The End of the F***ing World Season Two Graded in DaVinci Resolve
Fremont, CA - November 5, 2019 - Blackmagic Design today announced that CHEAT has continued its expansion with DaVinci Resolve Studio, adding a new HDR ready grading suite as well as a research and development lab.
This adds to CHEAT’s three preexisting grading suites, which include Linux machines with dual Intel Xeon E5-2600 v4 processors supported by four Nvidia GTX 1080Ti GPUs and the DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel.
The first project to be realized through the new workflow is The End of the F***ing World season 2. Returning following the critically acclaimed first season, which has been nominated for BAFTA and Primetime Emmy Awards, the grade on series two was led by CHEAT’s owner and colorist Toby Tomkins.
“Season two was a challenge because it introduced a new director, new DPs and a new production designer. It was also our first Dolby Vision grade as a facility,” says Toby. “There was a lot of pressure to ensure we delivered to the same high standards expected of us from our work on season one.”
While still in preproduction, CHEAT began by setting up an R&D lab to help adapt all of its proprietary film emulation look up tables, originally used in series one, for the HDR delivery on the latest season. The result was a core node tree made up of 18 components, designed to provide a cinematic base look for every shot. Grading with 4.5K rushes Toby then refined the base look to create a neutral palette and analog film aesthetic that stayed true to the first series.
“The software CMU in DaVinci Resolve was a lifesaver, as it meant I could simultaneously monitor dual output to see the HDR on one screen and the SDR on another, at no additional cost,” Toby explains. “If something didn't look right, I could quickly adjust Resolve’s trim controls to ensure the SDR grade wasn't compromised. We would have previously had to use a hardware CMU, which would have been a lot more expensive and harder to use.”
Toby also manually created his own render transform from the project camera source to CHEAT’s scene referred space using DaVinci Resolve, allowing the team even greater control over the final look. “The transform was flexible enough for all the lighting situations we had, and ensured there was more latitude in the HDR range if we needed to use it, while maintaining the same amount of shape in the SDR range,” he concludes.
“From now on, any client that wants a filmic print look, but with the flexibility and extended opportunities of HDR, can come to us for a distinctive aesthetic catered to their needs. That’s crucial with our ever increasing client demand to deliver in Dolby Vision.”
Press Photography
Product photos of DaVinci Resolve Studio, as well as all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/au/media/images. Story photos can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ewape7fy8osxv9z/AABLbKsxm0vea6kdrVe72Msda?dl=0
About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com/au/.
About New Magic Australia Pty Ltd (Australian and New Zealand Blackmagic Design master distributor)
New Magic Australia Pty Ltd is a recognised leader in the distribution and marketing of multimedia hardware and software, representing a carefully selected range of innovative, leading manufacturers and catering for both the professional and consumer markets. New Magic Australia established in 1993 is the Australian distributor of Blackmagic Design, Convergent Design, Hauppauge Computer Works Inc, Cubix and Matrox Video products. www.newmagic.com.au.
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