Colorist Society International News

ProArt Creator Connect: Manchester 2026

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 20:11:48 GMT

ASUS ProArt is hosting a ProArt Creator Connect event focused on “the future of HDR mastering” on Thursday, March 26^th at Manchester235 in Manchester, England. This exclusive evening is designed to elevate workflows from on-set capture to final review. Experience cutting-edge technology, gain insights from industry experts, and connect with fellow creators in an immersive, hands-on environment. Speakers will include Colorist Society president Kevin Shaw.

Register Here

Spaces are limited, and RSVP closes on March 20th. Don’t miss this opportunity to experience the future of display technology and gain valuable industry insights.

What to Expect

Hands-on sessions with the latest ProArt professional display solution
Experience the performance of the latest Scan 3XS Workstations, purpose-built for demanding creative workflows.
Live experience with Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive and Blackmagic Pyxis 12K
ProArt Masters Talks from leading industry experts
Drinks, food, and networking with fellow creators
An exclusive ProArt goodie bag to take home
A chance to win a ProArt Display PA148CTV

Event Details

Date: Thursday, March 26

Time: 6:00–9:00 PM (Reception opens at 5:30 PM)

Venue: Manchester235 (235Live Event Room, 2 Watson Street, Manchester, M3 4LP)

Product Showcase

Get an up-close look at the latest ASUS ProArt solutions engineered for exceptional colour accuracy and performance:
ProArt Cinema PQ09UC 162-inch Micro LED Display
ProArt PA27USD QD-OLED Display
ProArt PA32UCDMR-K QD-OLED Display
ProArt PA32KCX 8K Mini LED Display
ProArt PA32QCV 6K Display
Scan 3XS Custom PC - Powered by ASUS

Featured Speakers

Hear from leading voices in colour grading, cinematography, and display technology:

Kevin Shaw — President & Co-founder of Colorist Society
Brett Danton — Technologist & Director of Photography
Vincent Teoh — Display Technologist & Content Creator
Simon Hall — Product Lead EMEA, Post Production at Blackmagic Design
Rafi Nizam — Entertainment Exec, Animator, Director & Storyteller at Falcon & Storm

Join us for an unforgettable evening of innovation, creativity, and inspiration!

Exclusive welcome offer to discover Diachromie and Diaphanie by HAL Picture.

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 12 Mar 2026 20:59:41 GMT

HAL Picture is pleased to offer CSI members an exclusive 30% discount on their two parametric look-development OFX plugins: Diachromie and Diaphanie.

Colorists are invited to explore the wide range of possibilities these tools offer to craft unique looks that remain fully adjustable all the way to the final grade.

Diachromie addresses color and contrast, and features intuitive visualization tools, precise parametric controls, granular 1D and 3D transformation modules, as well as an Effects module that includes Bleach Bypass and more.

Diaphanie focused on texture, offering a powerful Spatial Equalizer, adjustable halation and diffusion emulations, and a parametric procedural grain emulation.

Colorists can create their own editable Preset library to store, share, and further develop their looks, or start from a curated collection of film emulations and signature looks designed to be modified to suit their creative intent.

Since our launch last November, the plugins have been met with enthusiasm by colorists worldwide, and have already been used across a wide range of productions, from commercials to episodic to feature films.

HAL Picture is making two exclusive promo codes available to CSI members on the CSI website's member page:

30% OFF on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly subscription
30% OFF on one lifetime subscription

The offer is for Colorist Society members only and ends December 31, 2026. The codes are valid for one subscription only and will apply to all renewals until that date.

https://hal-picture.com/pricing/

Looking to try the plugins before committing to a purchase?

Watermarked demo versions are available for download on HAL's website.

https://hal-picture.com/

Want to learn more?

Visit the YouTube channel for in-depth tutorials and walkthrough videos designed to help you get the most out of the plugins.

https://www.youtube.com/@hal_picture

Any questions or feedback?

The team would be happy to connect!

contact@hal-picture.com

A New Course and Technical Notes from Color Scientist Charles Poynton

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 18:26:37 GMT

Colorist Society Fellow Charles Poynton, CSI, will be hosting a new course, Math & Colour Science for Colourists (MCSC). The course begins March 10.

Charles is also offering monthly subscriptions to his technical notes under the title Poynton’s Vector.

Registration and details on the course Math & Colour Science for Colourists are available here: http://www.poynton.ca/courses/mcsc

Material is distributed, the course is hosted, and payments are made, at https://charles-poynton-community.circle.so

Subscriptions to Poynton’s Vector are available here: http://www.poynton.ca/courses/pvt0

A summary of previous Technical Notes are available for free here: Poynton’s Vector, issues 1–18 (PDF format, 1 MB).

Notes from Charles on his new course:

Many practising colourists are accomplished in using their colour grading systems; however, there are no textbooks that cover the math and science of grading, and available training courses have incomplete – or worse, misguided! – coverage of these topics. Grading of commercials can be done completely visually; but in my opinion, efficient, successful long-form grading requires a solid colour pipeline from DoP to distribution, therefore requires knowledge of colour science and math. In this course, I will fill-in the deep fundamentals.

Starting Tue Mar 10, I’ll present Math and Colour Science for Colourists, in twelve, 90-minute online sessions: one session weekly, across three months – so, 18 hours of course time in total, equivalent to about 2.5 workdays.

Dehancer Colourist Awards 2026 — Call for Entries

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 14:26:08 GMT

Dehancer Colourist Awards 2026 is an international competition celebrating colourists who bring the spirit of film into modern filmmaking. The awards highlight how powerful and intentional color grading shapes the emotional impact of a story.

Selected projects may also be featured across Dehancer’s social media platforms, reaching over 60,000 industry professionals worldwide.

Categories

Feature Film
Short Film
Documentary
Music Video
Commercials

Eligibility

Any project using the Dehancer plugin with at least one film profile is eligible.

Participation is free.

Key Dates

Submissions Close: April 27, 2026
Shortlist Announcement: June 1, 2026
Awards Ceremony: July 13, 2026

Prizes

Each winner will receive:

3-month Adobe Creative Cloud subscription
Nanlite Pavotube II 6CP
amaran Ray 60c
CineMorph Anamorphic Bokeh & Flare Filters
Freewell V2 Filter & Freewell Pro Card Reader
Flashback ONE35 V2 Camera
Laowa $100 gift voucher

Additional awards:

Documentary & Music Video winners: Arkon Remarkable Creator™ Studio Mount
Documentary winner: Thypoch Simera C 4-lens pack

The competition is judged by an international panel of leading colourists and post-production professionals https://bit.ly/4cWkaHh

Enter competition https://bit.ly/4b0Pa6A

Colourist Meetup, Berlin, 18 February

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 18:55:16 GMT

Colorist Society members are invited to attend a Colourist Meetup on 18 February in Berlin. The event will include a presentation moderated by FilmLight Colour Workflow Specialist Andy Minuth entitled “What Happens When Prompt-Based Generation Meets High-End Colour Grading?”

As AI-generated imagery moves from experimental to mainstream, the colourist’s role is evolving fast. But how do these images really stand up in a professional grading environment?

Join us for an evening of insights as industry experts unpack the realities, challenges, and workflows of this emerging frontier.

Once the screens go dark, join us for drinks, networking, and conversations with our speakers.

Details

Wednesday 18 February
6:00pm: Doors Open
7:00pm: Presentation
8:00pm: Drinks

Register Here

President’s Statement 2026

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 20:27:38 GMT

Kevin Shaw, CSI

As we begin 2026, I’m proud to note that this year marks the Colorist Society’s 10th anniversary—and it follows a year of remarkable achievements for our organization. Our membership continues to grow steadily, both overall and through our chapters across Europe, Asia, North America, South America, and Australia/New Zealand, reinforcing our truly global community of colorists.

In 2025, we further consolidated our popular Colorist Mixers, held in tandem with four major industry events—NAB in Las Vegas, BIRTV in Beijing, IBC in Amsterdam, and Camerimage in Toruń. Produced with iColorist and the generous support of our sponsors, these well-attended gatherings continue a tradition that dates back to the Telecine Internet Group of the 1990s. We look forward to seeing many of you again at the 2026 Colorist Mixers.

Our visibility and engagement also expanded through growing communities on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and our active Discord group. Colorist Society Hollywood remained especially active, with members contributing to seminars, workshops, and panel discussions at trade shows and through partner organizations including SMPTE and HPA.

We were also pleased to welcome new sponsors—Sony, Dehancer, HAL Picture, and Conform Tools—alongside our valued existing sponsors: ACES, ASUS, Barco, Blackmagic Design, Calman, Dolby Laboratories, Flanders Scientific, LucidLink, and UWA.

Without doubt our most notable accomplishment of 2025 was working with IMDb and IMDbPro to introduce a new Color Department credit category on name and title pages, a significant step forward in how colorists are recognized across the film and television industry.

As we look ahead, the Colorist Society board is setting priorities for 2026 and expects to make a major announcement soon. We’d also like to hear from you—please share your thoughts and ideas for the year ahead via email or through Discord. On behalf of the board, I wish all our members a strong market and a prosperous year.

Colorist Society Welcomes Four New Sponsors

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 20:17:45 GMT

Colorist Society is pleased to announce four new corporate sponsors, Conform Tools, Dehancer, HAL Picture and Sony. We sincerely appreciate their support for our organization and our Colorist Mixers. We also have high regard for the excellent tools they offer for color professionals. We look forward to working with them in the year ahead.

We value all our sponsors who also include ACES, ASUS, Barco, Blackmagic Design, Calman, Dolby, Flanders Scientific, LucidLink and UHD World Association.

Colorist Society corporate sponsors benefit from valuable exposure through our website, member newsletter and public relations outreach. Sponsors also gain access to our growing social community, including our more than 5,300 followers on Facebook, and over 105,000 Instagram followers. Our daily social posts reach on average more than 9,000 community members.

About Our New Sponsors

Conform Tools

conform.tools helps editors, colorists, and conform artists move faster and finish stronger. Convert timelines between Premiere, Resolve, and other NLEs. Transfer massive files to collaborators at a fraction of the size, in minutes instead of hours. We handle the tedious, so you can be more creative.

conform.tools

Dehancer

Dehancer is a film emulation and color grading software that brings the character of real analog film into digital post-production. Based on over 10 years of lab research with authentic film stocks, Dehancer offers more than 60 film profiles alongside wide range of analog tools. The software supports major industry color spaces and workflows, including ACES, Rec.709, DaVinci Wide Gamut, and Cineon Film Log, making it a flexible solution for modern post-production. Trusted by professional colorists, filmmakers, and photographers worldwide, Dehancer has been used in projects ranging from independent films to major commercial work and Netflix productions. With over 1,4 million downloads globally, Dehancer enables creators to preserve a tactile, cinematic feel by combining the reliability of modern digital workflows with the soul of analog film.

website

HAL Picture

HAL Picture is the R&D division of Poly Son Post-Produc;on, a leading French post facility, and the developers of two look development OpenFX plugins (compatible with DaVinci Resolve and Baselight). Diachromie allows colorists to work on the chromatic structure of their look, while Diaphanie focuses on texture. These parametric tools enable greater control, predictability, and modularity than the typical LUTs and film emulation solutions, empowering visual innova;on and a collaborative, non-destructive workflow across every stage of the pipeline–from look development to final grading. For colorists, this translates to an ability to express their crea;ve intent quickly, and to start sessions with a robust, fully editable look while always having access to a wide range of ways to fine-tune its color and texture. At its core, HAL Picture is driven by a deep commitment to helping creators harness the power of color science.

HAL Picture

Sony Electronics

Sony Broadcast and Professional Monitors deliver unparalleled quality and precision to the production, broadcast, and post-production industries. With advanced panel technology, wide color gamut, and innovative features, Sony monitors provide exceptional color accuracy and reliability that is perfect for color grading. Supported by a global network of service centers and authorized dealers, Sony ensures direct and responsive service to customers worldwide. Committed to excellence, Sony offers a diverse range of award-winning monitors designed for both HDR and SDR content creation, meeting the highest standards of professional visual performance.

website

Colorist Mixer and FilmLight Colour Awards at Camerimage 2025

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 22 Jan 2026 17:20:35 GMT

Colorist Society hosted a Colorist Mixer in tandem with Camerimage and the FilmLight Colour Awards on 16 November 2025 in Toruń Poland. It was a momentous and happy occasion as it was our first event since IMDb and IMDbPro announced its new Color Department. The event included an open panel discussion with FilmLight Colour Awards winners, nominees and jurists on the topic "The Importance of Recognition"

A huge thank you to our sponsors: BlackMagic Design, Dolby, FSI, SmallHD, Sony and UWA.

Here are photos from the event:

Take Part in the University of Lausanne’s Scientific Survey on Color and Emotion

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 19:04:03 GMT

Colour Experience Research Group of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, is inviting Colorist Society members to take part in a scientific study exploring how people perceive color and the impact of color on emotions. You can take part by completing a 20-minute survey via one of the links below.

The authors describe the survey this way: “We will ask you to imagine coloured spaces and report on emotions.” The data will be collected anonymously and used in scientific

English: https://unil.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1NEJAnjsf97OSFM

German: https://unil.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4HZmotr37LLDEs6

French: https://unil.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cNOkhK13QTvDnUO

Spanish: https://unil.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_elflmfW1ae31tMa

Dale Grahn, CSI Reflects on Crafting the Distinctive Look of Saving Private Ryan

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 22:50:55 GMT

Celebrated color timer Dale Grahn, CSI, helped shape the look of modern cinema through his work with directors including Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, and cinematographers Janusz Kamiński, Michael Ballhaus and John Mathieson. A Colorist Society Fellow, Grahn also helped to inspire the formation of the organization through his belief that there could be no recognition for color professionals without representation.

A defining project in Grahn’s remarkable career was Saving Private Ryan, the 1998 feature from Steven Spielberg and cinematographer Janusz Kamiński. The film’s stark, desaturated aesthetic has since become synonymous with its depiction of the Normandy invasion. But for Grahn, the path to achieving that look was anything but routine.

Grahn, who previously graded Spielberg’s Amistad, received the initial reference for Saving Private Ryan without explanation. It was a short clip of Tom Hanks’ character, dazed in the surf during the Omaha Beach landing. Sent from Technicolor’s UK lab, the shot conveyed the high-contrast, aggressively desaturated palette Spielberg and Kamiński wanted—but carried no technical details.

At Technicolor Hollywood, Grahn was running a 60 IR developer configuration for the ENR process, which he believed was the upper limit. The UK clip, however, had been processed at 100 IR. “That made it impossible to match the desaturated look,” he says. After checking with Technicolor’s control department, he learned the IR could be pushed to 100. Once implemented, the very next print matched the reference perfectly. “I was on my way to a victory,” he notes, “only problem is that 100 IR is so desaturated that it’s very hard to work with. It doesn’t accept color the same way normally developed film does. It moves very slowly, then jumps if pushed too far.”

With Kamiński away on another project, Grahn timed the film directly with Spielberg and editor Michael Kahn, running the work print and answer print side by side, shot by shot. Grahn made timing corrections in real time, allowing a fresh printer tape to be pulled immediately afterward. The approach saved hours of hand-winding on a still projector—critical, because each 100 IR setup required draining, refilling, and rebalancing an entire developer, a process that could take a full day or more.

The success of the team’s achievement came during the screening of the finished production negative. It was late afternoon and Spielberg ordered In-N-Out burgers for the group, which they ate while watching the completed film. “The way the look of the film captured the time, place and emotions of D Day and its harrowing aftermath confirmed that the four of us—Steven, Janusz, Michael, and me—formed a potent team for color,” Grahn says.

Grahn color timed seven Spielberg films, most recently Munich, but Saving Private Ryan remains a career touchstone—not only for its technical challenges, but for its emotional weight and the creative trust shared among the filmmakers. “I knew that this film would be a forever film,” he says. “Everyone who saw it would be truly moved by it—as I was.”

Great News: IMDb and IMDbPro Add Color Department Credit Category

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 06 Nov 2025 16:33:19 GMT

Colorist Society is thrilled to share some important and long-awaited news for our community. IMDb and IMDbPro have added a new Color Department credit category to its name and title pages. This marks a significant milestone in how colorists are recognized across the film and television industry. We applaud this landmark change.

Under the new system, existing colorist credits for films, television, documentaries and other media will be moved to the new Color Department section, and future credits will also appear there. As you know, colorist credits were previously scattered among various production and post-production categories, making it difficult to locate and properly acknowledge our essential creative work.

With this change, colorists’ contributions will now be displayed in a consistent and coherent manner, making it easier to connect with other professionals, promote work, and pursue new opportunities. IMDb has already migrated existing credits, and colorists can now update their professional listings to reflect their experience more accurately.

“This is a major step forward in the recognition of colorists as an essential part of the creative process,” said Kevin Shaw, President of the Colorist Society. “We’ve worked for years to help the industry understand the creative and technical importance of colorists. This update from IMDb and IMDbPro gives our craft the visibility it deserves. We’re deeply grateful to everyone at IMDb for listening and making this happen, and to our members and supporters for standing with us—especially during this challenging period for the post-production community.”

Warm regards,
The Colorist Society
www.coloristsociety.com

What’s New:

Specialized Color Department credit category: Your work is now more accurately represented with dedicated sections for your craft.

Seamless integration: IMDb has automatically migrated existing credits to these new categories.

Expanded profession options: IMDbPro Premium members can choose from over 400 role types to feature on the top of your page - including Colorist - ensuring your expertise shines through.

What’s Next:

IMDbPro Premium members: Log in and update your listed professions to reflect your experience as a colorist, and help the industry discover your talent.

Not an IMDbPro member?

Join by 12/1 to get a 30-day free trial and save up to 50% - terms apply. As an IMDbPro Premium member you can highlight professional affiliations like your Colorists Society International membership, set your Known For credits, add your contact information, and more.

Colorist Society’s Sarah Priestnall Hosts Color Panel at SMPTE Summit

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 17:54:17 GMT

At this year’s SMPTE 2025 Media Technology Summit in Pasadena, Colorist Society board member Sarah Priestnall chaired an “Ask the Colorist” panel whose speakers included Natasha Leonnet (Picture Shop), Rory Gordon (FotoKem), John Daro (Warner Bros. Water Tower Color) and Gareth Cook (The Foundation).

Sarah, who is also Director of Market Development at RePro Stream, wrote a summary of the event for PostPerspective. You can read her article here.

Update from Canada

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 21:18:24 GMT

By Abe Wynen, CSI, Senior Commercial Colourist, Red Lab, Toronto

In 2022, I moved to Canada from my home in Melbourne, Australia but it feels as if I have been part of the Canadian film industry for a small lifetime. In just three years, I have witnessed the ebbs and flows of a market impacted by strikes, tech and policy. It’s been a rollercoaster for us all, and in many ways, a new beginning.

While my perspective is limited to my experience, there’s no doubt that the film and media industry is changing rapidly. Nevertheless, while things change, if business is up or down, one thing remain the same, and that’s the community.

I can say with a whole heart that I’ve never managed to achieve a good grade without the support of the artists around me. For starters, without a picture, there’s nothing to grade. Although it’s the post-production team who help solve those nasty tech problems, it’s the long nights, and hours from assistants, producers, and many others that make everything possible. Most importantly, it’s fellow colourists who inspire me, and the reason I want to bring us together.

Since launching the Canadian Chapter, we’ve had several catch-ups. Although it is still the early days, I’m grateful to have such a sweet group of colourists I can call mates, rely on when called upon, and nerd out over some good colour chats. We are currently building our Canadian Chapter page to feature the work of all our members and showcase the outstanding grades from around the country. So please send us your work so we can update our page.

And please join us for our next Colourist Catch-Up:
Date: Thursday, 2nd, October
Time: 7 pm - 12 am
Venue: Danu Social House - 1237 Queen St W, Toronto

Colorist Mixer Returns to IBC!

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 21:32:49 GMT

Colorist Society’s Colorist Mixer returned to IBC on 13 September. The event was held at Arti et Amicitiae, Rokin, the historic former home of the Dutch artists colony founded in 1839 to promote friendship among artists and art lovers. It was a night to reconnect with friends and colleagues, make new connections and have a ball.

Many thanks to our sponsors for fantastic Raffle prizes. Winners included:

ASUS: Roel Videler
Blackmagic: Nhi Huynh
Calman: Maarten Stappaerts
Dolby Certification: Oliver Schumacher and Jochen Hermann
Dolby License: Isabelle Barriere
Flanders Scientific: Radoslav Markov
PVA: Daria Fissoun
SmallHD: Alex Matravers

Kevin Shaw Featured in ASUS ProArt Master Talk on HDR at IBC 2025

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 20:45:15 GMT

Colorist Society president Kevin Shaw will be a featured speaker in ASUS’s ProArt Masters’ Talks to IBC2025. Kevin will lead a session titled “Everything You Need to Know About HDR” from 10:00 – 10:30 CEST on Saturday, 13 September at the ASUS booth (Hall 11 #B34). A Colorist Society sponsor, ASUS created the series to share the latest trends and cutting-edge technologies as well as practical workflow and tools in the field.

Kevin will cover topics including:

Recognizing HDR, separating facts from opinions
HDR technology is rapidly overtaking SDR, continuing the trend of display evolution
The creative dilemma - are we making art or content?
The advantages of a true HDR monitor for both SDR and HDR projects
The future of motion pictures based on HDR and other technological advancements

Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insight into HDR and its impact on color grading.

Kevin will also give a talk entitled “Colour Truth: Metamerism in Film” hosted by International Moving Image Society (IMIS). It happens 22 September at the Dolby Screening Room in London (Soho).

Colorist Society Hollywood’s Lynette Duensing Takes Part in HPA NET Roundtable

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 15:42:22 GMT

Colorist Society Fellow Lynette Duensing, CSI, recently co-moderated a roundtable discussion entitled “Color Grading in Two Different Worlds” as part of the Hollywood Professional Association’s popular NET (Networking Education Technology) program. Duensing and co-moderator Company 3 Associate Producer Beatriz Rodriguez explored creative workflows across genres, teams and time zones at the sold-out event. “The energy in the room was unmatched,” she said, “and the conversations…game-changing.”

Duensing, who is also an Officer of Colorist Society Hollywoood, is Senior Colorist at Instinctual LLC Hollywood, an HPA/Young Entertainment Professionals Mentor and a Member of the Association of Moving Image Archivists. During her 35-year career, she has worked in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago and Shanghai, color grading commercials, theatrical trailers, independent features, episodic television shows, music videos and film restoration projects.

Colorist Society’s China Chapter Welcomes Paul Hanrahan as Officer

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 16:20:36 GMT

Paul Hanrahan, CSI has been appointed as an Officer of the Colorist Society’s China Chapter. A senior colorist and educator with more than three decades of experience, Hanrahan brings a global perspective and a deep commitment to artistic and technical excellence to his new role. Fluent in both English and Mandarin Chinese, he will help guide Colorist Society’s efforts to expand membership in China, support professional development through education and networking, and raise awareness of the craft of color.

