Light Iron

“Palm Royale Season 2 was incredible to work on,” says cinematographer Zachary Galler, who shot the second season of the stunningly campy show. “I was lucky enough to come into the job with much of the crew from season one, and they were superlative. Finding a balance between the technical and aesthetic demands of the show was tricky, but after extensive testing, we ended up going with the Panavision VAs for many reasons. They really threaded the needle for us with the gentle way they dealt with textures, while also being really even across the whole frame.

We did a few tests and I was able to develop a great LUT with Light Iron Supervising Colorist Ian Vertovec that got us very close to our aesthetic references, the strongest and clearest of which was Slim Aarons' travel photography. Abe Sylvia, the showrunner, had a very clear vision for how he wanted everything to feel, and I think the VAs and Ian's LUT got us right where we needed to be. Ian was also able to add many filmic elements to the image in our DI, and I love where we ended up. Panavision has always been a fantastic partner, and Mike Carter really helped us manage a very tricky and demanding shoot schedule that was frequently changing based on many factors, with multiple units shooting, mostly in LA, but also in Portland and Mt. Hood Oregon.”

‘I Wish You All the Best’ was finished by Light Iron Supervising Colorist Ian Vertovec and Senior Colorist Ethan Schwartz. The film was shot by cinematographer Robby Baumgartner using Panavision PVintage lenses. 🎥

This is your sign to cozy up with a glass of champagne and stream 'Champagne Problems', now on Netflix 🥂 Light Iron Supervising Colorist Corinne Bogdanowicz takes us behind the scenes on her work with DP José David Montero and director Mark Steven Johnson on the new holiday classic.

“The filmmakers wanted a bright, warm, beautiful feel to the movie,” says Bogdanowicz. “I had worked with both the DP and director previously on a movie called ‘Love In the Villa’. Because we had collaborated before, we were able to quickly get the movie in a great place, and spend time really polishing the images.”

“Long Story Short has a simple, graphic quality that makes it feel approachable. Even though the content is distinctly adult, the visual style is almost childlike. Grading the show was a continual reminder that there’s real sophistication in the simplicity of a graphic image that reads well.”

Light Iron senior colorist Charles Bunnag welcomes viewers inside the grading suite for Long Story Short, the Netflix animated series from BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg.

“Grading animation is essentially the same as live action. In the end, it’s all about whatever looks good and tells the story. For me, this philosophy goes back to my art-school training, where I learned to see, and break down, every image in terms of its fundamental elements. Those fundamentals apply as much to animation as they do to live action.

I also want to credit my fellow colorist Pat Fitzgerald for his help on the show. The simple, direct style of Long Story Short pushed us to simplify our approaches to the grade and the specific tools we employed.

In animation, as in live action, I’m not trying to impart my own vision onto the project. I have my own sensibilities, but I’m only going to use them to help the creatives tell their story. Once you build that trust and a relationship with the creative team, it gives them a sense of security knowing that, if and when they need to, they can take things further in the color grade.”