Grading British Style Genius

October 2008: BBC Post Production has graded British Style Genius, a landmark documentary series for BBC Two, which takes a fascinating look at what makes British fashion and style so distinctive – and so influential.

Across five one-hour programmes in October and November, British Style Genius examines the looks and trends that have come to define British style, from the high street to high-end couture, from bespoke tailoring to street style, from fashion rebels to traditionalist Sloanes. The British look is eclectic, a mix of tradition and transgression, as much inspired by the consumer as by the catwalk.

The series draws on extensive SD archive film and tape footage, plus specially shot sequences of designers, models, stylists, stars and the retail movers and shakers, who together have created a major industry. The whole series was shot on HD DVC Pro and three of the five episodes which draw on less archive SD material are fully HD and are expected to transmit on the BBC’s HD channel.

Bristol based design and direction company BDH was responsible for the series’ graphics and titles, which complimented the programmes’ artistic look. BBC Post Production Bristol Colourist Jonathon Prosser was brought in early by John Durrant, Art Director at BDH, to consult on how grading could enhance the style and advise on treatments to bring out the best of the archive footage and interviews.

Each of the five episodes needed to have a distinctive feel, complementing the different fashions being focused on and bringing out the best in the archive footage available. Using a Lustre HD grading suite, Jonathon was able to create the appropriate tone to reflect the content whilst ensuring there was variety to each programme and that they were visually interesting to watch. For example, he gave the episode which looked at classic British tailoring a cool sophisticated look in line with the subject matter, whilst the programme exploring fashion rebels, such as Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen, was graded to bring out the boldness and vibrancy of their fashion.

The High Street fashion episode used a considerable amount of tape archive material from the 1980s and a key challenge for Jonathon was to make the footage look as good as it possibly could and ensure it did not stand out too strongly from the older film archive material, which provided much richer pictures.

“I was also particularly pleased with the specially shot sequence at the beginning of that episode,” says Jonathon “where numerous girls emerge from the London Underground with Kate Moss masks which I heavily graded to create a stylized look. The grade also worked brilliantly on the shots of Kate Moss herself. The director was keen that she should jump out at the viewer, so I applied an effect to her throughout. Every single shot was graded to get the maximum out of it and consequently every single shot is beautiful.”

A further challenge from a grading perspective was the interview footage and ensuring that a consistency in quality and look was achieved. In a few cases, it had not been possible to dress and light a set for the interviews but it was important they appeared as if as much effort and care had been spent on the environment as in the case of the other interviews. Jonathon was able to use the Lustre grading system to apply lighting effects to each shot, which produced fantastic results.

British Style Genius is on BBC Two every Tuesday for five weeks. The first episode aired on Tuesday 7th October and the final episode will transmit in November.

About BBC Post Production

BBC Post Production, a division of BBC Resources Ltd, is located in London, Bristol and Birmingham and offers award-winning creative solutions using the latest technology. Working in partnership with a variety of broadcasters and production companies, BBC Post Production’s extensive range of services include SD and HD editing across all platforms, 5.1 audio and telecine, as well as Media Solutions, its new consultancy service. The BBC Post Production team brings talent and experience to a vast range of productions, across all genres. Credits include: BAFTA Craft Award nominated Seven Ages of Rock, Strictly Come Dancing, Eastenders, Match of the Day, Ski Sunday, Gardeners World and the award winning Planet Earth.

For more information visit www.bbcresources.com/postproduction

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