essentially, that is in preproduction, H sken states. And that is the way the team worked for One Trillion Dollars.
With a significant portion of the series set amongst the super-rich, the aim was to create a high-quality look to this exclusive world. The story dictated that our sets reflected a high-end lifestyle, complete with designer lamps and luxury sports cars, he recalls. At the same time, the colours should remain as natural as possible and not contain too many artificial colour enhancements. A wide HDR colour gamut offers immense creative freedom, but it's easy to overdo it, H sken explains.
On-set grading The deliverables were to be produced in UHD HDR with an additional SDR trim version. The series was shot on a Sony Venice camera in X-OCN ST and 23.987 fps, for a 2:1 letterboxed UHD format, according to the spec from Paramount.
While the series was shot for UHD HDR, dailies were created and exported in SDR, relying on an ACES colour-managed pipeline throughout. I really like working with ACES, it has become a reliable industry standard for colour management, and it simply works, H sken confirms.
H sken's role extended to collaborating closely with the DITs/On-Set colourists. I designed everything in DaVinci Resolve Studio and provided my project file to DIT Martin Knispel and the rest of the team, so that everyone could access all of my grading data, he adds. They could call me when they had a new camera or any technical changes were made.
It wasn't clear whether Heimrath could be present during the final grade, so the idea was to create great-looking dailies on set. I already had worked with Yoshi, so I knew that we were on the same page when it came to the grade. We didn't use LUTs or any constrained ourselves to only basic colour tools for the dailies grade. Instead, the dailies were graded using my complete final grade node structure and approved on set. Then I used that data and feedback for the final grade, which proved effective, recounts H sken.
Flexibility and attention to detail The ability to work flexibly from any location is also important in film production, including colour grading. Wherever I am, I can just take out my MacBook Pro and the full DaVinci Resolve Studio software at hand, just like in the studio grading suite or at home. The only thing missing is the DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel. I can access the same data as others in the team or link what I've just done back to the studio. The software is also compatible with different hardware and allows using external plugins, which makes it versatile.
Among others, a tool that came in handy for the UHD HDR production was DaVinci Resolve Studio's Colour Warper. H sken recalls, The series offered a lot of diverse scenes and locations. There was action, drama, love, tech, finances and more. Fittingly, it felt like we'd also used every tool in the grading suite by the end, however the Colour Warper is one of Resolve's more unique features. With it you can select a single point in an image and control the hue, saturation and luminance simultaneously, which is a more intuitive way of grading. We also used several of the included OFX plugins like lens flares, film grain, object removal, etc.
One Trillion Dollars is now available on Paramount+ in Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France and the UK.
Most recent headlines
17/02/2025
TVBEurope talks to the team who brought a piece of broadcasting history back to life on BBC Wales last night
By Jenny Priestley
Published: February 14, 2025 ...
17/02/2025
Eligible studios will receive the relief directly from their local authorities, with no need to submit a claim
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 17, 20...
17/02/2025
As DEI initiatives come under pressure in the USA, supporters of Rise, which promotes diversity in the media and entertainment sector, discuss the continuing im...
17/02/2025
EIB Global loan will partially fund SES's continued O3b mPOWER medium earth orbit (MEO) fleet expansion enabling additional capacity worldwide. O3b mPOWER s...
15/02/2025
At Nielsen, Business Resource Groups (BRGs) play a critical role in nurturing a ...
15/02/2025
Innovation to empower creativity: Explore the latest in Lightroom
Rob Christensen February 15, 2025
0 Comments
Whether you want to remove distracting ...
15/02/2025
Wisycom, a worldwide leader in RF technology and provider of wireless solutions, announces a new distribution agreement with EQUAPHON. An Argentinian profession...
15/02/2025
DPA Microphones, the leading manufacturer of high-quality microphone solutions, is pleased to welcome Nicholas Nick Mariano and Vincent Vince Divine to the ...
15/02/2025
Tuxera, a leading provider of quality-assured file systems and networking solutions, will showcase how Tuxera Fusion SMB enables unprecedented performance for m...
15/02/2025
Bitmovin's latest Video Developer Report indicates an increasing role of AI, the slow adoption of next-generation codecs, and continuing challenges when it ...
15/02/2025
When Michelin Enterprises set out to promote its prestigious Hotel Guide in the new Sleepless in the Kitchen , campaign, veteran German/Slovenian gaffer Robert...
15/02/2025
Formula E, the world's first all-electric racing series, revolutionizing motorsport with cutting-edge technology and a commitment to sustainability has sele...
15/02/2025
Agile Content, a global leader in TV and video technology solutions, announces its rebranding to AgileTV.
The transition to AgileTV stems from a commitment to ...
15/02/2025
Hiltron Communications will promote the latest additions to its range of satellite communication products, systems and supporting services at GovSatCom 2025. Th...
15/02/2025
Following the success of the original Airglow Booklight, DoPchoice debuts a new addition to their inflatable line the Float. This lightweight, inflatable, round...
15/02/2025
LAS VEGAS Marshall Electronics has announced that it will debut its newest camera controller, the RCP Plus, at the 2025 NAB Show at Booth N2649 between April 5 ...
