Blackmagic Design announced today that the new AMC series “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” from the renowned “The Walking Dead” franchise was color graded by Chris Boyer of Picture Shop using DaVinci Resolve Studio editing, color grading, visual effects and audio post-production software.

In the fifth spin-off series from “The Walking Dead” franchise, Daryl finds himself stranded in France, the country of origin of the zombie virus, and struggles to understand how and why he ended up there. As he hopes to find a way home, the series follows his journey through a broken but courageous France. However, the bonds he forms along the way complicate his original plan.

Thanks to his experience on previous series, Boyer had an excellent understanding of the world to create for the new series. “‘The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon’ is the fifth ‘Walking Dead’ series I’ve worked on,” says Boyer. “They all have a distinctive look. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some outstanding cinematographers across all the shows.” Boyer drew inspiration from the work of director of photography Tommaso Fiorilli to set the color tone. “Working with Tommaso on this project has been incredibly rewarding,” continues Boyer. “The color palette of ‘Daryl’ is rich and complex. I’d say it’s the most filmic of all the series.” He adds: “I grade in YRGB mode and I really push the DaVinci Resolve color tools to get the most out of each shot.”

While the original series paid homage to George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, producer David Zabel, who was not part of “The Walking Dead” universe, was brought in to bring a fresh perspective to “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.” “David writes in a cinematic way,” adds Boyer. “The look of ‘Daryl’ is contrasted and slightly saturated. Even with highlights leaning toward cyan, the result still feels natural.”

The original series was largely shot on 16 mm, and flashbacks to those moments required some additional work. “We move away from that naturalistic look in scenes like the Demimonde or in flashbacks with greater color saturation, like an ode to times past,” explains Boyer. “We add 35 mm grain to the digital ‘Daryl’ footage to pay tribute to that look.”

According to Boyer, it was some of DaVinci Resolve Studio’s tools that helped create the right look. “I rely heavily on custom curves in DaVinci Resolve to achieve the desired look,” continues Boyer. “To give a more dystopian feel, contrast was reduced, saturation lowered, greens made less yellow, and heavy desaturation was applied to the greens. And of course, many Power Windows and Magic Masks were used to refine the composition.”

Boyer knew from the start that the images would be absolutely unique. “The series opens with stunning images of a post-apocalyptic France. It sets the tone for everything that follows,” says Boyer. “From the very first day of shooting, I noticed the series would have a unique and wonderful style, and I was thrilled to be able to work on it during the color grading. David, Tommaso, Michel and Dan are all deeply involved in the process. It’s very rewarding to collaborate with such talented and creative artists.”