The BAFTA Television Awards celebrate the very best of television that has broadcast on British screens in the last year with awards spanning 27 categories.

Held at London’s Royal Festival Hall on the evening of Sunday 12th May, this year’s awards were hosted by Graham Norton and we were thrilled to see the team behind “Room At The Top’ (Aisling Walsh, Amanda Coe, Paul Frift, Kate Triggs) win ‘Best Mini Series’.

BBC Four’s two part period adaptation of John Braine’s groundbreaking 1957 novel ‘Room at the Top’ stars Matthew McNulty (Joe Lampton), Jenna Louise Colman (Susan Brown) and Maxine Peak (Alice Aisgill) and tells the story of young man on the make in 1940’s Yorkshire.

Deluxe were delighted to have the opportunity to work on this series, having provided full picture and audio post production services for the series with a team comprising Paul Staples (Colourist) and Rob Cooper (Online Editor) along with the in-house Audio team. Harriet Dale, Head of Production at 142, supervised the project throughout the process.

Produced by Great Meadow Productions for BBC Four, ‘Room At The Top’ was first shown as 2 x 1 hour episodes on consecutive evenings late September 2012.

Following the phenomenal success of the popular crime drama that first aired in April 2011, ‘The Suspicions of Mr Whicher’ returns to ITV for a one off 90 minute special this May on ITV.

Paddy Considine reprises his role as Mr Whicher, a character based on the real life Inspector Jonathan ‘Jack’ Whicher, one of the original members of the eight strong detective branch established at Scotland Yard in Victorian times.

In a fictional tale that is rooted in the historical career of the celebrated Detective Inspector, ‘The Suspicions of Mr Whicher II – The Murder in Angel Lane’ also draws upon the medical, legal and policing practices of Victorian times.

BAFTA award nominated Olivia Colman joins the cast as Susan Spencer, who employs Mr Whicher as a ‘private inquiry agent’ to investigate the brutal murder of her 16 year old niece whilst William Beck reprises his role as Chief Inspector Dolly Williamson and Tim Pigott-Smith returns as Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Richard Mayne.
Deluxe 142 were delighted to have the opportunity to again provide picture post production services for this flagship ITV crime drama with the team comprising Jet Omoshebi (Colourist) and Adam Eddy (VFX and Online Editor). Alice Greenland, Senior Post Producer at 142, supervised the project throughout the process.
The project was shot on the Arri Alexa by Tim Palmer and the grade completed by Jet on the Nucoda Film Master. In spite of the show being a period piece it was never intended to feel faded or romantic, the grade echoes the lighting which is contemporary and stylised, using strong colours and deep contrast.
The work of FX and Online Editor Adam Eddy included the removal of a range of modern day structures, the more complex of which were tracked using Mocha and After Effects. The original main titles that he created for the first film in 2011 were adapted before being dropped into the new programme.
Adam was additionally tasked with making both actors and props alike look “more dead”. In one instance a prop positioned in a coffin had a rather plastic and shiny feel that needed correcting. Adam added texture to the face to make it look more rotten and to better complement the maggots. He was also required to correct a dead character’s heaving chest and blinking eyes and found that the Avid DS was the perfect tool to quickly draw round the affected areas, create mattes and track in the required fixes.
Produced by Hat Trick Productions for ITV, the 90-minute crime drama is written by BAFTA award winning and RTS nominated writer Neil McKay and is directed by Christopher Menaul (Prime Suspect, See No Evil: The Moors Murderer’s). Produced by Rob Bullock (Case Sensitive, Mutual Friends), Hat Trick’s Head of Drama, Mark Redhead (The Murder of Stephen Lawrence, Bloody Sunday) is the Executive Producer of the film.

David S. Goya’s ‘Da Vinci’s Demons’, is a historical fantasy set in Renaissance Florence that charts the life of the young Leonardo da Vinci, a free thinking, artistic genius who is struggling to exist in the confines of a society where both thought and religion are strictly controlled.

