How The Finish Line Delivered Post on Netflix's I Am A Killer
Brie Clayton February 6, 2023
0 Comments
Behind the edit, grade, and HDR delivery of the show where killers are interviewed behind bars.
Unlike other true-crime hits, Netflix's I Am A Killer isn't focused on clues or who-done-its. Instead, audiences will be brought face-to-face with the killers themselves through a series of interviews about each of their crimes on death row.
Season four of the show, which is currently streaming on Netflix, had full post production completed by post-production facility, The Finish Line-who have been involved in the show since series one. Using a fully distributed production developed in collaboration with Transistor Films and Craftkit, the team was able to ensure everyone on the project could work either at home or production office seamlessly.
A Distributed Production
Work on the show involved delivering twelve 45-minute episodes, each of which took four to five days to complete picture finishing. Rushes would be sent to The Finish Line via an upload portal. They were then ingested using DaVinci Resolve for a fully colour-managed pipeline. After a spot check, all files were then transcoded to DNxHR LB proxies, to make sizes more manageable for offline editing in Avid Media Composer.
For the edit, Avid Media was mirrored between servers at The Finish Line and Transistor, and projects were shared via LucidLink. This enabled editors to access or share all media and projects from wherever they were seamlessly.
That meant everyone got to have the best of all worlds, says Finishing Artist on the show, Steve Alexander. Editors could continue working from any location and share as they would if they were in a traditional facility. It allowed all of us to have more personal time which results in better mental health, as we could be closer to families and have less time commuting.
In preparation for the offline edit, archive chosen by production-which included footage used in court proceedings in formats from MPEG video to VOB to AVI-was unified into a DNxHR LB codec for the offline edit. During the edit for review, the production team could use NDI for live reviews, and were also able to view a copy of all color-managed proxies on frame.io. Once the cuts were locked everything was connected back to the source files. The Finish Line team was then able to work with native media throughout ensuring the best quality available was utilised in final post.
Related COW News
January 16, 2023Indie Feature Film Something in the Dirt Graded in DaVinci Resolve StudioBlackmagic Design today announced that the acclaimed independent feature film Something in
January 13, 2023Avatar: The Way of Water Graded in DaVinci Resolve StudioColorist Tashi Trieu has worked with James Camerons Lightstorm Entertainment for a number
Adding Color
For the grade, Steve aimed to enhance the emotional arc of each episode by using colour to subconsciously affect the viewer. You want to set a tone for the character speaking to you and the story they're about to tell you, he explains. Due to the nature of the series, we pretty much know something horrible is about to happen, so the opening interviews were generally quite dark and sinister. By grading in DaVinci Wide Gamut, we were then able to pick out colours and enhance them in ways that weren't possible with series one and two when we were limited to the Rec709 in SDR.
Each prison location offered different challenges for the grade. The interviews were typically filmed through a television screen, so Steve was able to treat the inside and outside of the prison differently. He graded the outside of the prison with a bluer hue so the viewer's eye would be drawn into the killer's space. This was then enhanced using touches of green in the shadows to add to a sense of discomfort. For the inside of the prison, the grade was trickier as it wasn't always possible to get a lighting rig into the prisons, Steve continues. There was also sometimes a strong light source coming from a window or the fluorescent overhead light which we needed to balance.
Steve has a couple of memorable shots from the series, the first of which involved a killer named Black, who had just come out of isolation after having been there for almost two years. Though he's a 70-year-old in a wheelchair, he is deemed so violent, he needed to be kept in restraints throughout the interview, Steve reveals. As he's wheeled around the corner in what feels like slow motion, I increased the audience's anticipation by adding a lens blur that slowly came into focus as he is wheeled towards the camera. A real Hannibal Lecter moment.
The Finishing Touches
Due to the show having transitioned to a UHD HDR delivery, archive was also treated with heavier effects to ensure it fit the visual tone of the rest of the show and covered up some of the SD interlacing errors caused by upscaling. DaVinci Resolve excelled at upscaling the archive, which was then also treated with additional scanlines and grain to add some UHD detail and textures to SD footage, says Steve. Archive images were then enhanced with dynamic graphics plates and stills were given movement using GeeFX in After Effects with a paper background and halftone textured foreground along with floating dust.
