The French TV series SKAM France is an international remake of the original Norwegian teen drama, Skam, which was recently dubbed “The Future of TV” by GQ magazine. The show follows the lives of a group of high school students and, like the original, the French online series is released in “real-time,” meaning that if the characters start class at 10am on Monday, then the clip is broadcast online at 10am on Monday. The episodes are aired as such until the Friday of each week, which serves as the finale of each episode.
Series DP Xavier Dolléans shared that Seasons 3 and 4 were both shot in October/November of 2018 during “fast and quick” production timelines. One of the tools that helped Xavier and his team work efficiently were his DMG Lumière SL1 MIX® LED fixtures. He expressed how his MIX lights and the myMIX app sped up his workflow. In particular, he shared a story about how he put the myMIX “Capture” feature to work on set.
On episode 2 of Season 4, there is a sequence where a boy plans to surprise his love interest by revealing a fake "night sky" made of phosphorescent stars. “This green/yellow cast glowing from the stars is very singular with a very low light level, so I needed to mimic and enhance this light,” said Xavier. “I instantly thought about the myMIX app’s Capture function.”
Xavier controls his SL1 using the myMIX app, enabling him to control the fixture remotely using his mobile device. Among the app’s many features is myMIX "Capture," which allows the user to take a picture, select a color from that photo, and then send that color to the MIX fixture. Xavier’s team took a picture of the stars and then used the myMIX app to select the yellow/green hue from the photo and send it to one of his MIX lights. “After slight adjustments, we had the perfect color that we could bounce on the actors,” said Xavier. “That’s really a wonderful and incredible tool!”
Xavier’s team is currently in production for Season 5 and Season 6 of SKAM France. In the meantime, you can stream Season 4 on YouTube (with subtitles for non-French speakers). If you’re considering the SL1 MIX for your next production, visit the product page on dmglumiere.com for detailed specs and product information.
Sara Leeper November 21, 2019 Questions?
Sara Leeper is founder & owner of Walk the Moon Media, where she serves as storytelling consultant, writer, producer and video strategist. Sara transitioned into video production after more than a decade in Public Relations working both in-house and on the agency side with a focus on content development. Her career portfolio includes strategizing for companies including Red Bull, Disney Store and Nestle Crunch. Most recently, she was a communications manager at General Motors and oversaw media relations, social media and events for the western US.