Tom Riley (Monroe) stars as the title character with a supporting cast that includes Laura Haddock (The Inbetweeners Movie) and Lara Pulver (True Blood).

Deluxe 142 were delighted to have the opportunity to provide picture post production services for this flagship historical fantasy drama with the team comprising Jet Omoshebi (Colourist) and Nick Timms (Online Editor and additional VFX). Alice Greenland, Senior Post Producer at 142, supervised the project throughout the process.

Shot on the ARRI Alexa , Director of Photography duties were shared by Julian Court and Fabian Webber and all material was graded on the Nucoda Film Master.

Jet spent a test day in the company of both Julian Court and Writer/Director David S. Goya reviewing the footage and experimenting with ideas until they found a language for the entire series as Jet explains:

“Although it is based around real historical characters, the show has elements of magic, fantasy, mysticism, comedy and high drama so we wanted to find a defining look and range of colours which would complement all that. The look also needed to convey the atmosphere of Renaissance Florence in spite of the fact that the series was shot in a disused car factory in Swansea!”

“We ended up with rich earth tones, deep contrast and hot warm highlights to suggest sun where necessary. Where the drama gets dark David was keen to push the boundaries and wasn’t afraid to highly stylise the look where it was appropriate. We used plug ins to add extra texture like flares and cloud textures.”

“On such a large production the ability to stay flexible is essential, many of the episodes had upwards of 200 FX shots, with everything from set extension to full CGI backgrounds so we would often change our initial grading decisions to make the best of the FX shots and on occasions I would supply the FX house with colour cubes so they could match my work. The ability to grade through mattes supplied by the FX house, combine green screen FX in the grade and quickly track and update VFX shots proved to be essential.“

‘Da Vinci’s Demons’ is the first project to be produced as part of the multi-year agreement between Starz and BBC Worldwide Productions. Written and directed by David S. Goyer who co-wrote the critically acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy (Batman), the series’ executive producers include Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter (Doctor Who, Torchwood).
‘Da Vinci’s’ Demons’ will be shown weekly in 8 hour long episodes and premieres in the UK on Fox this Friday 19th April at 10pm.

The annual BAFTA Television Craft Awards honour the behind-the-scenes professionals in TV production with this year’s awards once again held at The Brewery in London’s east end.

Hosted by the brilliant Stephen Mangan, we were thrilled to see 2 awards given to the fantastic Channel 4 drama, ‘The Fear’ with Gavin Finney receiving an award in the category of ‘Photography and Lighting: Fiction’ and Trevor Waite winning for ‘Editing: Fiction’.

‘The Fear’ is a four-part drama written by Richard Cottan (Wallander), directed by Michael Samuels (Any Human Heart) and starring Peter Mullan (Tyrannosaur) that chronicles the disintegration of a criminal mind

Deluxe were delighted to have the opportunity to work on this series, having provided full picture post production services for the series with a team comprising Jet Omoshebi (Colourist) and Simon Brook (Online Editor). Harriet Dale, Head of Production at 142, supervised the project throughout the process.

Produced by World Productions for Channel 4, The Fear was first shown as 4 x 1 hour episodes on consecutive evenings early December 2012.

Popular children’s reality television gameshow ‘Trade Your Way To The USA returns for a third series this April on CBBC.
Presented by ‘The Apprentice’ series 1 runner-up Saira Khan, the show pits fourteen teams of children against one another as they battle to win a variety of trading challenges.
From selling as many fancy-dress masks as possible at the Children’s Festival on the Southbank to trading Viking themed balloons at the Jorvik Viking Festival in York, the object of the game is to negotiate, purchase and sell at the very best margins in order to win a place in the grand final and secure the title of ‘Britain’s Best Young Traders’.
Deluxe 142 were thrilled to have the opportunity to provide picture and audio post production services for this popular CBBC series with the team comprising Trevor Brown (Colourist), Rob Cooper and Dean Harding (Online Editors) and Sue Malpass and Adam Davidson (Audio). Jon Brayford, Project Manager at 142, supervised the project throughout the process.
Produced by Leopard Films for CBBC, ‘Trade Your Way To The USA’ is on screens every weekday from Monday 15th – Friday 26th April at 5pm.

