Dance 100

My work on Dance 100 began very early on in the process. I visited the set during the production phase which gave me a great idea of how the Lighting Director wanted the grade to look. The lighting plays a huge part in the show and having the opportunity to discuss with the Production team on location what details they wanted bringing out and what could be crushed was a huge benefit.

The colour pipeline on set matched what I would see in the grading suite. The crew on set used an HDR monitor to be able to make lighting and camera decisions, knowing it would be a perfect match in the grade and that any issues that usually just arise in the grade could be resolved on set.

The grade was driven largely by the decisions on set, the use of lighting and the LED screens determined the colour palette of each performance, and they complimented each other really well. I really wanted to make the colours pop and shine and really take advantage of the colour gamma we got with PQP3D65 and with this, we created 3 different looks.

The first look was the paired back look of the rehearsals and scenes shot away from the stage such as the choreographers VT’s, the Music Box, etc. These looked quite natural compared to the other two looks we had for the moments on the stage. The second look was the vibrant rehearsal shots which uses the stage lighting and colour to establish the setting and the situation along with more handheld, ‘BTS’ style shots and then the third and final look was for the main performances. A similar style to the rehearsal look, but I really pushed the colour gamma and vibrancy as much as possible to create the biggest impact on the audience. It was a joy getting to grade such dynamic and exciting routines with stunning visuals.

I had a lot of fun working with the Studio Lambert team on Dance 100. The workflow was incredibly smooth and working together from a very early stage in the production process meant we were all on the same page about how we wanted the show to look and feel, and that gave us an even better end result which we are all incredibly proud of.

I came into the Online with a strong brief from the Studio Lambert team, to make Dance 100 as dynamic and punchy as possible.

Due to the requirements of the backend deliverables for Netflix, the Online for Dance 100 was completed in Flame Autodesk. I rebuilt elements and overlays from scratch in Flame as not all the elements migrated across from Avid in the auto conform. The opening to the first episode was an incredibly effect-heavy sequence which started the show with a bang! It required lots of rebuilding and layering, however, I used the reference from the Offline edit to recreate the effects exactly how the Offline team had built them originally.

I built a catalogue of text transitions for various layouts such as song titles, performers, locations – each had their own unique style and appearance, with the text being supplied by an animation company. In the first episode, each choreographer has their own unique, stylised VT to introduce them to the audience, showcasing their story and their background in dance. I took the opportunity to make the flashback VT’s look as dynamic as possible. To create these backstories, there were some archive photos and videos which were portrayed in an analogue codec which created an older style with grain. I also completed some green screen comping onto phones and archive photos onto photo frames to form part of the backstories. I also rebuilt the split screen comps in these sections, which were created roughly in Avid but once I received Andrew’s graded shots, I rebuilt the split screens as they were in the Offline, finessing the movement when they animate around the screen and making sure the grade carries across too.

Each transition was made up of various combinations which, when used in tandem and in a particular order, creates a very eye-catching result. For example, if the show introduces a new location, I used a stutter roll effect and that is universal across the series. I built up a roster of various transitions and each of these unique effects contained a mixture of chroma, pulsing, rolls and glow pulls. The transitions could be used throughout the series with some minor tweaks and upgrades; they were some of the best transitions I’ve ever worked on.

In the performances, I painted out crew members and auto cues from the locked off static shots, checking for dead pixels, stabilizing handheld shots and performing a general clean up.

The exec review was very enjoyable with the Studio Lambert team. They were very happy after the first review, and we were able to address any cosmetic and timing discrepancies which may have been missed in the Offline. The team were incredibly organised and gave us time to get the show looking fantastic prior to the review sessions together, and as a result, we’ve ended with an incredibly polished show.

The Studio Lambert team wanted the soundscape of Dance 100 to reflect a celebration of dance. Achieving the perfect acoustic of the warehouse space was crucial. By mixing for Dolby Atmos, we were able to create a party-like environment, giving the viewer a front row seat to the sensational routines. The dialogue was placed in the centre, while the crowd reactions and cheering were added from the sides and behind.

During the offline assembly, the guide mixes were used. To build up the soundscape, I returned to the multitrack and isolated the best tracks from the variety of personal and crowd microphones. It was important to find the right sound to match the feel of each moment. For instance, explosive moments were made more explosive whilst the delicate moments remained delicate. We made sure not to add extra sound to take away from the personal moments. On the other hand, for the big moments, we added SFX to the pyrotechnics and other visual elements to give them more energy.