Sky Original Comedy Brassic Returns to Screens with the help of DaVinci Resolve

Sky Original Comedy Brassic Returns to Screens with the help of DaVinci Resolve

Blackmagic Design recently announced that Sky Original, Brassic Series 3, was graded in DaVinci Resolve Studio while VFX compositing was completed using DaVinci Resolve’s Fusion.

Going into the third season, consistency in the grade was vital, according to Core Post’s Matt Brown. “I’d taken stills from every scene in the previous series and archived them for referencing,” he begins. “And while the look has evolved, these gave me a good starting point.”

In developing the look, Core Post had to find a balance that worked well for the series, with warmth added to safe, home settings, and blues added to the cold and hostile environments.

Straw filters were introduced in series three, to keep the warmth in skin when blues were added in the grade, a scenario previously overcome in post. “The filters worked out well, producing realistic color in the skin tone but not too detrimental at the top end,” explains Brown. “The tones were also protected when it came to adjusting colors in the grade.”

Produced by Calamity Films, Brassic Series 3 is the boldest series yet and features more than 400 visual effects across eight episodes. With both the grade and VFX being handled in DaVinci Resolve, it created opportunities for collaboration and efficiency.

Core Post took a first pass of the 4K HDR grade alongside Digital Imaging FX, who handled the visual effects. Working together on a first pass, Brown and VFX supervisor Tanvir Hanif decided which discipline was best placed to handle any fixes and then discussed the implementation of grade and VFX.

“We didn’t work in isolation; there was crossover between grade and VFX throughout,” explains Brown. “Once the initial pass was complete, there was a lot of back and forth. A change to a composite might need to be regraded, or a change in the grade may affect the speculars, requiring a VFX fix.

“For example, I used a power window to grade a sky which blew out the moon in the HDR grade, but VFX easily keyed in a fix.”

With both Core Post and Digital Imaging FX being based in Salford’s Media City, there was the opportunity to collaborate virtually through DaVinci Resolve timelines and physically to get Brassic to the point of completion.

“At points in the process, you’d find me looking over shoulders at the HDR grading monitors,” says Hanif. “There’s nothing like looking at the same screen before heading back downstairs to implement changes on the same project timeline.”

“We’re now heading into work on the fourth season of Brassic, and the workflow has gone from strength to strength,” he concludes. “A lot of that success can be attributed to DaVinci Resolve and our ability to work together in one solution.”

The third series was shot in 4K anamorphic for 2.35.1 delivery while 16:9 versions were created with masks for Sky in UHD HDR and a full frame SDR 16:9 version for worldwide delivery through ITV International.

Source: Brie Clayton/Creative Cow