James Friend BSC
DoP: All Quiet on the Western Front
"“Over the years of working with Andrew, we’ve developed a sort of shorthand that allows a more creative grade. He knows what I like and so we can have more fun experimenting and getting interesting results.”"
Brian Kirk
Director: Day of the Jackal, Hard Sun
"Thomas Urbye has an artist's eye and the technical skillset of a master craftsman. He manipulates colour and light with confidence and sensitivity, always in the service of story. He is bold and subtle in equal measure with a wonderful awareness of each individual frame and how they all add up aesthetically, emotionally and tonally. He is equally comfortable taking close direction or working independently, whether adding to or refining the existing vision of the film-makers. THE LOOK is an outstanding experience and a lot of fun!"
Stuart Bentley BSC
DoP: We Live In Time, The Gold, Top Boy
"I’ve done a number of projects with The Look now and have loved my time working there - the team are incredibly supportive and their technical expertise is second to none. They have fantastic colourists and online facilities - they always go the extra mile to make sure their clients are well looked after. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them and look forward to working there again soon! "
Saul Dibb
Director: The Sixth Commandment
"The Look was simply a brilliant place to work and the whole team took such good care of us from start to finish, and in every way.
Thomas set the tone from the beginning, investing time and thought to ask about what I wanted to achieve, how I wanted it to look and feel and to explore what it was all about. Alongside Grace he became totally invested in the project, always at great pains to ensure everything was right in the grade – while also making fantastic creative suggestions about how to make it even better. When it came to exec reviews there was barely a note, other than how beautiful it looked. It really couldn’t have gone more easily and seamlessly – and so relaxed too.
The same was true for the online and smaller vfx work. Aidan was totally meticulous, nothing ever rushed or overlooked, and always in good humour. The whole thing felt like working with one big family, extending well beyond post-production with lovely emails sent congratulating us on its reception. While a lot of post-production houses can feel huge and impersonal, The Look are the very opposite: lovely people who take time to get to know you and your project, then do great work. I’ll be there again at the drop of a hat."
Oli Russell
DoP: The Gold S2, Renegade Nell, Sex Education
"I have worked with Thomas and Grace at The Look a lot in the last five years. I can honestly say that it is always an absolute pleasure. The combination of their technical ability, knowledge and expertise and the warm welcoming environment make it a great creative space. In recent years grading The Gold season 2, Renegade Nell and Sex Education season 3, the collaborative process with Thomas and the team has been a joy.
Director Ben Taylor and myself wanted a look for Renegade Nell that was going to give the show a richness, but also a grittiness, without detracting from the magic. We looked at different processes with Thomas. We had used a three strip process before on season three of Sex Education which was really successful. Although Renegade Nell is a very different period and style of show, we looked at how manipulating the three strip process would translate to the world of Renegade Nell. Thomas tweaked and tried different looks and we ended up with a really successful grade. The process as always was a joy from start to finish, and I am really proud of what we have all achieved.
The Look are always prepared to go the extra mile and give their time and advice on sometimes tight schedules. The Look to me feels like home. I know I will get the best service and that I will be looked after."
Rob Bullock
Exec Producer, Left Bank: WHO IS ERIN CARTER?
"Picture post for WHO IS ERIN CARTER? was my first time working with Thomas and Grace, and I loved it. They created a beautiful sun-drenched look for the show that - despite the assurances of the Spanish service company - was not there for the start of our shoot. They were a key factor in the show's warm reception. Thomas is an artist, with a scientific mastery of the technical detail, and always alert to story. Exec screenings with Thomas and Grace had the relaxed, creative atmosphere that comes when people sense they are in excellent hands."
Ben Taylor
Dir: Renegade Nell, Sex Education
"For the last five years the team at The Look have been an essential part of every show I've worked on. Obviously we return for their technical and creative excellence and attention to detail but equal to this is the love and commitment they pour into the work. And also that they’re a delight to spend time with."
Alasdair Flind
Exec Producer, Cow Boy Films: TOP BOY
"Thomas and his brilliant team at The Look have become an integral part of Top Boy since the show first launched over 10 years ago. The Look have become one of the creative foundations upon which the show rests. The friendly and professional environment that The Look provides is a sanctuary in the post period. Of more importance is the role Thomas and The Look play in elevating the locations of London that form the main stage for the show - the grade is able to find the beauty and variety in the everyday streets and estates of East London. Thomas and Grace have worked with a variety of different directors and DOP’s over the years, striving to deliver their own vision and yet at the same time managing to retain a look that is ’Top Boy’. "
Charlie Leech
Producer: The Gold, Lovesick, The Aliens, Intelligence
"Returning to The Look for the final picture post on 'The Gold', after a long and sometimes arduous shoot was, as always, a real pleasure.
