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SHOOT STORY PEAKY BLINDERS
bit of old carpet from my parents – I got such a kick out of seeing that on television.” MAKE THE GRADE With production wrapping in July, Watters was supervising grading on the final two episodes as the first were being broadcast. Simone Grattarola, head of grading at Time Based Arts, used Blackmagic’s Resolve software and spent three days per episode finalising colour. Watters was on hand for two of those days, and enthusiastically confirms that his on-set intentions were fully realised in the final product. “We did some film noir stuff, we got to accentuate that in the grade – you think of things and they go in. That’s the thing, you go out and shoot something and you don’t know what’s going to be used or not going to be used until it’s all locked off. It was
ABOVE The show has become known for its stylised look and jaw-dropping set pieces.
YOU SEE A SHOT OF THIS AMERICAN-STAMPED LETTER BEING DELIVERED. IN MY KITCHEN!
BELOW The Americans are coming: Adrien Brody (right) is looking for revenge.
an example, he refers to a scene in which Adrien Brody’s character, Luca Changretta, and an accomplice search a basement for Murphy’s character, Shelby. “I found these glass bricks. We weren’t sure if they were period enough but they looked cool. We had eight windows, we put an insane green gel behind them and they were lit by that. They were complete film noir against this green. Brody goes up and looks out the window – you can’t look out these windows, but it’s fine, it’s within the realm of where we are.” Watters thinks for a moment: “That might have been pushing it a bit.” Despite the soaring ambitions of the production, Watters speaks fondly of an endearingly low-tech approach to an extra shot that was later found to be needed. “I had the lenses, it was a very quick pickup – I did it at home in my kitchen,” he says. “They’re being served a black hand from America – they all get letters. Adrien Brody’s character is coming in to serve this vendetta, and one of the letters was delivered to Helen McCrory’s character, Polly. You see a shot of this American-stamped letter being delivered. In my kitchen! I had no carpet, I had to go and borrow a
Steadicam operators. The production often shot with two cameras simultaneously, with Watters regularly assigning Hutchinson’s B camera to provide more adventurous, perhaps riskier coverage. “I was more interested in his shot,” Watters says. “His shot is the one that will make the style – the low angle, profile shots, those were the shots I wanted, if I could get him in… I was always trying that and it would seem to work well.” While the production principally used Zeiss Super Speed lenses, an Angenieux Optimo 24-290mm zoom was also kept available. Schneider’s Hollywood Black Magic filters were commonly used, although some set-ups used the company’s Black Frost filter instead. “Sometimes when you’re using Hollywood Black Magic you get a double image if it’s close to highlights – I’d stick in a Black Frost if that was the case. I used a classic soft on the ladies, sometimes.” Watters was also careful to match the apparent filter density on different focal lengths. “I think it was half Hollywood Black Magic on anything up to a 50mm, and after a 50mm we used a quarter.” The production’s look, Watters says, is “completely stylised”. As
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