Colourist Felix H sken discusses the 4K/HDR image workflows for the Paramount+ drama series
By Contributor
Published: February 16, 2024 Updated: February 19, 2024
Colourist Felix H sken discusses the 4K/HDR image workflows for the Paramount+ drama series
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
What if someone told you that you inherited one trillion dollars? Most would dismiss it as a joke, which is exactly what John, a bike courier in Berlin, did when he received the news that he was the sole heir to a trillion-dollar fortune. The money came with a catch; he must restore humanity's lost future.
While the protagonist in One Trillion Dollars faces an almost impossible task, similarly the creative team of the series, produced by W&B Television and Paramount Television International Studios based on Andreas Eschbach's 2001 novel, worked hard to make the right decisions and implement a UHD HDR image workflow right from the outset. Cologne-based freelance colourist Felix H sken (BVK, AAC, CSI) worked as a colour consultant and was responsible for the final DI grade at Rotor Film, Berlin. In his role, he worked closely with DoP Yoshi Heimrath (BVK).
When we talk about colour grading, this entails enhancing the DoP's creative intent while ensuring the technical quality of the images. The earlier the colourist becomes involved, the better; essentially, that is in preproduction, H sken states. And that is the way the team worked for One Trillion Dollars.
With a significant portion of the series set amongst the super-rich, the aim was to create a high-quality look to this exclusive world. The story dictated that our sets reflected a high-end lifestyle, complete with designer lamps and luxury sports cars, he recalls. At the same time, the colours should remain as natural as possible and not contain too many artificial colour enhancements. A wide HDR colour gamut offers immense creative freedom, but it's easy to overdo it, H sken explains.
On-set grading The deliverables were to be produced in UHD HDR with an additional SDR trim version. The series was shot on a Sony Venice camera in X-OCN ST and 23.987 fps, for a 2:1 letterboxed UHD format, according to the spec from Paramount.
While the series was shot for UHD HDR, dailies were created and exported in SDR, relying on an ACES colour-managed pipeline throughout. I really like working with ACES, it has become a reliable industry standard for colour management, and it simply works, H sken confirms.
H sken's role extended to collaborating closely with the DITs/On-Set colourists. I designed everything in DaVinci Resolve Studio and provided my project file to DIT Martin Knispel and the rest of the team, so that everyone could access all of my grading data, he adds. They could call me when they had a new camera or any technical changes were made.
It wasn't clear whether Heimrath could be present during the final grade, so the idea was to create great-looking dailies on set. I already had worked with Yoshi, so I knew that we were on the same page when it came to the grade. We didn't use LUTs or any constrained ourselves to only basic colour tools for the dailies grade. Instead, the dailies were graded using my complete final grade node structure and approved on set. Then I used that data and feedback for the final grade, which proved effective, recounts H sken.
Flexibility and attention to detail The ability to work flexibly from any location is also important in film production, including colour grading. Wherever I am, I can just take out my MacBook Pro and the full DaVinci Resolve Studio software at hand, just like in the studio grading suite or at home. The only thing missing is the DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel. I can access the same data as others in the team or link what I've just done back to the studio. The software is also compatible with different hardware and allows using external plugins, which makes it versatile.
Among others, a tool that came in handy for the UHD HDR production was DaVinci Resolve Studio's Colour Warper. H sken recalls, The series offered a lot of diverse scenes and locations. There was action, drama, love, tech, finances and more. Fittingly, it felt like we'd also used every tool in the grading suite by the end, however the Colour Warper is one of Resolve's more unique features. With it you can select a single point in an image and control the hue, saturation and luminance simultaneously, which is a more intuitive way of grading. We also used several of the included OFX plugins like lens flares, film grain, object removal, etc.
One Trillion Dollars is now available on Paramount+ in Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France and the UK.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
02/07/2026
Broadcast Solutions GmbH, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is acquiring BFE Studio und Medien...
02/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, has extended the ingest facility at leading Brazilian sports company LiveMode, work...
02/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/07/2026
Standalone processors acknowledged for the innovation and value they bring to Pro AV
Cobalt Digital, a leading designer and manufacturer of signal processing ...
