Parts Unknown Beganyi now works exclusively in Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve, running off a Mac Pro, coloring this past season in version 9. To grade a show that Zamboni has called “constantly shapeshifting,” Beganyi says Resolve’s multiple nodes and versions in real time give him a distinct advantage. “We’re going in different directions all the time, and our schedules are pretty tight because we turn around a lot of shows. They come pretty much week-to-week when they’re shooting. I probably have about two or three days to color-time the locked cut before we ship it to network.” The show is cut offline on Avid, which Beganyi brings into Resolve. Titles are handled back in Avid.
right.” He says Resolve’s tracking tool also helps him navigate through a handheld scene to make sure the focus remains on the meal. “It’s really amazing to be able to track through the scenes, especially when you’re trying to pull out the flattened details in the S-log footage and just protect the skin tones or just project the sky. The qualifiers and tracking tools together are so helpful. When you’re trying to break down an image, the more subtle control you have over it, the more unique look you can give to it.” Although most of the show’s footage is shot on Sony F-series cameras, different formats are often tossed into the mix. The Libya episode, for example,
Bourdain and a former freedom fighter on location in Libya inspect some handmade artillery.
Even with all the diversions along the way, the food is the main reason Bourdain books his passage to these various parts of the world. And that can present a problem when the look of the show is constantly evolving. “Treating the shots with the food in them can still get difficult, especially when the scenes are overstylized, because you still want the food to look good,” says Beganyi. “That mostly means isolating the food and finessing it until it looks
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includes footage shot with camera phones. “I think this is my favorite episode,” says Beganyi. “The phone footage gave the whole show a desaturated look and those sections were overstylized, which we pulled through the whole show. The people that he talked to just made that show so memorable. He’s basically hanging out with rebels who overthrew the government!”