THE FORTRESS POST-PRODUCTION
concept for the series. “Lars had lit the scenes specifically to achieve a bold emphasis on reflections and slightly softer contrast in the facial areas,” says Hopkin. “We were constantly enhancing the local contrast ratios on these surfaces – and Resolve’s excellent masking and tracking tools make these tasks a breeze.” Hopkin used a number of Resolve’s other useful AI-driven features – Magic Mask, Face Refinement, Depth Map and more – to achieve The Fortress ’ final look. He touts the ’tight integration between Frame.io and Resolve’ as a critical aspect of the review process, claiming: “We could simply not work as efficiently without it.” BIG PICTURE Written by John Kåre Raake and Linn- Jeanethe Kyed as a social commentary on contemporary society, The Fortress combines an elaborate storyline and complex characters with crisp, refined visuals. Hopkin’s goal was to have the grade ‘feel somewhat invisible, in the sense that it shouldn’t compete with the story but instead help underline it’. The visual cues set the tone for each character’s journey, clueing us into their emotions beyond what’s on the screen. Hopkin is humble about his contributions: “The main part of a look is based on what’s captured in front of the lens.” With teams throughout Scandinavia and north-eastern Europe, The Fortress is a feat of collaboration. Hopkin is sure of one thing: “Proper teamwork always yields the best results!” The Fortress is produced by Maipo Film for the Viaplay Group and premiered on Viaplay. It will be available on Prime Video in select regions in the near future
components of Hopkin’s visual palette proved to be ARRI’s LogC3 to Rec. 709 LUT and a custom-combined Kodak Negative/film-print emulation LUT and various DCTLs. NITTY-GRITTY What may seem like a straightforward task is actually highly skilled and very time-consuming. “We spent roughly 36 hours on each individual episode just working on the main grade,” explains Hopkin. “More time was then required for the look development, the editorial changes and visual-effects shots.” All in all, this adds up to nearly 300 hours of colouring and reviewing. Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve proved an essential tool in this process. “DaVinci Resolve has all the tools you need to create exquisite, story-driven grades, where the perpetual integrity
of the cinematographer’s vision is maintained,” assures Hopkin. Reaching a cohesive final product required a delicate balance between cinematography, grading and VFX (which was handled by the Finnish effects house Troll VFX). Hopkin used Vestergaard’s visuals as a foundation, building on the
BRICKS IN THE WALL Contrasting colour palettes highlight the social divides of this fictional dystopian Norway
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