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All in the Family

Light Iron supervising colorist Ian Vertovec discusses his collaboration with BMF cinematographer Timothy A. Burton.

Telling the story of the notorious Black Mafia Family drug-trafficking and money-laundering network, the Starz series BMF was created by Randy Huggins. All eight episodes of the first season were shot by cinematographer Timothy A. Burton. Sourcing his camera and lens package through Panavision Atlanta, Burton primarily worked with Panavision’s T Series anamorphic optics.

Light Iron provided dailies and final color for the Atlanta-based shoot. "Tim contacted me pretty early on to brainstorm some unique looks for BMF," supervising colorist Ian Vertovec shares. "Randy Huggins wanted a truly unique look for the series and its two time periods.

"Tim and I tossed some ideas back and forth and ultimately settled on what we would later call a 'Hong Kong cinema look,'" Vertovec continues. "Tim's use of mixed color temperatures was really nice, and it sent us down that path. I added in a healthy amount of post texture to push this concept - grain, diffusion, highlight bloom and flare all mix together here."