From Thomas and Grace setting a beautiful grade for our pictures, Tom Boyle working wonders in the online and the whole team pulling together to deliver the final broadcast files was as smooth and satisfying an experience as ever.
For a producer nothing beats the security of knowing the final picture post is in the safe and reliable hands of such a great team"
Corin Hardy
Director: Gangs of London S1 & 2
""The Look became one of my key team members in creating the world of Gangs Of London, working in depth through both seasons one and now two. We have gone on this epic journey together. Thomas and Grace and the gang at The Look provide an intimate home for us, accommodating the lengthy post process and managing a meticulous and beautiful colour timing continuity between so many different locations and scenes in our labyrinthine underworld. As communication is so tight and fluid between them, we were able to work in and out of a non-chronological order and yet still establish a strong, unique and cinematic look through multiple episodes of the show. Because of this close relationship and after defining the key elements of our Gangs look on season one, I could rely on Thomas to experiment, play and to push the medium as far as it could go to achieve something that balanced our tone of a grounded world with a heightened genre feel. This frequently included piggybacking with Tom Boyle's online department right up until the last VFX shot came in, as they inevitably do, on the brink of delivery! Their warm, cheery and professional philosophy is always welcome, especially when in the thick of a challenging and ambitious show like Gangs of London. Unlike many of the ominous stairwells we descend, behind the hidden doorways in our fictional crime underworld, it is always a pleasure to venture down to the The Look to get creative (and enjoy a handful of jelly beans).""
Erik Alexander Wilson BSC
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: LANDSCAPERS
"I had already begun creating my own looks during prep, and was able to show Thomas & Grace what we were looking to achieve. Both myself and Will were keen that the grade and online could happen simultaneously, due to the nature of the complex blending transitions and multiple camera formats and effects. We were able to further control the Three-strip & Two-strip looks in the final grade; often the 3-strip effect would push the reds too far, so we had to refine them as needed. Once the main grading passes were done and it was just VFX outstanding, I was able to travel abroad and review episodes via an iPad Pro using The Look’s Moxion system. Here I could make notes, review Will’s comments and reply, and even draw shapes on the screen! From our initial meeting through to final review, I was delighted with the collaboration we had with the team at The Look."
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Writer: Fleabag 1&2
"The Look took such great care of us. Beyond their levels of perfectionism and professionalism the team have created such a friendly place to work and the passion for their clients is palpable. It became a second home where we could work late, eat all their biscuits, ask people for their input through the edit, and trust that our show and our DP Tony Miller’s vision for the final picture will be brought to the level of excellence that Thomas and the team have become so known for. Thomas is an artist and I feel very lucky to have worked with him and Grace on both series of Fleabag. We will be BACK! (If they’ll have us)."
Rina Yang BSC
Director of Photography: Top Boy S3
"We were delighted when we graded Top Boy with Thomas - his grade elevated the look of the show, and I was particularly impressed by his way of shaping the image to draw attention to the part of the scene that supported the narrative of the episode.
His team at the look are very thorough and dedicated, there are many things I could mention, but one in particular was they made the HDR/SDR process seem painless for us, which sounded like a daunting task in the beginning!"
Si Bell BSC
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MISS AUSTEN, HARD SUN, GAP YEAR, BUTTERFLY
"Working with The Look and grader Thomas Urbye on Hard Sun was a really great experience for me. The Look is a really fun creative place to grade, with a great atmosphere and a real individual personality. Thomas Urbye is my favourite colourist in London."
Alexandra Brodski
Director: Somewhere Boy
"I loved our grading experience at The Look. Working there was like coming to a retreat – it is a great space and the team have created such a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Most importantly, I loved the creative collaboration with Thomas and Grace. Grace graded most of ‘my’ second block episodes of Somewhere Boy. It was such a joy to work with her! If I hadn’t experienced previously how technically difficult and demanding the grading process can actually be, I wouldn’t have known. Grace made everything seem so easy, which allowed us to focus on the creative and the narrative. I really trusted her artistic eye, and hope to get to work with her and The Look again on future projects.
"
Joe Anderson
Director of Photography: Persuasion, Top Boy 3
"Bringing back Top Boy was a crazy challenge. How do you maintain the show’s original credibility while simultaneously opening the story up for a larger platform? Luckily for me I had a secret weapon, Thomas Urbye. Thomas has been with Top Boy since the beginning. His pride and imprint on the show was evident from our first conversation. His artistry allowed for quiet moments in council blocks to be beautiful, for colorful forests in Jamaica to be frightening and for intense moments of violence to have an undercurrent of regret.
