Colourist Dylan R Hopkin describes creating a palette for BBC Four crime drama, Wisting
Contributor 2 hours ago
Colourist Dylan R Hopkin describes creating a palette for BBC Four crime drama, Wisting
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> Colourist Dylan R Hopkin describes creating a palette for BBC Four crime drama, Wisting
https://www.tvbeurope.com/features/a-norwegian-twist title=Share via Email class=share-email>
Acquired from Banijay Rights, and produced by Cinenord and Good Company Films, 10-part Norwegian crime drama Wisting has been praised by critics as one of the most superbly layered shows being broadcast on BBC Four. Starring Jessica Jones actress Carrie-Anne Moss and Valkyren actor Sven Nordin, each 45-minute episode follows detective William Wisting, who invites the FBI to take part in a serial murder investigation after a newly discovered victim turns out to be American.
The show's DI requirements, which included the grade, online edit and finishing, were delivered in DaVinci Resolve by Dylan R Hopkin and the in-house conform artists at Nordisk Film ShortCut Oslo.
Norway's TV drama market has exploded. An increasing number of local high-end feature film directors and cinematographers are doing television now, which has fed into an appetite for Scandinavian crime series in foreign markets, explains Hopkin. At the same time, the role of the colourist has expanded. We now do more finishing tasks during creative colour sessions than ever before, including stabilisation, reframing shots, creating camera movement, texture and lighting management, sky replacements and more.
This was especially true on Wisting. Aiming to create a moody, de-saturated aesthetic inspired by David Fincher, Hopkin explains he frequently used tools such as power windows, combined with trackers, to shape light throughout the drama. This would guide the audience to the most important areas of the frame.
Director Trygve Allister Diesen and conceptual cinematographer J rgen Johansson were clear that they wanted the whites to be a little off, without a normal D65-balanced feeling. We embraced grittiness and darkness, not being afraid of greenish-yellow highlights and slightly cyan-tinted blacks. Even for winter exteriors with snow, he adds.
To achieve this aesthetic, Hopkin began by customising a built-in Kodak FPE LUT to use as a foundation for the show's palette. Together with the client, I took a couple of hero shots from each scene to establish a more detailed grade that would suit the story. We began with the wide shots, then moved on to the medium and close-ups, adds Hopkin, explaining that DI was completed using a Mac Pro with expander chassis, two NVIDIA 1080Ti GPUs, a Flanders Scientific XM551U 55' UHD OLED monitor, and a Resolve Mini Panel.
Once we had defined these initial references, we knew the general direction for each scene. After the primary balance, I tweaked the overall look with a Post-Clip Group node-tree. My secondary pass then involved reviewing entire scenes, ensuring the grade flowed well throughout each episode. Final masters were delivered as QT ProRes 4444, 1080p25 files.
Wisting on BBC Four every Saturday from 9pm.
SubscribeFor more stories like this, and to keep up to date with all our market leading news, features and analysis, sign up to our newsletter here.
Europe Stories
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...
07/07/2026
Applications are now open for the Validation Booster, a six-month acceleration programme supporting journalists, media organisations, content creators, media in...
07/07/2026
New mixer aimed squarely at instrument-level sources
Heritage Audio have clearly been busy recently, as alongside their all-new Tubestrip, they've also ...
07/07/2026
New channel strip combines popular hardware designs
The latest arrival to the Heritage Audio line-up brings together a selection of their praised hardware d...
07/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
07/07/2026
UKTV commission with BritBox and Sony Pictures Television and inspired by Deborah Cadbury's book, Chocolate Wars
The six-part series is produced by Fable P...
07/07/2026
Tuesday 7 July 2026
Record audiences tune into the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 on Sky Sports
The ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 was the most watche...
07/07/2026
Tuesday 7 July 2026
Official trailer released for Fightland, a revenge drama fr...
07/07/2026
Wuppertal July 7, 2026
Riedel and ARRI Bring Cinematic Live Production to the Eurovision Song ContestRiedel Communications and ARRI played a key role in one o...
07/07/2026
To Whom It Concerns RT today confirmed that Patrick Kielty is to extend his contract as host of The Late Late Show.
Last season, the world's longest-runn...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky Kids unveils new slate for 2026 including Paris Hilton&#...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
BLEACH: THOUSAND-YEAR BLOOD WAR THE CALAMITY Continues I...
04/07/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
VIZ Media Unveils New Anime Slate at Anime Expo 2026 with ...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
VIZ Media Celebrates Anime Expo 2026 with BLACK TORCH Worl...
02/07/2026
Stammering, stuttering, strangulated tones
The Crow Hill Company's latest creation promises to be the most original sound set they've produced to d...
02/07/2026
A new era in unmixing and spectral editing
The latest version of Steinberg's spectral audio-editing software has just arrived, building on the strength...
02/07/2026
Aims to simplify additive synthesis
Sine Machine is the debut launch from Melatonin, a Vienna-based developer who have spent the past six years creating wha...
02/07/2026
Products to remain fully active & supported
Following the news of Native Instruments joining the inMusic brand line-up, Academy and Emmy Award-winning visua...
02/07/2026
What you missed!
Last weekend, Saturday 27 June 2026, saw the debut of Sound On Sounds new GearExpo UK event, the largest dedicated pro-audio event to take ...
02/07/2026
Thursday 2 July 2026
Tea with Judi Dench returns to Sky Arts with legendary guest, Sir Ian McKellen
Sky today confirms Tea with Judi Dench will return this su...
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
Our SD10T was an absolutely rock-solid, stable console and the Quantum 338T has been the perfect upgrade, Hurley says. Having multiple screens is a big advant...
01/07/2026
LEXINGTON, Kentucky - July 2026 -Tyler Childers' seventh and latest studio record, Snipe Hunter, is an adventurously sprawling collection of tunes that span...
01/07/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
BLEACH Comes to Life in Los Angeles with First-of-Its-Kind...
01/07/2026
UKTV has today announced the appointment of Matt Berry to the newly created role of General Manager - Marketing, effective 1 July.
Matt will take on this senio...
01/07/2026
Sky Zero Footprint Fund-backed TV campaign featuring Deborah Meaden challenges consumers to rethink everyday bathroom wasteWednesday 1 July 2026
Fussy asks Bri...
01/07/2026
Constituency-level analysis reveals where girls miss out most on sport - and where targeted action could unlock more than £640 million in economic and health be...
01/07/2026
Wuppertal July 1, 2026
Riedel and SKAARHOJ Expand Collaboration With SimplyLive IntegrationRiedel Communications today announced an expanded collaboration wit...
01/07/2026
Apple today introduced power-packed updates to Apple Creator Studio, a groundbre...
01/07/2026
Nectar360, the Retail Media, Loyalty and Insights business of the Sainsburys Gro...
01/07/2026
9.2 million streams on RT Player between 11 and 28 June
Reach of 2.9 million viewers during Group stages of FIFA World Cup on RT 2
23 million video views acr...
Colourist Dylan R Hopkin describes creating a palette for BBC Four crime drama, Wisting
