Netflix 4K Travelers delivers a natural cinematic look

Travelers, the latest science fiction series from creator Brad Wright, which released recently on Netflix in 4K UHD, was shot by DP Neville Kidd 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).

Travelers is produced by Peacock Alley Entertainment Inc., in association with Showcase and Netflix. Starring Eric McCormack, the show 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. Five “travellers” assume the lives of people just before they die, while attempting to save humanity from a terrible future.

Kidd’s lighting and cinematography gave each of the five travellers a look to help define the personas they have acquired, whilst making 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 like they didn’t belong. I wanted a somewhat gritty look with a European flavour. 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 shot the first three episodes of the series, turning the remaining nine episodes of season one over to DP Stephen Jackson.