Granite Harbour – Series 1

Granite Harbour is a British police procedural drama set and filmed in Scotland, produced by LA Productions for the BBC. The series premiered in December 2022 and follows a compact, character-driven crime story across three hour-long episodes.  

The story

The story centres on Davis Lindo, a former Royal Military Police sergeant who arrives in Aberdeen on a retraining scheme to become a detective with Police Scotland.

Eager to prove himself, Lindo is partnered with the experienced DS Lara “Bart” Bartlett. Together, they are thrust into a high-stakes murder investigation. A prominent local oil magnate is killed, disrupting the city’s powerful energy sector. 

As he subsequently navigates the cultural and professional challenges of working in a new environment, he must build trust with his colleagues.

All this drama is framed against the distinctive grey stone landscape of Aberdeen — the “Granite City.”  

The Grade

Colour Grading Notes – Granite Harbour (BBC / LA Productions)

As with Compulsion, LA Productions favour a restrained, neutral grading approach that supports the narrative without drawing attention to the grade itself. The visual language is grounded and naturalistic, allowing performance, story, and location to remain central.

The DOP was keen to use ACES workflow that gave the maximum latitude of pipeline colourspace.

Granite Harbour was shot at a very high technical standard using RAW acquisition, providing extensive latitude in the grade. While this offers significant creative control, it also places greater demands on system performance and on the time required to sculpt a consistent, broadcast-safe result across episodes.

We did have some technical challenges and that slowed the grade. It took me 10 days to grade the three hours.

A particular challenge within the series was the range of technically demanding environments. In-car scenes required careful balancing of rapidly changing light levels, mixed colour temperatures, and glass reflections, while maintaining continuity and natural skin tones. These sequences demanded subtle, shot-by-shot control rather than broad stylistic moves.

In contrast, high-contrast exterior and drone footage — often combining sky, sea, and the reflective granite architecture of Aberdeen — required disciplined highlight management and tonal shaping to preserve detail without flattening the image.

Some scenes were filmed in Glasgow standing in for Aberdeen, requiring additional care to maintain geographical continuity. Through tonal balance, contrast control, and texture management, buildings were subtly coloured to reinforce the distinctive granite character of Aberdeen. The viewer’s sense of place remained consistent throughout the series.

The grading approach focused on:

• Naturalistic contrast and colour balance, avoiding overt stylisation
• Controlled highlights and shadow detail, particularly in high-contrast exterior and aerial material
• Consistent skin tone management across varied and challenging lighting conditions
• Subtle tonal and textural shaping to support location continuity

Rather than pushing the image, the emphasis was on discipline, continuity, and restraint.

This ensured a coherent visual identity while respecting director intent and LA Productions’ preference for understatement.

The result is a quiet, confident grade that serves the story, supports editorial rhythm, and meets BBC delivery standards without calling attention to itself.