
After a grim and gritty fourth season, the Showtime series The Chi returned to its more optimistic roots for Season 5, changing not only the tone of its stories but also the palette of its visuals. To finalize this look, Season 5 cinematographer Nathan Ray Salter collaborated with Light Iron colorist Katie Jordan, whose credits range from award-winning dramas like Promising Young Woman to the fantasy series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance.
Jordan had also graded Season 4 of The Chi, picking up the baton from Light Iron supervising colorist Ian Vertovec, who had served as final colorist on Season 3. She reflects, Last season, we went very dark and desaturated, but this season we scaled that back a little bit. We found a really nice sweet-spot between dark and cool and natural.
Jordan's work on Season 5 began during preproduction, when she met with Salter and director and supervising producer Nancy C. Mej a over Zoom to discuss their creative vision. Both Salter and Mej a wanted to renew the show's hopeful bent, in line with the scripts that had been written. They both liked the last season, but Seasons 3 and earlier were more punchy, and they just wanted to bring back some of the warmth and brightness, Jordan recalls. So Season 5's look is someplace between Seasons 3 and 4.
Out of those initial discussions, Jordan made the filmmakers a shooting LUT that could be used during production, providing a preliminary color pass the filmmakers could see on set and in their dailies. It's helpful to have that handshake with the final colorist before shooting starts and to get the LUT set up before dailies, Jordan says. Then, when they're on set, they can make decisions knowing what their starting place will look like when we do the final color.
For his camera package, Salter worked with Panavision Chicago, selecting Panavised Arri Alexa Mini LF bodies that he paired with Panaspeed optics. With the Alexa sensor in mind, Jordan designed a show LUT that kept the look more cinematic like Season 4, with nice skin tones, and added a bit of desaturation and reduced the green skew that the Alexa is prone to, she explains. We refrained from being too heavy-handed with the LUT so there would be the latitude to do some scenes brighter and happier.
The filmmakers used the shooting LUT throughout principal photography for the season, which marked the biggest project to date in Salter's career as a director of photography. Nathan shot all 10 episodes this season, and he did such a great job, Jordan says. His work was effortless. Scene-to-scene and shot-to-shot, it was very cohesive even before I did anything.
Jordan began her initial pass on the final grade while principal photography was still ongoing, before meeting with Salter and Mej a. Then, once production had wrapped, the filmmakers came into Light Iron's Los Angeles facility to supervise the completion of the grade, collaborating remotely with Jordan, who works out of Light Iron's New York location. After Covid, this is the new normal, the colorist shares. My signal went to my monitor here in New York, and simultaneously L.A. received it and sent it to an identical monitor. So instead of being in the same room looking at the exact same screen, we were looking at identical monitors in different rooms, in different cities.
We were all on the same page early on, Jordan recalls. The final grade, she says, was more about bouncing shot-to-shot and making little changes like balancing out smoke, but we didnt do anything too aggressive. You just get more specific with the variables.
The Chi required deliverables in HDR and SDR, so Jordan mastered for both via a Dolby Vision workflow while using FilmLight's Baselight color-grading system. Especially in HDR, I made sure the highlights were always very soft so there wasnt anything super poppy, she explains. One selling point with HDR is you can see into the highlights, but that doesn't always add to the look you might end up seeing a tree in the top right corner that has nothing to do with the scene and no one was thinking about when they were shooting it. So we often smoothed the highlights to get rid of the details as a creative choice. They would be warm and blooming, but you're not distracted by whatever's outside the window.
One minor adjustment that was unique to Season 5 was that Jordan would darken the upper reaches of shots and then feather the grading downward so the change wouldn't be noticed. If there was a big, open, bright room, we started doing these grads from the top down to give the shot a cozier, more intimate feeling, she notes. This became one of our go-to tweaks, and I started to anticipate when the filmmakers would want it. It helped center your eye on the main focus of the shot so you wouldn't be distracted by anything at the top of the frame.
The subtlety of the technique is indicative of Jordan's overall approach to the series. Even though my job is to give something a look, I never want the audience to be aware that I've done something, she shares.
Looking back over Season 5's 10 episodes, Jordan is proud of the work she and her collaborators brought to the screen. It looks really nice, and having a cohesive look for 10 hours of TV is always an accomplishment, she says. There's also a level of authenticity in the show that shines lights on storylines we don't always see on mainstream TV. There are LGBT storylines and, of course, most of the cast is Black. It's an important show, and I'm happy to have my name on it and help get it out.
Most recent headlines
13/03/2025
WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...
13/03/2025
SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...
13/03/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...
13/03/2025
TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...
13/03/2025
Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions.
...
12/03/2025
O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...
12/03/2025
Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...
12/03/2025
Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...
12/03/2025
Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...
12/03/2025
More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report
NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...
12/03/2025
GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...
12/03/2025
BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....
