Synopsis
Observing an often overlooked part of British life, Born Mucky: Life On The Farm follows three different family farms and their endeavours to make a successful living in a world with ever-growing social and cultural pressures.
Grade
Born Mucky was a fun but technically challenging grade. Working in UHD HDR and at High Frame Rate, Connor Elliott graded the series using Filmlight Baselight. Working collaboratively with Head of Picture, Adam Dolniak, both colourists developed a look that fitted the run-and-gun documentary style that the client wanted to achieve.
The majority of the content used in the programme contains exterior shots, filmed over a long-shooting period using several different cameras and farm locations. As is to be expected, the weather had an impact on the footage and required careful shot-matching. Sky replacement tools were used alongside shape work to bring the overcast days to life. Additionally, the Hue shift tool was often used to tweak the colour of the grass where necessary.
Each episode also required an SDR version delivery, which was completed after the HDR version had been approved. The SDR trim pass was completed by using a Baselight DRT, with Adam and Connor reviewing and manually adjusting the final pass.
Audio Post Production
Senior Dubbing Mixer, Joe Cochrane, mixed the show on an Avid S6 using ProTools HD 2019. Surround ambience was applied throughout the series to engulf viewers within the various farm locations. To monopolise on the immersive style of viewing, Joe made use of the excellent wild-track, which was provided by production, by laying it into the mix where possible.
As a result of the extent of external footage there was the challenge of collateral sound, so extensive use of Izotope’s RX7 Advanced was needed to clean and tighten the dialogue.
Online Editing
The High Frame Rate UHD HDR, UHD SDR and HD versions for each episode of the series were all online in Avid Symphony by Head of Online, Tristan Lancey, and Online Editor, Matt Parry.
Various effects from the Boris FX and Sapphire effects packages were utilised, integrating Mocha Pro for any blurring or object removal required. To finalise the work already achieved in the grade, Tris and Matt used the Neat Video plugin for noise reduction on material shot in darker lighting conditions. Photoshop was also incorporated into the Online for all UHD title creations.
Where to Watch
You can catch Born Mucky: Life On The Farm every Tuesday at 9pm on Quest.