Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Colourist Claudio Del Bravo on grading Queer

04/02/2025

Explaining the process to TVBEurope, Del Bravo said the films look was inspired by the Technicolor three-strip' process, evoking the rich colours of early 1950s films

By Contributor

Published: February 4, 2025

Explaining the process to TVBEurope, Del Bravo said the film's look was inspired by the Technicolor three-strip' process, evoking the rich colours of early 1950s films

target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>

Queer is the highly anticipated 2024 period film directed by Luca Guadagnino from a screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes, based on the 1985 short novel by William S. Burroughs. Set in 1950s Mexico City, the film follows an outcast American expatriate (Daniel Craig) who becomes infatuated with a younger man (Drew Starkey). The movie premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival in September, where it played in-competition for the Golden Lion. It was released in the United States in a limited theatrical release on November 27, by A24, and was released nationwide on 13 December.

A team reunited The film reunited a familiar director, DoP and colourist team - Luca Guadagnino, DoP Sayombhu Mukdeeprom and colourist Claudio Del Bravo.

I started working with Luca Guadagnino during the pre-production of the HBO series We Are Who We Are, says Del Bravo. I first met him during the camera and lens tests, where I presented the HDR results from different cameras to assist in the selection process. The series was a wonderful collaboration with the Swedish post-production team, Tint Post. The footage was dislocated across both countries, and we worked together throughout the entire post-production process and deliveries.

After a few advertising projects, Del Bravo went on to work on the grade of Guadagnino's Bones and All (2022), alongside the talented cinematographer Arseni Khachaturan - which helped consolidate his relationship with the director and his team. I met Sayombhu the following year while working on Challengers (2024), says Del Bravo. The film was shot near Boston, with Postworks New York managing the dailies and film scanning process, and the final grade was completed in Rome.

The post-production process for Challengers was lengthy due to extensive VFX and the SGA-AFTRA strike, which delayed the release, and so the team already began discussing their next project, Queer, during the final stages of post-production.

They were planning to shoot in Rome at Cinecitt Studios, says Del Bravo. This gave us the chance to work together from the initial camera tests, developing the right look for the project. We conducted numerous tests involving sets, costumes, lenses, and film stock, which allowed us to refine our vision across various elements and create a streamlined workflow from dailies to delivery.

Sayombhu and Del Bravo also spent some time discussing colour and grading tools quite extensively. He is genuinely interested in understanding how to work best with the footage and the innovations in our workflow, adds Del Bravo. He particularly enjoyed working with Baselight.

Visual goals For Queer, Del Bravo, Guadagnino and Mukdeeprom developed a look inspired by the Technicolor three-strip' process, evoking the rich colours of early 1950s films. We discussed references to old Hollywood studio films, the work of Bernardo Bertolucci, and the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, recalls Del Bravo. Classic films like Black Narcissus (1947) and Amarcord (1973), as well as the works of the Flemish painter Micha l Borremans and the American artist Edward Hopper, played a significant role in shaping the distinct aesthetic for the project.

LUTs and an ACES workflow The team began by creating a LUT for the dailies, which evolved into a Look Modification Transform (LMT) for the final ACES workflow. During the camera tests, they conducted a full round-trip through the post-production process. Cinecitt did an initial Blackmagic Cintel scan of the footage to create dailies for editorial, followed by a new 4K Arriscan of the footage actually used in the film, explains Del Bravo. This allowed us to create two different LUTs - one for the Cintel scan and another for the Arriscan, to maintain colour consistency across editing, VFX, and reviews.

I then created an ACES LMT from these LUTs and moved to Baselight for the final grading. I always prefer to use ACES and Baselight in complex workflows like this (with multiple deliveries) to maintain full control over each version, from HDR to screen to home video.

Chromogen Del Bravo utilised Chromogen, the new look development tool in Baselight 6.0, for the first time on Queer. It is an incredible tool that helped us develop our first LUT for the project, says Del Bravo. The Colour Cross Talk feature was also invaluable in creating a Technicolor-inspired look, mimicking the three-strip process. Additionally, I utilised the new RIFE engine for retiming some sequences, which worked exceptionally well and added a smoothness to the process.

Challenges The film was shot at Cinecitt Studios in Rome, so one of the challenges for Del Bravo was that many scenes involved shooting against green and blue screens. What made these scenes truly come alive, however, was how Sayombhu enhanced the sets with an additional layer of lighting, says Del Bravo. This not only aligned with the emotions of the story, but also provided a real light source to match the artificial backgrounds.

