What role did UNIT play in The Bombing of Flight 103?
Louise Stevenson, UNIT head of film & TV: “UNIT handled the full picture post on the series, including conform, colour grade, online visual effects, and final deliverables. Senior colourist Kevin Horsewood graded the series, while senior online editor and VFX artist Simon Giblin completed the online and VFX work, working closely with the wider post team to ensure a consistent and high-quality finish across all six episodes.”
Given the subject matter, in what way did your approach to the project differ from, for example, your work on a show like Mobland?
Senior producer Greg Elston: “This was a very different project in tone and subject matter. The Bombing of Pan Am 103 carries significant emotional weight and required a restrained, respectful approach throughout the finishing process.”
Senior online editor and VFX artist Simon Giblin: “We’ve worked with director Michael Keillor on many previous projects, and that existing relationship was invaluable. Once the brief was agreed upon, he trusted us to execute the work to a high standard, which helped streamline the process.”
How big was the UNIT team that worked on the production, and how long did the process take?
Louise Stevenson oversaw initial quoting and workflow discussions with Greg Elston managing the project along with Kevin Horsewood on grade, Simon Giblin on VFX and online. They were supported by assistant colourist Harry Shelton, UNIT’s MCR team, Momoko Abe and Dave Bell in QC, Maitland Buchanan and Edward Tollefson in engineering, facility manager Lawrence Tatler, and the team of UNIT runners.
The team began reviewing footage and testing grades in February 2024, with main post production commencing around October, VFX and online from November and final delivery wrapped in May 2025, making this a significant, long-term project for the studio.
Senior colourist Kevin Horsewood: “I started doing camera tests with Wojciech Szepel back in February 2024. We wanted to have a clear workflow and visual identity, especially with the story moving between different countries.The grade itself took place over a few weeks and post ran over several months in total.”
Was it necessary for team members to visit Lockerbie – if so, why was that important?
No, there was no location visit required for the UNIT team. Senior online editor and VFX artist Simon Giblin added, “I did consult reference photographs for some of the online FX, including topography and period details. That visual grounding proved essential to ensuring the subtle VFX enhancements remained historically accurate and respectful to the real events depicted.”
How did you use colour to tell the story? Were different colours used for different scenes or characters?
The grade was all about supporting the emotional weight of the story without feeling overdone or too stylised. Since the story moves across different locations and timelines, the aim was to create a consistent look that felt strong but grounded and respected the real-life events while still giving the series its own visual identity.
KH: “We kept the colour quite subtle throughout. It wasn’t about making bold statements — it was more about finding the right tone to support what was happening emotionally. One of the key things was making sure our footage worked alongside the real archive material, so there wasn’t a big shift between the two. We also gave each country a slightly different feel, but nothing too obvious — just enough to reflect the change in place and atmosphere.”
What colour grading system did you use and why?
KH: “I used Baselight for this project because of its powerful tools that let me shape the look exactly how I want. It also gives me the flexibility to work quickly when needed, which is essential with tight deadlines. Having used it for most of my career, I’m really comfortable with the system and confident it can handle whatever the job requires.”
How long did the colour grade take, and was it done remotely or on-prem?
KH: “The grade took a few weeks and was a mix of on-prem and remote sessions. Since the director, Michael Kellior, and Wojciech, the DP, weren’t always available to be in the suite, we used ClearView for the remote sessions. This worked really well and allowed us to run the grade and reviews smoothly, keeping everyone involved and the creative vision on track. UNIT Film & TV’s flexible setup made it easy to adapt and stay connected throughout the process.”
What about the VFX – what technology was used?
SG: “Online FX were completed using Autodesk Flame. With Toronto doubling as Washington DC, we painted out signage and removed modern artefacts, cars, and trams. I also created period laptop graphics, did sky replacements, and general clean-ups.”
This invisible VFX work was essential in preserving historical authenticity, helping the story remain grounded and immersive without drawing attention to the effects themselves.
What were the biggest challenges you faced?
KH: “The biggest challenge was definitely having to do a lot of remote sessions. It’s always easier when you’re all together in the same room, but using remote tools made us find better ways to stay connected and keep the collaboration flowing. Also, working on episodes out of order because we were waiting on VFX and archive footage meant we had to stay flexible and adapt as the project moved forward.”
SG: “For such a sensitive subject, it was important to tell the story as truthfully and accurately as possible. Throughout the finishing process, more requirements came to light — including additional online VFX — which we took on and completed. These included fixes hitherto unseen, such as wind farms.”
Thanks to the team’s flexible workflow, these late-stage updates were handled without disruption to the overall delivery schedule.
And what was the biggest achievement?
KH: “I think the biggest achievement was how flexible we had to be with remote sessions and working on multiple episodes at once. Despite all that, we managed to keep the grade feeling right for the show — consistent and true to the story. Bringing all those elements together and making it work was definitely the highlight.”
GE: “Delivering a project of this scale, complexity, and emotional depth to the standard it deserved — and doing so on time — was an achievement in itself. The collaboration between colour, online, and production was seamless, and we’re incredibly proud of the final result.”
Have you been pleased with reactions to the series?
KH: “I’m really happy with how it’s been received. The Bombing of Pan Am 103 is a tough, emotional story, and it’s clear people recognise the care that went into telling it. For me and the post team, it’s great to know our work helped bring that to life—adding to the realism and atmosphere without ever taking attention away from the story. Seeing it connect with both critics and viewers has been really rewarding and shows how much teamwork went into it.”
What’s next for the team?
LS: “The team has already started working on a number of new longform projects. While full details of upcoming work remain under wraps, 2025 is shaping up to be another busy year for UNIT Film & TV, with a number of exciting scripted series in the pipeline for 2026.”
SG: “I was straight onto another drama for Netflix, some VFX work for an upcoming Sky drama, and this year’s A Ghost Story for Christmas, once again written and directed by Mark Gatiss.”
