Travelers, the latest science fiction series from creator Brad Wright (co-creator of Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis and SGU Stargate Universe), is set to debut on December 23rd on Netflix in 4K UHD, which will have exclusive international rights everywhere except in Canada, where it has already begun airing on Showcase.
As a Netflix series, Travelers is shot in 4K using a RED Dragon (S35 sensor), with a prime lens kit consisting of the full Cooke 5/i range (18mm, 25mm, 32mm, 40mm, 50mm, 65mm, 75mm, 100mm and 135mm) with specific S4/i lenses added (14mm, 150mm, and 180mm) to give director of photography Neville Kidd the exact tools necessary to bring Travelers to life. In 2014, Kidd won the Primetime Emmy® Award for Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie for the Sherlock episode “His Last Vow”, shot with Cooke 5/i primes. In December 2016, he was nominated for the American Society of Cinematographers’ Outstanding Achievement Award in the category of Regular Series for Non-Commercial Television for the TV series Outlander, shot with Cooke S4/i prime lenses.
Starring Eric McCormack (Will & Grace and Perception), Travelers is set in present day as the last surviving humans from hundreds of years in the future discover how to send consciousness back through time, into people of the 21st century. These five “travelers” assume the lives of those people just before they die, while attempting to save humanity from a terrible future.
Kidd’s lighting and cinematography gives each of the five travelers a look to help define the persona they have acquired and make them slightly alienated from the world around them. “It’s a subtle way of telling the audience what this character is like and setting the mood of the person,” said Kidd.
“We started production in Vancouver on April 19, and from day one, I shot the characters fully open giving a shallow depth of field so they seemed liked they didn’t belong,” Kidd explained. “I wanted a somewhat gritty look with a European flavor. By combining how I light and see the world with the ‘Cooke Look’, I captured a more naturalistic image. That’s important as Travelers is mostly set in a contemporary world and needs to feel natural to the viewer.”
Kidd created the “look” for Travelers and shot the first three episodes, turning the remaining nine episodes of season one over to Stephen Jackson (DP for 104 episodes of Once Upon a Time). Cooke lenses have always been Kidd’s first choice for shooting dramas. “There’s no other glass available that gives such a cinematic image,” concluded Kidd.
Travelers is produced by Peacock Alley Entertainment Inc., in association with Showcase and Netflix. Travelers official trailer from Peacock Alley Entertainment can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UpYmwGkbdc
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