Picture Shop Manchester’s post-production team have told Prolific North about how they proudly helped shape the visual and auditory landscape of BBC’s highly anticipated series This City Is Ours, a gritty show that immerses viewers in the world of crime, family, and loyalty.
Senior colourist Aidan Farrell handled episodes 1-3, while fellow senior colourist Max Goldini took on episodes 4-8.
“The vision for City is Ours was to create a feeling that complemented the dynamic and deadly world our story is set in. By allowing the image to be sat down whilst keeping warmth in our characters, we helped create a more filmic look,” explained Goldini. “We were conscious not to over-grade the image at all, but to enhance the natural set pieces around us. It was also important to showcase the richness of Liverpool as a city and make it the home of our characters.”
The sound design was equally essential. Re-recording mixer Mark Briscoe in Manchester focused on creating an authentic soundscape that highlighted the show’s contrasting locations of Spain and Liverpool.
“When we started the series, we had two major locations playing integral roles,” said Briscoe. “We really wanted the contrast to register with the audience. We did this with sound design and Spanish crowd ADR. For the cage fighting scene, we worked to emphasise the gritty realism of the fights, making it sound grappley and messy.”
Online editor Alex Howells, Picture Shop producer Laura Praciak, and the entire team in Manchester said they were “honoured” to work on the project and ensured a seamless collaboration throughout the post-production process.
Picture Shop’s sister company Ghost VFX provided visual effects on the show, led by VFX Supervisor Matt Richardson.
This City Is Ours is created and written by Stephen Butchard and directed by BAFTA award-winning Saul Dibb (The Salisbury Poisonings, The Sixth Commandment), John Hayes (Nightsleeper, Dublin Murders), and Eshref Reybrouck (Undercover). It stars Sean Bean as gang leader Ronnie Phelan, James Nelson-Joyce as Ronnie’s friend, Michael Kavanagh, Hannah Onslow as Diana Williams, Michael’s partner, Jack McMullen as Ronnie’s son, Jamie Phelan, and Julie Graham as Elaine, head of the Phelan family alongside her husband Ronnie.
Set and filmed in Liverpool, the eight-part series is made by The Crown producer Left Bank Pictures for BBC iPlayer and BBC One. The series premiered on March 23 on BBC One and iPlayer.
