Vigil Series Two Relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for Picture Finishing

Fremont, CA, USA – Monday, February 19, 2024 – Blackmagic Design today announced that the second series of BBC crime drama “Vigil” was graded, conformed and finished by Blazing Griffin Post using DaVinci Resolve Studio.

Produced by World Productions (“Line of Duty,” “Bodyguard”) for the BBC, “Vigil” made its return following a highly successful first series. The acclaimed series goes airborne in series two when a weapons test turns deadly, and all eyes are on DCI Amy Silva (Suranne Jones).

Blazing Griffin Post’s team continued its association with the drama series, providing all aspects of picture finishing in 4K using ACES, with both SDR and HDR deliverables.

Senior Colorist Colin Brown, who led the DI grade on series one, collaborated with series two Director Andy De Emonny and Cinematographer Matt Wicks. “The second series is a departure from the first, and we had to capture that in the look,” begins Brown. “The story is set between Glasgow and the fictional country of Wudyan in the Middle East. With two drastically different locations, we had to decide how to navigate that visually.”

“We experimented with different color palettes for the primary locations,” he explains. “The Glasgow scenes feature a cooler palette, occasionally leaning towards green. In contrast, we used warmer hues to convey the Middle East’s heat and intensity. Given that many of the latter scenes were shot in Scotland, it was crucial that we convincingly depicted the Middle East.”

While the series is a work of fiction, Brown worked to balance the idea of realism with dramatic effect. “In the opening drone scene, we wanted the RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) to appear more sinister,” he explains. “To achieve that, I isolated the drones and added more contrast to the metallic elements of the body, which helped them stand out. Resolve’s tracking feature was beneficial in achieving this complex task as the drones were fast moving.”

Online Editor Lewis Carmichael worked closely with Blazing Griffin Post’s VFX artist Sam Goodwin to deliver picture enhancement and digital fixes using Fusion Studio, which was linked to the DaVinci Resolve project timeline via VFX Connect.

“There were lots of screen replacements as well as complex paint outs and wire removal,” notes Carmichael. “This way, we could combine Resolve’s edit and color features and enjoy the extended features of Fusion standalone. Whether it was rendering down shots, compound clips or Fusion clips, VFX Connect saved us a huge amount of time, especially when it came to client playback, as some shots featured multiple layers of graphics, all at 4K resolution.”

Blazing Griffin Post developed a new workflow for series two, allowing for a single HDR10 project timeline. “It dramatically sped up our approach from series one, creating a more efficient finishing workflow,” Carmichael concludes. “Whether it’s late stage editing, visual effects updates, quality control (QC) fixes, or any other changes, we only need to apply changes once to a single timeline.”

Press Photography

Product photos of DaVinci Resolve Studio, Fusion Studio and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com.