PRODUC T I ON . IT ’S A SIN
A PHOTO FINISH For Katznelson, the production of It’s a Sin was up there with the most joyful he had ever worked on. But he was never more happy than when sitting down with his wife, before the grade, in order to watch a rough cut of the series. “She laughed and cried more than I can ever remember her doing for any film or TV series we have watched together,” he says. In the grade, the show was given an HDR finish by Jodie Davidson at Technicolor. The first session took place during lockdown and was done remotely, with Katznelson on his iPad at home and Davidson in a Soho studio. “Within the first session, she completely gained my trust. Having never worked together before, or met in person, we graded five episodes over eight weeks.” When the first lockdown eased in the UK, and Katznelson could see the image in HDR for the first time at the studio, he was blown away. “It looked like everything I had imagined, but better – all thanks to Davidson and her brilliant eye for detail, colour and contrast.” Although Davies never voiced it explicitly, Katznelson says It’s a Sin is a story the series writer never wanted to tell, until now. And with the spectre of Covid-19 refusing to dissipate, it certainly makes quite an impact. A new disease has emerged… with misinformation, confusion and tragedy commonplace. History is often in the habit of repeating itself. David Katznelson is repped by Casarotto
The usual trials and tribulations of working on a winter shoot were made more problematic by the number of different locations and sets involved – a total of 175 backdrops had to be dressed and lit. This contributed immensely to the lengthy lead time. “Davies wrote these incredible monologues for Ritchie, where he would be constantly on the move, travelling between different locations as he speaks. And although they were only written as one scene, occupying less than a page of script, we were shooting in ten or 12 places – at bars, nightclubs or on the street. They’d take several hours to do, because every set had to be dressed and lit, so it was quite dense writing in that sense.” Lighting wasn’t marked, but naturalistic. According to Katznelson: “Although I’m pleased It’s a Sin is being recognised for its cinematography, I didn’t want it to distract from the show’s emotional content. I kept it naturalistic for this reason, but also because it’s my own interpretation of the world. I really like natural light, and mostly try to recreate that with Tungsten lights like Octodome and Rifa – but it’s always as soft as possible, with extra diffusion close to the actors.”
CAMARADERIE From left to right: director Peter Hoar, DOP David Katznelson and gaffer Martin Taylor
Production Fact File
LOCATION The series involved 175 different locations and set builds
CAST The cast is comprised
entirely of queer actors, by design
SCHEDULE The shoot was long – taking 70 days from start to finish
“I really like natural light, and mostly try to recreate that with Tungsten lights like Octodome and Rifa – but it’s always as soft as possible”
22. DEFINITIONMAGAZINE.COM
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