02/07/2026
Synamedia announced today the appointment of Dr Tzvi Gerstl as Chief Executive Officer. Paul Segre, who has served as CEO for the past six years, will transitio...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia backs audience-led filmmaking with new insight-driven initiativ...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia refines guidelines for Narrative Content Development and Docume...
02/07/2026
Maxon Autograph: Introduction to working with Tables
Simon Ubsdell July 1, 2026
0 Comments
An overview of Autograph's ridiculously powerful tables...
02/07/2026
Boston Conservatory's Soir e Breaks Records to Fund Student Scholarships The event achieved 127 percent of its fundraising goal in an evening celebrating ...
02/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Med Tech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might thin...
02/07/2026
Summer is heating up - and GeForce NOW is taking players along for the ride.
Start the month with Monopoly: Star Wars Heroes vs. Villains, bringing a galaxy fa...
01/07/2026
Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has announced the appointment of Kathy Samuels ...
01/07/2026
Shade has announced Custom Objects and Automations, a platform expansion releasing June 29, 2026, that adds database and workflow automation capabilities direct...
01/07/2026
FOR-A America has announced the addition of Jaz Wray and Fernando Cruz to its U.S. sales team. Both report to Ernie Leon, Senior VP and Head of Sales and Strate...
01/07/2026
NBC Sports will air all 15 MLB games nationally on Sunday, July 5, across NBC, P...
01/07/2026
Clear-Com has announced a wireless communications upgrade for Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, deploying FreeSpeak II and FreeSpeak Icon systems across both prod...
01/07/2026
England's performance team will use Sony's STATSports APEX GPS tracking system to monitor player physical data in real time during FIFA World Cup 2026 m...
01/07/2026
Adder Technology has announced the appointment of Neil Hillier as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Hillier succeeds Adrian Dickens, who transiti...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. has announced a strategic transaction creating two separate companies. The Production and Playout business will continue as Bitcentral, now own...
01/07/2026
DAZN has announced results from DAZN48, its creator initiative for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Launched in April 2026, the program received thousands of applicatio...
01/07/2026
Sarah Rose, VP, global services, Daktronics (NASDAQ: DAKT), will be inducted into the Information Display and Entertainment Association (IDEA) Hall of Fame at t...
01/07/2026
Gravity Media and the World Economic Forum's production team provided broadc...
01/07/2026
Insight Productions has announced the launch of Insight Storm, a 53-foot mobile broadcast unit built for esports production. The truck is built around a Ross Vi...
01/07/2026
ESPN has announced several content initiatives marking America's 250th anniversary, as part of The Walt Disney Company's Disney Celebrates America pro...
01/07/2026
Eleven production kits, REMI workflows, and cloud distribution bring 40 World Cu...
01/07/2026
The conference also discussed the opportunities offered an industry that is endu...
01/07/2026
The Mountain West Conference has announced the launch of MW , a direct-to-consumer streaming platform powered by Kiswe. The platform will carry live Mountain We...
01/07/2026
New AI Assistant, Multi-channel Audio, ARA2 improvements & more
Tracktion's DAW software has just received its latest major update, gaining a selection ...
01/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
01/07/2026
Exclusive run of limited-edition modelling pedals
Sweetwater and Andertons M...
01/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) is pleased to announce that the ca...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Manfrotto Introduces UNCOVER, the new premium camera bag collection for modern h...
01/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Powers Houston Tamil Sangam Literacy Competition
Brie Clayton July 1, 2026
0 Comments
Volunteers use ATEM Mini Pro, Blackmagic Desig...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
PlayBox Technology has published State of Broadcast Infrastructure 2026, an in-depth industry research report examining the technologies, operational challenges...
01/07/2026
LONDON, UK, 1 JULY Jigsaw24 has appointed Alan Henry as Head of Sales for Media and Entertainment, reinforcing its continued investment in helping broadcaster...
01/07/2026
Content Vault, the patent-pending secure content distribution platform protecting high-value media from disclosures, theft and unauthorised access, today announ...
01/07/2026
Bitcentral, Inc. a leading provider of enterprise software and digital media solutions for news, sports and entertainment broadcasters, as well as streaming pla...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Colourist Felix H sken discusses the 4K/HDR image workflows for the Paramount+ drama series
