Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Shaun Seneviratne Syncs With Keith Jenson on Ben and Suzanne

18/06/2024

The first feature film from writer-director Shaun Seneviratne, Ben and Suzanne: A Reunion in 4 Parts depicts the struggle between love and duty as Ben (Sathya Sridharan) steps out on a limb to rekindle his relationship with Suzanne (Anastasia Olowin), who can't escape the calls of her work. Seeking to make a film that felt grittier than the manicured qualities typically associated with romantic comedies, Seneviratne decided to employ non-actors in every role except the leads.

Complementing the decisions Seneviratne made in prep and on set with cinematographer Molly Scotti, Light Iron colorist Keith Jenson helped fine-tune the visual language in the final color grade, which took place at Light Iron New York ahead of the movie's world premiere at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival. Here, Seneviratne and Jenson share their perspectives on their memorable collaboration.

Light Iron: Shaun, what brought you to Light Iron for Ben and Suzanne?

Shaun Seneviratne: Our producer Doron J Paul Mitchell has a mutual friend with Freddy Hernandez, VP of business development at Light Iron. We felt Freddys passion and support for independent filmmaking, and the vibes were right! It just felt like Light Iron was the place to go.

How did the two of you discuss the desired look for the project to ensure you were seeing it the same way?

Seneviratne: I wanted the movie to have the look of a verit documentary particularly one shot in the '60s or '70s such as Tokyo Olympiad Jean Rouch films, and ric Rohmer's films. We were interested in keeping things natural and filmic; we weren't interested in applying more modern trends and looks. We also weren't afraid of contrast and were quite interested in playing with darkness and letting parts of the frame go fully black.

Keith Jenson: When we were first beginning the project, Shaun sent over stills from existing films that reminded him of scenes from his own film. Shaun had a really good idea of the sorts of tones and moods he was going for.

We got on a call so that we could both look at the references and talk them through, and during that call, Shaun and I discovered we had some pretty strong similarities in some pretty obscure and niche music. As creatives, we quickly realized that if we'd both gravitated to those interests independently, then we would probably be able to communicate a lot of the more abstract and esoteric ideas of color quickly basically, we could have a creative shorthand in the studio during our sessions. I think I can speak for both of us in that we walked away from that call excited to begin collaborating!

Seneviratne: Keith had shared his work on Eyimofe, which was very much in the vein of what we were trying to achieve. Also, Keiths background with film and telecine gave him an authentic perspective on how we could achieve a naturalistic film look.

What were some of your main areas of focus in the color grade?

Seneviratne: Shadow and highlight levels, saturation, authentic film texture principles, and how to approach the night scenes, which were an area where we allowed ourselves to be open to stylization.

Jenson: We really tried for an authentic filmic look with strong colors and strong contrast. The film itself has title cards against strong color backgrounds, and we didn't want those to feel out of place when they cut on screen, so the rest of the film had to have very prominent primaries and healthy saturation. To achieve this, we utilized the toolset inside of DaVinci Resolve. We built our own LUT utilizing some softening in the shadows, some halation effects, and some film grain. I like to apply different levels of film grain over top of each other to achieve a more photographic grain appearance that feels a bit less like an overlay filter.

Seneviratne: Keith spoke about what people sometimes get wrong with film grain, which is applying one uniform grain over the entire image. To truly emulate film grain, one needs to take into account how that grain looks over the highlights, mid tones and shadows.

Any final thoughts from your collaboration that you'd like to share?

Seneviratne: Keith is a great guy who was easy to collaborate with and had great taste and insight. Our DI producer at Light Iron, Bonnie Gross, was also instrumental in the process, always making sure everything was taken care of and that the process was super-smooth.

Jenson: It was an absolute pleasure to work with Shaun, [editor] Joe Violette, and Doron. We had a great time in the studio in what were extremely memorable sessions for me. It was some of the most fun I've had grading everything about our sessions went so smoothly. A lot of that is thanks to Bonnie Gross, who helped manage the entire project on our end. She was even able to wrangle large Toblerone chocolates to surprise everyone on our final session a comedically large Toblerone bar features in one aspect of the film. Bonnie and I would both love to work with Shaun and his team again!
LINK: https://www.panavision.com/highlights/highlights-detail/authentic-pers...
See more stories from panavision

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

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

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

19/08/2026

Carr Calls ABC Suit 'Meritless

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/08/2026

Henry Alexander Joins BCE as Sales Director

Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...

19/08/2026

iWedia Announces Advanced Android DRAM Optimisation Proce...

iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...

19/08/2026

NTP Technology announces ST 2110-30-RAVENNA 128-channel A...

NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...

19/08/2026

ORF goes full IP with Net Insight in nationwide network o...

Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...

19/08/2026

Coventry City Trophy Parade Extends LiveU LIQ Beyond the...

LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...

19/08/2026

Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF

Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF Brie Clayton August 18, 2026 0 Comments Filming endangered turtles required camera...

19/08/2026

Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control Basic

Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...

