DOMINA BIG PICTURE
PRODUCTION
FILMED AT ROME’S CINECITTÀ STUDIOS, BIG BUDGET SKY SERIES DOMINA HAS HAD A DRAMATIC JOURNEY TO THE SCREEN. TIM DAMS REPORTS
DETAILS
Broadcaster Sky Atlantic (UK, Italy) Produced by Fifty Fathoms, Sky Studios Created and written Simon Burke Directors Claire McCarthy (ep 1, 2, 3) David Evans, Debs Paterson Cinematography Denson Baker (ep 1, 2, 3) Ben Wheeler, Nicola Daley, Tim Fleming Editors Crispin Green (ep 1, 2, 3) Isobel Stephenson, Miikka Leskinen Music Samuel Sim Production design Luca Tranchino Costume designer Gabriella Pescucci Make up Katia Sisto Casting director Julie Harkin Cdg Italy Casting Director Teresa Razzauti Producer John Philips Series producer Carmel Maloney Exec producer for Epix Michael Wright, Nancy Cotton Exec producer for Sky Studios Nils Hartmann, Sonia Rovai, Cameron Roach, Serena Thompson Exec Producers Simon Burke, Faye Dorn, Claire Mccarthy, Marcus Wilson, Patrick Spence (ep 1, 3) Executive Production Services Cattleya
production interrupted midway through filming as Covid-19 took hold in Italy in March 2020. Cameras finally started rolling again in July 2020
T
as Domina became Sky’s largest scale production to get back underway during the pandemic. Domina was created by writer and showrunner
Simon Burke (Zen, Fortitude), with Australian filmmaker Claire McCarthy (Ophelia, The Luminaries) as lead director. They collaborated with DoP Denson Baker ACS, production designer Luca Tranchino and costume designer Gabriella Pescucci with the ambition of creating an authentic take on ancient Rome that was both fresh and surprising, says series producer Carmel Maloney. In particular, Domina wanted to give a voice to
the women often overlooked in the male-skewed histories of ancient Rome. Livia Drusilla was the politically astute third wife of Emperor Augustus and mother of Emperor Tiberius, who managed to exert great power at a time of crisis for the Roman Empire. Director Claire
McCarthy explains that Livia’s chapter of ancient Roman history has largely been erased and given much less emphasis. “I was interested to explore her climb to power and in particular to tell a story from a female perspective that was not just about a typical protagonist’s journey. This show offered the possibility of a much more nuanced and complex story arc.” McCarthy adds: “It interested me - what is
the experience of a girl bride marrying a man three times her age? What does it feel like to be in a position where you are pregnant again, still a teenager, not in love with your husband and you have no house or family to help you? The stakes for survival for Livia were so high.” As such, Domina sought to explore the domestic
lives of the protagonists. Maloney says production designer Tranchino worked closely with researchers to recreate the houses of the key characters through to the chaotic alleys of the Suburra, where the poor of Rome lived. Domina was also able to use some of Cinecitta’s Roman sets, such as the Forum. ILM in London also provided CGI to
help with set extensions and blocking out contemporary references from location shoots.
he ancient Rome-set series, Domina, which focuses on the story of Emperor Augustus’ wife Livia Drusilla, saw
After testing, DoP Denson Baker chose the
Alexa Mini with Panavision Primo prime lenses. Reference points were films such as Gladiator which were also shot on Primos. “They have a sharp, clean image that doesn’t look too digital or modern. They have a cinematic quality, and a really strong contrast,” says Baker. Baker also says the Alexa provided a “classic, filmic” look which he was after in his portrayal of the ancient world. He also tested the Sony Venice: “It has a great look, but I felt it just looked a little bit more modern.” Baker also spent a long time testing the lighting.
In Roman times, indoor light would have come from oil lamps or open fires. Many of the villas would also have open central courtyards, from where daylight would pour into rooms around the sides. Baker says he had support from Italian rental firm
“WE WANTED AN INTERSECTION OF SOCIAL REALISM MEETS GRAPHIC NOVEL”
Panalight, which sent out various lighting units for test, before ultimately choosing 20k tungsten fresnels. McCarthy adds: “We used lots of practical sources, such as candles. We wanted to embrace natural skin tones, sweat, dirt, shadows. We wanted an intersection of social realism meets graphic novel – grounded and raw but epic.”
Baker loved the experience of shooting at
Cinecitta. “Italian crews have worked on every scale of production, whether it’s a Mission Impossible or a James Bond film or a lower budget local production, they knew all the tricks and had all the gear.” He says good prep was key to getting
through a schedule where the cast and crew were often shooting five or six scenes a day. Baker filmed the first three episodes of
Domina before working with the ‘wonderful’ colourist Jet Omoshebi at Goldcrest on the grade to help set the look for the series. Mid-way through Domina’s shoot, Covid
struck. While filming episode six of a planned ten episodes, the production was shut down. To help complete the production, showrunner
Simon Burke had to rewrite the script so that the story could be told in eight episodes rather than ten. It was felt to be too risky to spend longer on the series. Besides, costs had risen significantly as a result of closing down the production and putting in place safe shooting protocols. “The Italian team was fantastic at pulling out
the stops to set up amazing protocols at the studio and making everybody feel safe,” says Maloney.
Summer 2021
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