The UK’s top 20 colourists are profiled in the March issue of Televisual, with 142′s Jet Omoshebi landing the top spot for tin the Film/TV list. Colourists from a wide range of facilities are featured in the article, with the 20 colourists split into two lists – the top 10 commercials colourists and the top 10 colourists working predominantly in Film and TV.

The results are based on Televisual’s annual survey of grading artists, producers and colourist awards;

Film/TV

1. Jet Omoshebi, Deluxe 142: “Whenever I check the end credits after watching a particularly eye-catching grade, it’s invariably her name that appears.”

2. Aidan Farrell, The Farm Group: “He’s still consistently producing unique and striking grades.”

3. Adam Glasman, Company 3: “He is consistently turning out top-end, stunning feature films.”

4. Rob Pizzey, Company 3: “A great talent, who constantly delivers top quality work.”

5. Thomas Urbye, The Look: “His grading accentuated the shows with some well-considered creative looks that were faithful to the concept and photography.”

6=. Gareth Spensley, Molinare: “Gareth is a versatile colourist with an abundance of flair.”

6=. Asa Shoul, Molinare: “Asa has a passion for film that informs all his visual work, and is always exploring new ways of presenting photography.”

8=. Adam Inglis, Freelancer: “Adam’s style always jumps off the screen and his understanding of his clients runs deep.”

8=. Kevin Horsewood, Prime Focus: “He always produces perfect results with seemingly zero effort.”

10=. Lee Clapison, Lipsync: “A superb up-and-coming talent.”
10=. Paul Staples, Deluxe 142: “Gritty urban grading.”
10=. Vince Narduzzo, Narduzzo Too: “He’s always sympathetic to the genre and narrative of each show he works on.”
10=. Ross Baker, Halo Post: “He consistently hits the mark across a variety of genres.”

read the full article here

“Behind every prisoner, there’s a wife, girlfriend, mother or daughter doing time on the outside. For some it’s a nightmare, for others a liberation.”
The phenomenally popular BBC One drama ‘Prisoners’ Wives’, which tells the story of a group of women whose loved ones are in prison, returns to screens for the much anticipated second series this Spring.
The roles of glamorous gangster’s wife Francesca and long suffering prisoners mum Harriet, are reprised by Polly Walker and Pippa Haywood. They are joined by two new characters – Kim (Sally Carman), a mother of three whose life is turned upside down when her perfect husband is seemingly wrongly accused of the most terrible of crimes and Aisling (Karla Crome), the teenage daughter of repeat offender Brendan, whose only wish is that her dad is freed in time to walk her down the aisle at her impending wedding.
Deluxe 142 were delighted to have the opportunity to provide picture and audio post production services for this flagship BBC drama series with the team comprising Paul Staples (Colourist) Simon Brook (VFX and Online Editor), David Old (Sound Mixer), Jussi Honka (Dialogue Editor) and Louise Sinclair (Sound Effects Editor). Max Caswell, Senior Post Producer at 142, supervised the project throughout the process.
‘Prisoners’ Wives’ was shot on the Arri Alexa camera, which coped magnificently with the various light situations ranging from controlled lighting conditions to end of day available light.
RTS craft and design award-winning colourist Paul Staples completed the grade and elaborates on the tone his work set for this series:
“The grade continues to cement themes from the last series which were established after meetings with writer Julie Gearey. She expressed a desire to avoid gritty clichés, instead preferring to show a warm tone in the family room, a place of happiness and contentment, no matter how fleeting those emotions might be. During the course of the grade we isolated various details and plot points to aid the narrative.”
The second series of Prisoners Wives hits the ground running with a very fast paced opening episode that is centered around a sinister and murderous arson attack involving a pump-up spray device that is used to squirt petrol through the letterbox of the victim’s house.

