Picture Shop Toronto Senior Colorist Brett Trider provides color for the limited series starring Jack O’Connell and Colin Farrell
The North Water, an adaptation of Ian McGuire’s acclaimed novel, takes place on a 19th century whaling expedition set against the harsh environment of the Arctic.The five-part mini-series directed by Andrew Haigh stars Jack O’Connell as Patrick Sumner, a disgraced ex-Army surgeon who signs up as the ship’s doctor on a whaling expedition to the Arctic. But the ferocity of the elements is matched by the violence of his crew mates with Drax (played by Colin Farrell), a harpooner and a distinctly brutal force of nature.Shot on location in Budapest and the Arctic, as far as 81 degrees north, the series is believed to be the most northern drama shoot to date. Picture Shop Toronto’s Senior Colorist Brett Trider collaborated with Director Andrew Haigh early in post-production setting looks for the series. “I had a wonderful experience with Brett,” said Haigh. “He is a talented and incredibly dedicated colorist. I could not have been happier with his work on what was a highly complex project. He helped bring to life the strange world of our story in ways I had always dreamed.”
“Andrew wanted to explore an old film look for The North Water, referencing Robert Altman’s film McCabe and Mrs. Miller as inspiration. We set some looks and had them processed on film realizing that we could achieve the same effect with color grading,” said Trider. “The end result was a natural film look that enhanced the beauty and vastness of the environment while also heightening the feeling of desperation for the viewer.”The grade was completed using tecstream to provide real-time collaboration for all supervised color sessions, seamlessly joining clients from Montreal, Los Angeles and the UK to securely view the color-accurate content. Picture Shop’s Frank Biasi handled the editorial for the series. “It was a great pleasure to see Andrew Haigh's vision brought to life on screen by the team at Picture Shop,” said Executive Producer Niv Fichman. “The pandemic added an unexpected layer of complexity, but with perseverance and dedication they delivered a show of the highest order, both artistically and technically.”The North Water is produced by See-Saw Films and Rhombus Media and can be watched on AMC+ now and later in the fall on the BBC in the UK, and on Super Channel and CBC in Canada.