Dickens: Phantoms and Fiction

Actor David Harewood explores the mysterious and atmospheric realms created by Charles Dickens. Through compelling readings and archival glimpses, audiences are whisked away into the eerie narratives of this iconic author, shedding light on the oft-overlooked spectres that inhabit his literary creations. This journey offers a distinct perspective on Dickens’ literary works, delving into the supernatural elements that captivated the Victorian imagination. Dickens: Phantoms and Fictions arrives on screen on Thursday 21^st December. 

Here's how our team did it:

Pete Green – Post Producer 

Sky Post Production were pleased to be asked to do full finishing on Dickens: Phantoms and Fiction, a 1 x 60 min documentary in HD for Sky Arts. The programme was a co-production between Section 52 Films, headed up by actor and Executive Producer David Harewood who would also be presenting the show, and Ballandi, an Italian Indie. 

For this haunting, evocative and atmospheric production, Sky Post also provided audio facilities and personnel to record David Harewood’s voiceover to integrate into the main mix as well as a Graphics Editor to enhance the overall look of the show.  

Mark Mulcaster – Colourist 

Following discussions with the DOP it was decided to create a dark and moody grade across the entirety of Dickens: Phantoms and Fictions. Finding the right feel and not tipping too far into the darkness is a very subjective decision and so we took our time in striking the right balance. I wanted to create a look with plenty of atmosphere, so we layered a number of varying sized vignettes of differing strengths over each other and then added diffusion to create a softer looking image.  

Each of the set-ups had its own unique vibe and we wanted to embrace that without any one scenario feeling too jarring compared to another. I think we struck a good balance between dark and light which echoes Dickens’ own writing style and really captures the other-worldly feel that we were after. I’m really looking forward to people seeing the programme in the run up to Christmas. 

Chris Hay – Online Editor 

With the edit happening offsite I had online notes emailed to me by Suzannah, the Director, as well as a request from Julian, the Offline Editor, to give the moves and effects some TLC. I went through the whole cut and did my usual online checks - tweaking a few shots to remove slight goldfishing, adjusting shots with closed eyes at the cut point and smoothing out moves and then tackled the main points from the director including the removal of camera lights in a mirror on a handheld shot as well as tidying up a blacked-out window where the curtain had come open. The latter was easily solved by tracking the chink of light and then using paint effect with a nice big feather amount to hide the offending light. The mirror was a bit trickier – tracking the shot was relatively easy but because the mirror was moving constantly it was difficult to get a clone to work as it was very apparent that it had been added as a mask. The solution was to use a very subtle blur which worked well in addition to a rotoscope of the frame. That meant that the blur wasn’t visible which would have blown the entire illusion. Result! 

The most time-consuming part of the online was creating the magic lantern effect. The Offline Editor had given me a rough outline of what was needed and then I jumped into After Effects to give the scenario a uniform look and then added a very subtle flicker to the overall effect to give the illusion of candlelight illuminating the pictures. I’m very pleased with the outcome and with the programme as a whole. It’s a perfect ghost story for Christmas; very atmospheric and it looks and sounds amazing. On the strength of this and Dickens in Italy I ordered Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Stories!

Tom Nursey – VO Recordist 

For a recording session such as this, early assessment of the session's dynamics was crucial. Understanding the level of direction required, whether it comes from you as the engineer or from the producer, is key.  

Another essential aspect of recording longform VO is collaborating with the mixer who will handle your recordings. Often, voiceovers undergo slight compression in the preamp stage which is an irreversible alteration but sometimes necessary. Therefore, discussing the amount of compression in advance can prove beneficial. Additionally, utilizing any remaining session time to edit the VO, addressing any missed clicks or pops during recording, requires prior discussion regarding the extent and specifics of the editing and delivery. 

Monica Ramirez Leon – Dubbing Mixer 

The programme is primarily based on voiceover and recited passages from Dickens’ works and with little music throughout there were some interesting opportunities and scope for a haunting sound design, which was really fun to create and added an extra layer to the mix. 

Being heavily based on those readings, the main challenge was to remove all the background noises picked up by the actor’s mics, such as dollies, footsteps and even heartbeats. For that I used noise reduction tools and iZotope RX8. To achieve depth and clarity of sound I used a combination of boom and lavalier microphones. 

The show is a fascinating exploration of one of the world’s most famous writers and his relationship with the supernatural that will appeal to literature and dark tales’ lovers equally.