David Old, Sound Mixer, spent much time experimenting with different sounds that best represented the jet of petrol landing on the various surfaces that were tracked by the camera as it follows the path of the spray, these included different sized pictures, carpet and tin boxes. All the sound needed to be heightened so as to reflect the fact that the attack was taking place at the dead of night when the occupants of the house were sleeping.

Simon Brook, Online and VFX Editor, was charged with enhancing the flame and smoke elements within that same episode and elsewhere a grizzly shooting was composited to add more prosthetic blood and enhance the gore.

Series 2 of ‘Prisoners’ Wives’ premieres on BBC One at 9pm on Thursday 14th March and will be shown as 4 weekly episodes.

ITV’s new eight part ensemble crime drama series ‘Broadchurch’ charts the change within a small community in Dorset that suddenly finds itself in the media spotlight following the mysterious death of a young boy.

With the death unsolved, the residents of picturesque costal town Broadchurch find themselves at the very heart of a major police investigation and under constant scrutiny and suspicion.

David Tennant stars as DI Alec Hardy, a newly promoted police detective brought in to the community to investigate the boy’s tragic death, assuming the role that local girl DS Ellie Miller (Olivia Coleman), a family friend of the victim, believed belonged to her. The star-studded cast also includes performances from Andrew Buchan, Jodie Whittaker, Vicky McClure, Pauline Quirke, Will Mellor and Arthur Darvill.

Deluxe 142 were delighted to have the opportunity to provide picture post production services for this flagship ITV drama series with the team comprising Paul Staples (Colourist) and Adam Eddy (VFX and Online Editor). Max Caswell, Senior Post Producer at 142, supervised the project throughout the process.
The project was shot on the Arri Alexa and the grade completed by Paul on the Nucoda FilmMaster. The project is very cinematic in style and the series is set over a period of months spanning several seasons, points that were subtlety yet effectively reflected in the mood and tone of the grade.

With the grade and online happening simultaneously on this production there were numerous tweaks and changes that were needed during post. This was made possible by utilizing the high-speed data network at 142 that allows the seamless transfer of material to and from grade and online as required.
In addition to establishing day for night shots which are typical in TV drama work, VFX and Online Editor Adam Eddy was also tasked with keeping continuity from scene to scene, with frequently changeable and often bad weather for the duration of the shoot, many of the skies had to be replaced with blue and fluffy clouds which he did using a combination of Mocha to aid tricky tracking and Avid DS and After Effects to bed in the images. There were also last minute changes within the story that necessitated replacing some of the writing featured on the crime scene whiteboard.
Produced by Kudos Film and Television for ITV 1, the eight part series is written and created by Chris Chibnall (United, Law and Order: UK). Directing duties were shared between James Strong (United, Downton Abbey, Silent Witness) and Euros Lyn (Black Mirror, Doctor Who, Torchwood). The series was produced by Richard Stokes (Silk, Law & Order: UK, Torchwood) with Jane Featherstone (The Hour, Life on Mars, Law & Order: UK) and Chris Chibnall sharing exec producer credits.
Broadchurch will be shown on ITV1 in 8 weekly episodes starting Monday March 4th at 9pm.

