Technicolor continues involvement in ITV's Midsomer Murders

Technicolor provides front end, full picture, visual effects and mastering for ITV drama series – Midsomer Murders.

Technicolor is proud to announce its continued involvement in ITV drama series Midsomer Murders. Filming for Midsomer Murders series 15 concluded in August 2012 and Technicolor supplied the full picture post production, mastering and tape deliverable services. Technicolor began providing these services for Midsomer Murders on the last two episodes of series 14.

The show, which debuted in 1997, is based on the books by Caroline Graham and stars Neil Dudgeon, as DCI John Barnaby, and Jason Hughes, as DS Ben Jones. The show is produced by Jo Wright and the head of production is Ian Strachan.

Technicolor colourist Dan Coles said: “As self-contained feature length dramas “Midsomer Murders” have many different grading requirements. As a general rule we are trying to create a continuity of warmth and contrast - rich in colour and vibrancy. Darker scenes in terms of narrative will often be treated with a slightly moodier and cooler grade. We employ different and more experimental grading techniques in moments of flashback. I recently completed an episode called “Death and the Divas” in which we tried to re-create the look and feel of early colour Hammer Horror movies in some specially shot scenes for the episode.”
Technicolor has provided ADR, sound post production services, Foley recording, mixing and mastering for all but one of the 15 series.

Editor Simon Giblin commented on some of the work carried out to date: “Each episode has different and varied visual effect requirements. For series 15 episode 1 ‘The Dark Rider’ these included one actor playing twins and also a headless horseman; all of the visual effects were created in the Avid DS“. He added: “The episode ‘Night of the Stag’ required us to add blossom to an orchard of apple trees for continuity purposes as the blossom had blown down between shoot days. We composited blossom from plates shot by production onto the bare trees for the duration of the two minute scene. As another example, the episode ‘Written in the Stars’ which Technicolor are posting this month, has a requirement for a total solar eclipse, which again we are generating completely within the Avid DS using a combination of plug-ins and production-sourced material.
Head of Production Ian Strachan commented: “Bentley Productions and “Midsomer Murders” have always prided themselves on the highest possible standards, all the way from script to delivery. We are happy to be able to work alongside Technicolor to ensure that our work continues to have the high end finish that ITV and our international buyers expect from us.”
Episodes one and two of series 15 were broadcast in early 2012 and watched by an average of 6.46 million viewers. The Midsomer Murders series 15 directors are Alex Pillai, Renny Rye, Nick Laughland and Andy Hay, and the two directors of photography are Colin Munn and, more recently, James Moss. The two series editors are Derek Bain and John Blackwell. Midsomer Murders is currently being shown in over 230 territories throughout the world and continues to be one of the UK’s leading drama exports.

Technicolor Credits

Producer: Louise Stevenson
Editor: Simon Giblin
Graphics: Simon Giblin (Titles cards)
Colourist: Dan Coles
Re-recording Mixer: Gareth Bull