Blackmagic Design (https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/) recently announced that Season 2 of the HBO Original series 30 Coins was finished with DaVinci Resolve Studio, including the grade and online edit.
Directed by Álex de la Iglesia and lensed by cinematographer Pablo Rosso, 30 Coins is known for its intricate storyline full of diabolical possessions, mythological creatures from hell, terrifying landscapes, ancestral cults and many other horrors that cause disquiet and surprise amongst even the most seasoned of viewers in this horror genre.
Spain took center stage in hosting the majority of the action during the second season, while Rome, the Vatican, London, Paris, and New York enriched the diverse backdrop as additional filming locations.
“We drew inspiration from historical references that were consistent with ancient engravings, focusing on the red, orange and yellow colors associated with hell,” says Jorge Molina Cuquerella, colorist at Spanish post house La Bestia Produce.
He adds, “Our work in the grade aimed to amplify the demonic atmosphere, focusing on faded and desaturated tones. We used DaVinci Resolve’s midtone details tool to define those details with precision, while the Open FX texture pop plugin allowed us to enhance skin textures, wounds and the appearance of fantastical creatures.”
Cuquerella also alludes to the red sand sequences shot in the Canary Islands, designed to resemble Mars and featuring a giant UFO, which presented challenges in matching shots and balancing light.
“We faced considerable challenges, especially with scenes where there was multiple cameras and sand blown up by fans or helicopters,” he reveals. “The complexity arose when one camera angle would capture the sand, presenting a stark contrast, while another angle, devoid of sand, would lack this contrast, giving the appearance it was shot at a different time of day.”
“Achieving a balanced level of contrast across successive shots, especially with the protagonist’s makeup resembling the living dead, was challenging and took weeks of effort,” says Cuquerella, with the DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel control surface helping to expedite and streamline the process.
La Bestia Produce relied upon an ACES color managed pipeline which provided a fresh look and eliminated the need for LUTs, facilitating more creative freedom.
“One of the main benefits of the transition to an ACES colorspace was that the colorists were able to work in the same colorspace as the VFX compositors, with no difference between camera rough cuts and post production shots. This workflow was particularly beneficial on a series that contains more than 300 VFX shots per episode,” Cuquerella explains.
“Utilizing EXRs, we could get a RAW image to our compositors, and have the result of their work sent back to us with the VFX incorporated using the color parameters we’d defined. This was particularly vital for a series like ours, where new effects were introduced that hadn’t been planned initially, without requiring that shots be reapproved,” adds Cuquerella.
Each chapter underwent multiple rounds of revisions during the online process, according to Cuquerella. “Through the implementation of ACES in Resolve, we were able to ensure all departments always spoke a unified language, streamlining the finishing,” he concludes.