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 ...
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...
01/06/2026
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...
19/05/2026
Actus Digital, a LiveU company, and a leading provider of intelligent media monitoring and broadcast compliance platforms, announced today that METEO CONSULT ha...
19/05/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of managed services for the broadcast and media industry, today announced the completion of a major renovation of its Singapore fa...
19/05/2026
Following a major upgrade to its Connecticut remote production centre with the installation of three 60-fader Argo S consoles in 2023, RPS has switched one of t...
19/05/2026
PlayBox Technology today announced the launch of Celebro Play, a browser-based media orchestration platform designed specifically for broadcast facilities and p...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing solutions for broadcast, post, and professional AV will showcase its latest signal processing solutions at B...
19/05/2026
Media Links, a leading developer and manufacturer of IP media transport solutions, has announced the integration of its Xscend platform with Skyline Communicat...
19/05/2026
Collaboration expands regional partner ecosystem as Media Links showcases IP media transport solutions on stand 4M4-4 and alongside Clearcast Asia on stand
Me...
19/05/2026
Company Highlights Labor-Saving Control and Custom Branding Opportunities Designed to Increase Integrator Profitability
LynTec, a leading manufacturer of ele...
19/05/2026
Mago Studio Moves AI Video Beyond Prompts with New Production-Focused Tools
Brie Clayton May 18, 2026
0 Comments
New Capabilities Bring Controllable, ...
19/05/2026
It May be Time to Stop and Take an AI Breather
Brie Clayton May 19, 2026
0 Comments
If the rock you stay on starts to roll, jump clean. Or you'll...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
Agentic AI inference at one-tenth the cost per token with NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL7...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
Colourist Felix H sken discusses the 4K/HDR image workflows for the Paramount+ drama series