The final step to finishing I Am A Killer involved reviewing the grade on an FSI XM310K monitor, capable of 3500 nits, before delivery in Dolby Vision HDR with many speed advancements thanks to a nested HDR timeline. This meant any updates to the grade would be simple and automatically live within the delivery timeline, without needing to import or export any media.
###
Enjoying the news? Sign up for the Creative COW Newsletter! Sign up for the Creative COW newsletter and get weekly upda
North America Stories
16/07/2026
This recent graduate and Georgia native has turned an early fascination with live production into a growing passion for camera work
In the live-sports-video in...
16/07/2026
TNDV is marking the first anniversary of Aspiration 35, a mobile production truck built around ARRI Alexa 35 Live camera systems. Over its first year, the truck...
16/07/2026
ATSC has completed a major revision to its A/85 Recommended Practice: Techniques...
16/07/2026
FloSports has announced an exclusive global media partnership with CrossFit for the 2026 CrossFit Games, presented by Air National Guard, beginning July 21 in S...
16/07/2026
Sennheiser has released firmware version 1.4 for its Spectera wireless system and announced the Spectera Command Button (Cat. No. 701014). The update adds comma...
16/07/2026
ESPN and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) have announced a multi-year...
16/07/2026
Audio-Technica has announced the 20 Series Control Application, a Stream Deck plug-in for compatible Audio-Technica USB microphones. The application is compatib...
16/07/2026
The fifteenth season of The Voice - La plus belle voix on TF1 used four Solid St...
16/07/2026
Gray Media and the Atlanta Hawks have announced a broadcast partnership that wil...
16/07/2026
Season 3 of Netflix's docuseries, which dropped this week, follows Jayden Da...
16/07/2026
The Texas Rangers and Rangers Sports Network presented by Progressive (RSN) have announced BZZR as the new direct-to-consumer distributor for Rangers game broad...
16/07/2026
With England's FIFA World Cup 2026 team getting ready to fly home after losi...
16/07/2026
In a return to Royal Birkdale, the team enjoys partnering with ETP and Gravity M...
16/07/2026
Along with a new studio at Ball Arena, the Colorado-based RSN is working with XR...
16/07/2026
Austria was back at the World Cup for the first time in 28 years, and the team d...
16/07/2026
With 42 RF cameras and high-power radio mics deployed, the spectrum environment ...
16/07/2026
June brought stabilization to the television market. Poles spent an average of 3 hours and 36 minutes a day in front of their TV screens exactly the same as i...
16/07/2026
Glensound returns to IBC with a major new addition to its intelligent loudspeaker range, the Greater Divine Supernal studio monitor, alongside recent developmen...
16/07/2026
33 leading exhibitors are taking part in the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Pavilions and linked locations across IBC2026 (Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September)...
16/07/2026
Hitomi Broadcast will introduce Spectra, a new HDR colour verification solution measured in picture, not using VPID, at IBC2026 (Hall 10, Stand A40). Expanding ...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) today announced a strategic new integration to deliver ...
16/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Immersive Flight for New Cirrus App
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Leader in Personal Aviation taps URSA Cin...
16/07/2026
XenData Announces LTO Archive Appliances with both File and S3 Object Storage In...
16/07/2026
Onimusha: Way of the Sword is coming to GeForce NOW at launch, with the playable...
15/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...
15/07/2026
As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...
15/07/2026
HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...
15/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...
15/07/2026
Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...
15/07/2026
New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...
15/07/2026
Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...
15/07/2026
Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...
15/07/2026
USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...
15/07/2026
ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...
15/07/2026
Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...
15/07/2026
San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...
15/07/2026
Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...
15/07/2026
The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...
15/07/2026
SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...
15/07/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...
15/07/2026
COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...
How The Finish Line Delivered Post on Netflix's I Am A Killer 
