SILVERBACK PRODUCTION
For example, the score can help build the drama and tension as the filmmakers finally get close to the gorillas. The screams and crashing undergrowth as the silverback launches towards the crew to protect his family helps the audience feel the real danger the crew faces.” BACK HOME Due to the editorial team being situated throughout the UK, the team adopted LucidLink cloud-based storage to share the video material at the offline editing stage. Chambers says: “This is a relatively new way for productions to work,” and moves away from traditional local drive storage workflows. “This connected our team members from around the country, giving us the ability to access, view and edit footage as well as instantly distribute between one another,” he adds. “As the project continued, different stages joined the LucidLink workspace, creating a centralised hub for music composers, graphics companies and editors alike. As the camera rushes returned to our Bristol office, LucidLink could handle the growing project size, as it has no limit on capacity.” QUALITY FINISHING For the picture finishing, the post team conformed to the original camera files to maximise the footage quality and dynamic range. Colour choices were discussed with the post-production team
GORILLA TACTICS The main subject, the giant silverback known as Mpungwe, occasionally showed combative behaviour, which initially posed a challenge for filming
and director Miles Blayden-Ryall. “This inclusive, collaborative effort utilised Off the Fence’s in-house Baselight grading system. The advantage is in real-time colour changes being applied and the subtlety of those changes,” Chambers says. “Many shapes were created to give emphasis to certain areas in the frame or highlight narrative points being made.” The in-house colourist at Off the Fence, Jon Pembro, advised Chambers and his team to avoid excessive use of bright neon or yellow tones in the greens. The goal ‘was to prevent oversaturation
of the image and maintain a balance, aiming for a beautiful and premium appearance with a touch of edge’. Pembro emphasised the need for grit in the image, steering clear of the oversaturated and overly bright look that has often been implemented in certain natural-history shows. ANGER MANAGEMENT While silverbacks – and gorillas in general – are not typically known for aggression unless provoked or agitated, the behaviour of Mpungwe, the primary silverback, was notably combative. His charges were exceptionally swift and initially posed challenges for filming. “This behaviour was played in on- speed to capture the visceral feeling of the main protagonist,” Chambers says. “Later in the film, as we understand him more, these charges are played in off- speed, as we are suggesting that there is more to this behaviour than simply pure aggression.” Of course, there is always a balance between factual accuracy and artistic licence required by the narrative. It is, as Chambers explains: “Staying true to showing behaviour and reality while constructing scenes in a way that will effectively tell the story.” Silverback is available on BBC iPlayer
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