Backing up these creative efforts is the technical capabilities of The Look, making it possible to seamlessly translate our creative intentions into multiple delivery formats that will go out to 190 countries on launch day.
On my latest project, Persuasion, The Look were able to supply me a fantastic grading LUT/LMT for our shoot, which Ive used on other projects subsequently as I loved it so much!"
Jamie Campbell
Exec Prod, Eleven Film: Sex Education
"The Look has given us world-class boutique service on multiple projects. They’re collaborative, they go the extra mile, and the results are always of the highest standard. "
Farren Blackburn
Director: The Innocents, The Fades
"I’m a huge fan of genre filmmaking largely because it allows you to hold a magnifying glass up to everyday issues but examine them in a bold and ambitious way, but high-concept ideas are nothing if not grounded in character. My ambition for The Innocents was to create a cinematic landscape whilst establishing a sense of truth. Could we make the audience believe what was happening as part of the ongoing drama despite the high-concept idea at the heart of the story. For this it was important that we created a look for the show based on natural light but pushed to hint at something slightly other, inspired by the natural world but taken a step further. What we shot was stunning, but when my DP David Procter and I stepped into the grade and began to work with Thomas Urbye at The Look, the visual aesthetic went to another level. The scope of possibilities grading in HDR was incredible, but it was the subtle nuances we achieved that impressed me the most, I’m both incredibly excited and proud of the end result whilst grateful beyond words to The Look for guiding us through the process.
"
Jonathan Van Tulleken
Director: Top Boy 2, Aliens, Gap Year
"The Look is a fantastic place with a great colourist in Thomas Urbye at the helm. Far beyond a technician, Thomas is a genuine artist and every time he has brought something different and spectacular to the grade on four remarkably different projects. This incredible passion, expertise and diligence runs through the entire company. DPs and Producers I've taken there have also always felt similarly enthused. I can't wait to take my next project there."
Chloë Thomson BSC
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: TOP BOY 3, THE LONG SONG, REQUIEM
"The grade at The Look has always really helped to enhance my lighting, and has brought the work of the design, costume and lighting departments together beautifully. Grading with Thomas at The Look has always been an absolute pleasure. "
Elliott Hegarty
Director: Rivals, Cheaters, Lovesick, Loaded
"Working at The Look is an absolute delight from start to finish; accommodating, friendly, but most importantly a very talented bunch - they even pretend to like me. I just keep going back!"
Tony Miller BSC
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: FLEABAG, QUIRKE, SPOTLESS
"Thomas is simply one of the very best colourists in the UK and by default worldwide. I appreciate his intelligent, creative input throughout the process. I totally trust him when I can not make the grade and he has become a key collaborator. We usually work on defining a look in prep, shooting tests and refining a basic LUT, which we integrate via my DIT in to the onset dailies. It makes the final grade more focused, with a collaborator who understands the basic visual sub text.
Thomas had worked on 'Quirke' (BSC Best Cinematography award winner), 'Spotless' a ten part series for Netflix and 'Fleabag' in HDR 4K for Amazon Studios and BBC, winner of multiple awards including RTS Best Cinematography nomination, Critics Circle and Broadcast to name but a few.
The Look have been pioneers in 4K HDR and have become the 'go to’ post house for 4K HDR, endorsed by Amazon Studios."
Jon East
Director: Trigger Point 2, Whitechapel
"Grading Trigger Point 2 & Whitechapel at The Look was one of my most satisfying and exciting experiences of recent years in picture post. The work put in did far more than maximise the potential of already exquisite rushes, it worked to significantly advance the narrative drive of the drama and engage the audience more deeply with its emotional canvas. Put that together with highly agreeable surroundings and personnel who always go the extra mile and one has in The Look a very winning combination."
David Blair
Director: Accused 2, Bert & Dickie
"When it comes to the picture grade, I do what I can to ensure that my work ends up at The Look. Here, I know I will enjoy an unparalleled level of application, dedication and creative proficiency. I don’t want what I do to be treated as ‘just another job’ so it’s important, therefore, that I can rely on Thomas and his team to be custodians of the film’s aesthetic well-being – and this they’ve always accomplished with great aplomb. However, achieving that final graded picture, can often be delicate, contentious, exuberant; and with such emotional diversity, social skills can at times be as important as the artistic ones. At The Look you get the best of both worlds."
