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 ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
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...
16/07/2026
33 leading exhibitors are taking part in the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland Pavilions and linked locations across IBC2026 (Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September)...
16/07/2026
Hitomi Broadcast will introduce Spectra, a new HDR colour verification solution measured in picture, not using VPID, at IBC2026 (Hall 10, Stand A40). Expanding ...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) today announced a strategic new integration to deliver ...
16/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Immersive Flight for New Cirrus App
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Leader in Personal Aviation taps URSA Cin...
16/07/2026
XenData Announces LTO Archive Appliances with both File and S3 Object Storage In...
16/07/2026
Together the semi-finals had a combined reach of 1.98 million unique individuals...
15/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...
15/07/2026
As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...
15/07/2026
HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...
15/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...
15/07/2026
Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...
15/07/2026
New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...
15/07/2026
Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...
15/07/2026
Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...
15/07/2026
USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...
15/07/2026
ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...
15/07/2026
Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...
15/07/2026
San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...
15/07/2026
Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...
15/07/2026
The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...
15/07/2026
Launched alongside new FreqSoft installer
Designed to bridge the gap between hardware and software, Freqport's FreqInOut FO1 unit provides a simple way ...
15/07/2026
Save up to 55% on software until 23 July 2026
Expressive E have just launched their Summer Offer sale, with discounts of up to 55% now applied across their ...
15/07/2026
Real-time stem-separation tool updated
zplane have recently released a new and improved version of their real-time stem-separation plug-in which they say ma...
15/07/2026
A new benchmark in bass enhancement
Described as a new benchmark in bass enhancement , Baby Audio's latest release has been designed to augment the lo...
15/07/2026
DMC Production's AR 1 and AR 2 units reverse the conventional OB workflow, keeping all production-critical processing at the venue while operators work remo...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...
15/07/2026
SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...
15/07/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...
15/07/2026
COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...
15/07/2026
Brazilian media organization builds nationwide CDN with Broadpeak's high-performance software for low-latency streaming and new content distribution service...
15/07/2026
DHD announces a new utility designed to increase the efficiency of its audio mixing systems during initial installation and subsequent configuration.
Anyone w...
15/07/2026
BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026, Breaking the 1:1 Channel-to-Server Ratio New innovations liberate broadcasters from legacy playout infrastructur...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
General-purpose robots and autonomous machines are moving from research labs to ...
15/07/2026
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Screeners and press pack now available: Gomorrah: The Or...
15/07/2026
Trinity's Treasures features Ruth Negga, Eleanor McEvoy, and David Norris, a...
15/07/2026
Join geographer Dr Susan Hegarty, Engineer Tim Joyce and Architect Orla Murphy a...
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.
