Serving looks at Paris Fashion Week with DIT Thomas Briant Macgregor and Livegrade

In this Production Insight, DIT Thomas Briant Macgregor takes us front row at some of the biggest fashion shows in Paris! Originally from France and now based in Scotland, Thomas regularly returns to the fashion capital to keep creative looks and color continuity on track as fashion houses unveil their latest collections on the runway.

Behind the glamour is a demanding balancing act. Thomas needs to find a look that fits the collection and brand while keeping the garments’ colors true to life, then keep that look consistent across complex multi-camera setups. Elaborate set designs and changing lighting conditions often add further to the challenge. Let’s go behind the scenes and see how Thomas uses Livegrade to keep every camera matched for seamless cuts in the live broadcast. 

For the past ten years, Thomas has worked as a full-time DIT across a range of productions. While still based in Paris, his work largely centered on fashion, cosmetics, and luxury commercials, predominantly shot in studios. After moving to Scotland, however, he has found himself working more on fiction productions and choosing projects that fit around family life:

„For the last few years my main projects have been commercials, 2nd unit series and fashion shows as my kids were young. Now that they are older I am open to getting back to longer projects.“ 

Besides the shorter production periods, Thomas also enjoys the unique pace of live events and the variety they bring to his usual DIT workflow:

„There is a positive good stress of having to perform live,“ Thomas says. „The shows are almost always being broadcast live, so there is no second take. You don’t get that when working on a fiction set where you can correct the colors after each camera has rolled. So, in general, the workflow and setup for these fashion shows are a bit more complicated.“ 

Over the years, Thomas has built up an impressive list of fashion credits, working with many of the major luxury fashion brands. 

„I have been working on fashion shows for brands such as Hermès, Jacquemus, Dior, Chanel, Givenchy, Gucci, and the latest one was Louis Vuitton in June 2026.“ 

His latest credit was quite literally making waves this year, thanks to its elaborate set design, which was creatively directed by Pharrell Williams. For Thomas, it was also a standout project:

„This year’s Louis Vuitton show has to be my favourite to date. It had a massive fake wave as a background with the models walking out of it. The set was covered in sand to make it look like a beach, and we had to give it all a nice summery vibe in the grade.“

So, how does Thomas approach grading for a live fashion show? Let’s take a closer look at his workflow and setup with Livegrade, which starts well before the first model walks out.

Preparing the look 

Every show starts with two sides to the equation: understanding the creative intent and building a technical approach that can deliver it consistently across all the cameras.

„On the color grading side of things, I need to find a look that fits the set/location, the global look of the brand, and also the collection“, Thomas explains.

I need to find a look that fits the set/location, the global look of the brand, and also the collection.

With visual references at hand, Thomas then works out how best to translate that vision into an initial look, as he tells us: 

„Depending on the image references that I am given for the look, I will either start a look from scratch, often using the camera’s Rec. 709 LUT as a base. Or, if we want a more filmic look, I will either try to find a LUT in my stock that fits or create one from scratch using tools such as Diachromie, which is an OFX plugin I use in DaVinci Resolve, allowing for non-destructive parametric look creation^[1].“ 

From there, Thomas brings the look into Livegrade to establish his workflow within the software. If time allows, a rehearsal also gives him the opportunity to further refine the look ahead of the show.

„Once I have a base look, I load it to all camera slots in Livegrade and then try to match the cameras as much as possible using WB+Tint. I will then use CDLs if further adjustments are needed. Once I have seen and recorded a rehearsal, I import the recordings into DaVinci Resolve and improve the look if needed. I would often add a colour compressor effect to skin tones to make sure that all skin tones from green to magenta fall close to the skin tone line.“

Staying in close contact with the director and DP throughout the process also helps Thomas align with their creative intent and make sure the final look matches their vision, as he explains:

„I am usually in touch with the director and DP a little before the show and during the rehearsals to have feedback on look and intent. They would be the ones talking to clients and the creative team and passing on the requests to me. We also decide in conjunction with the DP on iris/ND per camera in order to manage the depth of field depending on the desired look and constraints, often allowing close-up cameras to have more depth of field to facilitate focus pulling.“

However, the creative conversation is only one part of the preparation. Before the show, Thomas also needs to make sure his grading system fits cleanly into the broadcast infrastructure already being built around the production.

I am in touch with the OB van crew the weeks before the show to make sure that I work in a way that is compatible with their setup.

„Signal distribution is usually handled via the broadcast team. They usually come in with ERECA Cam Racers to link all cameras to the OB van via fiber backs, in order to get images both ways, set up camera control, lens control, comms, etc. They then take care of distributing the signal to my LUT boxes in the OB van (if working with LUT boxes). I would then have my own live grading rack to distribute signals between my monitors and capture cards.

I am usually in touch with the OB van crew the weeks before the show to make sure that I work in a way that is compatible with their setup and to make sure that I will have everything to make my setup work.“

So let’s take a closer look at what that setup looks like in practice. 