19/08/2026

ABC Files First Amendment Lawsuit Against FCC

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/08/2026

Nielsen: Fox and NBCUniversal Score with FIFA World Cup 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/08/2026

ESPN Co-Founder Bill Rasmussen Dies At 93

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/08/2026

Study: NBA Ad Revenue Hit $2.1 Billion Last Season

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/08/2026

Nexstar's WNCN Donates ENG Van for Training

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

19/08/2026

Riedel Brings Professional Live Production Into the Class...

Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...

19/08/2026

QuickLink Showcases New 4K Capabilities Across StudioEdge...

QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...

19/08/2026

EMAM together with PlayBox Neo and SNEWS launch combined...

Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...

19/08/2026

Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen industry financing pathways

Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...

19/08/2026

Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdre Brennan

Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...

19/08/2026

RT TO AIR HISTORIC KATIE TAYLOR FIGHT IN CROKE PARK

On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...

18/08/2026

SportStream 2026 Virtual Event Set for September 15-17

SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...

18/08/2026

IBC 2026: BeckTV to Debut BeckFlow Documentation Platform

BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53). BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...

18/08/2026

IBC 2026: Boland Communications to Introduce ST 2110 Option for 4K Monitors

Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...

18/08/2026

Seattle Seahawks Integrate Dolby OptiView with Dolby Vision for Fan Streaming

Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...

18/08/2026

Insights from BMG's Graham Taylor on the Role of a Sports Producer in Live Broadcast Production

For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...

18/08/2026

TMRW Sports Names Rufus Hack as President of Golf

TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...

18/08/2026

SMT To Deliver Race Technology for Freedom 250 IndyCar Broadcast

SMT will provide race technology for FOX Sports' coverage of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C. on August 23, when the NTT INDYCAR SERIES races ...

18/08/2026

HMA's Creator Collective Pairs Digital Creators, Beat Writers in New Model for Local-Sports Coverage

The live, YouTube-native roundtables combine fan voices, credentialed reporters,...

18/08/2026

Behind The Mic: FOX Sports Shares Broadcast Lineup for 2026 NFL Season and College Football Season

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

18/08/2026

Miami Heats Ed Filomia on Rebuilding Kaseya Centers Video Infrastructure and 29 Years With the Heat

The industry legend sounds off on replacing the Heat's iconic Medusa score...

18/08/2026

Bill Rasmussen, ESPN Founder and Sports Broadcasting Hall of Famer, Dies at 93

William F. Rasmussen, the sports fan-turned broadcaster and entrepreneur whose out-of-the-box idea of a 24-hour cable sports network, ESPN, changed forever the ...

18/08/2026

DAZN Completes Acquisition of ViewLift

DAZN Group has completed its acquisition of ViewLift, a provider of streaming and digital solutions for sports content owners. The acquisition was first announc...

18/08/2026

American Association of Professional Baseball Adds SI TV as Broadcast Partner

The American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB) has added SI TV, Sports Illustrated's 24/7 streaming channel, as a broadcast partner for the remain...

18/08/2026

Esports Foundation Postpones Inaugural Esports Nations Cup to November 2027

The Esports Foundation has announced that the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC), originally scheduled for November 2026 in Riyadh, will be postponed to Novemb...

18/08/2026

Diversified Launches Global Managed Services Practice

Diversified has announced a new Global Managed Services Practice, consolidating the company's managed services capabilities into one organization. Rob Mello...

18/08/2026

Appear Completes REMI Proof of Concept with Thoroughbred Racing Productions

Appear has completed a proof of concept with Thoroughbred Racing Productions (TRP), demonstrating multi-camera remote live production over bonded 5G cellular an...

18/08/2026

IBC 2026: Riedel Implements Live Production Infrastructure at Edith Cowan University

Riedel Communications has announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, ...

18/08/2026

Panoramic from Panorama Labs

Company launch with stereo-imaging tool Panoramic is the debut release from Panorama Labs, a new company formed by mastering engineer Nicholas Di Lorenzo. C...

18/08/2026

Focusrite extend Control 2 support

Control software now available for older interfaces Focusrite have just announced the launch of an update that extends Control 2 software support their Scar...

18/08/2026

Call for the 20th Annual South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs20) Jury

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...

18/08/2026

Corridor Television Pays $27,000 for Violating FCCs EAS Rules

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

18/08/2026

Disney's ABC Files First Amendment Lawsuit Against the FCC

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

18/08/2026

Lightware Integrates with SpectralBot to Accelerate AV Tr...

Lightware announces an integration with SpectralBot that helps system integrators and AV operators troubleshoot faster using augmented reality (AR), AI-assisted...

18/08/2026

Command Frame for After Effects

Command Frame for After Effects Scott Black August 18, 2026 0 Comments Free download, demonstrations, hands-on tests, and creator resources Want to t...

18/08/2026

Dot Group to show how cutting carbon cuts cost - live at...

At Stand 14.A57, the data company will demonstrate GreenDot and IBM Aspera together, giving media and entertainment businesses real-time visibility of what thei...

18/08/2026

Blue Lucy launches Connected Value Audit

New tool provides a robust audit of operational workflows, calculating the tangible value each delivers today, and informing business decisions for tomorrow. W...

18/08/2026

Media Utilities transitions to Media Utilities - a DigiNe...

Media Utilities is integrating its activities into DigiNet and will maintain a recognisable presence in the market under the name: Media Utilities, a DigiNet br...