Picture Shop’s Senior Colorist Doug Delaney provides the series’ color grade to enhance the unraveling of the stranger-than-fiction story of Anna Sorokin.Inventing Anna, Shonda Rhimes’ nine-part limited series for Netflix, follows reporter Vivian Kent’s investigation into the case of Anna Delvey, the Instagram-legendary German heiress who stole the hearts of New York’s social scene – and stole their money as well. Anna and the reporter form a dark, funny love-hate bond as Anna awaits trial and our reporter fights the clock to answer the biggest question in NYC: who is Anna Delvey? The series, which released February 11th, continues to be one of the top-streamed series on Netflix.
The series was primarily shot in New York City, with Picture Shop’s On-Location Services team providing co-location dailies processed by Dailies Colorist Erik Haase out of Burbank, California. The majority of the engagement between Senior Colorist Doug Delaney and the Shondaland team happened through the use of TecStream, Streamland Media’s secure streaming platform. Cinematographer Maryse Alberti shot the series’ first episode and collaborated with Delaney virtually to establish the look. Together, they would share files and hop on calls to discuss how best to approach the grade.Explains Delaney, “It was a deceptively complicated show to grade. It bounced in timeframes as the reporter was unwinding the story. The story would flash back in time to the enactment of those revelations, so we played around with delicate changes in the color correction just to emphasize those different times, such as Anna’s childhood in Germany, when she first met the people she manipulated, and her trip to Marrakesh.”
Another unique element of Inventing Anna is the importance social media plays in the unraveling of the Sorokin’s story. Explains Delaney, “The characters are constantly tracking Anna’s whereabouts via Instagram posts. We added Instagram posts into the picture, superimpositions, and visual effects elements within Instagram on the screen. Integrating these graphic elements within the live-action is a fairly intricate process for us in post, but it’s absolutely integral to the story.”The series was graded in Dolby Vision HDR for Netflix, with Colorist Santiago Padilla, Assistant Colorist Randy Rigg, and Editor Jon Van Wye providing support on the series.Inventing Anna is now available to stream on Netflix.