Creating not just a whole new fantasy adventure world but one fantasy adventure world per episode was the herculean task set by Taika Waititi, Iain Morris and Jemaine Clement for AppleTV+ series Time Bandits and not least for colorist Damian McDonnell who graded all ten episodes.
His standout work on the pilot won the HPA award for Outstanding Color Grading [Live Action Episode or Non Theatrical Feature] at the 2024 HPA Awards in November. It was incredibly creative in many ways and I was given a lot of latitude to put my stamp on it, McDonnell says. What is notable about this show is that it is very look orientated. Every time the characters jump through a time portal the new story world had to look distinct from the previous scene and we kept that up for ten episodes. The grade was pretty much active the whole time to maintain consistency through the whole series.
A reimagining of the 1981 classic by Terry Gilliam, Time Bandits tells the tale of an eleven-year-old history nerd who falls in with a ragtag bunch of time-travelling thieves as they plunder treasure from various episodes in history. The incredible world-building involves episodes set among the Mayans, the Neanderthals, mediaeval villages and Prohibition era America, which required around two million frames to be pulled for VFX plates.
We set the main character's hometown to be dull and all the other locations to be strong looks. It really was a creative endeavor. I feel like I had a lot of creative input in the show which is such a treat.
Adding to the technical challenge were the inevitable logistical speed bumps: multiple clients, different time zones, multiple shoot locations, a changing team of crew members and the need to work at a distance. While the main shoot was at studios and locations in and around Wellington, NZ, the show's postproduction services team, The Rebel Fleet (TRF) is based 600km away in Auckland. The production team included LA-based DoP Mike Berlucchi, co-producer Jake Rice and VFX supervisor Tobias Wolters, while the writing and directing team of Waititi, Morris and Clement are about as internationally mobile as you can get.
There were a lot of moving parts, says the New Zealand native who has a Resolve suite at his home in Wellington in addition to the facility in Auckland. My main point of contact was Mike but there were two other cinematographers and different producers were involved. It was VFX-heavy. There was a lot of remote grading but it all worked exceptionally well.
TRF provided on-set DIT, Video Assist and Dailies services across main and second units. This helped with collaboration on the shoots and keeping consistency on track. TRF incorporated an ACES 1.3 color pipeline that went right through to picture finishing. This meant everyone from dailies to VFX, grading, delivery and mastering whatever their location could be confident that what they were seeing was completely accurate and consistent.
Working on Time Bandits was a real privilege for us at The Rebel Fleet. It was a creatively ambitious show, and we loved being part of a team that brought such a bold vision to life. Our goal was to provide an end-to-end workflow that gave the creative team confidence-no matter where they were in the world-that what they were seeing was accurate, consistent, and creatively flexible. From on-set support through to dailies, onto VFX pulls and into Post, we focused on building a system that supported collaboration and helped maintain a clear visual through-line across every episode.
- Mike Urban, CEO, The Rebel Fleet
It was my first time working with ACES color management but it actually simplified the process quite a lot, particularly when handling so many VFX, because the output transforms were all standardized. The best thing is when you can really trust the workflow. I could just concentrate on the grade.
He continues, I've done Dailies grading before but for me it's mostly just a reference. People employ me for my creative input, to apply a fresh look. One reason being that once it comes from the edit, things are in a different order than what they were shot and originally viewed. But it has to be collaborative. Fundamentally, these aren't my images, these are someone else's. I'm only helping to get the best look.
Here the relationship between colorist and cinematographer is crucial. Mike and I developed a shorthand pretty quickly. One thing I really appreciated was his minimalistic approach. He wouldn't over light a scene and he'd always be open to creative discussion. He would embrace ideas and give me some ideas in return.
I'm a big believer in pushing things beyond what you feel comfortable with and then pulling it back, because if you don't go beyond that point, you don't know that you've reached it. Mike was open to this approach and that's how we developed the looks of the show together.
TRF also organized deliverables including HDR and SDR finishes. That's a lot of work to do on the back end. As a colorist, I always appreciate all the people who can take off the technical delivery. Pete Harrow [The Rebel Fleet CTO] was great with doing all the colour science. Apple was really happy too, which was great.
McDonnell graded all ten hours of the show. It's not really about control. It's just that with a show this complicated, it was easier for me to simply do everything. I had to keep all the information in my head because it was always changing.
He started out his career twenty years ago as assistant colorist on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Return of the King and assistant editor on King Kong, moving to LA in 2008 as a colorist at Laser Pacific then Technicolor on features such as Life of Pi, Iron Man 3 and Captain America: A Winters Soldier.
On his r
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...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
12/05/2026
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, has appointed Randy Koeman as Sales Manager, Netherlands, marking anot...
12/05/2026
Taiwan Television has expanded its HD content ingest workflow capabilities by investing in the PlayBox Neo Suite - a leading multi-channel multi-server UHD/HD/S...
12/05/2026
Jigsaw24 is strengthening its media team with the appointment of Tom Laker as Client Director and Ashish Chauhan as Project Manager. These strategic hires bring...
12/05/2026
Broadcast playout leader showcases hybrid IP infrastructure and workflow automation with Videoland deployment as regional benchmark...
12/05/2026
dzjinius, the all-in-one production management platform for the media and entertainment industry, will showcase its centralised approach to production workflows...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
NUGEN Audio will debut Version 1.1 of DialogCheck, its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at the 2026 Media Production & Technology Show (S...
12/05/2026
The reactive visuals can adapt to any stage or screen setup and comprise 50 layers of Notch content
Today, Disguise announced that its high performance GX 3 m...
12/05/2026
Snapgrid , Snapbag & Airglow Expand Creative Control for the ARRI Modular LED BarFollowing the launch of the ARRI Omnibar, DoPchoice introduces a dedicated li...
12/05/2026
May 12th, 2026 Press Materials Available Here
TRIBECA FESTIVAL UNVEILS 2026 GAMES PROGRAM
Tribeca Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary With World Premieres and Pl...
12/05/2026
May 12th, 2026 Press Materials Available Here
MADONNA BRINGS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF CONFESSIONS II TO 2026 TRIBECA FESTIVAL
The Global Icon Will Unveil a Cine...
12/05/2026
Customer demand for data continues to grow in the first quarter of 2026 at Magya...
Creating not just a whole new fantasy adventure world but one fantasy adventure world per episode was the herculean task set by Taika Waititi, Iain Morris and Jemaine Clement for AppleTV+ series Time Bandits and not least for colorist Damian McDonnell who graded all ten episodes.
