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DEPARTMENT www.postmagazine.com 27 POST MAY 2017 HBO's Golden Globe-nominated Westworld is a dark drama, starring Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel Wood, James Marsden and Thandie Newton, about the birth of artificial consciousness and a look at human nature when given a free pass to act or behave without rules, limits or morals. The 10-episode first season, based on the 1973 film Westworld (written by Michael Crichton, staring Yul Brynner), was shot on 35mm on Arricam Lite and colored by Shane Harris (pictured, bottom right) at Deluxe's Encore (where the conform was completed as well). Together, with DP Paul Cameron and show runner and co-creator Jonathan Nolan, the team established a "moody cinematic look that was slightly desaturated" for the pilot and carried out throughout the series. Harris was brought in early to the project by longtime collaborator Cameron. While Cameron typically relies on his own color system for projects shot digitally, he turned to Encore given the film-scanning requirement for Westworld. Averaging around 20,000 feet of film per day, Encore scanned the dailies to 2K, 10-bit HD DPX in Log color space, which enabled Harris to have the full range of the negative in final color. He completed color grading in DaVinci Resolve. One of the challenges the series presented to both production and post was in distinguishing the various settings, so that each would have its own distinct look. Part western, part sci-fi, the series takes place in the "park" (where the wealthy pay to live out their Old West fantasies), with sprawling vistas and mountain rang- es (many scenes captured in Moab, UT), and a classic western town, populated by robotic "hosts." In contrast, there are darker, behind-the-scenes labs were the town's hosts are maintained and the staff runs the operations. Darker yet, is the underground area where older, "re- tired" hosts are stored. A number of flashback sequenc- es also have their own, unique look. For each of these, Harris relied on the looks estab- lished with Cameron and Nolan (and show co-creator Lisa Joy) for the pilot as a guideline for the rest of the season. Additionally, Harris dropped in more than 600 VFX shots from four to five different vendors per episode. "There's the lab area, which is very cool and blue, and more contrasty than the exterior — the Old West look — which is slightly desaturated from reality," describes Harris. "The whole thing is very filmatic. We didn't try to crush black or blow out the lights. We embraced whatever environment was out there. We did a lot of contrast in the mids, we brought the mids down to make it more real look- ing — it doesn't look hyper real, it's more real, desaturated, kind of cool in the shadows. Pretty much most of the show is cool in the shadows." According to Cameron, "That's the beauty of a DP when you're doing a pilot and the show is not yet 100 percent sold. You're developing the look, while also keeping in mind that somebody else will be matching those looks throughout the series. In this case, it was a little bit unique because there aren't that many shows shot on 35mm film anymore. We ended up with about three or four DPs who were experienced with film, and then Shane Harris and Jonathan Nolan kept the look consistent throughout the whole show." Harris explains that establishing an open communi- cation between director, DP and colorist early on helps "the initial grade coming closer to the mark. When there's time, DPs might shoot a test and I'll create looks based on that. Other times, I'll send a LUT that the DP can use on-set and then get a sense of what the final frames will look like. Once shooting is underway, footage doesn't always come to me unless I'm working on the dailies, which is atypical for me now. I usually don't see footage until the prelock or lock." Maintaining a consistency wasn't as challenging as it could be on some projects, as Harris and Cameron had a long-established working history together by the time they teamed up for Westworld, as well as a long-established communication shorthand. "I've been working with Shane for close to two decades now," says Cameron. "He's done most of my film dailies for years and we have a very good relationship. I can reference something to him very quickly and leave him a cryptic message at 5 o'clock in the morning — we have a great shorthand. But the other thing is, if I shoot pretty specific tasks and lock in the look of the show — the feeling of the western town and the interiors — we develop a rapport very early on. When we start principal photography, it is a very easy and freeflowing experience working with Shane because of our relationship of many years. I can leave very quick, shorthand notes about the day's work, whereas in the past, I might have to leave very extensive messages or Polaroids, or draw pictures for people. It's quite fortunate I've been working with Shane for a long time." Harris agrees, "Relationships in general are such a key component to becoming a successful colorist. I think DPs and directors prefer to work with colorists they know and trust, and once you've proven yourself to them, they'll come to you with new projects as long as they continue to have a positive experience. When a DP and colorist work well together, the post process runs more smoothly and efficiently." He continues that it's important for a DP and colorist to be friendly. "Open communication from the get-go makes it easier to hone in on the look the DP is aiming for. I like to call DPs ahead of time for background information and to walk through their vision for the look. We'll often exchange stills, which give me a good idea of how to move forward. At the start of the job, I'll check in with the DP on the initial looks to make sure I'm headed in the right direction and ask for feedback. More often than not, the color doesn't change drastically because we had those in-depth conver- sations ahead of time." According to both, Westworld has all-around been a huge success. So much so, in fact, HBO has already order a second season. DP AND COLORIST ENHANCE CINEMATIC MOODINESS FOR HBO'S WESTWORLD BY LINDA ROMANELLO