Based in Taiwan since 2009, Paul has credits spanning commercials, features, documentaries, music videos, and episodic television. He is Dolby Vision certified, a member of the International Colorist Academy (ICA), and an active instructor for ICA training programs, teaching both in-person and online in Mandarin and English.

Paul has long been passionate about building community among color professionals and recognizes the unique challenges facing freelancers and specialists in today’s segmented media landscape. “I’ve been part of many efforts to organize different sectors of the film industry, starting in South Africa and continuing in Taiwan,” he says. “Whether it’s formal groups like the Colorist Society or informal communities on Discord or WhatsApp, I’ve found that sharing ideas and offering support—technical, creative, or even emotional—has been invaluable. As more people go freelance, the sense of isolation grows. That’s why community-building is more important than ever. We need it to share knowledge, uphold standards and best practices, and to ensure our work as colorists, DITs, and color scientists is properly recognized.”

Paul recently attended Colorist Society’s first ever Mixer in China, held in conjunction with BIRTV 2025 in Beijing. “The Mixer was a lot of fun and showed that there is a large pool of young colorists in China with a passion for filmmaking,” he notes.

Before relocating to Taiwan, Paul lived and worked in South Africa, where he gained broad experience as an in-house facility colorist, post-production supervisor, and owner of a small production company. He holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand and considers himself an engineer by training but an artist at heart. In addition to his work in film and television, he creates visual art in a range of forms, including photography, sculpture, VR, and projection mapping. He has been interviewed by Nikon Taiwan and collaborates with technology brands such as ASUS.

Reflecting on the future of color grading in China, Hanrahan is optimistic. “Over the past 15 years, I’ve watched the Chinese film industry grow at an extraordinary pace. Both skills and capacity have advanced significantly. Now that basic training is widely available online, I see a need for deeper refinement—for artists who want to take their craft to the next level. I look forward to helping the next generation of Chinese colorists develop these skills and push the medium forward.”

Great Success | All about the 2025 First Colorist Society China Mixer

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 04 Aug 2025 17:04:46 GMT

industry moguls, raffle prizes, and surprise elements!

On July 24, 2025, the First Colorist Society China Mixer lit up the summer night in Beijing. The event reached a great success among joy and laughter. Hosted by the Colorist Society, and co-organized by the China Chapter and zunzheng, the First Colorist Society China Mixer brought together nearly 100 top-tier colorists, film & TV industry veterans, and sponsors’ representatives. Soaked in a relaxing, diverse, and open atmosphere, the attendees shared their insights and ideas about the development of the industry.

Originally planned for 100 attendees, the event received unexpected popularity—some people who missed the registration still arrived at the venue regardless of the wind and rain at the time.

The First Colorist Society China Mixer, What For? A Huge Hit, A Full House

This industry social gathering event followed the Colorist Mixer tradition on NAB/Camerimage of "no speeches, only connections". There were no presentations. It simply offered an offline platform of socializing for the film & TV professionals. Either newcomers or veterans, we gathered here to chill with a cup of drink, becoming closer in the chats and games.

We strived to provide colorists from China and Eastern Asia with more opportunities to showcase their work and connect, helping them search for more opportunities and partners. The event also aimed to build a resource pool for color management, promote HDR technology, build a platform for resource sharing and mutual success in the industry, as well as advance the development of the filmmaking industry and display technologies in China…… With these shared aspirations, we came together. As the saying goes, "If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together." We look forward to reuniting with old acquaintances and welcoming new ones at the next Mixer.

“Big Guns” from Around the World! An All-Star Lineup, Surprising Encounters

The event became a "highlight of the industry" thanks to the impressive roster of guests:

Renowned Colorists:

Kevin Shaw, President of the Colorist Society (CSI), together with:

Joey D'Anna, colorist/Dolby expert/founder of MixingLight/founder of DC Color;

Robbie Carman, colorist/post-production expert/founder of MixingLight/founder of DC Color;

Gao Ming, renowned Chinese colorist/CSI China Chapter Officer;

Paul Hanrahan, internationally acclaimed colorist/CSI member.

Distinguished Guests from the Chinese Society of Cinematographers (CNSC):

Hou Yong, President of the CNSC;

Yuan Jiaping, renowned cinematographer/professor at Beijing Film Academy;

Zhao Xiaoshi, respected cinematographer;

Zhang Xigui, respected cinematographer;

Wang Shiqing, respected cinematographer;

These industry icons shared the same stage.

Tech Experts and Veterans:

Ma Ping, Vice President of the CNSC/Dean of the AI Research Institute of the China Film Technology Co.,Ltd. He is also known as the first colorist in China;

Guo Gang, member of the China Cinema Editors Association (CCEA)/Head of the Sound and Image Center of the China Film Technology Co.,Ltd;

Cui Wei, co-founder of About CG;

Bram Desmet, CEO of Flanders Scientific, the global partner of zunzheng;

Bo Hakala, ICG Local 600 cinematographer;

Noah Kadner, virtual production editor of American Cinematographer Magazine……

From creative works to technical topics, these experts mingled with great relaxation.

Producers, directors, cinematographers, digital imaging technicians, supervising colorists, supervising editors, and representatives from equipment manufacturers gathered together. The buffet turned into a “resource exchange” networking session.

Prizes & Laughter All Around Who Was the Winner of the Ultimate Prize?

We were honored to have Paul Hanrahan as the host of the BIRTV Mixer. An internationally renowned colorist and CSI member, he is a seasoned expert in post-production, particularly in color grading and visual effects (VFX)

For the quiz part, the winning teams happened to be the Red Team, Green Team, and Blue Team! Thunderous applause raised from the audience. After all, these were the RGB primaries which every colorist worked with every day!

The surprises didn’t stop there! The most thrilling moment was the raffle. The attendees walked away with useful gear like: power banks, color grading panels, monitors, certifications, cameras, lighting equipment, and calibration software—all handed out by our special guests. The first Colorist Society China Mixer wouldn’t be a success without everyone’s support. We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all attendees, sponsors, and guests!

Special Thanks to all Our Sponsors:

Zunzheng, Flanders Scientific, Aputure, Blackmagic Design, Dolby, ASUS, Calman, Nanlux, SanDisk, SmallHD, Panasonic Lumix, Tangent, UWA, Modern Cinema Laboratory (Taiwan), iFootage, Accsoon……

In addition to the XMP series vouchers sponsored by zunzheng, the most exciting moment would be the reveal of the ultimate prize—the Zunzheng V270 video monitor, which was won by a lucky CSI member Chen Yijiang!

The event also enjoyed a sweet surprise moment: it happened that the date of the event coincided with the birthday of the CEO of Flanders Scientific, Bram Desmet. The party became more special and precious with these heart-warming moments. Beyond the interest in technology, we also valued the connection between people!

This Is Not the End Next Gathering is On the Way

When the final raffle prize was handed out, this 4-hour party came to an end. However, this was not the end, but rather a beginning of another story: some attendees encountered their old acquaintances on the event and started a new page; some became WeChat friends with their favorite colorists; some received their favorite prizes; some were getting ready for the next cooperation project.

The 2025 BIRTV Mixer, which was such a great hit that the venue seemed too small, was more than just the raffle and socializing. It offered a platform of communication with zero threshold for the film & TV color grading industry of China. Those who truly loved this industry gathered here because of their genuine passion for the profession.

If you couldn't make it to the Mixer this time, don’t be upset. Please subscribe to GaiaDaily, the public WeChat account of zunzheng, for future activities. Looking forward to meeting you next time!

Park Chan-wook joins FilmLight Colour Awards Jury as 2025 Guest of Honour

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 16:52:05 GMT

FilmLight has announced the first set of creatives lined up to judge the 2025 FilmLight Colour Awards, including South Korean film director, screenwriter and producer, Park Chan-wook, who has been named the 2025 Guest of Honour; Company 3 founder and CEO, Stefan Sonnenfeld; Apple+’s, The Studio cinematographer, Adam Newport; and many more.

Now in its fifth year, the FilmLight Colour Awards have quickly become an international platform for recognising excellence and artistry in colour grading. The 2025 edition will once again culminate in a ceremony held at EnergaCAMERIMAGE in November, celebrating the work of colourists across six categories: Theatrical Feature, Television Series/Episodic, Commercial, Music Video, Emerging Talent, and Spotlight. Submissions close on 31 July.

Read the full announcement on FilmLight’s website.

ASUS Discount for CSI Germany Members

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 21:02:29 GMT

CSI sponsor ASUS is offering German members an exclusive 15% discount on select ProArt monitors. Eligible models include PA32UCDM, PA32UCXR, PA279CRV, PA278CFRV, and PA248CRV. Purchases can be made through this dedicated landing page. Enter promo code CSIPA15 when checking out. The offer is limited to two units per user account and ends December 31, 2025.

FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2025 entries

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 21:44:51 GMT

Entries open from 1 May - 31 July to colourists on any grading platform

The FilmLight Colour Awards are returning for their fifth year, with colourists, production companies and facilities invited to put forward their submissions from 1 May – 31 July 2025. The awards are open to colourists working on any grading system and are independently evaluated by a panel of distinguished cinematographers, fellow colourists, media experts and industry figures.

Once again this year, colourists can submit their favourite projects across six categories: Theatrical Feature; Television Series/Episodic (including documentary/non-fiction); Commercial; Music Video; Emerging Talent (open to colourists age 18-35, for commercial or music video projects); and Spotlight, which recognises colourists who have contributed to the creative impact of a film with a total budget of less than $3 million USD.

Since starting in 2021, the FilmLight Colour Awards have gone from strength to strength, with more than 500 entries in 2024, from over 48 countries.

“I was inspired enormously by the quality of work,” said George Miller, Jury Guest of Honor, from the 2024 ceremony. “There are many things that allow enthusiasm for the moving image, and two of them are key: the evolution of the tools we have to work with, and the artists whose brilliance we acknowledge here.”

Last year FilmLight added the Emerging Talent category, to promote the work of a new generation of colourists. It was won by freelance colourist Douglas Dutton for his work on the ‘Baltic, Harmonical Diffraction’ commercial.

“It’s an immense honour to be selected as a winner in the Emerging Talent category,” said Dutton. “Getting recognition from people I look up to in the industry feels phenomenal. Thank you FilmLight for organising this incredible event.”

The 2025 winners will be announced at a dedicated ceremony at EnergaCAMERIMAGE on Sunday 16 November 2025, where their projects will be showcased to the global community of cinematographers, colourists and creatives attending the festival. In recognition of their achievement, all 2025 winners will also receive a one year licence for Baselight M, the new macOS version of FilmLight’s Baselight grading system.

You can watch highlights from the 2024 ceremony in the new teaser video, here, and see the full list of 2024 nominees and winners here.

The awards are led and organised by FilmLight, in conjunction with EnergaCAMERIMAGE. It’s also supported by the AFC (French Society of Cinematographers), AMC (Mexican Society of Cinematographers), ASC (American Society of Cinematographers), BSC (British Society of Cinematographers), BVK (German Society of Cinematographers), CNSC (Chinese Society of Cinematographers), CSI (Colorist Society International), ISC (Indian Society of Cinematographers), ShotDeck (fully-searchable cinematic image library), and more.

iColorst and Colorist Society to Host Colorist Mixer at NAB 2025

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 21:18:28 GMT

Tickets are now on sale for April 6 at Carlos ‘n Charlie’s in the Flamingo Hotel

iColorist and Colorist Society will host their hugely popular Colorist Mixer at NAB 2025 in Las Vegas. Open to colorists and other industry professionals, the event offers a unique opportunity to network and celebrate with peers. Attendees will have a chance to win prizes from Colorist Society sponsors and test their expertise in color in the Color Quiz.

The Colorist Mixer at NAB 2025 will take place on Sunday, April 6 from 7 – 11 pm at Carlos ‘n Charlie’s in Las Vegas. Tickets are available here.

“We look forward to welcoming our friends and colleagues back to Las Vegas as the Colorist Mixer enters its second decade,” says Colorist Society president Kevin Shaw. “We expect an evening of good times, great conversation, new connections and fabulous prizes.”

This year’s event includes two ticketing options. Dinner tickets have a 7 pm admission with a buffet style meal, unlimited soft drinks, and two drinks tickets for house margaritas, daiquiris, and draft and imported beers. General entry tickets offer admission after 9 pm. The Color Quiz is open to holders of dinner tickets only. The Mixer Raffle is open to all attendees – be there before 0930 to win. The raffle will include prizes from Academy ACES, Adobe, ASUS, Blackmagic Design, Colourlab, Dolby, Flanders Scientific Inc (FSI), MediaLight, Professional Video Association (PVA), SmallHD, UHD World Association (UWA) and others.

Colorist Mixer at NAB 2025

When: April 6, 2025, 7 – 11 pm

Where: Carlos ‘n Charlie’s Restaurant, 3555 Las Vegas Boulevard South Las Vegas, NV 89109

Agenda:

· 7:00 pm: Buffet dinner
· 8:30 pm: The Color Quiz (dinner ticket holders only)
· 9:00 pm: General entry
· 9:30 pm: The World Famous Mixer Raffle

Tickets: here

LucidLink, Colorist Society's Newest Sponsor

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 17:30:51 GMT

A new Colorist Society sponsor, LucidLink will unveil its latest storage collaboration platform innovations at NAB 2025, including new web browsing, a new iOS app, updates for the Android app, filespace role settings and an entirely new SSO implementation, all backed by AWS S3 storage and available soon on the AWS Marketplace.

LucidLink knows that time is money. Time is creativity. When it comes to what matters most, the creation time is everything. Every transfer, every conversation, it all counts. Good thing we’re counting. Because LucidLink has transformed the way teams create, collaborate, and manage data-intensive workflows, our impact is measurable.

Come meet us at our NAB booth: SL2705.

LucidLink at NAB:

AWS Theater

Monday, April 7 | 2 – 2:30 pm

Speaker: Alex Ferris

See LucidLink’s latest innovations, time savers and workflow game changers all designed to make creative collaboration smoother than ever. From mobile access to web browsing and seamless enterprise security, discover how we remove workflow friction so you can spend less time managing files and more time creating.

Creator Labs: Stage Session

Tuesday, April 8 | 10 – 10:30 am

Speakers: Shira Re’em, Kelsey Brennan (Premiere Gal), Brian Sanford (Versus), Every second counts winner

In today’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it content creation landscape, every second counts. Whether you're a solo creator, a post-production house or working on high-profile projects, your workflow needs to move at the speed you create. This panel will dive into real-world strategies for optimizing your workflows — without sacrificing quality. Hear how top creators maintain speed, efficiency and flexibility, plus how tools like LucidLink help them work smarter, not harder.

NAB Creator Labs Workshop

Tuesday, April 8 | 11:10 -11:40 am

Host: Kelsey Brennan (Premiere Gal): video editing expert and YouTube educator helping creators work smarter.

Join Premiere Gal for a hands-on session packed with time-saving editing tips and workflow hacks. Learn how to streamline post-production, collaborate seamlessly and get content out faster — without the headaches.

Meet Evan Anthony

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 16:43:25 GMT

Colorist Society’s New York Chapter Has a New Officer

Evan Anthony, CSI recently assumed the role of Officer of Colorist Society’s New York Chapter. A fixture of the city’s post-production community for two decades, Anthony has more than 100 credits as colorist on documentaries, episodic television, shorts and other media. His recent work includes the upcoming documentary Pets for Disney and Imagine Documentaries, as well as the recent releases I Am Celine Dion, Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend and Harlem Ice.

Currently based at Goldcrest Post, Anthony is more than a talented artist. He’s also a teacher, mentor and ardent proponent of the art of color. He taught color grading for several years at New York’s Tisch School of the Arts and continues to speak at industry events and lead workshops for prospective artists. “I’m a big believer in paying it forward,” he insists. “I recently conducted a workshop for students through Post New York Alliance. I talked about workflows and technology, but I also answered their questions about the industry and how I got here. I think it’s important to be honest and explain what it takes to be successful.”

As an officer of Colorist Society’s New York Chapter, Anthony hopes to promote another issue he is passionate about: gaining proper credit for colorists. “I don’t understand why IMDb does not have a separate credit for colorists,” he states. “Color is a subcategory of editorial…but it’s a separate art. You wouldn’t put video editors and sound editors in the same category. Color should be a separate line item to better reflect our craft and contributions.”

Anthony is assuming a larger role in Colorist Society at a critical time for colorists and the post industry generally. “Many people are concerned about the future, but I remain optimistic. I think things will improve,” he says. “I’ve been part of the industry for 30 years and it’s always changing. Artists constantly need to adapt. Some worry that AI is going to take our jobs, but I disagree. Over the years, many technologies have come along that were predicted to replace colorists, but it hasn’t happened. We still need artists.”

Remote Color Grading Comes of Age

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 20 Mar 2025 16:26:13 GMT

Independent senior colorist Shaley Brooks, CSI leverages DigitalFilm Tree’s GEOpost® Network (GPN) services to grade “High Potential” for ABC and “NCIS: Tony & Ziva” for Paramount +.

For senior colorists seeking more autonomy and greater control over their projects and career, productions like 'High Potential' and 'NCIS: Tony & Ziva' showcase how they can achieve independence and compete with industry leaders.

Independent senior colorist, Shaley Brooks, CSI, handles color grading for the two series, working primarily from his custom-built home studio. Designed to rival, and in some respects surpass, professional color bays in Los Angeles, Brooks' studio provides a high-caliber client experience. "With my engineering background, I've constructed numerous rooms for top post-production facilities," Brooks explains. "I wanted to ensure clients feel the same level of comfort and professionalism they'd expect in any leading facility."

Shaley Brooks

His studio mirrors a traditional color bay, featuring theater seating and a dedicated client monitor. Despite operating remotely, Brooks conducts live grading sessions, seamlessly accesses entire seasons' footage, collaborates with vendors, and incorporates real-time editorial changes, all while maintaining a close working relationship with DigitalFilm Tree's full-service headquarters. "My goal is to inspire other senior colorists to expand the infrastructure for global post-production services," Brooks states. “DigitalFilm Tree and I are committed to facilitating this evolution.”

Brooks is accomplishing all this through the support of Los Angeles post house DigitalFilm Tree and its GEOpost Network remote workflow service. GPN provides Brooks with an all-inclusive remote infrastructure encompassing file storage and management, data security, collaboration tools, and networking. Through GPN, Brooks enjoys seamless review and approval connection with the series’ showrunners, cinematographers and editors, as well as VFX and finishing vendors. Significantly, it streamlines managing camera RAW data and simplifies workflow technologies, allowing him to put all his effort into delivering great color.

Ramy Katrib

“My role is to support creative storytellers,” Brooks says. “In the past, there has always been a gap between storytellers and post-production artists due to infrastructure. It didn’t make sense for an independent artist like me to invest millions of dollars to build a color facility. But now, I can do high-end work for relatively little cost while moving a step closer to the show. I can focus completely on my clients and provide the service they expect, 24/7.”

DigitalFilm Tree has been developing remote services for well over a decade. During this time, DFT has refined a one-of-kind data center infrastructure designed specifically for production and post. This includes high volume private storage tiers, advanced networking capabilities, and best-in-class security services.

“Traditionally, studios frowned on people working from home for security reasons,” notes DigitalFilm Tree founder and CEO, Ramy Katrib. “During the pandemic, when people were forced to work from home, GPN was ready to support artists, vendors, and storytellers, and drive the new normal of remote collaboration. For showrunners with multiple projects, it meant they no longer had to spend two or three hours each day on the road. They could monitor color and review VFX from home, the production office or both.”

Shaley Brooks set up a grading suite in a garage during the recent wildfires in Los Angeles.

Katrib draws a distinction between the GEOpost Network and broad-based cloud services like AWS and Google Cloud Platform. DigitalFilm Tree has applied its decades of experience in post-production to adapt its service to the unique requirements and working relationships of the production industry. “We come from a film ethic,” he says. “We built our system from a film production point of view. It was as simple as, ‘How do we get camera RAW data to Shaley’s office securely, reliably and routinely so he can keep pace with production? How do we move five to ten terabytes of data from productions worldwide onto our servers and make it available to multiple VFX houses?’ We’ve spent years cross-training our teams so that whether they are working the day, swing or night shift, they know how to provide color prep files, online reconforms, VFX and promo pulls.”

With virtually limitless technical and creative resources, the GEOpost Network delivers services that would be difficult or impossible for traditional post houses to offer. “Productions sometimes take a while to lock edit,” Katrib explains. “All camera RAW files for his projects are sitting on GPN’s private online servers, all instantly available. We’ll routinely do an online with a lot of handles and send that to Shaley so he can start grading. When editorial changes, we reflect those changes instantly. He’s not only able to keep up with production…he’s ahead of it. That’s not only novel, it creates added value.”

Brooks says the value of a dispersed remote workflow proved itself during the recent wildfires that devastated Los Angeles when he was obliged to evacuate his home as a precautionary measure. “I loaded up my monitor and my computer and everything else and went to a family member’s house in Simi Valley,” he relates. “I was quickly back doing color notes for High Potential. GPN’s infrastructure was the glue that allowed me to continue to deliver services. In my experience, it’s the future of post.”

Senior colorists who want to know more about DigitalFilm Tree’s GEOpost Network services may contact Ramy Katrib at dftadmin@digitalfilmtree.com, or Shaley Brooks at shaley@irisdigitalpost.com.

IMDbPro Offer For New Subsribers

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 21:16:52 GMT

IMDbPro is offering its lowest price of the year- as low as $8 a month after a 30-day free trial for brand new members! Stand out to industry decision-makers, claim your IMDb page, upload photos and demo reels, and more with IMDbPro Premium. Get the lowest price of the year after your 30-day free trial. Try IMDbPro Premium for free!

CSI members who have already redeemed their affiliate discount are ineligible for this promotion. This offer expires February 14.

FilmLight, CSI Germany and BVK Colourist Meetup at Berlinale

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 21:56:33 GMT

FilmLight, CSI Germany and BVK are hosting a Colourist Meetup in conjunction with Berlinale 2025. The event happens on Monday, February 17 at Wolf Kino, Weserstr. 59, 12045 Berlin. Doors open at 6:00pm followed by presentations and drinks at 6:30pm.

Daniele Siragusano, Image Engineer at FilmLight, will host a presentation titled “Refining colour grading workflows with Baselight 7 and machine-learning algorithms.” It will describe how AI-driven algorithms are transforming colour grading. It will showcase the strengths, limitations and potential of machine-learning for the big screen.

Attendess will also discover upcoming tools in Baselight 7 with FilmLight’s Andy Minuth, including enhanced matte handling, texture management, and deeper machine learning integration.

You are invited to stick around for a few drinks. We look forward to seeing you!

Reserve your spot here.

