Graded on Baselight 6.0 - rase Una Vez En El Caribe (Once Upon a Time in the Caribbean)
Brie Clayton May 23, 2024
0 Comments
Directed by Ray Figueroa, rase Una Vez En El Caribe (Once Upon a Time in the Caribbean) follows Juan Encarnaci n, a peasant with a violent past, as he sets out on a path of revenge when his wife disappears.
The movie, which was released at the end of 2023 and shot by DoP Willie Berrios, was one of the first movies to be graded on Baselight 6.0 - by senior colourist, Edgar Lebron at Reaktor Post in Puerto Rico.
Our relationship with FilmLight goes way beyond business, comments Lebron. They have provided so much support and they are truly dedicated to making sure everything is going well for us. It is a relationship that has helped us to grow.
A 1930s look
Willie and I have been friends for many years, explains Lebron. We worked together in the past and have talked about making movies together ever since.
Lebron began the dailies for rase Una Vez En El Caribe by looking at historical references from the 1930s and noting the different shades of colour.
Willie brought in black and white photography books from Mexican cinema, he recalls. I began by reviewing all the films and series made in that period and noted the period references. I liked quite a bit from American-Ukrainian photographer, Jack Delano. Once we had a collection of references, we created a bank of images that we adapted to the scenes.
The film, which is in colour with black and white flashbacks throughout, opens with a black and white scene of a workers' strike. At first the film was going to be fully black and white, but we decided to try something a bit more representative of the time, explains Lebron.
For the colour sections, Lebron used Gangs of New York and Peaky Blinders as visual references. For the evenings, he worked on highlighting the candlesticks and candles and emphasising the yellow tone, keeping it true to the time.
Willie and I spent weeks experimenting to make sure we were happy with the results. Sometimes we would agree and other times we would go back and start from scratch - always looking for a different way to better tell the story.
Experimenting on Baselight 6.0
Lebron was halfway through grading the movie when he was invited by FilmLight to try the beta version of Baselight 6.0.
I started using the new Sharpen Luma tool, which was a big help, comments Lebron. There's a lot in this film that I completed with Baselight 6.0, but X Grade was the star of the show. It helped me balance the whole movie and gave me total freedom to control continuity, fix issues like out of gamut and lens aberrations and truly control the greens - which, since it's filmed in the countryside, was a big job.
I had already started working on Erase Una Vez En El Caribe when I got my hands on Baselight 6.0, adds Lebron. When I first started looking at the tools, I was actually tempted to redo it from scratch, so I could utilise the new Chromogen look development tool, despite the risks that come with using a beta version.
Lebron and the team decided not to restart the movie, but Lebron has since been able to experiment with Chromogen.
I've used Chromogen to create day for night looks in more recent projects and for a couple of advertising jobs. Our next goal is to use it to create looks for dailies that we can better apply to our session when we get to grading. It is a great tool which makes my job as colourist a lot easier.
Fight in the rain
For Lebron, one of the most challenging scenes to grade was the fight in the rain' scene.
This scene was the most difficult part for me - but, also the scene I am most proud of, explains Lebron. The director wanted rain in the scene, but there was no team to create it. In the end we got lucky, and the heavens opened for real. So, instead of cancelling the shoot due to the weather, they decided to film and utilise it.
It turned out well, but one of the problems we had was controlling the clouds. It was also a long scene that had to be done day for night. Thankfully, this was one of the scenes I had completed tests for six months prior, so I knew it quite well and was able to finish it. But it was tough.
Creative freedom
This movie was a joy to work on, says Lebron. When I first saw the beginning scene of the movie, I thought to myself, I would pay to do the colour grade for this film. It's not every day that you get a 1930s period film with influences from western and samurai films, mixed with the history of the Caribbean.
And I had total creative freedom from director Ray Figueroa and DoP Willie Berrios, concludes Lebron. For that, I thank them.
May 27, 2024Advanced 3D qualifier in DaVinci ResolveIn today's advanced tutorial, I want to show you how and why
May 24, 2024HBO Original Series 30 Coins Season Two Finished with DaVinci Resolve StudioBlackmagic Design announced today that season two of HBO Original series 30
Enjoying the news? Sign up for the Creative COW Newsletter! Sign up for the Creative COW newsletter and get weekly updates on industry news, forum highlights, jobs, inspirational tutorials, tips, burning questions, and more! Receive bulletins from the largest, longest-running community dedicated to supporting professionals working in film, video, and audio.
Enter your email address, and your first and last name below!
-- Sign up: * indicates required
Email Address *
Name
--
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
19/11/2025
Sphere Sound Kicks Up Its Heels at Radio City Music HallUltra-immersive system from the singular Las Vegas venue is also ready for sportsBy Dan Daley, Audio Edi...
19/11/2025
The Future of Stadium and Arena Video Control Rooms: Tech Leaders Talk 4K, IP, a...
19/11/2025
One Year at Intuit Dome: Walking Through the Stunning Arena's Advanced Video...
19/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: IMG's Francois Westcombe Goes Inside IMG's Annual Digital ...
19/11/2025
Inside Brighton & Hove Albion's fan-first media machine By George Bevir
Tuesday, November 18, 2025 - 10:10
Print This Story
Brighton & Hove Albion'...
19/11/2025
Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 1: Kansas Athletics Brings New Production Power to Rebu...