But, since nearly every shot in the film involved VFX, Del Bravo's biggest challenge was ensuring that everything remained consistent with Luca's vision. This was a collaborative effort across departments, enabling us to achieve a result that felt both real and artificial, or - as Luca put it, grotesque yet refined, like a Powell and Pressburger fantasy'. We aimed to take vi
LINK: https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/colourist-claudio-del-bravo-...
See more stories from tvb

Europe Stories

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

04/03/2026

Transforming Africa's Future Farmers: Satellite-Enabled IoT Powers Data-Driven Agribusinesses

Luxembourg, March 3, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, along with I...

03/03/2026

How Multi-Format Readers' Are Redefining Reading in the UK's National Year of Reading

For many, finding time or headspace to pick up a book can feel out of reach, but...

03/03/2026

Rohde & Schwarz and Realtek demonstrate first test solution for Bluetooth LE High Data Throughput (HDT)

Rohde & Schwarz and Realtek demonstrate first test solution for Bluetooth LE Hi...

03/03/2026

Clear-Com Supplies Cloud-based Communications System for SaxaVord Spaceport

eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......

03/03/2026

Full Year 2025 Results

Luxembourg, 2 March 2026 -- SES S.A. fully consolidates Intelsat from 17 July 2025 and announces financial results for the year ended 31 December 2025 FY25 Pe...

03/03/2026

RT is Supporting 20 Arts and Cultural Events all over Ireland this March

RT is proud to support a rich and diverse programme of arts and cultural events taking place across Ireland throughout March 2026. This month brings a remarkab...

03/03/2026

VEON and MeetKai Expand Collaboration to Explore Sovereign AI Infrastructure Partnerships

03 Mar 2026 VEON and MeetKai Expand Collaboration to Explore Sovereign AI Infra...

03/03/2026

Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac land first ever live commentary gig exclusively on Sky Sports for Wrexham vs Swansea

Tuesday 3 March 2026 Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac land first ever live commentary ...

03/03/2026

The Dyers Caravan Park reopens for a second season after a hit launch on Sky

Tuesday 3 March 2026 The Dyers' Caravan Park reopens for a second season after a hit launch on Sky The Dyers' Caravan Park JPEG (510KB) Sky books a ...

03/03/2026

Vyve Broadband Selects Harmonic for Network Modernization

Harmonic's cOS Virtualized Broadband Platform Simplifies Network Operations, Lowers Hardware Dependency and Enables Seamless DOCSIS and Fiber Growth SAN JO...

03/03/2026

Comscore to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results

Comscore to Announce Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial ResultsRESTON, VA, March 3, 2026 Comscore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for plannin...

03/03/2026

2026-01-30

Self-taught on iMovie, Hanagami transitioned to Final Cut Pro in 2009, discovering that professional tools could give him full creative control over how his wor...

03/03/2026

RT Media Sales: Spry Finance renews Marty In The Morning lyric fm sponsorship for a fourth year

RT Media Sales has announced Spry Finance has renewed it's sponsorship of M...

02/03/2026

Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates FR1-FR3 carrier aggregation, advancing 6G readiness

Rohde & Schwarz demonstrates FR1-FR3 carrier aggregation, advancing 6G readiness Rohde & Schwarz and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. have reached another pivotal ...

02/03/2026

aconnic and Arqit join forces to present the first quantum-safe industrial OT security gateway firewall at Mobile World Congress 2026

aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, and Arqit Quantum Inc. (Nasdaq: ARQQ, A...

02/03/2026

SES and Africa Mobile Network Reach Milestone: Connecting 5.8 Million in DRC, Expanding Rural Coverage

Luxembourg, February 26, 2026 - SES and Africa Mobile Network (AMN) have expande...

02/03/2026

Saturday Night Live UK announces writing team

Monday 2 March 2026 Saturday Night Live UK announces writing team L-R: Jonno Johnson; Charlie Skelton; Celya AB; Omar Badawy; Gr inne Maguire; Laura Claxton; ...

27/02/2026

Gorillaz Invites Fans Into Its World With Exclusive Spotify Experience and London Mural Quest

Since its inception, Gorillaz has been known for blending art with genre-bending...

27/02/2026

Find Your Next Great Listen With Spotify's New Audiobook Charts

This week, Spotify introduced Audiobook Charts for the U.S. and U.K. The charts make it easy to discover your next favorite book by showing what's popular a...

27/02/2026

Rohde & Schwarz and Viasat to collaborate on NB-NTN IoT test plan for connectivity via satellite

Rohde & Schwarz and Viasat to collaborate on NB-NTN IoT test plan for connectivi...

27/02/2026

Designing AI based features in the MSC

In media technology, big features often steal the spotlight - AI integrations, cloud transformations, automation frameworks. But for the people who use these to...

27/02/2026

Has Video outgrown your DAM?

Digital Asset Management systems sit at the heart of most marcoms operations. They centralise content, organise it, and make it discoverable. Integrated with th...