BBC One’s gripping new five part thriller ‘Mayday’ follows the story of a missing teenager and the search for her abductor as seen through the eyes of a small and traditional community in rural England.
16 year-old May Queen, Hattie Sutton, goes missing on her way to the annual Mayday parade. With the young girl feared dead, the viewer is drawn into a tale that chronicles the devastating impact serious crime has on a close-knit community who are faced with the reality that Hattie’s killer still lives amongst them. As the tale unfolds and suspicions amongst the residents intensify it becomes clear that things are not as they seem.
Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) stars as Fiona Hill, a young mother determined to protect her own family with Spooks star Peter Firth playing Malcolm Spicer, a man whose own wife considers him capable of the killing. The star-studded cast also includes Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones) and Lesley Manville (Cranford).
Deluxe 142 were delighted to have the opportunity to provide picture and audio post production services for this flagship BBC drama series with the team comprising Paul Staples (Colourist) Adam Eddy (VFX and Online Editor), Alan Sallabank (Sound Mixer), Jussi Honka (Dialogue Editor), Rod Berling (Sound Effects Editor) and Adam Davidson (ADR Recordist). Max Caswell, Senior Post Producer at 142, supervised the project throughout the process.
The project was shot on the Arri Alexa the grade, which was completed by Paul on the Nucoda FilmMaster, was carefully constructed to compliment what had been captured in camera and meet the brief of creating a very unique style and look that retained all of the natural and lush tones that would be typical of an English Mayday.

VFX and Online Editor Adam Eddy was tasked with making some of the town scenes look more rural which meant the removal of some buildings in their entirety as well as adding windows and carefully adjusting some corporate branding that was considered too prominent and intrusive. This correctional work was undertaken using a combination of Mocha to aid tricky tracking and Avid DS and After Effects to bed in the images.
On the audio side of things shooting the ADR for Mayday was a relatively smooth process given the good work of the on-set sound recordist and the professionalism of the actors involved with the project.
In terms of Sound Design, Director Brian Welsh wanted to create a sense of seclusion and isolation from the outside world. Rod Birling, Sound Effects Editor elaborates on his work for this series:
“In order to achieve the ambience that was required by the Director I worked to create a very quiet and sparse atmosphere. As the forest was itself to form a character of its own, a sense of life and mystery was created for shots and scenes that took place within this landscape. Using the organic feel from the forest as our base helped shape the tone of the sound design throughout.”
Produced by Kudos Film and Television for BBC One, ‘Mayday’ is directed by Brian Welsh (Black Mirror, In Our Name) and produced by Chris Fry (Spooks). Jane Featherstone for Kudos and Polly Hill for the BBC share exec producer credits.
‘Mayday’ premieres on BBC One at 9pm from Sunday 3rd of March and will be shown on 5 consecutive nights in the same timeslot.

The 2013 BVE show takes place at London’s Excel Centre this week.

The seminars strand of the show provides a unique opportunity for professionals from all sides of the content creation, management and delivery chain to learn and network with senior peers and on the afternoon of Tuesday 26th February our very own Jet Omoshebi will be participating in the seminar: ‘ARRI Alexa – The Truly Cinematic Experience’ which comprises a series of discussions with leading cinematographers about their experience of shooting on the Alexa camera.

Jet has been invited by Milan Krsljanin of ARRI to join Cinematographer Balazs Bolygo in conversation about their work on ‘Hunted’, an original eight part suspense thriller set in the world of international espionage.

Produced by Kudos Film and Television in association with Big Light Productions for BBC One and HBO’s Cinemax channel, Deluxe 142 are delighted to have provided picture post production services for the series with the grade undertaken by Jet.

Balazs Bolygo recently won at the 27th Annual American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Awards in the category of ‘One Hour Television Episodic Series’ for his outstanding work on the ‘Mort’ episode of the series.

This will be the second concurrent show that Jet has been invited to join ARRI as a guest speaker; in 2012 she talked with Florian Hoffmeister about their collaboration on ‘Great Expectations’ for which Florian won awards at the Emmy, BAFTA and ASC awards ceremonies.

‘ARRI Alexa – The Truly Cinematic Experience’ will take place at the BVE Show in London’s Excel centre on Tuesday 26th February in the Cinematography and Live Production Theatre from 14:00 to 15:00hrs.

BVE showcases a comprehensive selection of products, services and technologies for taking content from conception to consumption. With over 300 exhibitors, including major manufacturers, distributors and resellers of professional production and broadcast equipment and systems, BVE is the essential broadcast and production technology event.