Colorist Society Gears Up for a Great 2025

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 19:34:51 GMT

Colorist Society wishes all its members a happy, prosperous and creative New Year. We appreciate your continued support as we work to build a stronger organization and promote the art of color. Although significant obstacles lie ahead, we remain optimistic about the future of our industry and our craft.

Over the past few years, our industry has faced a series of unprecedented challenges. The pandemic followed by strikes by actors and directors took a heavy toll on production that we’ve yet to recover from. The recent devastating fires in Southern California may also negatively impact the film and television industry at least in the near term. How the advent of AI will affect production in general and color in particular remains unclear.

Yet, looking back on 2024, Colorist Society can point to several significant milestones. Our Colorist Mixers at NAB, IBC and Camerimage were each a great success both as networking opportunities and as a chance to relax and have fun. We also co-hosted technical seminars at NAB, Camerimage and BIRTV. If you were not able to attend these insightful events, you can watch them in their entirety on our YouTube channel.

Our membership continued to grow, and we have extended our reach to new markets. We are especially excited about the recent establishment of our China Chapter, open to all Chinese -speaking colorists. China is one of the world’s fastest growing production markets and we look forward to working with local colorists in setting standards and building a strong community.

We have also been working to maximize networking and collaboration among colorists. Our social communities on Facebook, LinkedIn and Threads are very active. We encourage you to take advantage of these growing resources. This past year, we also launched a Discord server exclusively for our members. It is a great forum to connect, share insights, organize chapters and events, and access employment and project leads.

Looking ahead, we have ambitious goals for 2025. We are committed to establishing additional local chapters. We are seeking to establish stronger ties with other industry organizations, including VES, ASC, BSC and BVK, and to provide additional resources for our members through reciprocal relations with ShotOnWhat, SHOTDECK and other service providers. We are also increasing our effort to have “Color” added as a distinct discipline in IMDb listing. You can do your part by adding an upvote to our post on IMDb.

With your help, 2025 will be Colorist Society’s best year yet!

Best regards,

Kevin Shaw

Coloist Mixer at Camerimage 2024

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 20:05:36 GMT

On November 18, iColorist + Color Society hosted a Colorist Mixer in parallel with FilmLight Colour Awards and the EnergaCAMERIMAGE International Film Festival.

The event was held at Restauracja Nova in Torun and included a panel discussion entitled When the Art of Cinema Meets the Science of Perception. Panelists included Dirk Meier, FilmLight Jury member and freelance colourist and lecturer; Charles Poynton, PhD, color scientist; Kevin Shaw, CSI, Colorist Society Founder and President, colorist instructor; and Asa Fox, colorist.

BVK and CSI Host "Mythbusting" Panel at Camerimage

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 22:51:26 GMT

On Thursday, November 21, BVK and CSI will host a seminar at Camerimage titled “Mythbusting: Colour, Camera, Cinema.” The event will happen at 10am in the seminar room at CKK Jordanki.

Do you still believe there are pixels on a sensor, that sensors have a gamut or that one color science can be better than another? Have you ever insisted on shooting RAW without a solid reason? Do you still trust high CRI values or think that full is better than legal? Discover the truth behind color science, cameras, and cinema in this insightful session.

Participants:

Professor Andrew Stockman, vision researcher, University College London

Dr. Charles Poynton, CSI, Canadian colour scientist

Dirk Meier, BVK CSI, German colorist and lecturer

Laurens Orij, Dutch senior colorist

Asa Fox to Join Panel at Camerimage Colorist Mixer

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 29 Oct 2024 17:53:00 GMT

Senior Colorist Asa Fox, a current Filmlight Colourist Awards nominee, will take part in a panel discussion entitled When the Art of Cinema Meets the Science of Perception at this year’s Colorist Society Mixer at Camerimage. Other panelists will include Dirk Meier, FilmLight Jury member and freelance colourist and lecturer; Charles Poynton, PhD, color scientist; and Kevin Shaw, CSI, Colorist Society Founder and President.

Asa is nominated for the Spotlight Award in the Filmlight competition for his work on the independent feature Showdown at the Grand (Orson Oblowitz, director; Noah Rosenthal, cinematographer). His previous work includes collaborations with directors such as Roman Coppola, Young Replicant, Mimi Cave, Nadia Lee Cohen, working for Deluxe / Company 3 and The Mill. He was nominated for a Filmlight Colourist Award last year for the film Unidentified Objects.

Free and open to all, the Colorist Mixer will happen on Monday, November 18 from 6 - 10pm CET at Restauracja Nova in Toruń. Register here

FilmLight Colour Awards Reveals 2024 Nominees

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 18:42:43 GMT

Jury selects 25 nominees across six categories – winners to be announced at EnergaCAMERIMAGE on 17 November

FilmLight has revealed the nominees for the 2024 FilmLight Colour Awards. In their fourth year, the awards attracted over 500 entries from 46 countries across the globe and the independent jury of cinematographers, colourists and creatives have now revealed the names of the 25 colourists shortlisted across the six categories.

Ahead of casting their final votes, the 2024 jury gathered to discuss the entries. During the discussion, George Miller, 2024 Jury Guest of Honour, talked to Jury President, Mandy Walker, and other jurors, about his evolving relationship with colour.

“For the films I work on, we tend to get the colourist involved early,” says Miller. “The biggest problem, I think, is that visual effects can be so widespread – with people from all over the planet working on it. With this, there’s a risk of losing cohesion, and the colourist is the nexus of all these interactions. This is why I am so excited to be doing this and seeing all the wonderful work that is being completed across so many different platforms and media – it is a very significant moment and one that will develop even more.”

This year’s nominees for the award for the grading of a Theatrical Feature are:

Dune: Part Two – graded by David Cole at FotoKem
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga – graded by Eric Whipp at alter ego
Poor Things – graded by Greg Fisher at Company 3
Saltburn – graded by Matt Wallach at Company 3
In the TV Series / Episodic category, the nominees are:
Eric (season 1, episode 1) – graded by Toby Tomkins at Harbor
Expats (season 1) – graded by Seth Ricart at RCO
Griselda (season 1) – graded by Ian Vertovec at Light Iron
The Zweiflers (season 1) – graded by freelance colourist, Manuel Portschy

In the Commercial category, the judges chose:

Air Canada, Ticket to Dream – graded by Wade Odlum at alter ego
McDonald’s, We the (In)visible – graded by freelance colourist, Manuel Portschy
Riyadh Season: Crawford Vs Madrimov, Everything Or Nothing – graded by Philip Hambi at The Mill
Zara, SS24 STUDIO COLLECTION – graded by Tim Masick at Company 3

For the Music Video category, the judges selected:

Brodka x Igo, Myślę sobie Ż – graded by freelance colourist, Nadia Khairat Gomez
Kaismos, Sailed – graded by Sylvain Canaux at Saint Louis
Nettspend, Nothing Like Uuu – graded by freelance colourist, Brian Charles
Shake Stew, Lila – graded by freelance colourist, Manuel Portschy

The Spotlight award aims to recognise the unsung talents in the industry. For this category, the nominees are:

Asleep in My Palm – graded by freelance colourist, Andrew Ceen
La Espera (The Wait) – graded by Raúl Lavado Verdú at Misterio Color Lab
Showdown at the Grand – graded by colourist, Asa Fox
The Featherweight – graded by Sam Daley at Light Iron
Yurt – graded by freelance colourist, Pascal Nowak at Cosmodigital

New for 2024, the Emerging Talent award celebrates the work of young colourists (age 18-30). For this category, the nominees are:

Baltic, Harmonical Diffraction – graded by freelance colourist, Douglas Dutton
NBA, Everyone's Game, DC – graded by freelance colourist, Ryan Urzi
Nike Mexico, Piérdelo Todo, Gánalo Todo – graded by Stephanie Park at Rare Medium
Woolworths, Brand Reset – graded by freelance colourist, Terry Simpson

This year’s winners will be announced at the annual FilmLight Colour Awards ceremony, taking place at EnergaCAMERIMAGE in Poland on 17 November 2024.

The FilmLight Colour Awards are led and organised by FilmLight in conjunction with EnergaCAMERIMAGE. They are supported by prominent international groups such as: AFC (French Society of Cinematographers), AMC (Mexican Society of Cinematographers), ASC (American Society of Cinematographers), BSC (British Society of Cinematographers), BVK (German Society of Cinematographers), CNSC (Chinese Society of Cinematographers), CSI (Colorist Society International), Imago (the International Federation of Cinematographers), ISC (Indian Society of Cinematographers), PSC (Polish Society of Cinematographers), ShotDeck and more.

For more information on the awards, visit: www.filmlightcolourawards.com

Five Ways HDR is Transforming Content

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 21:29:07 GMT

At BIRTV 2024, Kevin Shaw, President of the Colorist Society, chaired a panel hosted by the Chinese Society of Cinematographers (CNSC) to discuss the use of High Dynamic Range (HDR) today. Links to segments from the discussion appear below.)

Here, Kevin shares is thoughts:

HDR has been debated since its launch in 2016, but as it evolves, we are still discovering the part it will play in tomorrow’s visual universe.

Here are five themes that arose in the recent panel discussion about how HDR is shaping filmmaking in 2024:

Removing limitations

HDR's ability to remove the limitations of Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) filmmaking is giving creators more range – literally. HDR allows cinematographers an easier way to deal with sky and other naturally high contrast situations, and to access a broader spectrum of colors which enhances the overall depth and realism of their visuals. HDR is about much more than just brighter images – it’s about creating a more immersive experience for viewers. By harnessing the new HDR display technologies, filmmakers can involve audiences in a much more emotional way.

Pursuing aesthetic goals

HDR fundamentally shifts the focus from overcoming technical challenges to pursuing more aesthetic goals. With HDR, cinematographers are empowered to explore creative visions using modern lighting and the improvements in color management from recent years. This evolution means that filmmakers can capture stunning narratives that resonate on a deeper emotional level. The increased dynamic range translates into more nuanced storytelling, allowing subtle details to shine through in both shadows and highlights.

Enhanced visibility

HDR not only enhances the viewing experience for audiences, but also equips cinematographers with tools to see more of what they’re capturing. The improved visibility of image capture means that professionals can finetune their shots in real time, ultimately leading to a more polished final product. This advancement creates an exciting opportunity for cinematographers to push the boundaries of their craft, especially when collaborating with the finishing colorist early in production.

More affordable, more ergonomic

Although HDR displays were once deemed prohibitively expensive, the BIRTV 2024 panel celebrated the newer, increasingly affordable and ergonomic solutions. This opens the door for a broader market, enabling emerging filmmakers and smaller production companies to access the same tools as major studios. With HDR, high-quality production is no longer the exclusive domain of the elite, allowing for a more diverse range of voices and stories to be told with unprecedented quality.

Heightened inspiration

As the discussion drew to a close, it became clear that HDR is more than just a technological advancement; it's an inspiring tool that rekindles great passion within the filmmaking community. Many panelists expressed how hard it is to revert to SDR after experiencing the freedom and vibrancy that HDR provides. The emotive power of HDR allows filmmakers to express their visions with less labor and more creativity, leading to a more enjoyable and fulfilling production process.

The BIRTV 2024 panel was a call for filmmakers everywhere to embrace HDR. By removing limitations; enhancing color management; and making this technology more accessible; HDR empowers cinematographers to elevate their art. As we move forward, HDR will undoubtedly play a crucial role in defining the future of visual storytelling – making this an exciting time to be a part of the cinematic world.

By Kevin Shaw, CSI

Kevin is President and Founder of Colorist Society, Co-Founder of the International Colorist Academy, and a globally renowned expert on color grading and related technology.

Watch the panel here:

HDR: The Future Is Here" Part 1 "What HDR Means to You"

HDR: The Future Is Here" Part 2 "First Experience of HDR"

HDR: The Future Is Here" Part 3 "HDR on Set"

HDR: The Future Is Here" Part 4 "Expansion of HDR"

HDR: The Future Is Here" Part 5 "Producing HDR"

HDR: The Future Is Here" Part 6 "Expectations & Hopes for the Future of HDR"

HDR: The Future Is Here" Part 7 "Debunk the Myths of HDR"

HDR: The Future Is Here" Part 8 "Start to Create an HDR Project"

HDR: The Future Is Here" Part 9 "Advice from the Veterans"

Filmlight Hosts Two NYC Events in October

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 22:08:05 GMT

Filmlight is hosting two events in New York City this month.

On Tuesday, October 15th, the company will conduct a free Baselight training workshop for color assistants, conform artists and online editors. Running from 9AM to 3PM at the Dolby Screening Room, the course will cover the fundamentals of building timelines, media management, and working with color spaces and grading layers in Baselight. Space is limited. Register here.

Also on October 15, Filmlight will hold an evening panel discussion featuring some of New York’s top colorists and DPs. Panelists Elodie Ichter, Senior Colorist, Light Iron; Nat Jencks, Supervising Colorist, PostWorks NY; and Cinematographer Chris Teague will discuss look development, cross-city color workflow, and Dolby Vision HDR delivery involved in FX’s Shogun and Disney’s Star Wars: The Acolyte. The event begins at 6:30PM at the Dolby Screening Room. Register here.

Colorist Society Hollywood Takes Barco’s HDR Projector for a Test Drive

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 17:10:09 GMT

Colorist Society Hollywood recently hosted an event in tandem with Barco on the latter’s Lightsteering Technology for HDR projection. The new technology, which promises to improve the picture quality of films shown in theaters, includes a color grading plug-in optimized HDR color grading that integrates into DaVinci Resolve and FilmLight Baselight.

More than two dozen colorists attended the event held at Barco’s demo facility in Hollywood. After an introductory presentation from Barco’s Joachim Zell, Iris Wu and Anders Ballestad, attendees were given a chance to test drive the system themselves.

CS Hollywood’s Troy Smith, CSI says that most people came away impressed. “For me, the biggest takeaway was how vastly different HDR projection is from current theatrical projection,” he observes. “I hope it’s adopted by more theaters. It might give people a reason to return to movie theaters. The HDR image combined with Atmos sound makes for a different theatrical experience.”

John Daro, CSI had attended demonstrations of Barco’s HDR projector before, but this was the first time he’d had a chance to try out the color tools himself. “It was cool to have the Resolve setup and be able to turn the wheels, see what the projector is actually capable of,” he recalls.

Daro foresees intriguing possibilities for HDR color grading. “It opens up a different way to work,” he explains. “Say I’m doing a Barco HDR grade, and I notice the image is clipping out on an actress’s face. Instead of bringing down the entire picture, I could bring down just a hot spot in the background to shift more range to the actress. It allows you to pull and push light where you want it.”

He cautions, however, that adding Barco HDR to a film mastering workflow means more than a simple trim pass. “To get all that you can out of that projector, it has to be a regrade,” he observes. “That adds time to the grade, which may get pushback from those who control the purse strings. Hopefully HDR theatrical versions will take over, and the 48nit pass will become the trim.”

Budget considerations notwithstanding, Smith says most of the colorists in attendance agreed that HDR projection comes with a “wow” factor. “If you have a chance to see a demo, you should definitely do it,” he insists. “It’s the coolest thing I’ve seen in a while. I want to see more and hope we can host an event like this again.”

Colorist Mixer at IBC 2024 Happens September 14

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 21:04:07 GMT

Attendees have a chance to win more than $25,000 in prizes

Colorist Society will host its IBC Colorist Mixer on September 14^th at IBC 2024 in Amsterdam. Produced by the International Colorist Academy, the hugely popular event will run from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM at 'Dam, Arti et Amicitiae in Rokin, historic home of a Dutch artist's society. The event is open to all and includes an optional dinner at 6.00 PM.

Tickets are available at coloristmixer.com. Capacity is limited, so act soon.

“Our Colorist Mixer at IBC is always a great time,” says Colorist Society president Kevin Shaw. “It brings together color professionals from around the globe for an evening of great food and drink, wonderful prizes and fun. If you love color, you don’t want to miss it.”

A celebration of the art of color, the Colorist Mixer is a unique opportunity to connect with friends and colleagues, new and old, chat about latest innovations in color grading technology, and perhaps take home one of the event’s many incredible prizes.

Event sponsors include ACES, Adobe, ProArt by ASUS, Blackmagic Design, Colorfront, Dell Technologies, , Flanders Scientific, Kaurus, Louper, MASV, Pixelview, PVA (Professional Video Alliance), Small HD, Sony and UHA (UHD World Association). This is a great opportunity to meet some of the biggest names in the business.

The Colorist Mixer will feature a Color Quiz and a raffle with a total of more than $US 25,000 in prizes:

DM160 16” RGB OLED reference display – from FSI
Pen Display 15.6” PA169CDV – from ProArt by ASUS
3x $3000 towards SmallHD Quantum 32 OLED Monitor – from SmallHD
Micro Color Panel – from Blackmagic Design
3x Streamer subscription 1yr – from Colorfront
Video Calibration Training & Certification 4 day course – from PVA
Private HDR consultation (online) with Kevin Shaw – from UWA
Free Transfers 1yr (10TB) – from MASV
Louper Pro Subscription 1yr – from Loupe
Pixelview Subscription 1yr + 4K Encoder – from Pixelview
Creative Cloud Subscription 1yr – from Adobe
Mystery goodie basket – from Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ACES
Larq Water Bottle – from Dell

Colorist Society Sponsors at IBC 2024

Keith Gayhart — Sun, 08 Sep 2024 21:12:40 GMT

Attending IBC 2024? Be sure to connect with our wonderful sponsors:

Colorfront

Colorfront will showcase their latest technology at the Okura Hotel. Live demonstrations will feature Colorfront Transkoder's powerful capabilities directly from the cloud, highlighting the seamless handling of RAW camera footage, IMF, and DCP packages as they are de-bayered, processed, and streamed in ultra-low latency UHD HDR, all via the public internet.

Contact Laura Castelli (laura@nachomf.com) for a chance to see their latest technology in action!

Louper

Remote Color Grading, Live Reviews & Watch Parties. The cost-effective solution for streaming, monitoring, and collaboration. Discover why Louper is endorsed by professional colorists and post-production supervisors worldwide.

A Special Offer for Color Society & iColorist: Take 50% off any Louper Plan!

Visit Louper.io, sign up for a free account and use coupon code: IBC2024

Offer valid for Louper Plus, Pro, or Team tier upgrades.
Offer valid for first time customers only.
Expires September 30, 2024

Learn More

Please use the same URL for the image: https://bit.ly/3MeV5bY

FSI

Visit FSI at IBC, Hall 10, Stand F28. You’ll find our complete lineup of professional monitors on display including our 31.5”, 55”, and 65” QD-OLED UHD HDR reference monitors and our affordable, but feature-packed, lineup of HD-SDR displays. We’ll be showcasing these latest products as well as several powerful new features for these displays.

ASUS ProArt

ASUS ProArt invites all industry professionals to visit our booth (Hall 2 #A29) and experience our next-generation innovations, including the ProArt Display PA32KCX, the world’s first 8K HDR Mini LED professional monitor; the ProArt Display OLED PA32UCDM, featuring 4K QD-OLED technology for creators; and the ProArt Display PA27JCV, a stunning 5K monitor. Additionally, join us for ProArt Masters’ Talks, where we’ll feature insights from industry-leading experts from renowned companies such as NVIDIA®, Scan Computers and more. We look forward to showcasing our cutting-edge products and engaging discussions with you

Learn more

Tracking link: https://asus.click/IBCMIXER

BLACKMAGIC DESIGN

Whether you’re just getting started or are a professional colorist, DaVinci Resolve color control panels let you work faster and be more creative. The panels give you fluid, hands-on control over multiple parameters at the same time, so you have more creative options and can work much faster than is possible with a mouse.

Designed in collaboration with the world’s leading colorists, all panels feature a logical layout that puts the most important controls under your natural hand positions, which allows you to work quickly. All knobs, dials and buttons are high quality and have been custom designed to produce the perfect amount of resistance, so you can accurately fine tune any parameter.

url link: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/nl/products/davinciresolve/panels

Sony

Visit Sony in Hall 13 at IBC to discover our latest professional monitors, the BVM-HX3110 and BVM-HX310. See these cutting-edge displays in action and talk to our experts about how they can enhance your projects.

Tracking link: https://pro.sony/en_GB/events/ibc

Pixelview.io - Back to Work Streaming Kit

As we settle into new work patterns, stay ahead with our Pixelview Streaming Kit. Perfect for colorists collaborating remotely with clients.

Our Back to Work bundle includes:

6-month Pixelview.io subscription
SDI hardware encoder
All for just $1,199 USD
You save $510 USD

Enjoy clearer communication and real-time feedback, enhancing your remote coloring workflow.

See it in action at IBC! Visit our booth for a live demo.

Get your kit

Tracking link

https://www.pixelview.io/product?ss_source=googads&ss_campaign_name=colorist-mixer

Colorist Society Arrives in China

Keith Gayhart — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 21:20:27 GMT

Colorist Society is very excited to announce the launch of a Chapter in China. Chapter officers include Colorist Ming Gao, CSI (The Wandering Earth, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and Zoe Chang (Til Death Do Us Part). The Chapter will receive support from Zunzheng Digital Video, partner of Colorist Society sponsor Flanders Scientific.

Based in the Peoples Republic of China, the Chapter is open to Mandarin speakers throughout East Asia. A China/Mandarin Chapter page, currently under development, will feature Mandarin language features about Colorist Society, information about locally sponsored events, and showreels from chapter members. The Chapter will also have a WeChat group.

Kevin Shaw teaches prospective colorists in China.

“We are thrilled to introduce Colorist Society to China,” says CSI president Kevin Shaw, who recently hosted several training sessions for aspiring colorists in China. “Colorist Society can make its biggest impact at the local level. The China Chapter will support the development of a strong community of colorists through networking opportunities, educational events, awards sponsorships and other activities. We also look forward to forging ties with CNSC, Chinese SMPTE and other industry organizations.”

Colorist Society Fellow Charles Poynton Hosts Workshops on Color Science

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 21:42:08 GMT

Next session scheduled for September 21 in Köln.

Pioneering color scientist and Colorist Society Fellow Dr. Charles Poynton and colorist Laurens Orij from Crabsalad, Amsterdam are conducting a series of professional workshops on color science at sites across Europe and North America. The next session is slated for Saturday, September 21 in Köln, Germany. Register here. Future events are planned for Toronto, Warsaw and Rome. Discounts are available to CSI members, but space is limited.

Titled Applied Colour Science for Film Production, the workshop covers both deep fundamentals and important current topics in color science for film. “By ‘film,’ we mean both photochemical film and digital film,” Poynton explains. “Classic photochemical film is enjoying a resurgence, and in any event, the color processes of film have set the cultural expectations of what a movie looks like. By ‘movie’ we include theatrical motion pictures, but also streaming programming where a cinematic look is desired.”