Technical setup and gear 

For fashion shows, Thomas relies on his usual live grading rack as a base, which he also uses for fiction work. Depending on the production, he makes a few adaptations, but it usually includes:

• His M2 Max MacBook Pro 
• Pomfort Livegrade for real-time look and color management 
• DaVinci Resolve for look creation 
• An AJA SDI 323 router for signal distribution 
• A mix of capture cards in PCIe expansion chassis, such as AJA Kona 4, Blackmagic Design DeckLink Quad 2 or 8K Pro 
• LUT boxes (usually FSI Box IOs in dual-channel mode); the number of LUT boxes depends on the number of cameras on the show. For shows using ARRI Alexa cameras, Thomas often grades directly in-camera, which makes the whole workflow simpler but less flexible, as he doesn’t get a log feed to his cart. 
• Calibrated Sony PVM-A250s for monitoring, or sometimes a 32-inch LG OLED monitor for UHD multi-view 

Since Thomas travels from Scotland to work on these shows, having a trusted rental partner in Paris is especially important, and he is quick to highlight the support he gets from Be4Post:

„Big shoutout to Be4Post in Paris, which always helps me source and prepare the right kit and calibrate my monitors to make everything work perfectly!“ 

Live workflow with Livegrade 

With the kit ready, the look established and the show starting, Thomas’ focus then shifts to maintaining consistency across every camera. Thankfully he’s not entirely on his own, though. 

„I need to match all cameras so that they can cut with each other without noticing any color or contrast discrepancies. Luckily we often have one or more shaders to help us with iris and white balance control. Before and during the show, I’m actually in constant communication with the shaders, explaining what look I am looking for and telling them which camera is the reference in terms of colours and exposure.“ 

I need to match all cameras so that they can cut with each other without noticing any color or contrast discrepancies.

Given the sheer number of cameras involved, having a shader handle the initial technical matching gives Thomas a solid starting point for his grading work.

„The number of cameras can range from anything between 5 to 15, with the usual being around 10 cameras. It’s either all ARRI Alexas, usually the Mini or 35, or a mix of Sony cameras such as the Venice 1 or 2, FX9, FX6, and FR7.“

With all the cameras feeding into his setup, Livegrade becomes the central point for managing and monitoring the signals in real time, as Thomas explains:

„I add each camera to its slot with a LUT box and capture card for each and a few library slots for reference images. I will then have two outputs set up, one for my PVM-A250, which will always follow the selected slot, showing me the processed output, and the other one for a UHD multi-view, showing me all cameras at once. 

I record all cameras simultaneously during rehearsal, allowing me to start a synchronous playback and pause whenever I want to grade and match all cameras. I then apply the modification to the live slots. If needed, I use the files recorded in Livegrade to create a more complex look in DaVinci Resolve, from which I would output a LUT back to Livegrade.“

Livegrade 7 is the key tool. It has been a massive upgrade from Livegrade 6.5.

For Thomas, this workflow has become even more powerful with the latest overhaul of Livegrade. „Livegrade 7 is the key tool. It has been a massive upgrade from Livegrade 6.5“, he stresses.

So, let’s take a look at the Livegrade 7 features that are particularly useful for live fashion shows and how Thomas puts them to work.

Favorite Livegrade features for live productions 

For live shows, features that let Thomas make changes across multiple cameras quickly are especially valuable, as they make the difference between keeping up with the production and chasing it. 

You can just activate [linked nodes], and within a few seconds all the cameras are adjusted similarly.

„Linked nodes are super helpful. The way they work is great; when you want to apply a change to all your cameras at once, you can just activate it, and within a few seconds all the cameras are adjusted similarly. It’s perfect for global adjustments when the whole show is too cool/warm/bright or if the sun comes in and out.“ 

Keeping track of those changes across a large number of cameras is another part of the puzzle. Alongside Livegrade’s multi-grade capabilities, Thomas finds the multi-view especially useful for keeping an eye on all the cameras at once:

„Livegrade’s multi-view is great as it can be linked to a dedicated UHD output; all miniatures still holding a fair resolution. Being able to add a metadata overlay with the camera name is also great since, on fashion shows, I always get a clean video feed from the cameras. It’s also super flexible as you can easily adjust which cameras to put in it and the layout will automatically adjust to the number you have.“ 

Both the multi-view and multi-grade features help Thomas save time by allowing him to monitor and work on multiple cameras and feeds simultaneously. With live productions, where time is always limited, Livegrade’s sync recording and playback take that efficiency a step further, giving him more flexibility to work through the grade without being constrained by the live feed:

The sync recording and playback in Livegrade has been a game changer.

„The sync recording and playback in Livegrade has been a game changer. When you sometimes have no rehearsals at all or a clear view of the set and all cameras up for only a few minutes or even seconds, it’s amazing to be able to just record a few seconds of live and then playback and pause. From there I can take all the time I need to match the cameras perfectly, either looking at the multiview or switching cameras full screen on my Livegrade outputs“

Sure, live productions are all about acting in the moment, but for Thomas, the workflow continues even when the show is over, and the last model has left the runway.

„At the end of the show, I supply post-production with one LUT per camera, the base LUT, and a few stills. They will then use these for color grading the final films and edits that will be shared on social media, usually a few hours later.“

Big thanks to Thomas for taking us behind the scenes and sharing his setup and workflow! We look forward to seeing where Livegrade takes him next, and to catching the next fashion show from the other side of the screen.

[1] Since conducting this interview, we have released a frontier edition of Livegrade, which adds functionality that can further streamline workflows like the one Thomas describes, including support for OpenFX plugins in the live signal and a real-time skin beauty look node for live events. The frontier edition gives existing Livegrade users access to fully tested but unreleased features for evaluation in real-world production environments. Find out more here.