27/02/2026

NAB

The AI Wild West comes to NAB 2026 and Blue Lucy is bringing the Sheriff The AI Wild West is here, and media organisations are feeling the heat. On Booth W23...

27/02/2026

No-holds-barred feature documentary Billy Idol Should Be Dead coming to Sky Arts on 26 March

A deeply personal, uncompromising portrait of the legendary punk rock iconFriday...

27/02/2026

RT Media Sales: SIRO to sponsor Home of the Year on RT One

One of Ireland's favourite lifestyle shows Home of the Year, returns for its 12th series and will be proudly sponsored by SIRO. The brand-new series will ai...

27/02/2026

Our Farm: A GIY Story lands on RT One and RT Player from March 3

Our Farm: A GIY Story lands on RT One and RT Player from March 3 From walled garden to community farm, new six-part series captures the unfiltered realities...

27/02/2026

Seachtain na Gaeilge 2026 ar RT

Note: English version included below the Irish language version. Seachtain na Gaeilge 2026 ar RT A Ghaeilge mo cheol th ' T feachtas athnuaite i n...

26/02/2026

Rohde & Schwarz awarded contract by Israel Airports Authority for QPS201 security scanners

Rohde & Schwarz awarded contract by Israel Airports Authority for QPS201 securit...

26/02/2026

Rohde & Schwarz highlights its unique CMX500 one-box tester tailored for NTN testing at MWC Barcelona 2026

Rohde & Schwarz highlights its unique CMX500 one-box tester tailored for NTN tes...

26/02/2026

Rohde & Schwarz high-efficiency transmitter powers next-gen broadcast services in Serbia

Rohde & Schwarz high-efficiency transmitter powers next-gen broadcast services i...

26/02/2026

Rohde & Schwarz highlights its comprehensive embedded systems test solutions at embedded world 2026

Rohde & Schwarz highlights its comprehensive embedded systems test solutions at ...

26/02/2026

Rohde & Schwarz to showcase spectrum security and network efficiency solutions at Mobile World Congress 2026

Rohde & Schwarz to showcase spectrum security and network efficiency solutions a...

26/02/2026

Rohde & Schwarz and Broadcom showcase first Wi-Fi 8 RF signaling tests, paving way for next-gen connectivity

Rohde & Schwarz and Broadcom showcase first Wi-Fi 8 RF signaling tests, paving w...

26/02/2026

Rohde & Schwarz advances AI-RAN testing using digital twins with NVIDIA

Rohde & Schwarz advances AI-RAN testing using digital twins with NVIDIA Rohde & Schwarz, in collaboration with NVIDIA, continues to drive AI-RAN innovation fo...

26/02/2026

Rohde & Schwarz and LITEON demonstrate highthroughput 5G femtocell testing with the PVT360A

Rohde & Schwarz and LITEON demonstrate high throughput 5G femtocell testing with...

26/02/2026

SES Extends EGNOS GEO-1 Satellite Service to Power Precise Navigation Across Europe

The agreement ensures Europe's satellite-based augmentation continues enhanc...

26/02/2026

RT KIDS celebrate Kidscreen success in San Diego

There were two big wins for RT KIDS shows at the 17th Kidscreen Awards in San Diego this week with Maddie Triggs and BeddyByes both taking home gongs. The K...

26/02/2026

VEON to Release FY25 Earnings Update on March 13, 2026

26 Feb 2026 VEON to Release FY25 Earnings Update on March 13, 2026 Dubai and New York, February 26, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital operator ...

26/02/2026

UKTV Highlights: Saturday February 28th - Friday March 6th 2026

What can I watch on UKTV and stream on U this week? This week's highlights include new episodes of Will and Ralf Should Know Better, The Marlow Murder Club...

26/02/2026

Sky partners with STARZ on high-impact boxing drama Fightland, executive produced by Curtis 50 Cent Jackson

Thursday 26 February 2026 Sky partners with STARZ on high-impact boxing drama F...

26/02/2026

An Open Letter to Our Fellow Leaders in Global Media

Thursday 26 February 2026 An Open Letter to Our Fellow Leaders in Global Media From: Tim Davie, BBC Director-General Jon Slade, CEO, Financial Times Anna B...

26/02/2026

Teatro alla Scala Elevates Backstage Communication with Riedel's Bolero

Wuppertal February 26, 2026 Teatro alla Scala Elevates Backstage Communication with Riedel's BoleroRiedel Communications today announced that Fondazione T...

26/02/2026

RT confirms receipt of payment for its share of GAAGO

RT has confirmed that it has today received payment from the GAA for its 50% share of GAAGO. RT confirmed in February 2025 that it had agreed in principle wi...