Poynton and Orij will explain in detail camera technology and camera image coding. They will describe the pipeline of post-production and mastering, including scene rendering transform, and show how and where art is introduced using illustrative examples. The radiometric (linear-light) internals of modern grading systems such as Baselight and DaVinci Resolve will be explained.

The focus is also on the color pipeline. Key aspects will be discussed: acquisition color space, grading space, and various mastering and distribution spaces, particularly the DCI X’Y’Z’ scheme with its standard DCI P3 primaries, and commercial HDR distribution schemes including HDR10, HLG, and ICtCp-based Dolby Vision.

The two presenters explain why BT.2020 primaries are not directly suitable for mastering or presentation. They will also introduce emerging modern post-production systems such as ACES 2.0 and OpenColorIO 2.0, and present recent developments in Color appearance models (CAMs).

Laurens Orij is an accomplished colourist based at Crabsalad in Amsterdam: “MONOS” (Sundance World Cinema Special Jury Award winner), “Close” (Oscar-nominated and Cannes Grand Prix winner 2023), and “All We Imagine as Light” (Cannes Grand Prize Winner 2024).

Charles Poynton is an independent researcher and Color scientist based in Toronto. He wrote the book “Digital Video and HD Algorithms and Interfaces,” now in its second edition. He earned his PhD in 2018 with a dissertation entitled “Color Appearance Issues in Digital Video, HD/UHD, and D-cinema.”

The Mad Max saga Colorist Eric Whipp breaks down his grading journey

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 12 Aug 2024 18:58:08 GMT

FilmLight is inviting Colorist Society members to a private event featuring Eric Whipp’s work on the color grading of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The event is slated for on August 19 at the Dolby Cinema Vine Theatre in Hollywood.

The event will begin with light refreshments and networking, followed by an in-depth presentation on the look development, VFX, color workflow across cities, and Dolby Vision HDR delivery of the fifth installment in the Mad Max series and including a Q&A session.

It is an unique opportunity to explore the artistry and collaborative work behind one of the year’s most visually striking films – demonstrated live on Baselight.

The event is free. Register here.

When: Monday 19 August, doors open at 6pm, presentation 7pm

Dolby Cinema Vine Theatre

6321 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028

HDR Vivid: A New HDR Standard

Keith Gayhart — Fri, 02 Aug 2024 16:36:03 GMT

HDR Vivid is a relative newcomer to the field of HDR technology. Like HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, HDR Vivid sets specifications for dynamic HDR metadata to achieve accurate tone mapping approved by the colorist. Developed in China, there are more than 40,000 hours of HDR Vivid content streaming in China. HDR Vivid has been broadly adopted by Chinese OEM manufacturers and OTT operators. It’s important to be aware of this option, particularly if you are a colorist mastering media for the Chinese market.

“HDR Vivid is based on ST.2084 and comparable to other HDR standards in terms of depth and brightness. Its advantage is that it supports a wider range of output deliverables,” says Tracy Tsui of the UHD World Association (The UWA), an association of enterprises, scientific research institutes, and professional institutions in UHD product manufacturing, video transmission, content production, application and service working to promote HDR Vivid—and a new CSI sponsor. “It is also a fully open standard. Manufacturers can incorporate HDR Vivid into their products without royalty fees for HDR Vivid 1.0.”

For colorists, producing deliverables in HDR Vivid is easy as the trim tools are already supported, and it’s included as an output option in DaVinci Resolve and Baselight. To promote greater awareness of the standard, The UWA is looking to partner with post houses in the US, Europe and elsewhere in hosting demonstration events. It is also developing a certification program for post houses and individuals to signify their expertise in delivering HDR Vivid content.

“HDR Vivid is a good option for colorists and post houses,” says Tsui. “Ultimately, we believe that HDR Vivid has the potential to become a global standard. It is easy for colorists and post houses to incorporate into their workflows, it’s a low cost alternative for OEMs and operators, and it benefits consumers with great content and experience.”

Colorist Society Hollywood to Host “HDR by Barco” Demo

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 17:23:39 GMT

Colorist Society Hollywood is hosting an event in tandem with Barco on its Light Steering Technology for HDR projection. Slated for August 6 from 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm at Barco’s demo facility in Hollywood, the event is free and open to all Colorist Society members.

BARCO’s Joachim Zell, Iris Wu and Anders Ballestad will demonstrate the new technology, which promises to radically improve the picture quality of films shown in theaters. Barco’s system includes a color grading plug in that integrates into DaVinci Resolve and FilmLight Baselight for optimized HDR color grading with full creative control. Colorists in attendance will have an opportunity to try the system for themselves.

Barco’s demo facility is located at Deluxe Studios (formerly Glen Glenn Sound) at 900 Seward St in Hollywood. Beer, wine, water and snacks will be provided.

George Miller and Mandy Walker to Helm FilmLight Colour Awards Jury

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 17:21:37 GMT

FilmLight has finalized the jury for the 2024 FilmLight Colour Awards and announced Australian film director, screenwriter and producer George Miller as guest of honor and award winning Australian cinematographer Mandy Walker as 2024 jury president.

George Miller, AO is known for direction the dystopian action-adventure Mad Max films as well as The Witches of Eastwick, Babe, Happy Feet and more. Mandy Walker, AM, ASC, ACS is known for work on Elvis, Mulan, Hidden Figures, Tracks, Australia and more.

FilmLight also welcomes the following international talent to complete this year’s highly prestigious jury:

Kaitlyn Battistelli, senior colorist and partner at ETHOS STUDIO in LA.

Greg Fisher, senior colorist at Company 3, London.

Jose Francisco Neto, senior colorist and founder of DOT in São Paulo.

Catherine Goldschmidt, award-winning cinematographer whose work includes the 12th Season of Doctor Who, the Emmy-nominated show Dummy, the BBC/Amazon series Chloe and HBO’s House of the Dragon.

Birgit Gudjonsdottir, award-winning Icelandic cinematographer with an extensive career in commercials, documentaries and feature films, including Goodbye Lenin! And The Bourne Supremacy.

Jax Harney, founder and senior colorist at X-LDN in London.

Yong Hou, acclaimed Chinese cinematographer, director, professor at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, doctoral supervisor and president of the Chinese Society of Cinematographers.

Tim Kuhn, BVK. award-winning German cinematographer, known for his work on series like Breaking Even (2020) and Amazon series Luden (2023).

Michael Liu, distinguished Chinese cinematographer whose portfolio includes including The Wandering Earth series.

Tim Masick, senior colorist at Company 3, New York.

Avik Mukhopadhayay, esteemed Indian cinematographer known for his work with directors like Mrinal Sen and Aparna Sen.

Marina Starke, Berlin-based senior colorist with a portfolio in feature films, series, commercials, and music videos.

Jason Zukowski, senior colorist at Fort York VFX in Toronto.

They join the previously announced jury members to complete this year’s jury: Ben Gervais – freelance technical producer; Mahak Gupta, senior colorist at Bridge PostWorks; Elodie Ichter, senior colorist at Light Iron; Natasha Leonnet, senior colorist, Picture Shop; Dirk Meier, freelance colorist, lecturer and 2023 FilmLight Colour Awards winner; Erik Messerschmidt, ASC, cinematographer; Yov Moor, senior freelance colorist; Robert Richardson, ASC, ACK, cinematographer; and Damien Vandercruyssen, senior colorist at Harbor.

The FilmLight Colour Awards are open to colorists on any grading platform and close for entry on 31 July. A shortlist will be announced in autumn and the winners unveiled at EnergaCAMERIMAGE in November.

For more information, please visit: www.filmlightcolourawards.com/

Add “CSI” to Your IMDbPro Profile

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 20:21:50 GMT

Good news for IMDbPro users. You can now include your CSI membership in your IMDbPro profile. Simply navigate to your IMDbPro name page, select the About tab, and navigate to Performer Profile. Click Edit and navigate to Professional Affiliations. Select Colorist Society within the dropdown.

As a member of CSI, you are eligible to receive a 25% discount off an IMDbPro Premium subscription, which offers full access to features for entertainment professionals to highlight their affiliations. Access the discount code by logging into your member website. This offer is limited to CSI members only and is non-transferable. Enter your code HERE to apply the discount to both monthly and annual memberships.

FilmLight Announces First Jury Members for Colour Awards

Keith Gayhart — Sat, 15 Jun 2024 19:02:11 GMT

Award-winning cinematographers Mandy Walker, Robert Richardson and Erik Messerschmidt amongst talented worldwide jury

FilmLight has announced the first set of high-profile creatives lined up to judge the 2024 FilmLight Colour Awards, including cinematographers Mandy Walker, Robert Richardson and Erik Messerschmidt. The awards are presented annually at the international film festival EnergaCAMERIMAGE in November.

Following her participation in the 2023 ceremony panel discussion with Lawrence Sher, first to join this year’s jury is Australian cinematographer, Mandy Walker, AM, ASC, ACS. Walker is best known for her work on Elvis (2022), Mulan (2020), Hidden Figures (2016), Tracks (2013), Australia (2008), Shattered Glass (2003), Australian Rules (2002), Lantana (2001),The Well (1997) and Parklands (1996).

“I really appreciate the artistry of great colourists,” comments Walker. “They help the cinematographer enhance the storytelling with colour, contrast, light and darkness – creating atmosphere and focusing the audiences’ gaze to what’s important in the frame. I will be looking for consistency and colour that is not too ‘affected’, but seamlessly works with and not against the elements of the story.”

Also joining this year’s jury is renowned American cinematographer, Robert Richardson, ASC, ACK. Richardson, who has won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography three times, for his work on Hugo (2011), The Aviator (2004) and JFK (1991), is a regular collaborator of Hollywood directors like Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese and known for his use of high contrast lighting, shapeshifting style, dynamic camera movements and keen eye for detail.

“Judging the work of a colourist is complex, as there are many factors that play a part,” says Richardson. “For example, how early was the colourist involved? Did they create a LUT to use in camera or during post? What was their relationship with the director of photography? What is their history? With this in mind, the process of judging for me will be based on the information they provide about the project as well as how well the visuals support the story. I am excited to take part, as the colourist is pivotal to my work and I have immense respect for the creativity involved.”

Also joining this year’s jury is cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, ASC, who recently had two feature films premiere at the 2023 Venice Film Festival – David Fincher's The Killer and Michael Mann's Ferrari. He also shot Fincher’s series Mindhunter(2017-2019) and feature film Mank (2020).

FilmLight is also delighted to welcome the following talented creatives to the 2024 jury:

Yov Moor – senior freelance colourist in France, whose work encompasses award-winning feature films, documentaries, art films and shorts. In 2024, Moor had four films at Cannes: Miguel Gomes’Grand Tour, Gilles Lellouche’s L ’Amour Ouf (Beating Hearts), Keff’s Locust and Wei Liang Chiang’s Mongrel.

Natasha Leonnet – senior colourist at Picture Shop based in LA and recipient of numerous prestigious accolades. Leonnet’s work includes Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), Billie Eilish: Happier Ever (2021), Candyman (2020), Mulan (2020), First Man (2018), Hidden Figures (2016) and Whiplash (2014).

Mahak Gupta – senior colourist at Bridge PostWorks in India and a 2022 FilmLight Colour Awards ‘Spotlight’ nominee for her work on Shoebox (2021). Gupta is also the co-founder of ‘The Colorists Workshop’ development program designed to support and recognise aspiring colourists in India.

Elodie Ichter – senior colourist at Light Iron in New York, who recently completed the grade on Hulu’s Shōgun (2024). Born and raised in France, Ichter’s career path took her to London and Los Angeles before New York where she worked with renowned directors such as Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Chloé Zhao and Ben Affleck.

Damien Vandercruyssen – senior colourist at Harbor, based in New York. Damien's expertise in cinematography and colour science have earned him regular collaborations with highly regarded directors such as Sofia Coppola, the Safdie brothers and Trey Edward Shults, along with leading cinematographers Philippe Le Sourd, Drew Daniel and Darius Khondji. His work on Apple TV+'s Lisey's Story (2021) won him the ‘TV/episodic’ award at the 2021 FilmLight Colour Awards.

Ben Gervais – technical producer in Canada. Gervais is a pioneer in high frame rate and 3D workflows and developed 120fps production, post, distribution, and projection technology for Ang Lee's Gemini Man (2019) and Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (2016).

Dirk Meier – freelance colourist and lecturer in Germany. Meier won the ‘Episodic’ award at the 2023 FilmLight Colour Awards for his work on season one of The Pimp: No F***ing Fairytale (OT: Luden).

In 2024 colourists will be awarded across six categories: theatrical feature; television series/episodic; commercial; music video; Spotlight, which recognises colourists who have worked on a lower budget feature film or television movie; and, new for 2024, Emerging Talent, which celebrates the work of young colourists (age 18-35) in commercial and music video creation.

The remaining jury will be announced in the coming months with this year’s call for entries closing on 31 July. A shortlist will be announced in autumn and the winners unveiled at EnergaCAMERIMAGE in November. For more, visit: www.filmlightcolourawards.com.

Pixelview: Making Remote Sessions Easier and Less Expensive

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 17:30:58 GMT

A new sponsor of Colorist Society, Pixelview.io is a developer of a remote collaboration platform designed with colorists in mind. Along with innovative tools for sharing grading sessions, Pixelview offers the benefit of being super simple to use. Sessions are streamed via a proprietary encoder plugged into a reference monitor. Options for capture cards and software streaming are also available.

On the client side, it’s even easier. Stakeholders can join a session via a link or QR code. From there, the user experience is intuitive. Clients can view sessions through a web browser or app and communicate with the colorist through video or text chat. Other features include on-screen annotation, screen sharing and personalized branding. Better color accuracy can be achieved by a separate app. Sessions are encrypted to keep assets safe.

One more point: Pixelview is affordable. A plan supporting up to five concurrent viewers costs $175 per month.

Founder Max Stromberg began developing Pixelview during covid. A colorist himself, he was frustrated with the complexity and high cost of collaboration solutions. “Our aim is to eliminate technical challenges so that creative people can be creative,” he explains. “We make it easy to set up, log in and watch streams. Simplicity is our main selling point.”

Max and his team continue to develop Pixelview. They recently added a new, streamlined user interface. Currently, they are looking to upgrade security through TPN certification and improved watermarking and login protocols.

Citing the popularity of remote and hybrid work, Max says his user base is growing. “As covid waned, I thought things would go back to the way they were,” he observes. “But it hasn’t. People have gotten used to working remotely, and often prefer it because they can get more done.”

SMPTE to Host Demo of Barco's Light Steering for HDR Projection

Keith Gayhart — Fri, 24 May 2024 16:31:29 GMT

Hollywood SMPTE invites you to a demonstration of Barco’s new Light Steering technology for HDR projection. The event will be held on Thursday, May 30th at Deluxe Studios at 900 Seward Street in Hollywood.

“Twenty-five years ago this month the first digital cinema presentation took place,” says Bill Hogan who is producing the event for SMPTE Hollywood Section. “Now, we are entering the era of High Dynamic Range cinema. Last year we presented an HDR direct view program. This month, we present a program with HDR projection from Barco.”

Speakers include Barco Cinema’s Joachim Zell (Head of HDR Content Workflow), Dan Huerta (Technical Solutions Director) and Anders Ballestad (Head of Content & Studio Relations).

Two sessions will be offered, 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM. Refreshments at 7:00 PM. Please arrive 15 minutes before your chosen session time.

Entries Open for the FilmLight Colour Awards

Keith Gayhart — Fri, 17 May 2024 18:06:31 GMT

Entries are now open for the 2024 FilmLight Colour Awards. The awards, which will once again be presented at EnergaCAMERIMAGE in November, are independently judged by a panel of prominent creatives, cinematographers and colourists. Entries close July 31.

New for 2024, the ‘Emerging Talent’ award will recognise and celebrate the work of young colourists (age 18-30) who have worked on a commercial or music video project aired between 1 September 2023 and 30 September 2024.

Top left to right: Dirk Meier (2023 TV Series / Episodic winner), Marina Starke (2023 Music Video winner), Tim Masick (2023 Commercial winner), Cem Ozkilicci (2023 Spotlight winner). Bottom centre: DoP, Lawrence Sher (2023 Jury President).

“The next generation of colourists is critical to the future of our industry,” says Jacqui Loran, co-director at FilmLight. “We have introduced this award to help support and encourage these emerging young talents – shining a light on their work and helping them to form a path into the industry.”

The new category sits alongside the existing five: theatrical feature; television series/episodic; commercial; music video; and Spotlight, which recognises colourists who have contributed to the creative impact of a low budget feature.

The awards are lead and organised by FilmLight, in conjunction with EnergaCAMERIMAGE. “In 2021 we welcomed the FilmLight Colour Awards into the EnergaCAMERIMAGE Film Festival programme and we have enjoyed watching the success of the awards and the partnership grow year-on-year,” says Marek Žydowicz, EnergaCAMERIMAGE Founder and Director. “We continue to receive positive feedback about our joint efforts to shine a light on the work of the colourist and their invaluable collaboration with the cinematographer. We can’t wait to do it again this year.”

For 2024, FilmLight also welcomes four new supporting partners: ShotDeck (fully-searchable cinematic image library), AMC (Mexican Society of Cinematographers), BVK (German Society of Cinematographers) and ISC (Indian Society of Cinematographers). They join the growing list of long-standing supporters, including: AFC (French Society of Cinematographers), ASC (American Society of Cinematographers), BSC (British Society of Cinematographers), CNSC (Chinese Society of Cinematographers), CSI (Colorist Society International) and more.

2024 Colorist Mixer a Resounding Success

Keith Gayhart — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 23:30:10 GMT

The Colorist Mixer returned to NAB on April 14, drawing an enthusiastic crowd of more than 250 colorists, colleagues and friends. Carlos ‘n Charlie’s at the Flamingo, our fantastic new venue, was the site of a memorable evening of great conversation, food and cocktails.

The evening kicked off with the always entertaining Medialight Color Quiz. Big screen displays throughout the space played showreels from colorists, CSI sponsors, shots of the wonderful raffle prizes, and photos taken at the event. Each sponsor had an individual drawing box with guests submitting their tickets for the prizes of their choice. In true Las Vegas fashion, you had to gamble to win.

A big thank you to our cohost, iColorist, our sponsors and our guests for their support.

Prize Winners:

Jenn Lee, Banana Post: Adobe Creative Cloud
Michael Tosti, idc-la:Blackmagic Design DaVinci Micro Panel
Tay Christopher, The Media Village: Creative Solutions Small HD 27" OLED
Gilberto Balderas, Cadis AI: DELL KM900 Premier keyboard
Jason Lyons, 67post: Dolby Vision Training/Certification
Jamie Coats, Dovecoats Ltd: Kevin Shaw Finalcolor training
Mikhail Starkov, Institute of Film and Television: FSI XMP310 QD-OLED HDR 31.5” Reference Monitor
Catherine Meininger: ASUS Proart PA169CDV monitor
Roberto Negron, Nitido Post: Louper Pro 1yr plan
Gregory White, Pearl Street Post: MASV 10TB Free Transfer Credits
Eric Cameron, freelance: Medialight Pro2 set
Francesco D'Ascenzo: BULL SRL: PVA Video Calibration Training/Certification 4-Day Course

See you at the IBC Mixer on Saturday 14th September.

Kevin Shaw, Mikhail Starkov

Walter Volpatto, John Daro, Warren Eagles

Sarah Priestnal, Bob Festa

Jason Bowdach, Robbie Carman, Bram Desmet

Rob and Michelle Lederman

Join Colorist Society’s New Discord Server

Keith Gayhart — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 17:03:23 GMT

Colorist Society has launched a Discord server available exclusively and at no cost to our members. Colorist Society Discord is a dedicated, ad free and safe space where colorists can connect, share insights, learn from others, organize chapters and events, and broaden their networks.

For those new to Discord, it’s a messaging platform that supports text, voice and video chat on an individual and group basis. Our Discord includes discussion channels on color-related topics including color science, deliverables, tips and tricks, and so on. It also offers private channels for individual Chapters, as well as a job board. But it’s not only about work. Members can also use the service to catch up with old friends, hang out and make new connections.

Colorist Jenn Lee, CSI, who set up the server and is acting act as moderator, hopes Discord will strengthen the sense of community among colorists. “Colorists often work alone or in smaller markets with little direct contact with their fellow artists,” she says. “Discord is a great way to get to know people you might not otherwise meet.”

Lee, who also participates in a Discord server run by the Visual Effects Society, says that it’s been a great success with hundreds of active members. “Every Friday, there is a group call for people to socialize,” she says. “It’s fun and rewarding.”

Tickets Now On Sale for Colorist Mixer at NAB 2024

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 16:42:27 GMT

Now in its second decade, the Colorist Mixer, sponsored by Colorist Society (CSI) and iColorist, returns to NAB on Sunday, April 14^th, 7 - 11 pm PDT. Bigger and better than ever, this year’s raffle will feature $30,000 in prizes from Colorist Mixer sponsors.

Tickets are available here. But, hurry, as space is limited.

Agenda

8:00 PM - 8:30 PM: The Color Quiz

Quiz teams will be based on wristbands, so it’s a great way to make new friends. This year’s quiz will involve ten multiple choice questions, with a fun color-related tiebreaker.

9:30 PM: The World Famous Mixer Raffle

Everyone arriving at the Mixer will receive a raffle ticket. Be sure to add your details clearly and drop it into the ballot box for the prize that you want to win. You must be present to win.

Prizes!

OLED 27 Reference Monitor from Creative Solutions Small HD
XMP310 QD-OLED HDR 31.5” Reference Monitor from Flanders Scientific Inc
DaVinci Micro Panel from Blackmagic Design
Dolby Vision Training/Certification from Dolby (two to win!)
MediaLight Pro2 set with bias light of choice + Ideal-Lume linear profile of choice + merch cap from MediaLight
1TB Free Transfer Credits from MASV
Video Calibration Training/Certification 4-Day Course from PVA
Louper Pro 1yr plan from Louper (two to win!)
Academy Goody Bag from ACES

Mixer Sponsors at NAB 2024

MASV at NAB

Discover how MASV, the world's fastest and most secure file transfer service for colorists, is set to transform your project delivery. Upgrade your workflow with MASV Portals, a universal file uploader that can speed up, organize, and automate file collection in every workflow.

· Book Your Customized MASV Demo at NAB Show 2024: massive.io/nab-show/

· NEW: MASV Portal enhancements COMING SOON at NAB.

· Level up and automate your file upload workflow with advanced tools that boost security, streamline processes, and showcase your brand—all without limitations.

· Visit Booth W1343M (within the AWS Learning Lounge & Partner Village).

· Meet MASV in person —Secure Your Spot Here!

· Livestream up to 4K edit, vfx, color & sound sessions.

· Upload and watch videos in sync with your team.

· All with built-in video chat for faster, clearer feedback.

Louper at NAB

Louper is a live collaboration platform designed for remote video editing, color grading, and finishing. Stream frame‑accurate, high quality sessions for real‑time collaboration with directors and clients.