19/11/2025
Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 2: A Pro's Guide to Kansas Athletics' New Video...
19/11/2025
MLB Media Rights Shakeup: NBC Inks Three-Year Deal for Sunday Night Baseball, Pe...
19/11/2025
Rohan Parashuram Kanawade attends the premiere of Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival at Egyptian Theatre on January 26, 2025, in Pa...
19/11/2025
Awards season is heating up, and the International Documentary Association just ...
19/11/2025
Aerojet Rocketdyne President Ken Bedingfield and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders were joined by state and local officials to celebrate the groundbreaking o...
19/11/2025
L3Harris and PentenAmio formalise their teaming agreement at MilCIS 2025, streng...
19/11/2025
Calrec gives Phoenix Broadcast Solutions its full support in strategic multi-year enterprise partnership New Singapore OB company invests in Calrec technology f...
19/11/2025
October brings a larger audience in front of TV screens. The cooler autumn weather and the continuation of new programming schedules brought increases in both t...
19/11/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broad...
19/11/2025
Vitec has acquired Datapath, a developer of real-time video processing for large-scale video walls, AVoIP content distribution and KVM control in mission-critic...
19/11/2025
NEVADA CITY, Calif. Telestream has introduced ARGUS Version 2.3, which introduces Live Look, a feature that lets operators inspect live and on-demand streams vi...
19/11/2025
STAMFORD, Conn. and NEW YORK Charter Communications, Inc. has announced a major deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) that establishes AWS as one of Charters stra...
19/11/2025
TOKYO Atomos has announced a major firmware update that brings integrated camera control to the Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX its new CFexpress-based monitor-recor...
19/11/2025
Berklee's Signature Series Reimagines the Musical and Visual Artistry of Col...
19/11/2025
PlayBox Neo departed the NAB Show New York 2025 on a high note. The company's all-new PlayBox Neo Suite made a splash on the show floor, drawing strong inte...
19/11/2025
AAVBR (American Audio Visual Baton Rouge), a leading full-service event production company serving Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region, has enhanced its product...
19/11/2025
In its mission to deliver live event services combining advanced engineering with a creative approach to captivating live sports and entertainment experiences, ...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK Short-form vertical video has exploded across platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, but a new survey commissioned by Media.net, a provider of c...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK YES Network, the regional sports network home of the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets, and CAMB.AI have struck a partnership they said will leverage ...
19/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has issued detailed guidance on filings that were disrupted by the government shutdown. While many of those fil...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK The popularity of NFL games is largely responsible for continued seasonal momentum in TV viewership into October (measured Sept. 29-Oct. 26), according...
19/11/2025
DirecTV has announced that its MyFree DirecTV streaming service has added seven new channels. Those include four sports services, NBA FAST, Red Bull TV, DAZN Ri...
19/11/2025
SURREY, U.K. Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has launched Flair Bridge, a compact device that transforms how operators control the company's motion-contr...
19/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission, which is continuing to rapidly ramp up its operations after the end of the federal government shutdown, has se...
19/11/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broad...
19/11/2025
Martin Freeman, Jessie Buckley, Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon, Eddie the Eagle and ...
19/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz collaborates with Broadcom to enable testing and validation of n...
19/11/2025
Back to All News
Innato, starring Imanol Arias and Elena Anaya, arrives on Netf...
19/11/2025
Back to All News
Guillermo del Toro Sits Down With Troll 2 Director Roar Uthaug...
19/11/2025
Some projects feel monumental from the moment the first phone call comes in. When BCE, the host broadcaster appointed to coordinate the national coverage, asked...
19/11/2025
November 19 2025, 08:00 (PST) BAY AREA HOST COMMITTEE AND DOLBY PARTNER TO DELIVER IMMERSIVE FAN EXPERIENCES
During the Week of Football's Biggest Game...
19/11/2025
Michael D. Higgins: Ireland's Ninth President features RT Archives footage and interviews across seven decades
Watch Wednesday 19 November at 9:35pm on RT...
19/11/2025
Scripps Research scientists receive $1.1 million to advance AI modeling for HIV vaccine development New AI system helps scientists rapidly pinpoint the most pro...
18/11/2025
Independent media across Central America are operating under intensifying financial pressure, yet there is a clear appetite for models that can sustain both ind...
18/11/2025
NBA Debuts New Comms Infrastructure and Systems for RefereesTwo-phase rollout is intended to improve game flow, enhance officiating accuracyBy Dan Daley, Audio ...
18/11/2025
Platinum White Paper: How Aggreko Delivers Certainty For Broadcasters On The Wor...
18/11/2025
Kiswe Extends DTC Products With Kiswe Core Cloud-Based Tool for Distributing Con...
18/11/2025
Spanish Basketball Federation partners with ScorePlay to power digital transform...
18/11/2025
HBS selects BBright encoders and decoders to connect ST 2110 live production wor...
18/11/2025
Ashes to Ashes: Inside TNT Sports' hybrid and maverick' production plan...
18/11/2025
SVG All-Stars: Mimi Fotopoulos, Director, Talent and Production Operations, Tenn...
18/11/2025
SVG LIVE! Conference Explores the Tech Side of Sports and Entertainment ConvergenceLive sports and music productions increasingly share gear and infrastructureB...
Graded on Baselight 6.0 - rase Una Vez En El Caribe (Once Upon a Time in the Caribbean) 
