USA – Blackmagic Design today announced that the Hulu drama series “The Season” was graded using DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, grading, visual effects (VFX) and audio post production software.
“The Season” follows a group of friends caught up in Hong Kong’s elite boating scene, where a summer getaway slides into betrayal and power plays as hidden agendas come to the surface. Marialy Rivas served as executive producer and director, with Sergio Delgado as cinematographer. Senior Colorist Mark Kueper of Picture Shop Toronto graded the series. Kueper was brought on by the show’s post production producers Steven N. Bray and Mike Phillip Walker, with whom he had worked previously.
Kueper met with Rivas and Delgado early on to talk through direction and references, then built a grading LUT that would match that style. Through the process, Kueper proposed some looks for the series, and then, working with Rivas and Delgado throughout post production, the team was able to refine shots to taste during live sessions over remote iPads.
The film emulation base Kueper built into the LUT separated skin tones from wardrobe without collapsing detail in the midtones, a balance he watched closely so the images would not feel compressed. The show’s art direction carried a consistent thread across scenes, and Kueper leaned into that by pushing cyan tones throughout the series.
“The show is about opulence, and the look needed to support that,” said Kueper. “Having a 2.39:1 aspect ratio made it cinematic, and that cinematic approach let us be softer in the blacks but still achieve contrast. The weight in the images came through color and shape, not heavy blacks or peaking whites.”
In DaVinci Resolve Studio, Kueper works from a custom node tree built around the tools he reaches for most often. “It gives me all the flexibility that I need,” said Kueper. “Things like skin keys, luma keys, and pre shaped power windows that I use a lot are right there, ready to grab when I need them.” Having that structure in place ahead of time also kept client review sessions moving, since Kueper always knew where to find what he needed.
Kueper relied on various tools within Resolve to help refine the work through the show. Much of “The Season” takes place aboard yachts, and matching skies across exterior scenes became one of the show’s trickier grading challenges. Kueper turned to Resolve’s sky replacement OFX to keep those shots consistent from cut to cut. He also favored the Face Refinement tool, which helped when digital makeup was needed. “Face Refinement has gotten really good,” he added. “It makes digital makeup fast when you need it.”
Other Resolve tools removed the need for extensive manual work. “Magic Mask has saved me on several occasions,” said Kueper. “I don’t reach for it often, but this tool has saved a lot of time that otherwise would have meant a lot of rotoscoping by hand.”
“The Season” is now streaming on Hulu.
