November 12, 2012

Post Production for DCI Banks

Technicolor London experts grade and edit gritty police drama series

Technicolor is proud to announce its involvement in season two of Left Bank Pictures’ police drama DCI Banks, which premiered on ITV in October.

Starring Stephen Tompkinson (Wild at Heart, Ballykissangel and Drop the Dead Donkey) as the title role, the first episode of the new series is the opening of a two part story in which DCI Banks investigates the circumstances around the disappearance of his estranged brother Roy.

DCI Banks was graded by Technicolor’s senior colourist Dan Coles using Autodesk’s Lustre. Coles worked alongside DOP Kieran McGuigan and series directors Tim Fywell, Jim Loach and Mat King, to create a bold and consistent look to the series.

“Lots of contrast combined with vignettes gave real shape and depth to the beautiful Alexa originated images,” says Coles. “We used grads to enhance skies and get the best out of the exteriors. Cool blue tones in the police station and incident rooms were given more impact by allowing a rich warmth in some of the more intimate moments. We used greener tones in the interview room giving a lot of variety to the overall mood of the series.”

The series was shot in Log-C ProRes 4:4:4 format on an Arri Alexa camera. Technicolor editor Siôn Penny completed the conform – using the Avid Media Composer and Avid DS – as well as the onlines and international versioning. Penny also worked alongside Technicolor VFX artist Dolores McGinley to create a range of effects, which included stopping the murder victims breathing and blinking and digitally adding new panels to a car on fire to make it look less burnt out.

Technicolor Credits

Editor: Sion Penny
Colourist: Dan Coles
VFX: Dolores McGinley