Thanks to a high-speed cloud network that allows colorists to work in a collaborative environment with grading tasks distributed in a unique manner. “I equate our workflow to a restaurant ” says Encore’s senior colorist Pankaj Bajpai. “I’m like the head chef. I design recipes to satisfy the tastes of our customers. But we also have sous chefs dessert chefs and line cooks. We’ve worked it out so that everyone is aware of what’s needed and at the end it all returns to me. I finish every shot. This workflow allows me to do a lot of finessing as opposed to spending time on routine tasks.” The cloud network enables Bajpai to perform final grading for seven television series that are in production concurrently—Last Resort Nashville The Newsroom 90210 Mob Doctor Revenge and Justified. He manages what would otherwise be an impossible workload by concentrating his efforts on setting looks and performing other key aesthetic tasks. Recently Encore enhanced its color grading resources through the addition of four FilmLight Baselight grading systems. Baipai says that with Baselight he can work with different types of media in a single timeline. Given the variety of camera systems and media formats used in television production today that he says is essential. It’s also important to have a grading system that can process a high volume of data without slowing down. “You’ve got to work in real-time at all times ” he says. “No matter how complicated the processing no matter how complicated the grade you cannot afford not to. With theatrical work you may be able to work with proxies but not in television. It’s original media all the time and with Baselight that’s not a problem.” One of Bajpai’s latest projects is The Newsroom HBO’s drama that takes viewers behind-the-scenes of a network television news channel. The show is notable for its sparkling dialogue and brilliant acting as well as its distinctive visual style. The camerawork mimics the restless energy of the newsroom environment with constant movement and unusual angles. The imagery has a gritty texture with subtly visible grain that calls to mind news footage. The show’s look originated with its pilot which was shot on Super 16mm film by cinematographer Barry Ackroyd BSC. When the show moved into regular production cinematographer Todd McMullen stepped behind the lens and the show switched to digital capture via Arri Alexa. Working closely with McMullen and with technical support provided by FilmLight U.S. product manager Peter Postma Bajpai developed a novel approach that allowed him to apply a look to the digitally-captured media that replicates the filmic look of the pilot. Bajpai notes that Postma assisted in designing an ACES workflow for that show that provides added flexibility in handling Alexa camera media. “Peter took the chip response of the Alexa and using his color science background and the toolset in Baselight mapped it to a generic film response ” Bajpai recalls. “That combined with the ACES workflow allows me to work with the Alexa media as if it were film.” Using Baselight’s powerful toolset Bajpai applies several layers of looks to the camera media simultaneously. “We use actual film grain as well as a ‘cocktail’ of other processing to achieve the desired look. In this way we were able to eliminate the soft focus and other problems of 16mm while creating the aesthetic the show wants ” he says. “The math ” says Bajpai “is very complicated but the power of this system allows me to work in real-time. I am running multiple rows of media and blending them in a very sophisticated way. When you look at the show you don’t really see all the dancing film grain but it lends a wonderful organic-ness that viewers feel.” Baselight is not only enhancing productivity and providing new creative options in post-production it’s also facilitating new ways for managing color on the set. Bajpai notes that he often works with his cinematographer clients in pre-production helping them establish the look for their shows. Using Baselight he creates LUTs tailored to specific camera systems and post-production workflows. Cinematographers use these LUTs during production for reference and they are also applied to show dailies. This resolves the loss of control over the look of their imagery as it moves downstream which has been a persistent issue for cinematographers making the shift to digital acquisition. “When cinematographers were shooting on film the negative was processed in a lab and they had a degree of certainty about the look ” Bajpai explains. “In the lab the process was fixed. Chemicals were defined timing and temperature were regulated. In the digital world that has disappeared.” The LUTs that Bajpai creates in Baselight provide cinematographers with a means for communicating their creative intent through the various stages of post-production. “It gives them the peace of mind ” he says. “It ensures that the imagery they shoot is going to be processed with the same degree of precision and care that they formerly received when they sent negative to a lab.” The LUTs Bajpai creates in Baselight produce identical results no matter how or through what system they are later applied. “You can load them into an ARRI camera into an on-set box or into most other grading systems and the results will be the same ” he says. “It creates a very predictable path that does not depend on a dailies colorist applying what he thinks is the right Log C to Rec 709 conversion. It is fool-proof.” Smart color management is more important than ever both on the set and in the grading suite says Bajpai and Baselight provides the tools necessary to work with color in the most creative and efficient way possible. “It’s important that people understand how far we can push it ” he concludes. “It’s truly incredible.”
