Creative Review: Cave dwellers and crash survivors

The picture post on series two of Disney+ comedy Extraordinary was handled by Company 3, London, led by senior colourist Chris Rodgers working in Resolve. It was a 4K HDR deliverable, with Rodgers working closely with DoP Álvaro Gutiérrez on pre-production to establish and implement an HDR image workflow.

Rodgers explains: “By the time we were involved in series one, they had already started shooting, so we didn’t have much time to prepare. This time around, we were involved from the get-go. Álvaro came to us with camera tests using an LUT that reflected the series one grade, and we built on that.

“It was supposed to look like a seamless transition into series two. We were sometimes bolder with the HDR, embracing the creative possibilities, and that allowed us to push the visuals further. I wanted it to have texture and to feel filmic, but didn’t want it to be too bright and overcooked. I took the approach of grading it as I would a drama.”

One of the significant challenges was the inconsistent weather when shooting exterior scenes. This necessitated several sky replacements. “It’s an interesting challenge,” says Rodgers. “Sometimes, I’d work on a whole scene, track in the skies and match the focus pulls that happened in the camera. Being able to do that all in Resolve was useful.”

The sign-off process involved initial viewing sessions with the DPs and directors, with the aim of completing two passes for each episode before presenting it to Disney and Sid Gentle Films. “I’d make any changes at the end with everyone still in the room,” says Rodgers.

This documentary tells the true story of four children who survive a plane crash in the Colombian Amazon and are lost for 40 days. The film shows how the rescue developed, with the first-ever joint operation between the army and indigenous rescuers. It includes testimony from the people who carried out the search, and the children themselves.

The film uses a combination of interviews, dramatic reconstruction, graphics and usergenerated- content. RunVT head of audio Thaddaios Yianni says: “The main challenge was weaving all the different elements together to create a believable narrative that transports the listener between the different worlds.”

RunVT head of picture Sam Mangan delivered an immersive HDR grade using Resolve. At the request of the production, RunVT assigned a dedicated native Spanish-speaking edit assistant, Carlos Molina. “We had a responsibility to do everything we could to bring this amazing story to life”, explains RunVT head of post Paul Wilkes.

Halo provided full post-production on this feature doc, which delves into the mysteries of the Neanderthals and explores what their fossil records tell us about their lives and extinction.

Halo senior sound editor Tom Foster’s objective was to create a realistic soundscape. He explains: “One challenge was to bring to life our ancient ancestors’ world during the drama reconstruction scenes. This involved carefully collating together foley recordings and sound effects with many human-like sounds and vocalisations I recorded of myself – from breaths and sniffs to shouts and cries.

“Background elements were layered behind each scene to build specific atmospheres, and subtle sound design was used to convey a sense of mystery when we are taken inside the Shanidar Cave by the VFX shots.”

For the picture post-production, senior colourist Katherine Jamieson says: “We pushed the reds in the grade but made sure they matched when we cut back to the modern-day interview in the same location, to tie it to one another.”

In the second series of this BBC comedy, Jonathan (Romesh Ranganathan) is determined to win back his ex-partner Claire, rebuild his family and make his son, Spencer, happy.

Envy senior colourist Sonny Sheridan says: “The first series had a muted colour palette with more pastel tones and slight desaturation, which gave the impression of a film print look from the 1970s. We wanted to continue this appearance in series two but make it warmer.

“I built a custom LUT that DoP Matthew Wicks and the team on location could use as a guide to the look while filming on the Sony Venice. This LUT replicated the warm feel from series one but was modified to create some separation from the cooler colours.”

During the grade in Baselight, Sheridan says he “played into the autumnal colours from the shoot. We wanted to make it light and uplifting so the audience could relate to the characters.”

Senior dubbing mixer Ben Ormerod says of the audio: “Avoidance is a very dialogue-heavy show, so my focus centred on polishing up the audio and making it shine.”