Every Time you look at me

A High Definition first for both BBC Drama and BBC Post Production, Every Time You Look At Me has taken the plunge into the pool of interlaced and progressive formats and surfaced with considerable success.

‘Every Time You Look At Me’ features actors with disabilities in the two lead roles. Written by Lizzie Mickery for Mat Fraser and Lisa Hammond, the 90 minute film is a modern day love story focusing on the choices of two people. Chris and Nicky are drawn into a relationship that is both liberating and painful. Individually neither of them sees their disability as an impediment to succeeding with their lives but when they consider a future together all that changes.

Every Time You Look At Me explored the possibilities offered by HD technology in order to maximise the visual quality of the piece and increase its export potential. As the facility provider, BBC Post Production was able to fully exploit its suite of HD equipment including its Quantel eQ and bring BBC Drama’s ideas to life.

Shooting took place using the Sony HDcam tape format at 25 frames per second according to the UK standard, as the production was commissioned primarily for the UK market. The programme was edited in-house on an Avid non-linear system in standard definition at off-line quality. This was done using down converted versions of the High Definition rushes, allowing conventional post production equipment and routes to be used for all intermediate processes. The High Definition route was adopted once the vision conforming stage was reached.

The work was undertaken by BBC Post Production’s Editor, Steve Jamison, who carried out the High Definition vision conforming of the entire programme using our Quantel eQ High Definition editing and finishing workstation. Effects tools in the eQ system were used to adjust some shot sizes and framing. Unwanted objects in some sequences were also removed. Graphics and titles were also created using the High Definition character generator within the eQ. Lastly, the programme was finished with High Definition and Standard Definition masters created in the eQ suite. BBC Post Production’s award-winning colourist Chris Packman graded both the SD and the final HD versions.

This innovative project was one of the first of many HD collaborations between BBC Post Production and programme makers aimed at exploring the opportunities offered by working in High Definition. By shooting and post producing this programme in High Definition, the team were able to project it with great success in a full size projection theatre at Bafta for the transmission preview.

Ewan Marshall, Producer, comments on the production: “With this film, we aimed to break new ground in terms of content and format. This is still fairly new technology and typically people would expect to see an expensive period drama shot and post produced in HD. However, we wanted to show that we could create a compelling, beautifully shot and edited drama featuring actors with disabilities that would have universal appeal.”

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