DRAMA | SEX EDUCAT ION
John Lawton is an absolute king in the lighting world and he was a rock for me and Gary Chaisty throughout the shoot. He furnished us with everything – from the latest LED to the old faithful T12 and Silver Bullet. Nothing was a problem for him. A lamp we made a lot of use of was the Kino Freestyle. During testing, we compared the colour and light quality of most LED fixtures. The Kino was the most accurate in terms of colour temperature, hue and quality of light, which, as we all know, is very different to traditional incandescent and discharge lighting. As the Venice is very sensitive to colour variations, it picks up on any green or magenta bias much sooner than other digital systems. The Kino was the only lamp we tested where we didn’t have to regularly remove green. It also happened to be the most flexible on set. DEF: Tell us about the filtering you used. How did you shoot the actors and how did you achieve the look? Did you have different plans for different actors? JC: We used a little bit of diffusion in front of the lens, plus smoke, as well as the vintage lens tool, which added softening. Our choice of lenses and careful lighting meant I didn’t have to offer special treatment to any of the cast. DEF: How closely did you work with costume and production design? Sex Education has a very specific look and features lots of primary colours. JC: As always, I worked very closely with the director, production designer, costume designer and make-up in prep. Ben created lots of mood boards and each department then created their own versions. Slowly, the ideas were solidified and honed through many meetings and conversations until we arrived at a colour palette we all felt
represented the script for Sex Education in the best possible way. A gamut was then created, which we all adhered to, mainly policed by SamHarley. A lot of the colour choices were inspired by (as previously mentioned) Dazed and Confused and Venetia Scott. DEF: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about? Anyone in JC: It’s really important I mention two key people, without whom none of this would have happened. First, Jon Jennings, our producer, who I think still hasn’t had a day off since the show was born. Jon is the most positive man alive and kept us going whenever things invariably got tough. He also managed a brilliant but young cast on a daily basis and helped get them through the biggest show of their lives. Second, our line producer, Simon Morris. What a legend! The hardest working person I’ve ever met, he helped me enormously and was always there listening when I (or anyone else) needed him. Sex Education would have ground to a halt without his prescience. He also makes a guest appearance. See if you can spot him! particular you would like to thank?
IMAGES The Sony Venice’s colour reproduction accurately portrayed the show’s distinctive primary colours
105 The number of sets and locations on the show 16 The number of bits in the Sony Venice colour system
SEX EDUCATION IS CURRENTLY STREAMING ON NETFLIX
34 DEF I N I T ION | MARCH 20 1 9
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