Case Study

Radley Studios

content category: Documentary Series
facility background: Based in Los Angeles, CA, Radley Studios
is an independent production company and creative studio. They
have a full in-house team of creatives who direct, design, edit,
create VFX/Titles, color grade, mix, and finish their own content
from inception through delivery.
show being studied: Unnatural Selection on Netflix
show background: Pioneers in gene-editing techniques and artificial
intelligence, (both scientific experts and average people), confront ethicaland technological challenges unlike anything humanity has faced before.
type/length: 1-Hour ‘Run and Gun’ Documentary Series: 4 episodes
camera info: Main camera: Sony FS7. Others include Panasonic GH1, Canon
C300 & C500, Go Pro, and Stock Footage
editorial system: Adobe Premiere – offline to online conform (Edit in NYC,conform in LA)graphics/visual effects system: Cinema 4D Linear Output – Arnold render
engine / composite in After Effects with 16 bit output
color correction system: BlackMagic Design Davinci Resolve 16scopes: Internal Resolve Scopes
icmu or ecmu: iCMU in Resolve
color pipeline: ACES
mastering monitor used: Sony BVM- X300 OLED (1,000 Nits PeakBrightness)
approval / review methodology: In person grade/approval in color suite.

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“At Netflix we feel that the Dolby Vision HDR workflow most accurately reflects“At Netflix we feelthe creative intent of filmmakers and colorists, providing them with newthat the Dolby Vision
opportunities in storytelling. This doesn’t mean a show has to look ‘HDR’. Itmeans productions can achieve their intended look in a new way.
HDR workflow mostOur Post teams are here to provide support and help set up our partners for
accurately reflects
success. On Unnatural Selection, Radley was very open to the idea of HDR
the creative intent ofand grasped the initiative. Over the course of a few months, they underwent
filmmakers and colorists, training and testing that ultimately made the project go really smoothly.”Richard Hobbs, Netflix Post Manager, Documentaries
providing them withnew opportunities instorytelling.”

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“The ethos of Radley
is simple, we put all of
it on the screen… We
take the budget andit goes on the screen.
So, what’s the naturalextension of creating
phenomenal graphics
and using the best
cameras? It is HDR…
and the best version ofHDR is Dolby Vision.”“The ethos of Radley is simple, we put all of it on the screen… We take thebudget and it goes on the screen. So, what’s the natural extension of creating
phenomenal graphics and using the best cameras? It is HDR…and the best
version of HDR is Dolby Vision. We’d been looking at it before Rich at Netflix
recommended that this show might be a good candidate for HDR. As a studiothat is accustomed to finishing and delivering our projects internally, wewere all ears, but it did seem daunting. We thought there would be a large
equipment expense, but it turned out the biggest thing was education andplanning. Dolby provided a great overview and then onsite training andcombined with all the information and resources from the team at Netflix,
we said ‘we’re in!’ Getting everyone on the same page was key and it was
especially important to help the creative execs feel comfortable with the newaesthetic possibilities. It was a process that took time, but they warmed up
to it nicely. The best advice we got was from the engineer at Dolby who said,
after setting up our monitor, “Hey guys, don’t forget, just color your show.” He
knew that we had been focusing on the tech aspect, but the magic is really inthe color grading. There is a learning curve and intimidation factor… but ourplanning and testing paid off and our great looking, GFX heavy, ‘Run & Gun’
documentary was a total success thanks to Vision and the support from bothDolby Laboratories and Netflix.”Beau Nilsson, Facility Engineering Lead:
Director of Post Production at Radley Studios

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“It was really an eyeopening and positive
experience workingwith graphics in Dolby
Vision. In the end, wemade something thatwas much richer andmore vibrant thanwhat is possible inRGB/SDR.”“The graphics of the show were designed over the course of two years before
the show went into production and before I knew of the Dolby Vision system.
The graphic palette is a super vibrant, almost electric array of neon green(s),cyan(s) and a rich, distinct yellow that brands the show. Admittedly, I wasnervous to venture from RGB into an HDR color space and uncertain how
the design we spent years on would translate. But, when Beau (our Directorof Post Production & Operations) arranged a demo for us at Netflix, I wasabsolutely blown away by the Dolby Vision demonstration. The richness ofthe colors was so stunning, I could not wait to work with the graphics in thisnew system.
With any innovation there is a learning curve. Some graphics would benuclear hot when brought into Resolve on a 1,000 nit monitor. But withjust a bit of back and forth and experimenting we were quickly able todevelop a system that enabled us to dial in the graphics and make them look
spectacular in HDR. Once we had the adjustments figured out, we were able
to integrate them into our workflow with no time lost.
It was really an eye-opening and positive experience working with graphics in
Dolby Vision. In the end, we made something that was much richer and morevibrant than what is possible in RGB/SDR.”
Antonio Cicarelli, Graphics/Visual Effects System/Team LeadPartner and Head of Design and Animation at Radley Studios

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“It was exciting tosee something sonew... I was also really
impressed with theDolby Vision mappingfrom HDR to SDR andusing the 4.0 analysis
and trims. The analysis
only was really good...
Some shots were 100%
without any trims.”“It’s a push and pull to see what you can actually get out of each image. Joeand Leor (the directors) were great to work with and we proceeded cautiouslyon the first episode with a more ‘log’ and cinematic flat look. The second
episode started to have more opportunities to pop a bit more and had moreroom to take advantage of HDR, Leor (also one of the main DP’s) said, ‘let’s
now go back and revisit episode one and open it up more.’ It was somethingthat just snapped, especially some of the incredible graphics that pushupwards of 600 nits and really has an impact. It was exciting to see somethingso new… I was also really impressed with the Dolby Vision mapping from
HDR to SDR and using the 4.0 analysis and trims. The analysis only was really
good… Some shots were 100% without any trims. We were worried that thegraphics especially would have a hard time mapping to SDR, but it worked
really well. As a colorist, it took some time to adjust to switching from HDR toSDR monitoring. I’m more comfortable now to hop back and forth and tweak
the HDR and then reanalyze and trim the SDR if I need to. Scopes really help
with all this new gear and new process, don’t always just trust your eyes.”

Jonny McPheeters, Colorist, Radley Studios

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