Amazon Prime Series Somos Oro Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Mexican series achieves vibrant aesthetic and streamlined workflow with DaVinci Resolve Studio.
Blackmagic Design today announced that the hit series “Somos Oro” (“We Are Golden”), available on Amazon Prime, was color graded by Esther Rivas using DaVinci Resolve Studio. Not only did color play a vital role in the show’s story, but DaVinci Resolve Studio’s intuitive tools helped the talented team deliver a solid, consistent, and high quality look, designed from pre to post production.
Produced by Mexico based production company Filmadora and graded by Rivas in collaboration with The Hub, a Mexican boutique post production company, the seven episode TV series follows friends Vanessa and Marilú, portrayed by Diana Bovio and Michelle Rodríguez, as they struggle financially and come up with a pyramid scheme to escape poverty.
According to Rivas, who has relied on DaVinci Resolve Studio for more than 14 years, one thing that attracted her to the project was how fundamental color was in defining the storyline. “Sometimes when you join a project, you get directions of how it should look, and you don’t get to experiment outside of that. This project was different. I was able to be more present in defining how it looked and be more creative than I had been before,” she said.
“Before production even started, I sat down with DP Alberto Anaya, along with our DIT Mike Aguilar and color scientist Esteban Robles, to define the strong but not rough look we wanted for the series and come up with LUTs that brought a feminine energy to the screen, with a glossy and vibrant texture. We wanted to redefine the feeling conveyed by soft pastel tones, to go beyond what people usually expect from those tones and take them to an expressive, muted mood at specific moments in the protagonists’ emotional narrative. This gave us the opportunity to play with finding other meanings or sensations in those pastel tones,” said Rivas.
Rivas also relied on DaVinci Resolve Studio’s toolset to help deliver several key scenes. In one episode, shot fully indoors, Rivas needed to show time passing from morning until dawn the next day. Rivas explained, “Vanessa and Marilú were performing some kind of ritual to promise they would go through with their pyramid scheme, and it was crucial for us to shade the passing of time naturally. Resolve’s Color Warper tool came in handy, as I was able to go scene by scene and adjust the color to illustrate how the sun changed, along with shadows on the characters.”
She continued, “Having each scene so neatly organized in my timeline allowed me to keep track of what needed to be adjusted to look brighter or darker, depending on the time of the day we wanted to reflect in the episode.”
Another key scene involved the women getting arrested by cops at night. “The flashing police lights during the scene made it tricky to maintain color consistency, especially as they reflected on the characters’ faces. For this, I relied heavily on the Neon Suppression LMT which allowed me to adjust colors easily in just two passes.”
Rivas also relied on DaVinci Resolve Studio’s Fusion page to incorporate graphics and logos into scenes as needed. “Having different tools in one platform was incredibly helpful. We didn’t have to jump from software to software to get things done. Everything was in the same place and easy to use, which once again helped our productivity,” she noted.
Efficiency is always the aim for Rivas. “For me, it’s always important to meet deadlines and collaborate with the team as efficiently as possible without compromising quality,” she said. “Every tool within DaVinci Resolve worked in our favor, as they’re easy to use and intuitive. I remember that at one point, we caught up with the editing team as we finished grading our scenes. We decided to take a pause in color and double check everything we had worked on so far to ensure we were meeting the desired look.”
“I’m thrilled to be working with DaVinci Resolve Studio on my next series of projects,” Rivas concluded. “As a freelancer, being able to work efficiently with the team on set is crucial. Having a tool that allows me to be productive in my workflow, from dailies to the final look, gives me huge satisfaction. I can deliver my best work within the agreed upon timeframes and communicate with the team, staying in sync with everyone because it works so efficiently.”
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