15/02/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has named Blake Sebo as the next general manager of KTUU and KYES, Gray's NBC and CBS affiliates in Anchorage, Alaska....
15/02/2025
KOKKEDAL, Denmark DPA Microphones will feature its new CORE+ technology for distortion-free microphone sound at the 2025 NAB Show, April 5-9, in Las Vegas....
15/02/2025
SWANSEA, U.K. QuickLink will launch StudioPro-NDI and StudioPro-3, two new models of its QuickLine StudioPro video production platform, at the 2025 NAB Show, Ap...
15/02/2025
Live From 2025 NBA All-Star Game Weekend: After 25 Years, Turner Sports All-In F...
15/02/2025
NASCAR Driver Cam on Max Embraces Cloud-Based Workflow for 2025 Season Chris Brown of WBD Sports says Mobii will play key part in delivering signals from the tr...
14/02/2025
Last month, we officially launched the Spotify Partner Program, a powerful new m...
14/02/2025
From an island off the coast of Lutruwita to the global stage in France SBS & ...
14/02/2025
The future of electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) land systems is evolving so that ...
14/02/2025
Here are 5 reasons why you should attend ISE 2025
Discover more about Calrec: Learn more about Calrec's legacy of innovation in broadcast audio solutions ...
14/02/2025
World Radio Day: On the same wavelength
By Graham Murray, International Sales Manager at Calrec
To mark World Radio Day, Calrec's International Sales Ma...
14/02/2025
DALLAS and TYSONS, Va. Tegna has concluded a broadcast rights agreement that makes Tegna's KFAA in Dallas the exclusive local television partner of the Dall...
14/02/2025
Amazon's Prime Video has released a new app for Apple TV that the streamer said delivers an improved streaming experiences with faster scrolling, improved s...
14/02/2025
CLEVELAND Telos Alliance announced a software update for its Axia Quasar XR and SR line of audio-over-IP (AoIP) mixing consoles and will show the offering at th...
14/02/2025
Puget Systems Returns to HPA Tech Retreat 2025 with New Analysis Tools for Puge...
14/02/2025
Glass Animals: Tour of Earth Uses Blackmagic Live Production Workflow
Brie Clayton February 14, 2025
0 Comments
80six deploys Blackmagic URSA Broadcas...
14/02/2025
A dispute between Paramount and Youtube TV that would have pulled CBS stations and Paramount's cable channels from the streaming service has been temporaril...
14/02/2025
Colourist Deidre (Dee) McClelland details how she helped shape the distinct look and feel of whimsical Oscar-nominated stop-motion film, Memoir of a Snail
By C...
14/02/2025
BitFire said it intends to introduce forward-looking services that simplify the launch of live production workflows, and enhance real-time collaboration
By Jen...
14/02/2025
The claim by the liquidators is the latest twist in the ongoing saga of the companys collapse at the end of 2021
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: February 14, ...
14/02/2025
A carriage dispute between YouTube TV and Paramount could come to a head today (Feb. 13), with the virtual pay TV provider threatening to pull all of the progra...
14/02/2025
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. LG Electronics USA has opened a new in-house, state-of-the-art virtual production studio at its 360,000-square-foot North American headqu...
14/02/2025
NEW YORK In a bid to help local broadcasters find new ways of monetizing their content, the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and TVB have relea...
14/02/2025
WASHINGTON Three Democratic U.S. Senators have sent a stern letter blasting FCC Chair Brendan Carr for the weaponization of the agency for attacking broadcast...
14/02/2025
Years after launching the streaming service Apple TV+ in November of 2019, Apple has finally released a version of its steaming app for Android devices....
14/02/2025
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif. Red Digital Cinema will make its V-RAPTOR [X] and KOMODO-X camera systems available with Nikon's premier Z Mount, providing filmmaker...
14/02/2025
DAYTONA, Fla. The Fox Sports production of this year's Daytona 500 will see the addition of a few new tech elements and the continued unfolding of the broad...
14/02/2025
Watch Bryson Battles Blind Audition on The Voice Get a Four-Chair Turn Michael Bubl said the Boston Conservatory at Berklee musical theater senior might have...
14/02/2025
2025 Daytona 500: FOX Sports Looks To Ride Super Bowl LIX Momentum Into NASCAR S...
14/02/2025
14 Feb 2025
VEON's Kyivstar and the Come Back Alive Foundation Raise USD 2....
14/02/2025
Max Renews THE PITT, Starring Noah Wyle, For A Second Season
Max
Warner Bros. Television Group
The Pitt
New Episodes Of The Medical Drama From John...
14/02/2025
This year, Technicolor proudly celebrates 110 years of shaping the magic of cinema pioneering color, visual effects, and innovation that bring unforgettable l...
14/02/2025
NBA All-Star: More Games, More Teams, More Music, More Sound From the Court Turner Sports' team will deploy familiar tech to capture all the audio By Dan D...
14/02/2025
LIV Golf Continues To Innovate With Drones, Data-Driven Graphics, and All-Access...
Colourist Felix H sken discusses the 4K/HDR image workflows for the Paramount+ drama series