A Special NAB Offer for Colorist Society!

Get 1-month FREE of Louper Pro! A no risk opportunity to try out Louper’s paid option to see if the platform suits you. Sign up for a free account using this special link: https://bit.ly/3Tw0A9v and the Louper team will upgrade you to 1 complimentary month of Louper Pro (valued at $62.50-$99).

Join thousands of pro colorists, finishing artists, and editors! Start streaming at: Louper.io

SmallHD

Learn more about SmallHD’s new Quantum 32 Reference HDR Monitor Here.

CS Hollywood to Host Post-NAB Meetup

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 22:29:44 GMT

CS Hollywood members who weren’t able to make it to NAB (and those who did) are invited to catch up for drinks in LA. Kevin Shaw and Warren Eagles will also be in attendance for the meetup, set for Thursday April 25, 6:30pm to 9pm at the rooftop bar of the Godfrey Hotel in Hollywood. Snacks and appetizers will be provided. Members may purchase drinks at the bar.

The Godfrey will project submitted projects on the wall of the courtyard during the meet-up. CSH is also requesting submissions for its Chapter Showcase featured on the CSI website. Further details coming soon.

CS Hollywood’s Rory Gordon on ACES Panel at NAB

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 28 Mar 2024 22:03:45 GMT

Rory Gordon, CSH, will take part in a panel discussion on ACES workflows at NAB Show 2024 in Las Vegas. Titled Mastering Filmmaking with ACES Your Secret Weapon for Color Management, the session will delve into practical tips and real-world examples demonstrating how ACES can streamline production processes and achieve consistent, high-quality results across diverse projects. Other panelists will include Walt Disney Studios Senior Manager of Image and Color Michael Maloney and independent filmmaker and software designer Stu Maschwitz. Journalist Debra Kaufman will moderate. The session is slated for Tuesday, April 16 • 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM PT in the Create Zone Theater SU4087. Passes required.

Rory Gordon, CSH, is a senior colorist, with recent credits Rapsh!t for HBO Max, Unstable for Netflix, and Parish for AMC during nine years at ArsenalFX Color. She recently joined the Keep Me Posted/FotoKem team where she continues serving episodic projects, as well as feature films. She is one of the most experienced HDR colorists working in television and streaming, with experience finishing over 130 episodes in HDR10 and Dolbyvision.

Colorist Society (CSI) Chapter Launched in Canada

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 17:40:51 GMT

Colorist Society (CSI) announces the launch of a CSI Chapter in Canada. Led by Abe Wynen, CSI, Senior Colorist at Redlab, Toronto, and Eric Whipp, CSI, co-founder and Head of Color at Alter Ego, Toronto, the chapter is open to colorists across Canada working in film, television, advertising and other media. The group plans networking, training and social events, both in-person and virtual, to support the development of a community of colorists in Canada and promote the art and science of color.

Abe Wynen

Eric Whipp

“We want to bring colorists in Canada under one roof and show them how much fun it is when we share ideas and experiences with our colleagues,” says Wynen. “We want to encourage participation from both experienced colorists and those who are new to the profession. It’s about building a better culture and forming friendships.”

Wynen is relatively new to Canada, having relocated to Toronto in 2022 after six years at boutique color and finishing studio Crayon in Melbourne, Australia. His aim in co-founding CSI’s Canada Chapter derives from his experience as a member of the organization’s Australia/New Zealand Chapter. “The ANZ chapter was well organized and very successful in building a community of colorists from cities across Australia and New Zealand,” he states. “It was a great way to meet and learn from other colorists and to celebrate our craft.”

Whipp also moved from Australia to Toronto where he co-founded Alter Ego. He became a colorist in the 1990s and collaborated with George Miller on his Oscar-winning film Happy Feet. He reunited with Miller for the ground-breaking film Mad Max: Fury Road. Recent credits include The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.

Last fall, Wynen and Whipp hosted a Colourist Catch-Up as a precursor to the formal launch of the Canada Chapter. Held at Danu Social House, it brought together Toronto’s top colorists and other industry professionals for an evening of socializing. “It was so lovely to finally get the colorists in town in one room,” Wynen says. “We are planning more events soon.”

Colorist Podcast Returns

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 18:18:34 GMT

New host Bobola Oniwura, CSI interviews Eric Whipp, CSI about coloring Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

The Colorist Podcast is back, and it has a new host, Bobola Oniwura, CSI. A lead colorist and founder of Ingenuity Pictures, Bobola envisions the podcast as a forum for issues important to colorists and other industry professionals. Guests will include the industry’s top colorists, newcomers to the profession, and other industry thought leaders. In his first episode, Bobola talks with Eric Whipp, CSI, co-founder and director of color at Alter Ego, Toronto. You can listen to it here: https://spoti.fi/3uQ8274

Bobola wants to use the podcast to explore the personal journeys of individual colorists. “Colorists often have unconventional career paths,” he says. “I want to know how they got their start, where they studied, how they learned color science.”

Eric Whipp is an inspired choice for the podcast’s first new episode. Bobola talks with Eric about his past collaborations with Director George Miller on Three Thousand Years of Longing and Mad Max: Fury Road as well as his current work on Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. “Fury Road was a very influential film and has become a massive reference point for color grading,” Bobola says. “In the podcast, Eric shares deep insight into the incredible work they are doing for the new film which will be in theaters in May.”

Calling himself an ‘accidental colorist,’ Bobola has his own fascinating story. After studying Architecture in his native Nigeria, he began a career as a creative director. He became involved in producing social media content but found that no one on his staff knew how to properly grade video, so he taught himself by studying DaVinci tutorials produced by Warren Eagles, CSI. That launched him on a new career that included becoming the first Certified Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve Trainer in West Africa. Among his recent projects is the action-comedy A Tribe Called Judah, which recently became the top grossing Nollywood film of all time.

"How To" Get the Most from IMDbPro

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 20:26:05 GMT

CSI members are eligible for discounted subscriptions to IMDbPro (the code is available in the Members section of this site.) It is an excellent resource for promoting your career, networking and keeping track of important contacts and upcoming projects. Two levels of subscription are available, basic and premium. Both provide access to biographic and credit information, guild affiliations, representation contacts and other data not available on IMDb. Premium subscriptions also include a host of tools for managing your profile, adding images and demo reels, tracking people and projects, and much more.

If you are unsure of which subscription level is right for you, or want to know more about specific features, how to videos are available on the IMDB YouTube channel. Topics include setting your profession, managing personal details, and choosing “known for” credits. The short videos will help you get the most from your subscription.

Walter Volpatto, CSI Wins HPA Award

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 22:19:08 GMT

CSI Fellow Walter Volpatto recently won an HPA Award for his work on the HBO series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. He was honored in the category Outstanding Color Grading in a Live-Action Episode or Non-Theatrical Feature for an episode entitled One Ring Don’t Make a Dynasty. The event was held at the Television Academy in North Hollywood.

Volpatto, who became a CSI Fellow in 2020, was twice previously nominated for HPA Awards. They came for Sweet Tooth (2021) and The Green Mile (2019). His many other credits include Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, Dunkirk, Midway, The Woman King and Independence Day: Resurgence, as well as the television series Homecoming and Queen Sugar.

Get the Most from Your IMDbPro Subscription

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 28 Dec 2023 19:12:06 GMT

IMDbPro offers many useful features for conducting research and virtual networking. Premium subscriptions, available to CSI members at a discount, provide access to contact information for producers, show runners, cinematographers, post production supervisors and others involved in hiring colorists. The site’s “List” and “Track” features can be used to follow potential employers and upcoming projects.

Subscribers can also customize their page by adding photos, biographies and employment data. They can also upload reels and choose which titles are included in the “Known For” section of the page. It’s even possible to add links to external news and clients.

If you are new to the service or need help in updating your page, a series of How To videos are available via IMDB’s YouTube channel.

If you wish to subscribe to the site, the discount code is available in the Members section of this website.

And don’t forget…

Colorist Society has an ongoing campaign to make “Colorist Department” a separate listing on IMDb. This effort is vital as colorist credits are currently inconsistently listed under editorial, visual effects and other categories. You can sign our petition and add your comments here.

Finalcolor Announces "Start to Finish" Color Curriculum

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 19:42:07 GMT

Finalcolor has announced a new series of training courses. Beginning in January, it will offer a curriculum covering color from start to finish. Broken into three modules, the classes will cover such subjects as color pipelines, the look in production, color management, look development and folder structure.

“I’m often asked where one should start with grading classes, whether wanting to learn from scratch, refresh existing knowledge, or take skills to the next level,” says instructor Kevin Shaw, CSI. “So , in 2024 I’m doing things a bit differently. I want to make it easier than ever for people to get to grips with color. If you want to better understand color and grading, this one's for you!”

Further Details

Book Now!

REFLECTIONS ON CAMERIMAGE 2023

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 18:25:28 GMT

Sunday

Camerimage is fast becoming a Colourist Festival. It began Sunday afternoon with the FilmLight Colour Awards, which played to a packed house. This year’s winning looks were diverse and, refreshingly, winners and finalists originated from big companies, boutiques, and freelancers alike. Congratulations to all! See the Winners.

The panel discussion that followed was led by Lawrence Sher (cinematographer, director, founder of Shotdeck, and chairman of the FilmLight jury). One takeaway: whilst many colourists are involved before shooting, some still get the call after picture lock with little consultation before the final grading session. This is especially true for commercials and music videos. AI was briefly discussed with panellists agreeing that AI tools can be useful for conforming, rotoscope, tracking and depth maps, but are unlikely to replace the human interaction required for final grading.

Monday

Monday brought Colorist Society’s Colorist Mixer which featured a panel of award finalists and winners. Many topics were covered but one interesting fact that surfaced was that four out of the five panelists regularly employ colour management. Time and budget were also discussed. Whilst acknowledging that some big budget projects take months to grade, two weeks is more common for features and a day for commercials and music videos. Marina Starke, a freelancer nominated in three categories, noted that it’s often not a matter of how much time a client can afford, but rather how much time the colorist is prepared to spend…a factor of both money and interest in the project. Relationships with DPs, directors and producers was also touched on with the panel agreeing that communication and psychology constitute at least half of the job skills colourists must master.

The panel agreed that free entry for the FilmLight Colour Awards makes a big difference and adds prestige as awards don’t automatically go to big jobs and big companies. Each of these finalists submitted their entries themselves and included commentary about their work. Whilst good cinematography and colour grading are essential for a winning result, an explanation of the concept, research and decision-making process helps the judges better appreciate the colourist’s contribution.

The talk also included a brief mention of how things get fixed—meaning VFX and editing issues. All noted unsolved problems that make it to the final grade must be dealt with…one way or another…by the colourist.

Tuesday

On Tuesday night, Colorist Society and BVK member Dirk Meier organised a wonderful seminar on look development with luminary cinematographers Steve Yedlin, Ari Wegner and Pascale Marin. Steve described his process for look dev using Nuke nodes. When asked if he was eliminating the colourist, he was very clear that colourist magic is still very necessary, but his method ensures his vision is maintained through edit and VFX.

Ari eloquently explained how she plans a shooting philosophy for each film rather than locking into a pre-defined Look. The shooting philosophy might include the point of view, lens choices, framing, eyelines and much more.

While noting that her projects tend to have lower budgets than the other speakers, Pascale said that she follows a similar approach. She relies on communication with colourists, directors and producers to achieve high quality solutions within budget constraints. Shared understanding and good relationships between all parties is crucial to a smooth and pleasant journey…and to great images.

All the DPs were clear that they contact the colourist as soon as they get the project, and value colourist input, particularly for exploring conceptual ideas, creating show LUTs and planning colour management.

The BVK/ CSI seminar is available to view here.

Alongside these activities were plenty of other stimulating screenings and presentations. I found the Zeiss and Arri presentations especially useful. And, of course, the FilmLight Masterclass has become a tradition that never fails to mix interest and knowledge in an entertaining way.

This year the organisers presented a curated mix of films, new and old. I had not previously seen The Truman Show on the big screen and was glad for the opportunity to do so here. Many scenes work incredibly well in a theatre but lose their impact on the small screen. In the example below, a life size Christoff (Ed Harris) appears to standiin front of the screen caressing the star of his show projected on the big screen. I did not appreciate the power of this image until I saw it in the cinema! I think everyone at the festival felt the love for cinema.

This year the festival organisers arranged for the display of Polish artist Jan Matejko’s epic painting Astronomer Copernicus: Conversations with God (on loan from Kraków's historic Jagiellonian University). A national treasure, it depicts the great astronomer on a terrace adjacent to a Gothic cathedral in Frombock that still stands. Inspired by my experience at the festival, I enjoyed the story elements and chiaroscuro of the painting and how they compared to film print emulation as discussed by Steve Yedlin on Tuesday night. I am going to include more paintings in my look development research in future. (Cem Ozkilicci referring to exactly this in describing his inspiration for the Spotlight Award winning Possession.)

If you have never been to the festival, you can get a feel for its unique flavour in this highlights reel featured on the German Chapter page.

All in all, Colorist Society had a happy presence at the festival. Before our society was formed in 2016, colour management was rarely discussed, let alone used and colourists were rarely mentioned. Whilst there are still very few awards open to colourists, the FilmLight Colour Awards are now well respected because they provide an even playing field and are judged by cinematographers and colourists who appreciate the challenges and the vision. Colorist Society cannot take all the credit for these landmark changes, but it is gratifying to know that we are moving in the right direction.

I look forward to Camerimage 2024 and encourage colourists to submit entries for next year’s FilmLIght Colour Awards. It’s important to build on this year’s success in building the colourist community. The festival is teeming with cinematographers and full of enlightening chats after screenings and seminars…and during after parties. Torun is both fascinating and inexpensive. I hope to see you there next year.

Kevin Shaw, President of the Colorist Society

FilmLight reveals 2023 Colour Award Winners

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 17:46:54 GMT

The 2023 FilmLight Colour Award winners were announced by jury president Lawrence Sher, ASC, at a dedicated colour ceremony as part of EnergaCAMERIMAGE in Poland on Sunday, 12 November.

The awards, which are open to colourists on any grading platform, were independently judged by renowned cinematographers, directors and colourists.

“Representing our fantastic jury, I’d love to congratulate the winners of this years’ FilmLight Colour Awards,” comments Sher. “These diversely talented artists – and the inspiring work they helped craft – are a testament to the critical importance of the colourist in the art of filmmaking. It’s great to see these artists come from across the globe – proving that good work isn’t limited to huge budgets or big shops, but available to everyone with a good eye and refined skills. Kudos to all and we look forward to seeing the submissions next year.”

Image titles from left to right: Theatrical Feature winner, Barbie; TV Series / Episodic winner, The Pimp: No F***ing Fairytale (OT: Luden); Commercial winner, Zara Man – SS23; Music Video winner, Mayyas – Horra; Spotlight winner, Possession

The award for the grading of a theatrical feature went to Yvan Lucas at Company 3 for Barbie. Yvan worked closely with director Greta Gerwig and cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto to create the perfect ‘Barbie look’ for the critically acclaimed movie. Gerwig wanted the skin tones in ‘BarbieLand’ to be more pastel and less saturated, but everything else about the shots to be full of those pinks, turquoises, and other colours that stand out so much. The look was partially defined by a specific LUT that Lucas and Prieto created to enhance the strong feeling of saturation and pushed the colours into the ‘BarbieLand’ space.

“It is like the recognition of a lifetime’s work,” comments Lucas. “It brings me immense joy that colour grading is recognised as an essential part in crafting the look of a film. The experience of working on this film with Rodrigo and Greta was one of the most artistically gratifying of my career.”

The award for the grading of a TV series / episodic went to freelance colourist Dirk Meier for his work at D-Facto Motion on season one of The Pimp: No F***ing Fairytale (OT: Luden). Meier and cinematographer Tim Kuhn found look inspiration in a music video that used documentary footage from a sequence of the 1962 movie, Mondo Cane, shot in the red-light district around the Reeperbahn street. Meier developed a highly textured look with a dark and moody atmosphere. Especially in the HDR version he worked with the extended range of contrast and wider colour palette to create a period feeling with lifted black levels, while ensuring the 1980’s neon lights stood out.

“When I first read the list of nominees and their projects, I couldn’t fully grasp how I made it into this group,” says Meier. “And now I’m really grateful and touched that the jury found my work merits this award.”

The award for the grading of a commercial went to Tim Masick at Company 3 for his work on Zara Man, ‘SS23’. Masick, who also won the commercial category in 2021, worked with director Fabien Baron and DoP Philippe Le Sourd to create the winning spot. Masick worked to create a fantasy/dream world where the elements are subtly dramatised – recreating the mood and imagery of Red Desert(1964, Antonioni), Paris, Texas (1984, Wenders), and photographer Todd Hido.

“I am honoured that our work has been recognised by the jurors among so much great work from around the world,” comments Masick. “Winning a second time is a great affirmation, but also feels like a challenge to go beyond and push things further.”

The award for the grading of a music video went to freelance colourist Marina Starke for her work on ‘Horra’ by Mayyas – America’s Got Talent’s 2022 dance group winners. Starke was nominated across three categories this year, making her a five-time nominee of the FilmLight Colour Awards. Horra was directed by the all-female group’s choreographer, Nadim Cherfan, and shot by cinematographer Shadi Chaaban, who Starke worked closely with to create the moody, mysterious, and bold aesthetic that they were looking to achieve.

“I am absolutely honoured,” says Starke. “It was such strong competition and amongst everyone I look up to, as well – I am extremely happy.”

The Spotlight award, which showcases the craft that contributes to the creative impact of a low budget feature, went to freelance colourist Cem Ozkilicci for his work at Uhoert on Possession. Inspired by Scandinavian romantic and landscape painters, Ozkilicci completed the grade over 10 days, working closely with director Henrik Martin and cinematographer Oskar Dahlsbakken to create a nostalgic look with a unique patina – achieved through a combination of lenses and sharpening techniques in grading.

“I am deeply honoured and humbled,” comments Ozkilicci. “Being shortlisted was in itself a reward for the hard work invested, but to be selected as the winner amongst all the nominees by such a remarkably talented, diverse and highly respected jury was unexpected. I am truly grateful.”

The Colour Awards are lead and organised by FilmLight, in conjunction with EnergaCAMERIMAGE, and are supported by prominent international groups such as the ASC (The American Society of Cinematographers), the BSC (British Society of Cinematographers), the AFC (The French Society of Cinematographers), CSI (Colorist Society International), CNSC (Chinese Society of Cinematographers), Imago (the International Federation of Cinematographers), the Polish Society of Cinematographers (PSC) and many more.

The full list of nominees can be found here.

Meet Jason Bowdach, CSI

Keith Gayhart — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 13:56:15 GMT

A new member of Colorist Society Hollywood, Jason Bowdach is a colorist and finishing editor at Fox where he grades multi-platform marketing media for such hit shows as 9-1-1, The Cleaning Lady and The Masked Singer. He is also a certified DaVinci Resolve trainer, contributing author to Frame.io and entrepreneur. His company PixelTools develops “artist focused” plugins and presets for Resolve.

A Southern California native, Jason got his start at Disney where he was involved in remastering and localization of entertainment content for international markets. Looking for a more challenging career, he sought advice from industry veterans and determined that color was his best bet. “The idea of influencing a viewer’s emotions through color suited my personality,” he says. “I enjoy helping filmmakers bring their projects to life.”

Jason gained exposure to color through grading his own short films. Eventually, he acquired enough experience to leave Disney and pursue work as a freelance colorist. After having success in commercials and independent films, he landed a gig at EFilm as assistant to veteran colorist Walter Volpatto, CSI on Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day: Resurgence.

He calls it a career altering moment. “It was a big adjustment to go from $100,000 indie films to a $200 million blockbuster,” he recalls. “But it was an amazing experience. It confirmed how much I loved color grading and that it’s what I hope to do for the rest of my life.”

Around the same time, Jason developed an interest in teaching. He became a certified Da Vinci trainer and has taught color grading through such companies as Mixing Light, Lowepost, TAC Resolve and Adobe. He hosts the Color & Coffee podcasts and produces training videos, writes articles on post-production problem solving and leads seminars at trade shows.

To facilitate his work as a trainer, Jason began developing presets for Resolve. They proved so effective in streamlining his workflow that he formed a business to license them. “In 2019, I launched PixelTools,” he says. “I create looks and presets just as I did for my project clients, only now, I do it for other colorists. There is nothing better than building tools for people I like shooting the breeze with.”

Among the products offered by PixelTools is Hue Shift, which supercharges Resolve’s native tools for shifting hues and adjusting density. “It makes it easier to create looks and perform routine tasks,” he explains. “It’s a lifesaver when you have thousands of shots to grade and only so many days to do it. It’s a dream to take things like that that are in my head and make them a reality.”

A member of Colorist Society since 2016, Jason says he was honored to receive an invitation to join the Hollywood Chapter. “I’m a person who wants to give back,” he insists. “That’s what attracted me to this organization. I want more people to recognize the artistry of color and the dedicated people who practice this craft.”

HPA Awards Creative Category Nominations

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 15:01:04 GMT

The Hollywood Professionals Alliance has announced nominations for the HPA Awards 2023 Creative Category. Colorist Society is a sponsor of the competition, which includes awards for color grading, editing, visual effects, sound and restoration. Among the nominees for Outstanding Color Grading – Live Action Episode or Non-Theatrical Feature is Walter Volpatto, CSI. Winners will be announced November 9^th.

A complete list of nominees is available here.

CS Hollywood Colorists Talk SDR/HDR at SMPTE Event

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 15:05:39 GMT

Colorist Society Hollywood members John Daro, CSH, Lynette Duensing, CSH and Juan Cabrera, CSH shared their expertise in SDR/HDR grading at an event sponsored by SMPTE Hollywood. The three veteran colorists discussed best practices for SDR/HDR through examples drawn from their work in film, television and trailers. Held October 5 at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Linwood Dunn Theater, the event dre an enthusiastic crowd of more than 200 industry professionals and students.Daro, Duensing and Cabrera shared insights into LUTs, deliverables, and ACES workflows.

Click here to watch the video

Annie Chang, P/Creative Technologies, Universal Pictures and ACES Co-Chair, followed with a presentation on the technical application of ACES and the soon to be released ACES 2. All four presenters were then joined by colorist Laura Jans Fazio for a lively panel discussion moderated by SMPTE Hollywood chair Marc Zorn, Content Protection & Production Security, Marvel Studios was moderator.

Colorist Society Hollywood Meet Up

Keith Gayhart — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 15:12:06 GMT

Colorist Society Hollywood hosted its first in-person meetup on Thursday, September 14^th at the classic Hollywood pub, The Cat & the Fiddle. Colorists from across Southern California turned up for an evening of drinks, hos d’oeuvres, conversation and fun. The Hollywood Chapter expects host to many more such events, says Lynette Duensing, CSH. “It was great seeing everyone in person,” she notes. “The folks shared their experiences with technology and philosophies on how to approach a project. This speaks exactly to one of the core missions of CSH.”

