DIT Aaron Picot: Leveraging the new Livegrade 7 for HBO Original „Lanterns“ 

HBO Max is set to shine a new light on the DC Universe with Lanterns, an upcoming series from DC Studios that brings the iconic Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan and John Stewart, into focus. The story follows the two intergalactic cops as they investigate a mysterious murder on Earth, blending superhero action with a grounded detective narrative.

Behind the camera, that same spirit of innovation extended to the production team. DIT Aaron Picot embraced the beta version of Livegrade 7, working closely with the Pomfort team to refine the software for real-world use. From managing an HDR/SDR workflow to handling multiple units and VFX-heavy scenes, Aaron put the new version to the test – effectively giving his DIT cart some superpowers of its own. 

Aaron, an early adopter

Having previously collaborated with one of the series’ DPs, Armando Salas ASC, Aaron was invited to join the Lanterns team. They had already tackled HDR workflows together on past projects, so Aaron was prepared to take on the challenge again. Even as HDR becomes more common, it remains a complex process, as Aaron explains:

„At the DIT cart, technology is advancing in exciting new ways; however, the rest of the monitors on a typical set are mostly still only able to display the image in Rec 709 / 100 nits (SDR – standard dynamic range).“ That mismatch means any HDR workflow must simultaneously serve SDR. Although Aaron had successfully managed dual pipelines in Livegrade Studio 6 on shows like Griselda (Netflix) and Wonder Man (upcoming Marvel Studios), he faced limitations he hoped to overcome with the new Livegrade 7: 

„I found that I was able to do most of what I wanted to do in that previous version, but there were a few workarounds that I had to come up with to accomplish my goals. Things like this easily add confusion in a fast-paced environment, and it means I have to spend more time concentrating on the software UI than what we are filming“. 

 I was blown away with the feature set of the new version.

As we focused on the evolving needs of our users while developing Livegrade 7, optimizing HDR/SDR hybrid workflows became a top priority among others. To find out what else was needed and build a truly future-proof application, engaging the DIT community was crucial:

„In 2023, a group of DITs, including myself, met with the Pomfort team to discuss the current state of Livegrade and how it can be better suited for our changing needs. They really, really listened and in 2024 at Cine Gear in LA, they put it on display, and I was blown away with the feature set of the new version“, Aaron shares. 

By 2025, development had progressed to a point where Aaron saw real potential for his next project: „When I knew Lanterns was coming up, I told Lukas [Livegrade Product Manager at Pomfort] I would like to take those implementations and get them battle tested to make sure they were ready for prime time“, he says.  

What followed was a process of close collaboration to give Aaron exactly what he needed. „Through extensive testing and communicating my findings back to Lukas, Pomfort were able to provide me with custom app updates and fixes, so that by the time my prep started for Lanterns, I felt the software was ready to go“, he describes.

Livegrade 7 in action: Functionalities and favorites

For Aaron, Livegrade 7 delivered on its promise, preserving the software’s core strengths while adding meaningful advancements: „I like this version a lot more. It was redesigned from the ground up with video I/O and multi-view in mind. It took what Livegrade 6 could do and redesigned it in a way that can include so much more flexibility and strength in the workflow“, he says.

It took what Livegrade 6 could do and redesigned it in a way that can include so much more flexibility and strength in the workflow.

So, let’s explore how exactly Livegrade 7 supported Aaron’s workflow and which new features and functionalities stood out to him. 

HDR/ SDR dual pipeline 

Livegrade 7 introduces dedicated dual-pipeline looks, which simplify simultaneous grading of HDR and SDR signals. As Aaron explains, this new feature significantly improved his HDR/SDR hybrid workflow on Lanterns: „Now I am able to keep all devices and color management for a camera in a single slot, use node-based grading, and still determine the looks of the HDR and the SDR feed independently.“ 

Creating the LUTs in HDR and their color-managed counterparts in SDR required meticulous preparation, Aaron told us. Once on set, he then ensured everyone saw exactly what they needed: „I would apply those LUTs on set to the log video feed so the DP and I could view the image in an HDR color space, while VTR (and therefore the video village, director, etc.) could view the image in an SDR color space. I also supplied the SDR LUTs to the camera assistants and operators for their monitors“, he explains. 

However, Aaron’s responsibilities extended beyond his own station as he needed to keep multiple units aligned: „It was a big show for VFX and stunts, so there were constantly double-up units, 2nd units, and stunt units for which I had to keep track of specs. This included making sure the other units viewed the right LUTs and camera settings to match up with the main unit footage from the same scenes, and making sure I was given frame grabs with metadata using Livegrade PFLA+ copies of media“, he recalls. 

To maintain visual consistency and keep everyone on the same page, Aaron relied heavily on reference media. With its updated viewer and new multi-view layout, Livegrade 7 gave him improved ways to work with both live and reference images simultaneously.