12/03/2025
LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...
12/03/2025
CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....
12/03/2025
Nevion announces new 400G addition to its eMerge SDN media fabric offering
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
High-capacity switch enhances existi...
12/03/2025
DaVinci Resolve Studio Delivers Cinematic Sound for Adam Bol
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
Feature film relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for ...
12/03/2025
SVT Leverages Ateliere Live to Pioneer 100% Software-Defined Production at Rally...
12/03/2025
Berklee Awards Fenway Neighborhood Improvement Grant to Four Organizations A total of $17,000 will be distributed among the Boston-based nonprofits.
By
Madd...
12/03/2025
TVBEuropes Jenny Priestley sits down with new SMPTE president Richard Welsh to discuss his aims for the organisation going forward, its efforts to attract a you...
12/03/2025
The new process has significantly enhanced operational efficiencies, with automation freeing up creators to concentrate on higher value tasks
By Matthew Corrig...
12/03/2025
Jellyfish Pictures, which has offices in London and Sheffield, said it has been battling hard in the face of strong headwinds over the last 12 months
By Jenny ...
12/03/2025
Visit Booth #W2213 to Experience the Latest in AI-Driven Content Discovery and Workflow Automation
Bitcentral, a leader in media workflow solutions, is set to ...
12/03/2025
CHICAGO Jeff Lilly has been named WGN-TV director of technology effective March 17, 2025, according to Ric Harris, WGN-TV vice president and general manager....
12/03/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. A new study from LG Ad Solutions indicates that consumers want more features that would allow them to shop for products on the connected T...
12/03/2025
BOTHELL, Wash. The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the Video Services Forum (VSF) will once again present...
12/03/2025
PHILADELPHIA Comcast announced that it has upgraded Xfinity Internet speeds for more than 20 million customers for no additional cost....
12/03/2025
Create with Maxon: Cinema 4D Fundamentals Workshop - March 12-14
Brie Clayton March 11, 2025
0 Comments
Makin' Waffles with Elly Wade
During Marc...
12/03/2025
Ottawa, Canada - March 12, 2025 - Ross Video is pleased to announce the appointment of Aaron Tunnell as Business Development Director, Cloud Solutions, reinforc...
12/03/2025
12 Mar 2025
VEON to release 4Q 2024 trading update on 20 March 2025 Dubai, 12 March 2025 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital operator, today confirms ...
12/03/2025
Getting set for the Winter Olympics: Inside SVT's ongoing software-based pro...
12/03/2025
THE PLAYERS Championship 2025: AI Commentary, Shared-Reality Viewing at COSM, La...
12/03/2025
Seamless SMPTE 2110: A Discussion on Making the Move to IP Less Painful Leaders from Netflix, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, LinkedI, and Megapixel address ...
12/03/2025
Opening Doors of Perception: Meta's Ajit Ninan on Rethinking AR/MR Perceptua...
12/03/2025
With the 2025 Formula 1 season set to begin in Melbourne on March 16, Sky Sports is gearing up to deliver its most comprehensive F1 coverage yet. Following a th...
12/03/2025
Unicanal and Trece TV revolutionize Digital TV in Paraguay with Rohde & Schwarz ...
12/03/2025
Honoring Service, Celebrating Sport: Rohde & Schwarz UK Sponsors NavyFit Rugby D...
12/03/2025
New HVS-Q12 Represents a Quantum Leap in Switcher Design...
12/03/2025
Telespazio and ABS Expand Partnership to Deliver Tailored C-Band Connectivity So...
12/03/2025
ABC conducts independent audits across the TAG programs. In the March 2025 TAG s...
12/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Moonlight: ESA program to create a satellite con...
12/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
In 2025, Thales ranks among the top 0.01% of the...
12/03/2025
Consumer show back following hugely successful first series
10 March 2025 Following a hugely successful first series, The Complaints Bureau returns to RT ...
11/03/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
11/03/2025
Salsa is making a comeback, captivating new listeners with its infectious energy...
11/03/2025
For many people, music can serve as a reflection of their roots and upbringing. ...
11/03/2025
The solution delivers reliable, scalable and secure connectivity for critical pu...
11/03/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced that Weigel Broadcasting has deployed Harmonics VOS Media Software, which offers playout-to-delivery capabilities, inclu...
11/03/2025
NEW BERN, N.C. Wheatstone will introduce a Linux audio driver for its WheatNet IP audio network during the 2025 NAB Show, April 5-9, at the Las Vegas Convention...
11/03/2025
NEW YORK A new study finds that as TV viewership for women's sports surged by 131% in 2024, the programming also saw a 56% year-over-year increase in ad im...
11/03/2025
Powerful switcher for news studio
FOR-A, a cutting-edge video broadcast technology company backed by more than 50 years experience, has installed its HVS-1200 ...