The event was organized by Michael Mintz, CSH and promoted by Troy Smith, CSH.

Dehancer Colourist Awards Submissions Open

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 17:29:52 GMT

Submissions are currently being accepted for the Dehancer Colourist Awards, a worldwide competition for colorists, created by color experts. Categories include Feature Film, Short Film, Documentary, Music Video and Mobile Video. Submissions are free but limited to projects using the Dehancer plugin and at least one film profile. Make your submissions here. Submissions close December 14.

The company describes the competition as “a great opportunity to showcase your skills and get recognized around the world. It is more than just a competition; it is an homage to the artistry, creativity and storytelling through film color.”

Winners receive a cash prize of US$ 6,000. Shortlist nominees are awarded a Lifetime License for Dehancer. Other prizes include subscriptions to Lowepost, Ravegate Cinelook perpetual licenses, monthly, full access subscriptions to DeMystify Color, vouchers for DeMystify Color Shop and Filmic Pro annual license codes. Winning work will also be featured in the company’s social media, which reaches 30,000 industry professionals.

Judges include:

Nico Fink, colorist, Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Certified Trainer, Head of DeMystify Color
Daria Fissoun, CSI, Colorist, Compositor, and Certified DaVinci Resolve Trainer
Darren Mostyn, Senior Colorist and Founder of Online Creative
Stig Olsen, Founder and Creative Director of Lowepost and Ravengrade
Toby Tomkins, CHEAT Founder and Senior Colorist
Matthew Tomlinson, Head of Color Science at Harbor

Please read the Rules & Legal Terms carefully before submitting your project.

Join Our Group Catch Up

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 23:24:25 GMT

On October 18 at 7pm AEST, the Australia/New Zealand Chapter will host an online meeting via our Discord Group. Along with a general group catch up, it will include a discussion about working remotely with clients in a post-COVID world. We are looking to broaden our scope, so please invite friends and colleagues from the vision side of production and post-production to take part in the discussion and perhaps become members.

CSI Hosts Colorist Mixer at IBC

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 17:28:02 GMT

Colorist Society hosted a Colorist Mixer, September 16, in Amsterdam in tandem with the 2023 International Broadcasters Convention. Organized by iColorist, the event was held at Arti et Amicitiae, former home of a Dutch artist's society, in Rokin.

The Mixer was well attended and enthusiastically received. It was a great opportunity to network, relax, learn, reconnect with old friends and make new ones. We also handed out more than $15,000 in raffle prizes provided by our sponsors. Winners included Jamie Dickinson (ACES), Cassiano Zoboli (Adobe), James Willett (ASUS) Nikolai Waldman (Blackmagic Design), Rik Mahieu (Colorfront), Alexander Hohenthaner (Flanders Scientific), Boris Klasser (Hedge), Paolo Verrucci (Kaurus), Alexandre Sadowsky (Leader), Achim Kapitza (MASV), Jenn Lee (Portrait Displays), Jon Hall (Professional Video Alliance) and Peteris Sudakovs (Tangent).

(l to r) Alexander Hohenthaner, Rik Mahieu, Boris Klasser, Alexandre Sadowsky, Jenn Lee, Jon Hall, Kevin Shaw, James Willet, Jamie Dickinson, Achim Kapitza, Paolo Verrucci, Nikolai Waldman, Peteris Sudakovs, Cassiano Zoboli

IMDbPro Offers How-To Videos for Managing Your Profile

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 12 Sep 2023 17:59:04 GMT

IMDbPro recently launched a series of “How To” videos on YouTube to help you manage your profile. Learn how to change your primary profession or update your personal details with step-by-step instructions. Click here.

Colorist Society members receive a discount off an IMDbPro Premium Subscription, which offers full access to the most powerful features, including setting your featured image, primary profession and unlocking advanced search. See the Member section of the website for details.

Bilal Ahmed: Color Grading in Iraq

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 20:42:51 GMT

The availability of powerful, and relatively low-cost color grading software is contributing to the growth of the post-production industry worldwide and enabling colorists everywhere to expand their skill sets. A prime example of both these trends is colorist and new CSI member Bilal Ahmed who has developed an impressive resume in his hometown of Baghdad, Iraq, a city not often thought of as a media production center.

A graduate of the University of Baghdad’s College of Fine Arts, Ahmed began his career as an editor and later founded Mesopotamia Cinematheque, the first library to build a catalog of Iraqi cinema. More recently, he developed an interest in color grading and taught himself to use Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve. In 2021, he became the first Iraqi colorist to be certified as a DaVinci Resolve trainer. “I worked for years as an editor at a satellite television station, but I loved cinema,” Habib recalls. “I wanted to learn how to color movies, but grading systems were too expensive until I found Resolve.”

Ahmed now conducts training courses and leads workshops in grading, editing and sound post-production, while also working as a freelance colorist. His credits include a mix of locally produced short films, television shows, music videos and commercials. His recent projects include editing and grading 31 episodes of the television drama Entiqam Rooh. He also graded the films Rain Music, On A Highway to Germany, Michigan and Black Line. “I see membership in CSI as a chance to further develop my skills and share my work with other colorists and professionals,” he explains. “Membership in an international, professional organization distinguishes me among my peers.”

As production grows in Iraq, Ahmed hopes to have more opportunities to grade features, scripted television shows and high-end commercials. He would also one day like to open his own post facility. Another short term goal is to broaden his experience by working outside Iraq, perhaps in the United States. “I have dreams,” he says. “But working in Iraq is very nice now. The future looks good.”

NAB Panel Examines Color Grading in the Cloud

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 16:19:42 GMT

At this year’s NAB Show in Las Vegas, CSI Fellow Lou Levinson took part in a thought-provoking panel discussion on remote collaboration and grading in the cloud. Sponsored by SMPTE, the session also featured FilmLight Managing Director of the Americas Peter Postma and AWS Senior Specialist Solutions Architect Marlon Campos.

Moderator Debra Kaufman asked the panel about the benefits and limitations to cloud-based workflows. Postma noted that recent software and hardware improvements have reduced but not eliminated issues with latency, bandwidth and compression, making cloud grading a more practical option than in the past. But it still works best when storage and virtual resources and located close to the user—across town rather than on the other side of the world. Campos added that AWS has been building data centers at strategic locations around the world. “In some Local Zones, we have reduced latency to single milliseconds,” he said.

According to Levinson, the cloud offers practical advantages for colorists faced with shorter deadlines and client bases spread around the globe, but they come with new responsibilities. “It can be done well,” he pointed out. “But you must be careful. Colorists are used to sitting down at a control surface and not thinking about infrastructure. There is a direct connection between our brains and the color we want. If you disturb that with concerns over latency or bandwidth, it interferes our ability to translate and deliver what the director has in mind.”

Postma said that cloud solutions work best in terms of cost efficiency when applied to post-production ecosystems that include visual effects, editorial, dailies processing and other services in addition to grading. He also noted that the cloud provides facilities with the flexibility to add virtual resources and avoid the expense of additional local hardware.

The discussion also touched on AI and machine learning tools available locally and in the cloud. All three panelists agreed that AI is helping colorists with repetitive tasks but are a long way from replicating the skills of experienced artists. As Levinson put it, “Humans are still necessary.”

At the end of the session, an audience member asked about security in the cloud. Levinson acknowledged that protecting assets remains a serious issue and cautioned that technology alone provides no guarantees. “You can have the best protection in the world, but humans will still fail.”

You can view the full session here.

FilmLight Selects Colour Awards Jury

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 23:06:55 GMT

FilmLight has finalised the 2023 FilmLight Colour Awards jury, made up of high-profile creatives from across the world, and appointed renowned cinematographer, Lawrence Sher, ASC, as this year’s president. Due to popular demand, the awards deadline has also been extended, with submissions now closing to the global colourist community at 23:59 BST on 7 August 2023.

The FilmLight Colour Awards are open to colourists on any grading platform and entries are judged by an independent panel of cinematographers, colourists and creatives who bring their understanding of how an image is made, and how its light and shade creates a mood and a dynamic.

Lawrence Sher, ASC, is an award-winning American cinematographer and film director best known for his work on Joker (2019), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), War Dogs (2016), The Hangover (2009), Garden State (2004) as well as Dua Lipa’s music video, Don't Start Now (2019).

“I’m very excited to be president of the FilmLight Colour Awards,” comments Sher. “Colouring and colourists are as fundamental to modern filmmaking as any lighting or camera tool. As someone who started their career colour timing movies the ‘old fashioned’ way, I was an early adopter and champion of the Digital Intermediate as I could see its potential.

“I believe the colour tools we have today are perhaps (along with the digital sensor) the most transformative change in filmmaking in the last 50 years. My relationship and collaboration with my colourists is as important as any relationship I have with my camera, grip and lighting teams. I am very excited to see the great work from this year’s submissions and shine a spotlight on their creative inputs to their projects.”

The final 2023 FilmLight Colour Awards jury is as follows:

Lawrence Sher, ASC, Cinematographer & Film Director; Greig Fraser, ACS, ASC, Cinematographer; Natasha Braier, ASC, ADF, Cinematographer; Simone Appleby, Head of Film & Digital Restoration Lab, CNC; Eben Bolter, BSC, Cinematographer; Daniela Cajías, AEC, Cinematographer; Eve M Cohen, Cinematographer; Thomas Eberschveiler, Image Workflow Supervisor, MPC Paris; Yinka Edward, Cinematographer; Ana Escorse, Senior Colourist; Ricky Gausis, Senior Colourist & Creative Partner, TRAFIK; Adam Glasman, Senior DI Colourist, Goldcrest; Michael Goi, ASC, ISC, Cinematographer & Film Director; Michael Hatzer, VP of Creative Colour Finishing, Picture Shop; Aljoscha Hoffmann, Senior Colourist; Dave Hussey, Senior Colourist, Company 3; Takuro Ishizaka, JSC, Cinematographer; Stephen Lighthill, ASC, Cinematographer & Head of Discipline, Cinematography at the American Film Institute (AFI) Conservatory; Marjolaine Mispelaere, Senior Colourist; Luke Morrison, Head of Colour, Electric Theatre Collective; Wade Odlum, Senior Colourist & Partner at alter ego; Swapnil Patole, Chief Colourist, Famous Studios; Ahmet Sesigurgil, Cinematographer.

Award-winning Australian cinematographer ACS, ASC, Greig Fraser – Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Lion (2016), Dune (2021), The Batman (2022) and more – comments: “We live in a space where often films are based on a trend or previous ideas. In this year’s Colour Award entries, I’m looking for original vision.”

Jacqueline Loran, Director at FilmLight, commented: “I have worked with colourists across the world for many years and I know how hard working and creative the community is. They are crucial to the creation of great visual content and we are honoured to be able to provide them with a platform to receive the recognition that they truly deserve.”

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the response and support for the awards so far and we are incredibly grateful to everyone involved, including the talented jury, without which the awards could not take place,” says Loran.

The call for entries will now close on Monday 7 August 2023. A shortlist will be announced in the autumn, with the winners unveiled in November at EnergaCAMERIMAGE.

For more information or to enter, visit: www.filmlightcolourawards.com/

Colorist Mixer in Lima is a Big Success

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 13 Jul 2023 21:43:34 GMT

On July 20, Blackmagic Design and IntekTV hosted South America’s first ever Colorist Mixer at Country Club Lima in Peru. Held in conjunction with Blackmagic Week, the event drew an enthusiastic crowd of approximately 60 people from across Latin American, including more than 20 colorists. It was also streamed with the help of the Davinci Resolve Latinocommunity.

Diego Yhama, CSI, founder of Estudio Roco, Bogota, and creator of the podcast Coloristas Hispanos, acted as host and gave an informative talk on AI-assisted color grading. He was then joined by Peruvian colorist Miguel Mendez, CSI, Chilean colorist Wawin Arriagada, and Argentinian colorist Cecilia Belliz, CSI for a discussion about opportunities in Peru’s growing post-production community. That was followed by networking and socializing.

“We began with a short talk about AI tools available in DaVinci Resolve, how AI can help colorists, and whether AI is a threat to jobs,” says Yhama. “Our panel discussion focused on the role of the colorist, the state of color grading in Peru, how to create looks and how to work with clients. It ended with a beautiful exercise with panelists and attendees discussing the creation of node structures and important considerations in doing so. That was my favorite part.”

Yhama added that the event underscored the desire for connection among post production professionals in Latin America and the advantages of membership in Colorist Society. “There’s never been a Colorist Mixer in Peru,” he notes. “I expect several of the colorists in attendance to join CSI. “It was a great opportunity to begin building a professional community. We look forward to more events like this. It was wonderful to see such a large group of colorists talking about their work and sharing ideas on how to improve our craft.”

Yhama is currently leading an effort to raise the profile of colorists in South America through membership in CSI. “There are colorists in countries across South America, but they are hard for producers to find,” he explains. “Membership in CSI will give them greater visibility and better access to good projects. We’re stronger together.” He is currently working with the officers of CSI Argentina to create a chapter open to Spanish-speaking colorists throughout the region. “We’re from different countries, but we have the same goals. We are stronger together.”

Although local film and television production is growing, South American countries continue to get much of their content from the United States and other foreign suppliers. The development of a community of colorists and other professionals may help tip the balance in the other direction. “Colorists here and not only highly skilled, they also bring cultural experience and understanding,” Yhama observes. “Events like Blackmagic Week and the Colorist Mixer are important because they provide training and information in our language. The amount of television and film production in Spanish will continue to grow and we want to be ready for it.”

You can view a recording of the event (in Spanish) here.

FilmLight Announces Colour Awards 2023

Keith Gayhart — Sat, 10 Jun 2023 18:03:55 GMT

FilmLight, a CSI sponsor, will shortly be inviting entries for the 2023 FilmLight Colour Awards. The awards, which are open to colourists on any grading system, will be presented at the International Film Festival EnergaCAMERIMAGE in November.

The 2023 awards will celebrate colourists across five categories – theatrical feature; television series/episodic; commercial; music video; and the Spotlight award for colourists working under the constraints of lower budget projects.

As in previous years, the entries will be independently judged by a panel of high-profile creatives, cinematographers and colourists. The full 2023 jury details will be released over the coming months, but FilmLight is delighted to announce that it will include award-winning cinematographers, Greig Fraser ACS, ASC and Daniela Cajías, AEC.

Australian cinematographer, Fraser has become a go-to DoP for a number of high-profile directors and is best known for his work on The Batman (2022), Dune(2021), The Mandalorian (2019), Lion (2016), Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and more.

Cajías, who was born in Bolivia, became the first woman in 2021 to win the best cinematography award at the Goya Awards, for her work on La Niñas. Her latest movie, Alcarràs, won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale 2022 and has also seen her nominated for best cinematography at the 37th edition of the Goya Awards 2023.

FilmLight Colour Awards 2023 - Teaser from FilmLight on Vimeo.

Also confirmed to be members of the 2023 jury are some of the 2022 Colour Award winners. Picture Shop VP of creative colour finishing, Michael Hatzer (winner of theatrical feature); senior colourist and partner at alter ego, Wade Odlum(commercial winner); senior colourist Ana Escorse at Studio Feather (music video winner); and senior colourist Aljoscha Hoffmann (Spotlight winner).

Stephen Lighthill, 2022 Colour Awards jury member, cinematographer and president of the ASC, commented: “It’s great to see FilmLight step up and help colourists, who work in the shadows most of the time, have their moment in the sun. They’re a crucial part of the team and their role – much like the role of the cinematographer – is changing virtually every day.”

The Colour Awards are lead and organised by FilmLight, in conjunction with EnergaCAMERIMAGE, and are supported by prominent international groups such as the AFC (The French Society of Cinematographers), the ASC (The American Society of Cinematographers), CSI (Colorist Society International), Imago (the International Federation of Cinematographers), the Polish Society of Cinematographers (PSC) and more.

“Our goal is to ensure that the effort of colourists around the world is recognised and celebrated,” says Wolfgang Lempp, co-founder and CEO of FilmLight. “The last two years have been a very joyful and gratifying experience and we continue to receive lots of positive feedback. We’re very grateful for the support of our partners and have every intention of making this a regular fixture in the calendar. We can’t wait to see the 2023 entries.”

Colourists, production companies and facilities are invited to put forward their nominations when entries open on 1 May 2023, with a final deadline for submissions on 31 July 2023.

Enhance Your IMDbPro Profile

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 17 May 2023 18:42:21 GMT

IMDbPro recently launched new features that empower you to better represent yourself to potential clients and employers.

You can access these features on your account. Click “Edit my page” to update your Personal Details. In the Credentials section, you can add Awards, Education and Training, Employment and References.

Colorist Society members receive a discount on IMDbPro’s standard membership tier, which offers full access to the most powerful features, including setting your featured image, primary profession and unlocking advanced search. Lohe discount code in the members section of this website.

IMDbPro is an excellent resource for networking with other industry professionals. Subscribers are able to customize their profile, correct or add to screen credits, and access contact information to other subscribers.

CSI Sponsor Hedge Introduces New and Updated Workflow Tools at NAB

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 17 May 2023 18:39:27 GMT

A CSI sponsor for the past three years, Hedge has attracted a growing user base for its innovative workflow solutions that address such disparate tasks as backup and archiving of camera media, camera reports, transcoding, editing in the cloud, bin locking, media storage and more. Colorists may be familiar with its product ScopeBox, used for generating scopes without hardware.

At this year ’s NAB Show, Hedge made several announcements related to its product line, including the renaming of Hedge, its flagship application for offloading camera media. It ’s now known as OffShoot. The company offers three versions of OffShoot, an entry level version, simply called OffShoot, for copying files quickly and securely; OffShoot Pro, which adds scripting, a preset builder, clip review, and Codex 7 support for Alexa 35; and OffShoot iPad, for mobile users. OffShoot and OffShoot Pro will offer integration with iconik, a popular hybrid cloud asset management solution that allows users to copy cards and send media straight to iconik for cataloguing, archiving, and sharing. OffShoot Pro will include Amazon S3 integration so that users can link their offload workflow to broader initiatives within Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Hedge announced the launch of Connect 3.0, a tool for push notifications, and improvements to Mimiq Pro, Canister and EditReady. The just-released FoolCat, version 23.1, with an in-house built media engine, offers accelerated performance with processing speeds up to 3x faster than previous versions. It also adds support for Sony X-OCN, Phantom RAW, ProRes RAW, and Canon Raw Light (CRM) codecs, and ARRI Alexa 35, Sony FX3, RED V-Raptor XL and other cameras. A new version of PostLab, which facilitates editing in the cloud, is on the way.

“Hedge offers a focused array of complementary products that have established our reputation for innovation across the production ecosystem,” says Hedge CEO Paul Matthijs. “We are committed to investing in new technologies that can be used our across our suite of applications to help professionals work better and accomplish more.”

Hedge sees its sponsorship of Colorist Society as a core part of its mission. "We are very happy to partner with the Colorist Society” observes Matthijs. “At Hedge, we’ve always understood the vital role colorists have in post-production, and the Society’s goal of increasing awareness and offering education is something we can only proudly support."

More information about Hedge can be found at hedge.video

Colorist Mixer Returns to NAB on April 16

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 17:57:59 GMT

The Colorist Society will host its annual Colorist Mixer at NAB Show 2023. Hugely popular among colorists and other industry professionals, the Mixer is the Colorist Society’s tenth, but its first live event in four years. Themed “Back to Reality,” the Mixer will be held on Sunday, April 16^th from 6 pm to 10 pm at Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant. Tickets are $20, available at ColoristMixer.com.

“It will be wonderful to be back at NAB in person,” said Colorist Society president Kevin Shaw. “It’s always a great time, but this year will be especially fun and an opportunity to become reacquainted with colleagues whom we haven’t seen years.”

The Mixer is being organized by iColorist and will feature a Color Quiz for teams and a raffle with a total of more than $17,500 in prizes. Sponsors include OWC, Adobe, Assimilate, Blackmagic Design, Nacho/Colorfront, Colour Lab, FilmConvert, FSI, fxphd, Hedge, MASV, Portrait Displays, PVA, MediaLight and Tangent.

Raffle prizes include:

Flanders Scientific DM160 OLED Monitor
Colorfront and Nacho MF: Mac Mini with M2 Pro
MediaLight Pro2 Gift Basket: MediaLight Pro2 with flicker-free dimmer (6m); two MediaLight Pro2 with flicker-free dimmer (1m); Ideal-Lume™ Pro desk lamp, Ideal-Lume 20cm Mini Linear Profile; Ideal-Lume 45cm Linear Profile
Blackmagic Design Davinci Resolve Micro Panel
Assimilate DIT Pack permanent license: Live Looks, SCRATCH and Hedge, including one year of support and updates
MASV 1TB File Transfer Credits
FilmConvert Nitrate and Cinematch Upgrade Bundle with Plugins
Portrait Displays C6 HDR2000 Colorimeter, Calman Studio, Patterns™ for Mac, Patterns™ for iOS
Adobe Creative Cloud 1yr License
Tangent Element Tk Panel Black Edition
fxphd “Intro to HDR” and “DaVinci Resolve” Courses Megapack
OWC Envoy Pro FX 1TB Portable Drive
PVA 4-day Video Calibration Course and Certification (in-person or virtual training, valid for 1 year)

The Colorist Society will host an NAB Preview livestream on March 30. Live attendees will have a chance to win a Ripple panel from Tangent, Play Pro Studio from Assimilate, and Mixer tickets. Hosts Kevin Shaw and Warren Eagles and surprise guests will share what they are excited for at this year’s NAB Show and Mixer, and reflect on the past decade of Mixers and industry developments.

Set a reminder and attend here: https://www.youtube.com/live/dsybLXlPHso?feature=share

About the 2023 Back to Reality Colorist Mixer

What: Back to Reality – 2023 Vegas Colorist Mixer

Where: Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant

When: Sunday 16th April 6pm-10pm

Cost: $20, including drinks

Tickets: ColoristMixer.com

Colombian Colorist Diego Yhama Launches Spanish Language Podcast Series, “Coloristas Hispanos”

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 14 Mar 2023 17:47:38 GMT

Diego Yhama, CSI is a Colombian colorist and founder of Bogota post-production boutique, Estudio Roco. The company provides color grading and other services for film, television and advertising, including projects for NatGeo, Discovery Channel, Discovery Home and Health, and The Fox Channel. It has also post-produced several music videos for Colombian pop star Carlos Vives.

Estudio Roco’s mission is to provide high quality color service to Colombia’s small but growing production industry. “We work on content that we enjoy and needs a little love,” Yhama explains. “We combine art and technology to deliver projects that look great and tell great stories.”