Multi-view and multi-grade

For Aaron, keeping a well-structured library of reference stills was essential, not only for verifying settings but also for communicating visual intent across departments: „I keep a library of still frame grabs organized by episode, scene, shot, and many other fields of metadata so I can quickly recall anything that we’ve shot for visual reference and camera setting verification. I was also able to answer questions from the DP, the director, and other departments through my compiled image library and recorded metadata“, Aaron shares. 

Livegrade 7’s new multi-view took this workflow further by allowing him to view and adjust images side-by-side, which proved invaluable for look-matching and maintaining consistency: „It made viewing several live images and stills at the same time possible, thereby making re-grading and matching shots between several cameras throughout a scene far more intuitive than reviewing one still at a time.“ By linking nodes in Livegrade and using the new multi-view, adjustments could be made quickly and efficiently across multiple shots: „The ability to link together all the shots (or a custom selection of shots) and dial in the look as needed is a huge upgrade, too“, Aaron confirms. 

DIT /DP collaboration

The redesigned viewer was just one way Livegrade 7 strengthened collaboration. At its core, the software is designed to help the DIT support the DP’s vision efficiently and reliably. According to Aaron, Livegrade 7 delivered on that promise: „The new version actually saved me time in a lot of areas and the DPs were impressed with the software’s ability to help me work quickly to support their efforts“, Aaron says.

The DPs were impressed with the software’s ability to help me work quickly to support their efforts.

Beyond viewing improvements, Aaron points to several other features that deepened collaboration. One highlight was the ability to tailor views by applying filters to live and captured images: „It means I can now do a live crop and export ’clean’ stills to the cloud for later DP review“, Aaron says, illustrating a practical use case. As already indicated here, it is of course possible to export the new views as stills. This helped Aaron to provide a quick overview to his DPs: „It was great to be able to ’Export Current Viewer image’. I like to export ’contact sheets’ of the instances of the day’s work and compile them as ’scene previews’ for DPs to have the ability to look at an overview of scenes as a whole“, he explains. “I credit this idea to my friend Chandler Tucker, a DIT in New York.  He was able to accomplish this using Silverstack Lab as an added step in his workflow, but now it can be accomplished within Livegrade much faster“, Aaron adds.  

And review options became even more flexible in Livegrade 7. Thanks to the „Outputs & streaming“ extension module and the new Livegrade Viewer app, video can now be streamed to an iPad over a local network. This gave Aaron a portable, convenient way to keep the DP in the loop: „It was a nice surprise to see Livegrade having this option. I always have the iPad ready to hand the DP on set as a portable monitor that shows not only the live feeds from cameras, but any still frame references I want to display as well. The iPad can be set up like any other SDI monitor, so the DP can always have live/reference images in full screen or in the multi-view layout (up to 25 at once).“ 

So while the iPad is a nice addition, let’s take a closer look at the main cornerstones of Aaron’s setup.

Livegrade 7 in action: Aaron’s setup 

Lanterns was a two-camera production, with Sony Venice 2s as the main units. To handle an HDR/SDR dual workflow across both cameras, Aaron relied on a versatile setup that functioned seamlessly on his studio cart as well as inside his mobile DIT case, a DITBOX mk.4 from Upgrade Innovations. Aaron streamlined all connections through a single laptop, putting Livegrade 7 at the center of his workflow: 

„I currently run Livegrade 7 with a laptop. Using 1 Thunderbolt cable, I connect all network hardware, LUT boxes, and video I/O hardware. I typically use three FSI BoxIO LUT boxes – one each for A and B camera HDR feeds and 1 in dual channel mode for A and B SDR feeds. I use a Blackmagic Design Decklink for video I/O. As I used Livegrade 7 more, I became comfortable using the HDR feeds from the Decklink as my main viewing feeds and using Stream Deck keys to switch between slots, routing, and Multi View configurations.“ For monitoring, Aaron turned to SmallHD for the provided flexibility: „To view the HDR and SDR feeds, we used SmallHD Vision monitors that can quickly switch between SDI feeds and assign separate color pipelines.“ 

Upgrading to Livegrade 7: First-hand tips

For anyone contemplating the jump from Livegrade 6 to the new Livegrade 7, Aaron has some straightforward advice: „I highly recommend upgrading to Livegrade 7. Learn it, embrace it, and share the benefits with other departments. Livegrade 7 is a major upgrade, and there is a learning curve. So spend as much time as possible testing every live grading workflow possible.“ To help you get started, we’ve put together a selection of resources designed to make your transition as smooth as possible. Begin with the Livegrade 7 release article for a quick overview of what’s new, or dive deeper with the detailed walkthrough video.

I highly recommend upgrading to Livegrade 7. Learn it, embrace it, and share the benefits with other departments.

With Livegrade 7, we continue to expand the tools that DITs can rely on in their demanding work. This latest release reflects our ongoing commitment to developing solutions shaped by their workflows and designed to evolve alongside them. As Aaron reflects, “I have been using Livegrade since 2013 and have always used it to its utmost capacity. As it has expanded, so has my workflow over the years.” Livegrade 7 isn’t an update; it’s the next step in the evolution of live grading on set. Ready to be part of it? Check out the new Livegrade 7.