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
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
How The Finish Line Delivered Post on Netflix's I Am A Killer 