Yhama, who is also a DaVinci Resolve Master Trainer, recently launched Coloristas Hispanos, a podcast focused on colorists in the Spanish-speaking world. He has conducted entertaining and insightful interviews with colorists from Argentina, Mexico and Spain. In a new episode scheduled for March 23, Yhama’s guest will be Argentineancolorist Luisa Cavanagh, whose credits include Argentina, 1985, a 2023 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film.

The purpose of the podcast is to garner recognition for talented Spanish-speaking colorists and to inspire others who would like to follow in their footsteps. “We all need heroes,” Yhama insists. “In South America, we’re familiar with top colorists in the United States, but what about local heroes? I think it’s also important to have a podcast focused on colorists in Spanish, because many people don’t speak English.

We’re making it possible for aspiring artists to communicate with role models in their own language.”

Yhama produces Coloristas Hispanos in conjunction with Intek TV, a reseller of Blackmagic Design broadcast and film technologies in South America. Bi-monthly episodes are streamed live allowing viewers to submit questions directly to the participants. Past episodes can be viewed on the Intek TV YouTube channel.

Yhama hopes that Colorista Hispanos can contribute in a small way to the growth of the post-production industry in South America, and especially Colombia. Traditionally, his country has imported much of its film and television content from the United States and Mexico, but that is slowly changing. “Not so long ago, a monitor suitable for color grading cost $10,000 or more, now you can get a very good reference monitor for $2,000 or even $1,000,” he says. “One good thing that came out of the pandemic was that it encouraged people to communicate remotely. We attended virtual events and learned about new technologies. We began to realize, hey, we can be a part of this. We’re not so far away.”

Colorist Society Hollywood Launches Podcast Series

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 23:16:48 GMT

Colorist Society Hollywood has launched a new podcast series focused on color grading and the role of the colorist. Hosted by veteran colorist Josh Petok, CSI the series will present insightful conversations with prominent colorists from around the globe and other notable professionals. The series will examine both the creative and technical aspects of color, and professional issues such as career advancement, educational opportunities and new technologies.

The Colorist Society Hollywood podcast is part of the group’s mission to promote the craft of color and foster a sense of community among colorists. “It’s a way to learn what other professionals have to say about our craft and draw inspiration from their experience,” says Petok, whose many credits include the television series MasterChef USA, Lego Masters and The Courtship. “Our aim is to share insights and build a stronger sense of community among colorists.”

In the series’ first episode, Petok talks with Lynette Duensing, CSI, a Colorist Society Fellow and Senior Colorist at Instinctual LLC Hollywood. She discusses the founding of Colorist Society Hollywood and its role as an advocate for the craft. She also discusses gaining proper screen credit for colorists, how covid impacted work environments and technological issues such as the adoption of the ACES color workspace.

Future episodes will feature prominent colorists talking about color in animation, film restoration and other specialties.

“The podcast has an aspirational theme,” Petok says. “We feature elite colorists talking about their work and careers. It’s aimed at colorists at all levels who want to learn more about their profession and how other people go about their work.”

Listen to the Colorist Society Hollywood podcast on the Colorist Society Hollywood chapter page.

Colorist Society Adds Chapter in Poland

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 14 Nov 2022 21:04:03 GMT

The Colorist Society today announces the launch of a Chapter in Poland. Led by veteran colorists Konrad Ziecina, CSI and Tomasz Frąszczak, CSI, the Chapter is open to professional colorists across Poland’s rapidly growing film, television and advertising industries. It plans to foster networking opportunities, host meetings and training sessions, and promote the craft of color grading both in Poland and internationally. The group also plans to host a Colorist Mixer.

“Poland is one of the fastest growing production centers in the world with many world-class post-production facilities and experienced colorists,” says Colorist Society President Kevin Shaw. “In light of the amount of content being produced in Poland, it is very important to expand CSI’s presence there. Konrad and Tomasz have ambitious plans and we are thrilled by their efforts.”

Visit the CSI Polish Chapter page.

Ziecina and Frąszczak say the new chapter has received an enthusiastic response from their colleagues. “Poland has long been recognized for excellence in cinematography. We want the world to know that we also practice color grading at the highest level.” Ziecina states. “We want to build a strong community and promote high standards.”

Film and television production in Poland is booming, driven by a government incentive program that provides 30 percent rebates for certain production and post-production expenses. Netflix, which earlier this year expanded its regional headquarters in Warsaw, has produced several projects in the country, including The Woods, Sexify, Operation Hyacinth and Nobody Sleeps in the Woods. Netflix’s Polish production arm also recently produced the six-part drama High Water, which has drawn critical praise for its authentic depiction of disastrous floods in Silesia in 1997.

Zięcina and Frąszczak say that Polish colorists are looking for new opportunities not only in Poland, but also internationally. “The advent of remote work is opening doors to the global film industry,” they observe. “We are very excited about the progress of technology and the opportunities it provides.”

Ziecina is Founder and Senior Colorists of Rejbel Studio, Krakow. A three-time nominee for Best Colorist at the annual Colorist Awards, he has graded numerous features, documentaries, television series, commercials and music videos, with recent credits including the films Gamodi, Swell and The Devil.

Frąszczak is Senior Colorist at Warsaw facility GDP Film Studio where his recent credits include the Discovery Channel series Polish Truckers and Górnicy PL.

Other founding members of the Polish Chapter include Tomasz Czech, Oskar Pospolitak, Piotr Putko and Jakub Matras.

HDR Weekend: Session Videos

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 20:00:09 GMT

In May, the Australian Cinematographers Society and the Colorist Society’s Australia/New Zealand Chapter co-hosted a two-day event focused on HDR Held at the ACS headquarters in North Sydney, “HDR: Shoot to Screen Weekend” featured a series of insightful panel discussions and technical presentations on best practices for working in HDR throughout the production cycle.

The event brought together a varied line up of talented speakers including representatives from monitor manufacturer EIZO, workflow specialist the Rebel Fleet and technology supplier Mojo Media Solutions. Ben Allan, ASC/CSI; Warren Eagles, CSI; Marcus Smith, CSI; Stuart Pointon and Adam Eden, CSI discussed the varying ways HDR impacts cinematographers and colorists. Andrew Smith, Senior Post Production Representative from Amazon Studios, talked about the streaming service’s requirements for HDR delivery.

Other sessions covered HDR applications for creating film effects, measuring NITs on set and producing ‘Show’ LUTs. Yanni Kronenberg won the quiz, picking up Dolby Vision training as his prize. Several other attendees won training sessions from FXPHD for Resolve and HDR. Sponsors included Amazon Prime Video, the Rebel Fleet, EIZO, Blue Post, Mojo Media Solutions and fxphd.

You can view videos from the event on the Australia and New Zealand Chapter page.

Join Colorist Society at CAMERAIMAGE

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 22:01:24 GMT

Colorist Society (CSI) will co-host a meet-and-greet event on Monday, 14 November at EnergaCAMERAIMAGE. Co-hosted by Dolby Laboratories and Warsaw post-production facility Black Photon, the event is open to colorists, their guests and all others. CSI and its co-hosts will share their experience of ACES and Dolby Vision, as well as the latest monitors and cameras.

Admission is free, but tickets are required. The event will include an open bar.

What: CSI at Camerimage: HDR Workflows from Cinematographer to Colorist

Where: Restauracja Nova 22 - 4 Strony Świata 22 Żeglarska 87-100 Toruń Poland

When: Mon, 14 November 2022, 18:00 – 22:00 CET

Cost: Free but registration is required

Register: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/csi-at-camerimage-hdr-workflows-from-cinematographer-to-colorist-tickets-464943407247?lang=en-gb&locale=en_GB&status=30&view=listing

The 30^th EnergaCAMERAIMAGE will be held 12-19 November in Toruń, Poland. Winners of the 2022 Filmlight Colour Awards will be announced on the eve of the festival, 11 November.

Eric Whipp Grades George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing on Baselight

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 19:11:29 GMT

In a case study published by TVB Europe, Eric Whipp CSI discusses his work on George Miller’s film Three Thousand Years of Longing. Based at Alter Ego, Toronto, Whipp spent months collaborating with Miller and Cinematographer Jon Seale in developing the unique look of the fantasy drama. Whipp who grades on Filmlight’s Baselight has worked with Miller and Seale on several previous films including Mad Max: Fury Road, which brought Seale and Oscar nomination.

You can read the full story here.

Colorist Society ANZ and ACS Cohost HDR Weekend

Keith Gayhart — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 18:49:14 GMT

Scores of colorists, cinematographers and other industry professionals turned out in late May for two-day event focused on HDR, co-hosted by Colorist Society’s Australia/New Zealand Chapter and the Australian Cinematographers Society. Held at ACS headquarters in North Sydney, “HDR: Shoot to Screen Weekend” featured a series of insightful panel discussions and technical presentations on best practices for working in HDR throughout the production cycle.

Presenters included representatives from monitor manufacturer EIZO, workflow specialist the Rebel Fleet and technology supplier Mojo Media Solutions. Ben Allan, ASC/CSI; Warren Eagles, CSI; Marcus Smith, CSI; and Adam Eden, CSI discussed the varying ways HDR impacts cinematographers and colorists. Andrew Smith, Senior Post Production Representative from Amazon Studios, talked about the streaming service’s requirements for HDR delivery.

Other sessions covered HDR applications for creating film effects, measuring brightness and producing LUTs. Yanni Kronenberg won the quiz, picking up Dolby Vision training as his prize. Several other attendees won training sessions for Resolve and HDR. “It was a fantastic weekend,” says Eagles. “We had great numbers, excellent questions and wonderful interactions with friends and colleagues. Ben Allan and I were stoked with the whole weekend!”

Sponsors include Amazon Prime Video, the Rebel Fleet, EIZO, Blue Post, Mojo Media Solutions and fxphd. Videos of the sessions will be made available in coming months.

CSI Gets Social

Keith Gayhart — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 16:49:59 GMT

If you haven’t joined Colorist Society’s Facebook Page and other social platforms, you are missing an opportunity to network with other colorists, see great work from around the world, and keep up with the latest industry developments.

Colorist Society began growing its social presence last year. Our Facebook Page now has more than 3,000 followers while our Instagram account has over 80,000 followers. Each features daily posts, and stimulates considerable engagement from colorists and other industry professionals. CSI is also active on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Bobola Oniwura, an independent colorist who manages CSI’s social campaign, says its purpose is to celebrate the craft of color in all its forms. “We post work in film, television, advertising and music videos,” he notes. “Posts come from all over the world, but our social pages are not blogs. We don’t accept submissions. Rather we review work colorists post to their personal pages and share the best. It’s a big platform where you can see a lot of color styles and palettes and draw inspiration for your own projects.”

Our social pages have become gathering spots for colorists to meet, ask questions and extend their professional network. “I am often contacted by colorists looking for ways to learn new skills,” Oniwura says. “I point them to iColorist and other training sites. I also get messages from filmmakers and producers looking for colorists to grade their projects.”

A Nigerian citizen, Oniwura is currently living in Missouri while his wife pursues a MBA degree at Washington University in St. Louis. Working remotely, he remains busy with commercial, music video and long-form projects. “I get work from Nigeria and from people who contact me through my website,” he explains. “Geography is not a barrier. I connect with clients everywhere.”

Oniwura sees great potential for further leveraging social tools on to benefit CSI members. He would like to see online training opportunities expanded. He is also keen to produce an interview series with colorists discussing their careers. “I find it interesting to learn how people traveled down this road,” he says. “I studied architecture, but now I’m color grading. I went from architecture to advertising and digital marketing. At an advertising agency, I met a production and post-production team and that sparked my interest in color. I want to understand how other colorists got their starts. The journey is very important.”

Colorist Society and Australian Cinematographers Society Cohost HDR Weekend in Sydney

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 17:41:22 GMT

Scores of colorists, cinematographers and other industry professionals turned out in late May for two-day event focused on HDR, co-hosted by the Australian Cinematographer’s Society and the Colorist Society’s Australia/New Zealand Chapter. Held at ACS headquarters in North Sydney, “HDR: Shoot to Screen Weekend” featured a series of insightful panel discussions and technical presentations on best practices for working in HDR throughout the production cycle.

“It was a fantastic weekend,” says Eagles. “We had great numbers, excellent questions and wonderful interactions with friends and colleagues. Ben Allan and I were stoked with the whole weekend!”

Sponsors include Amazon Prime Video, the Rebel Fleet, EIZO, Blue Post, Mojo Media Solutions and fxphd. Videos of the sessions will be made available in coming months.

CSI and iColorist to Host Live Mixer in London

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 19 May 2022 19:50:54 GMT

The Colorist Society and iColorist are hosting an in-person mixer on 7 July at the White Horse Pub in London. Please join us at this iconic Victorian drinking establishment. See old friends. Expand your network. The event is free, but space is limited so register today.

What: Colorist Society (CSI) and iColorist Mixer

Where: The White Horse, 16 Newburgh Street, London W1F 7RY

When: 7 July 2022 6:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Colorist Society to Host Virtual Colorist Mixer This Weekend from NAB Show in Las Vegas

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 26 Apr 2022 16:45:48 GMT

Just in time for NAB Show, the Colorist Society’s popular Virtual Colorist Mixer is coming back. For those unable to be in Las Vegas (and those who will), the Mixer is an unprecedented opportunity learn about the latest color grading technology, learn new techniques from industry experts, win fabulous prizes and hang out with friends and colleagues around the globe. The Virtual Colorist Mixer will be held this weekend, April 30^th, beginning with an informal chat hour at 9:00 a.m. Vegas time (PDT – UTC-7), followed by sessions from 10am-4pm.

Expert presenters will cover color grading techniques, industry careers, monitor displays, show looks, technology and news from the NAB show floor. The event will also include The Big Interview, a conversation between industry titans Sheri Eisenberg and Doug Delaney, and climax with The Big Quiz and a Mixing Hour, a chance to socialize in breakout rooms. Tickets cost just $10. Show sponsors include Dell, Dolby, EIZO, Film Convert, fxphd, LG, Lowepost, Maxon, and Ravengrade.

Colorist Society held the first Colorist Mixer in 2013 for professionals around the world connected to the color grading industry. It provided a unique opportunity to meet, network and discuss work in a relaxed environment. Colorists were able to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. It was also a chance for direct communication between manufacturers and users.

When the pandemic made it impossible for CSI to host its annual in-person Mixer in 2020, the organization staged its first virtual event that December. It proved such a huge success that CSI followed it with four more Virtual Mixers in 2021.

“While COVID-19 means we still must meet virtually, this format offers great advantages,” says CSI president Kevin Shaw. “The lack of travel or hotel expenses or limitations on space means the Mixer is now available to everybody.”

Tickets are still available, although places are limited: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/virtually-vegas-colorist-mixer-22-by-csi-icolorist-ica-tickets-319538978687

Schedule:

WARM UP HOUR: Socialising, Best Color Cocktail Challenge
FAST TIPS & TRICKS: Blake Jones, Warren Eagles, Kevin Shaw, Maximus Raharjo, Jeff Greenberg, Juan Cabrera. Sponsored by Maxon.
TECHNOLOGY OF TOMORROW: Sponsored by Dell.
COOL SHOW LOOKS: Lynette Duensing, Dado Valentic. Sponsored by Dolby.
THE FUTURE OF COLORISTS: Colorist Society Hollywood. Sponsored by Lowepost and Ravengrade.
MIXING HOUR: Socialising, breakout rooms (including Spanish-language rooms), Best Color Cocktail Challenge. Sponsored by Adobe.
WHAT MONITOR SHOULD I BUY? Zeb Chadfield, Gino Amadori, Warren Eagles and Kevin Shaw. Sponsored by LG.
NAB REPORT: Darren Mostyn, Diego Yhama and Jeff Greenberg. Sponsored by EIZO
THE BIG INTERVIEW: Sheri Eisenberg and Doug Delaney. Sponsored by FilmConvert.
THE BIG QUIZ. Win big prizes. Sponsored by fxphd.
MIXING HOUR: Socialising, breakout rooms (including Spanish-language rooms)

+ 4b. NOVEDADES DE LA NAB (en español): Diego Yhama, Javier Guevara, Esther Rivas

Colorist Mixer is a Colorist Society International (CSI) event. CSI is primarily funding this event, with support from sponsors. CSI is a not-for-profit organization set up for the benefit of the colorist community. Membership is open to professional colorists, editor/colorists, DITs, telecine operators, color timers, finishers, restoration artists, and color scientists. Find out more at ColoristSociety.com .

PLEASE NOTE: this event will be recorded. By joining you are consenting to be recorded.

SEE TALKS FROM DEC 20 MIXER >

SEE TALKS FROM APR 21 MIXER >

SEE TALKS FROM JUL 21 MIXER >

SEE TALKS FROM DEC 21 MIXER >

Gaining Proper Credit for Color

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 22:06:28 GMT

Oliver Ojeil, CSI successfully petitioned to be included in the opening title credits for the new thriller “Shut In” in what he hopes will become standard industry practice.

“Give credit where credit is due,” seems like a simple proposition, but for colorists, it’s often been an elusive goal. When it comes to credit sequences for feature films and television shows, colorists often find their names listed far down in the end crawl or maybe not included at all.

Considering that their work impacts every frame that appears on the screen, many colorists think that’s unfair. Colorists typically spend years, if not decades, honing their craft, and work long hours with directors and cinematographers to polish the look of their projects and help tell their stories. Securing proper credit for their work is not simply a matter of personal vanity, it’s crucial to networking, career advancement and compensation.

Los Angeles-based colorist Oliver Ojeil, CSI insists that conventions governing credits must change. He notes that formal and informal rules for who gets credited—and how—were often established long in the past when production and post-production roles were vastly different. He believes that colorists ought to be recognized for what they are--essential members of the creative team. A longtime member of the Colorist Society, Ojeil joined the organization, in part, due to its commitment to gaining greater recognition for colorists, including through on-screen credits.

Ojeil has adopted the practice of insisting on appropriate on-screen credit, with his Colorist Society affiliation, for his film and television projects. He recently scored a victory when his name was included in the main credits for the new thriller Shut In, directed by D.J. Caruso (xXx: The Return Of Xander Cage, Disturbia). He began working on Shut In during pre-production, providing production LUTs for cinematographer Akis Konstantakopoulos. He later worked closely with Konstantakopoulus not only to polish the look of the film, but also to intensify its atmosphere of claustrophobic terror.

Ojeil says that his credit request needed approval from the DGA and that the initial request was rejected. “We had to write back explaining why the colorist should be included because it would set a precedent,” he recalls. “Amanda Presmyk, the film’s producer, was extremely supportive. She went back and forth with the DGA and eventually got it approved.”

Ojeil expects to receive a similar credit on his current project, Model House, and hopes that prominent credit for colorists will eventually become standard industry practice. “I’ve been doing more narrative and episodic work over the past four years and have come to feel strongly that colorists don’t receive enough recognition for the work they do,” he says. “I don’t want to take away from the impact others have on a movie, but colorists deserve to be up there with others who are commonly included in main titles.”

Shut In is slated to premiere soon on The Daily Wire, the first feature to appear on the new streaming service. The film stars Rainey Qualley and Vincent Gallo in the story of a single mother and her two children held captive by her violent ex-husband.

End of Year Mixer a Huge Success

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 19:59:31 GMT

The Colorist Society and International Colorist Academy (iColorist) marked the passing of 2021 with an upbeat virtual Mixer featuring a terrific line-up of speakers, tons of great prizes, and a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old friends. Colorists and others from around the world logged into the 6-hour Zoom event, held December 4, whose sponsors included AbelCine, Dell, Dolby, Flanders Scientific (FSI), fxphd, Maxon, Mixing Light, Colorfront and SGO.

Highlights included:

THE BIG INTERVIEW: Los Angeles-based colorist Cullen Kelly and Toby Tomkins, founder of London’s Cheat, engaged in a lively mutual Q&A session about their work and careers.

BACKWARDS & FORWARDS: Warren Eagles, Kevin Shaw, Alexis Van Hurkman and Maximus Raharjo discussed the big changes that occurred in 2021 and offered their predictions for 2022. iColorist shared results of its annual survey, which provides an industry snapshot encompassing cameras, software, projects and more. Full results are available here.

FIVE MIN FAST TIPS: iColorist instructors Jeff Greenberg and Warren Eagles and guest speaker Darren Mostyn shared their top grading tips for 2021.

WHAT'S NEW IN DIGITAL CINEMA?: AbelCine’s Geoff Smith quizzed underwater photographer Braden Haggerty and Game of Thrones cinematographer Rob McLachlan about cameras.

1 SHOT, 4 GRADES: Natalia Mercado, Juan Cabrera, Blake Jones and Andy Minuth were tasked with grading the same R3D clip live! You can see their efforts and download the footage for your own practice session here.

DOLBY VISION FOR NETFLIX & HBO MAX: Shane Reed, colorist and co-owner of Mom & Pop TV, Los Angeles, discussed grading in Dolby Vision for such shows as Chef’s Table, Street Foods of Asia and Hacks.

Along with the technical and creative presentation, there was also plenty of time for fun. Alexis Van Hurkman reprised his much-loved mixology session. (Alexis’ recipe for a Platanos en Mole Old Fashioned appears below.) Attendees also tested their film knowledge in The Big Color Quiz and shared insights and war stories in Party Time! breakout rooms.

Notes:

Acting on a audience request for a repository of practice media, we've started this open source list of downloadable R3D files. If you have links to add, please request permission to add it or email them to us. If we all contribute, we will have a library of usable footage.
Videos of all Mixer sessions will soon be available for on-demand viewing here.
iColorist will continue to offer free monthly interactive livestreams between Mixers.
The five Virtual Mixers held between December 2020 and December 2021 featured 33 hours of talks, 1,842 attendees, more than 100 speakers and $96,100 in prizes.
Virtual Mixers are planned for 15th May and 23rd October, 2022

Alexis Van Hurkman’s Platanos en Mole Old Fashioned

2oz Dark Rum
1/4 oz Creme de Banane
12 drops Chocolate Mole bitters
Ground chili powder (pinch for garnish)
Double rocks glass
One 2” ice cube, or three 1.25” ice cubes
This recipe is “build in glass” so you don’t need a shaker or a mixing glass!
You can see more of Alexis' drinks on his Insta.

2021 Wrap Party Set for December 4

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 30 Nov 2021 20:43:28 GMT

The Colorist Society (CSI) and the International Colorist Academy (iColorist) have finalized plans for their virtual, end-of-year Colorist Mixer 2021 Wrap Party to be held on Saturday, December 4, 2021 from 4:00 PM - 10:00 PM CET. The event will feature 20 speakers and panelists from around the world, as well as giveaways and prizes from sponsors Abelcine, Dell, Dolby, Flanders Scientific (FSI), fxphd, Maxon, Mixing Light, Colorfront, and SGO valued at $18,000. Registration is just $10 and available at https://coloristmixer.com/.

Highlights of the event include a Best Grade Competition with the winner receiving a 12-month subscription to SGO Mistika Boutique Professional Immersive Edition, worth $3,365. To enter, participants must download raw footage here, apply their best grade and share the results on Instagram or Facebook, tagging @ColoristMixer. The winner will be selected by a panel of color experts and announced during the Wrap Party.

Other prizes include:

One Case of six bottles of Veuve Clicquot and Streaming Software only version from Colorfront
$1500 gift certificate for AbelCine training classes
NVIDIA Shield 4K HDR Android TV box from Dell
$1000 FSI gift certificate
fxphd Resolve MegaPack pack with Warren Eagles
fxphd Introduction to HDR course with Kevin Shaw
Six-month membership to fxphd
1 year subscription to Red Giant Complete from Maxon
Two 1-Year Premium Memberships from Mixing Light
Four Micro convertors bidirectional SDI/HDMI 3G from CSI
DaVinci Resolve editor keyboard from CSI
Ultra Studio monitor 3G from CSI
Decklink SDi 4k from CSI
Two Dolby Vision Training/Certification spots

Speakers and Panels include:

Fast Tips (sponsored by Dell): iColorist Trainers Jeff Greenberg and Warren Eagles will share their best grading tricks.

1 Shot, 4 Ways (sponsored by SGO): Four top colorists, Blake Jones, Juan Cabrera, Natalia Mercado and

Andy Minuth, grade the same shot live and judge audience submitted grades.

Colorist Shane Reed On Dolby Vision for Netflix & HBO Max (sponsored by Dolby): Dolby interviews Shane Reed about grading in HDR and working on Chef’s Table, Street Food of Asia, HACKS and Night Stalker.

Colorful Cocktails (sponsored by Mixing Light): Alexis Van Hurkman reprises his much-loved mixology session with his favorite drinks of 2021. Shake, shake, shake!

Backwards & Forwards: Tech & Industry Developments in 2021 & 2022: (sponsored by FSI) Colorists Warren Eagles, Kevin Shaw, Alexis Van Hurkman and Maximus Raharjo discuss the big changes of 2021 and their predictions for 2022.

What’s new in Digital Cinema? (sponsored by Abelcine): What colorists need to know about cameras and the latest in digital cinema, with Geoff Smith and guest.

The Big Interview (sponsored by Colorfront): Hollywood colorists Cullen Kelly and Toby Tomkins talk about their careers, grading jobs and advice.

Quiz, Social and Breakout Rooms (sponsored by Maxon and fxphd).

Other speakers include Luke Cameron, Patrick Inhofer, Adrian Gonzalez, and Diego Yhama.

The competition is not affiliated or endorsed by Instagram or Facebook. You must purchase a ticket to the Colorist Mixer Wrap Party to be eligible.

Mark Todd Osborne Joins CSI Board

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 17:24:40 GMT

The Colorist Society welcomes Mark Todd Osborne to its Board of Directors. Osborne is a Los Angeles-based Senior Colorist with more than 200 film and television credits. As a Board Member, he will be involved governing, managing and planning for the organization. He will also act as an ambassador for CSI to other industry organizations and the wider professional community.

“Mark is an exceptionally talented artist who has worked throughout his career to advance the craft of color,” says Shaw. “He is a leader who enjoys great respect among his fellow colorists and from directors, cinematographers, producers and other industry professionals. He is a great addition to our Board at an important time for our craft and industry.”

Osborne, who joined CSI shortly after its founding in 2016, plans to use his new board position to promote wider recognition for colorists. “Colorists are underrepresented in the industry,” he says. “I want to help educate the professional community about the contributions colorists make to the creative process, how colorists act as an extension of cinematographers and directors to bring their visions to fruition.”

Osborne has been a colorist for 25 years, most recently as an independent through his post finishing company MTO Color. His recent credits include the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning series The Act for Hulu and Dear… for Apple TV+ , as well as the feature films Silk Road, The Reckoning, Abuptio, The Walk, iMordecai, Panama, Castle Falls and Apex. Other notable credits include Need for Speed (Disney) and the cult horror hit It Follows (Radius-TWC). His background includes 12 years as a Senior Colorist at Company 3, Santa Monica, where his credits included Capote and Sunshine Cleaning. He also served as Supervising Colorist at Cameron Pace Group, where he graded 3D films, including James Cameron’s Deep Sea Challenge for the Cannes Film Festival.

Colorist Society Launches Hollywood Chapter

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 18:37:57 GMT

The Colorist Society announces the launch of Colorist Society Hollywood, an exclusive, invitation-only group of high-echelon color finishing artists. The group’s mission is to advocate for their craft, support diversity initiatives, and create educational opportunities for its members and associated industry partners. They will also seek to deepen CSI’s ties to other industry organizations and the wider entertainment industry.

“Colorist Society Hollywood is a vital resource to our continued growth and success,” says CSI President Kevin Shaw. “Its membership includes distinguished colorists who occupy positions as trendsetters and influencers. We look to them to lead by example.”

Colorist Society Hollywood launches with a leadership of four distinguished officers. They include John Daro, Lead Digital Intermediate Colorist at Warner Post Production Creative Services; Michael Mintz Senior Digital Color Timer at Margarita Mix, Hollywood; Josh Petok is a Los Angeles-based freelance colorist; and Troy Smith, Senior Colorist at Margarita Mix Hollywood. Colorist Society Fellows Lynette Duensing, Lou Levinson and Walter Volpatto will serve in an advisory capacity.

Members are selected by Colorist Society Fellows and chapter officers based on their professional accomplishments, commitment to their craft and years of service to the industry. Current members may submit others for consideration as new members. Invitation-only associate memberships are also available to professionals from related disciplines, including cinematographers, color scientists, engineer, DITs and others.

One of the new group’s primary goals will be to establish closer ties with organizations representing directors, cinematographers and other professional disciplines. It hopes to work with other groups in co-hosting master class, mentoring, technical and podcast events. The group will also host social and networking events live and virtual.

It’s important that colorists have a greater voice in issues that matter to them and their careers,” says Duensing. “We want to be involved in the development of technical standards, gain recognition for our craft in major awards shows and to see ‘colorist’ designated as an individual category in IMDb.”

Photo captions:

Top: Colorist Society Hollywood Officers (l to r) John Daro, Michael Mintz, Josh Petok and Troy Smith

Bottom: Colorist Society Fellows (l to r) : Lynette Duensing, Lou Levinson and Walter Volpatto.

TAC Master Class with Mark Todd Osborne, CSI this Saturday

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 18:33:26 GMT

TAC Resolve Training is offering a Master Class hosted by veteran colorist Mark Todd Osborne this Saturday, November 6^th. The class will cover showlut design, suite-set roundtrip workflow and look development.

CSI members are eligible for a 10 percent discount: https://coloristsociety.com/csi-member-discounts

General information is available at: https://www.tacresolvetraining.com/event-details/tac-cbc-1

Mark has been a colorist for 25 years, most recently as an independent through his post finishing company MTO Color. His recent credits include the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning series The Act for Hulu and Dear… for Apple TV+, as well as the feature films Silk Road, The Reckoning, Abuptio, The Walk, iMordecai, Panama, Castle Falls and Apex. Other notable credits include Need for Speed (Disney) and the cult horror hit It Follows (Radius-TWC). His background includes 12 years as a Senior Colorist at Company 3, Santa Monica, where his credits included Capote and Sunshine Cleaning. He also served as Supervising Colorist at Cameron Pace Group, where he graded 3D films, including James Cameron’s Deep Sea Challenge for the Cannes Film Festival.

CSI and iColorist to Host Virtual Mixers on Oct. 23 and Dec. 4

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 15:58:13 GMT

The Colorist Society International (CSI) and the International Colorist Academy (iColorist) continue their popular series of Colorist Mixers with two virtual events to be held before the end of the year.

On October 23, from 7pm to 11pm GMT, the two organizations will host a Halloween-themed, social mixer in lieu of their annual in-person NAB party. It’s a chance for colorists and others to get together with colleagues from around the globe to share cocktails, chat and have fun. The event will feature a tech chat, a costume contest and a film quiz, with prizes provided by event sponsors Dolby, Filmworkz, fxphd, SGO and others. It is free and open to all, but you must register here.

On December 4, CSI and iColorist will present a 6-hour end-of-year mixer that will feature a full slate of speakers, panel discussions, technology demonstrations, contests, door prizes and other events. A detailed agenda and registration information will be available soon at coloristmixer.com.

CSI and iColorist also launched Color Space Cadets in September, a free, monthly livestream series on YouTube featuring industry experts discussing grading, color and filmmaking. Topics are chosen in advance by participants and will cover issues such as “Rates, Fees and Charging,” “Mental Health/Working Conditions,” “Color Space” and “Image Restoration Tools.” Audience members are encouraged to submit questions during the livestream.

The next Color Space Cadets event is slated for Thursday, October 28 at 6pm GMT and will feature CSI president Kevin Shaw and colorist Warren Eagles (with other iColorist trainers and special guest speakers) in a discussion titled 2021 Show and Film Looks. Watch it here.

Color Space Cadets was launched to keep industry players abreast of the latest developments in their field at a time when many were curtailing training plans and trade shows were cancelled due to the pandemic. “We’re committed to continuing to pass on knowledge,” says Shaw. “These monthly YouTube events feature experts from across the spectrum of production and post-production.”

CSI Asks Members to Take Part in Annual Colorist Salary Survey

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 19:39:19 GMT

CSI encourages its members at every career stage to participate in the Colorist Salary Survey currently being conducted by Berlin-based grade.community. The organization, which includes officers of CSI’s German Chapter, are collecting data anonymously on compensation, employment status, job satisfaction, gender and other factors. Access to accurate, broad-based salary information is essential to colorists in assessing their personal situations, professional affiliations and career aspirations. That’s why it’s important for as many colorists as possible to take part. Greater participation means more accurate and informative results.

The organizers of grade.community have published results of an earlier survey from 2019. It covered employment status, experience, working hours, work outside color grading, income and salaries, and other topics. The results are revealing and highlight variations in status, compensation and working conditions among practitioners of our craft. The results were drawn from more than 300 respondents and 50 countries. We congratulate the organizers on a job well done.

In the wake of the COVID pandemic, the work being done by grade.community is more vital than ever. Their current survey will help all of us better understand how the industry is recovering and how our colleagues are faring.

The group’s 2019 survey is available for free download here. To take part in this year’s survey, please follow this link. Again, responses are strictly anonymous.

“FilmLight Colour Awards” Announced

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 21:16:47 GMT

New competition will announce winners at EnergaCAMERAIMAGE 2021

FilmLight has launched the FilmLight Colour Awards, a new competition honoring colorists and the art of color worldwide. The awards are being organized in association with professional bodies and are open to colorists using any grading technology. Categories encompass theatrical, television and advertising projects, as well as innovative use of FilmLight’s Baselight platform. Winners will be announced at EnergaCAMERIMAGE 2021 in Poland.

FilmLight CEO Wolfgang Lempp says the awards are aimed at highlighting the critical role colorists play in the creative process. “The colorist today is far more than a simple ‘color timer,’ matching and correcting,” Lempp explains. “We believe that the most satisfying results are achieved when DPs and colorists collaborate, and indeed many colorists are now involved throughout the whole production lifecycle, from early lens and camera tests through to the very many deliverables now expected.”

Entries are open now through September 15. A shortlist will be announced in October with winners revealed in November at EnergaCAMERIMAGE 2021.

Further information and entry forms are available at: https://filmlight.awardcore.com

Information about EnergaCAMERAIMAGE 2021 can be found here: https://camerimage.pl/en/

New Dolby Vision Training Options

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 18:14:09 GMT

Dolby Vision has expanded its training and certification options. Three choices are now available for individual colorists:

1. Free self-guided online training

With our self-guided educational resource from the Dolby Institute, you can work at your own pace by focusing on and revisiting the modules that are most relevant to you. The content is the same as the full live instructor-based curriculum, but using videos, graphics, and text pages with built-in logical breaks as well as testing, to make sure that you’ve understood the key concepts.

Start your free training now!

2. Live online training with a Dolby Instructor

Previously only available to Dolby Vision certified post facilities you can now, as an individual, get the nearly eight-hour, in-depth Dolby Vision training with a Dolby instructor. The training sessions are carried out in a small group (in English or Spanish) for only $400. The program includes:

Module 1: Dolby Vision and HDR Theory/Overview/Workflow – 3 Hours
Module 2: Color Grading (with DaVinci Resolve) – 2.5 Hours
Module 3: Mastering, Deliverables, and QC – 2 Hours

Click here for more details

3. Dolby Vision individual certification

Whether you are a colorist or an engineer, finish off your Dolby Vision training experience by becoming a Dolby Vision certified individual for $250. This involves passing both an online multiple-choice test and a practical test where you download a color-graded HDR file/EDL, add the Dolby Vision metadata, and create a Dolby Vision IMF package to submit to a Dolby instructor. Once passed, certified individuals will be allowed to use a Dolby Vision Certified logo on their website or email signature and be listed here on Professional.Dolby.com (ETA April 15, 2021).

Click here for more details

ANZ Chapter Hosts In-Person Get Together on HDR

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 19:08:29 GMT

By Warren Eagles CSI

CSI’s Australia and New Zealand chapter was formed in the middle of 2020, not the ideal time to start a networking social group! Jarryd Hall CSI in Sydney, Dee McClelland CSI in Melbourne, myself in Brisbane and Dave Gibson CSI in Auckland NZ are the founding chapter officers.

We began by adding all current CSI members with ties to Australia or New Zealand into the ANZ chapter, even those who now work overseas. This means a member can belong to two chapters, one in their home country and one in their current working location.

When COVID 19 restrictions started to loosen in Australia early 2021, I proposed to our members that it was time to hold our first ANZ meeting. It would likely probably be the first live, in person gathering of CSI members in the world since the pandemic began.

Adam Eden CSI, owner of the post house Eden Creative in Surry Hills Sydney, offered to host an evening focused on HDR. It seemed an ideal subject to kick off with. We posted an invite on our CSI chapter page, our What’s App group and through local groups on social media. On February 25, a group of 15 colorists, producers and DPs met at Eden Creative. Ian Lowe from Dolby beamed in from the UK and gave us the latest Dolby Vision news. Adam is Dolby certified and his grading room is equipped with a new MacPro, Sony BVM HX310 HDR monitor and an LG 48CX for the clients. He walked us through his Dolby Vision workflow showcasing things he has learned mastering HDR for the major studios over the past 12 months.

The evening was a great success and gave everyone the chance to get out and network again. We hope to host more live and ZOOM type sessions in 2021. Our events include both CSI members and non-members as we want to showcase the benefits of joining the organization. CSI sponsor ASUS provided giveaways for the evening. We appreciate their continued support.

(Above: Luciano Marigo-Spitaleri CSI and new associate member Wassim Bazzi proudly holding their ASUS goodie bags.)

For information on the CSI ANZ Chapter contact the officers at anz@coloristsociety.com

UK's Four Corners Offers Mentoring to Aspiring Colorists and Others

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 18:34:46 GMT

CSI members can provide guidance and support up-and-coming talent by acting as mentors and trainers.

For people, aspiring to careers in the film and television industry, the first step is often the hardest. Getting a foot in the door can be especially challenging for women, members of minority communities and people with disabilities who may lack the personal connections that can be key to landing that first job.

Four Corners, a London-based charitable organization, is working to change that. The group, which is funded by ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the film, television, visual effects, animation and game industries, provides job placement and mentoring services to people seeking employment across a range of disciplines in filmmaking, photography and the arts. Its focus is on improving industry diversity by targeting its career assistance to underrepresented groups. “We were founded 45 years ago by four filmmakers from different parts of the world as a community film workshop,” says Helena Goundry, the organization’s project coordinator. “Today, we assist hundreds of people from across the UK. We provide entry-level training and help people early in their careers who are struggling to get to the next rung on the ladder.”

Colorist is among the jobs that Four Corners believes can benefit from greater diversity. The organization offers free online training for prospective colorists in the basics of DaVinci Resolve. Participants also receive one-on-one mentoring from veteran colorists and access to talks and webinars on career topics. “We provide expert advice and guidance,” Goundry says. “Mentoring is always a part of our training programs because it’s how people find work.”

Four Corners works hard to reach people in underserved communities. It conducts an aggressive outreach program and maintains close ties to other charitable organizations and community groups. It also carries out targeted advertising and marketing through Facebook and other social media sites.

Goundry notes that people with physical disabilities often have an especially hard time finding employment. Employers are sometimes concerned about accommodating special needs, but she insists such fears are misplaced. “Employers are fearful of getting it wrong,” she explains. “But actually the changes they have to make are minimal. Thankfully, attitudes are changing. Production and post-production companies want to be more diverse and they are now coming to us for help.”

In fact, Four Corners has achieved an enviable success rate. Nearly a quarter of those who take part in its training and mentoring programs are successful in landing jobs. “We recently placed a young woman as a trainee on a high-end television drama for eight weeks,” Goundry recalls. “She was very gregarious and made a strong impression. Four months later, she was contacted by one of the editors she worked with and hired as an assistant on a documentary. That was really nice. We have a lot of success stories like that.”

CSI president Kevin Show has signed on as a Four Corners mentor. “It’s a wonderful organization whose goals are shared by CSI,” Shaw says. “I encourage other members to get involved as it’s a great way to give back to the industry and help others.”

For more information on becoming a Four Corners mentor, visit https://www.fourcornersfilm.co.uk/contact.

Lynette Duensing Named a Colorist Society International Fellow

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 18:31:26 GMT

The Colorist Society International (CSI) has appointed Lynette Duensing to a position as Fellow. Duensing is being recognized for her outstanding achievements and contributions to the craft of color across a highly productive career spanning more than 30 years. Other CSI Fellows include Dale Grahn, Lou Levinson, Charles Poynton, Walter Volpatto and Kevin Shaw.

Duensing has worked as a senior colorist in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago and Shanghai and is accomplished in grading theatrical trailers, feature film DIs, television commercials and music videos. Her early credits include the landmark Nirvana video Smells Like Teen Spirit. More recently, she has applied her artistic touch and technical acumen to restoration projects including the film noir classic Private Property and Dennis Hopper’s The Last Movie. As Senior Colorist at Instinctual in Hollywood her projects include theatrical trailers for Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, Tristar and Sony Pictures Animation.

CSI board member Sarah Priestnall calls Duensing a pioneer of the post-production industry. “We worked together early in our careers; she was the first female colorist I met,” Priestnall says. “Today, there are several very successful women colorists. Lynette blazed that trail through the quality of her work and as a mentor and role model.”

The first woman to be named a CSI Fellow, Duensing will work to attract more members among women and other under-represented groups. She will also focus on gender equity and education. “What most interests me is mentoring young, up-and-coming talent,” she says. “I’m impressed with CSI’s commitment to education and inclusion, and I want to support their efforts to recruit more women and broaden membership.”

Duensing learned her craft at post houses in Los Angeles and later spent 15 years in Detroit and Chicago, primarily working on advertising projects. She spent a year in Shanghai grading international advertising campaigns for a joint venture startup of Technicolor and the Shanghai Film Group. She returned to Los Angeles in 2013 and since then has tackled a range of projects including features, commercials, restorations, promos, trailers and digital media.

Duensing sees her role as CSI Fellow as an opportunity to advocate on behalf of the craft of colorist. “CSI has taken a lead role in promoting the interests of colorists through its campaign to add a colorist section to IMDB listings and to gain greater recognition from the Academy,” she notes. “I’m on board with all of that and it’s why I am so excited to be a Fellow.”

Duensing's Theatrical Trailer Color Grade Projects for Sony Pictures Animation

Color Mixer Sessions Available Online

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 21:53:21 GMT

The CSI Colorist Mixer, held in December as a 24-hour, virtual event, was a huge success. It included 26 sessions across diverse subjects and drew hundreds of participants from around the globe.

In case you missed—or wish to see it again—individual sessions are available for viewing on the iColorist website.

Highlights include:

Grading in Hollywood. A keynote address from Mark Tod Osborne and Walter Volpatto, two of the industry’s most accomplished colorists, who offered insight into the state of our profession, and CSI’s role in its future.
Women in Film. Colorists Junbin Chen, Andrea Chlebak and CJ Dobson joined Sarah Priestnall in a discussion of their remarkable accomplishments and the unique hurdles they had to overcome as women in post-production.
People of Color Colorist Bobola Oniwura joined post-production engineer John Bleau in examining the lack of black colorists and how to promote change.

Colorist Salaries. Members of CSI’s German Chapter revealed the eye-opening findings of their global survey of colorist salaries and working conditions.
Starting a Boutique Post House. Juan Ignacio Cabrera shared his experience in founding the boutique facility, LightBender.

Meet CSI ANZ. Warren Eagles, Jarryd Hall, Deirdre McClelland, Luciano Marigo-Spitaleri and David Gibson discussed what led them to found CSI’s newly-formed chapter in Australia and New Zealand.
JZ Speaks. Technology guru Joachim Zell shed light on the latest developments in post-production workflows, ACES and imaging science.

Tips and Tricks. ICA Instructors Diego Yhama, Kevin Shaw, David Catt, Blake Jones, Yuki Ariandi, Francisco Ramos and Warren Eagles share their top new techniques.
Technology Demos. SGO, Dolby, Abelcine, Asus, fxphd, Flanders Scientific, Red Giant, Filmworkz and Eclipse Tech showcased their latest tools.
Charles Poynton on Terminology. The final keynote was an engaging discussion lead by Charles on how people have become complacent in their use of words to describe precise technical and perceptual phenomena.

CSI Members Offered Discounts from Lowepost

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 28 Jan 2021 21:23:12 GMT

Lowepost, which provides excellent training in color grading, visual effects and editing, has announced an exclusive offer for CSI members—a 15% discount on their already low-cost courses.

Courses are available in Da Vinci Resolve, Assimilate, Fairlight and other popular grading platforms, and instructors are highly-successful, working colorists. Among them is CSI Fellow Walter Volpatto, whose credits include Homecoming, The Hateful Eight and Best Picture winner Green Book. Others include Chris Jacobson (Suits, Mulholland Drive), John Daro (Tom and Jerry, The War with Grandpa) and Doug Delaney (Captain Marvel, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle).

Additionally, Lowepost features in-depth articles written by senior colorists from The Mill, MPC, FotoKem, CO3 and other facilities. It also operates forums where you can get advice or exchange ideas with colleagues from around the world. It’s a great resource for anyone seeking to hone their skills or learn something new.

Colorist Mixer Set for December 12th

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 22:07:27 GMT

Black Friday Promotion – 50% off Mixer tickets this weekend only with code CyberLove

The Colorist Mixer, previously held in conjunction with NAB Show in the spring and IBC in the fall, will occur this year on December 12, 2020 as an exclusively online event. Organized by CSI and the International Colorist Academy (iColorist), the event will include keynote speakers, technical demonstrations, networking opportunities, giveaways and other events carrying on around the clock and around the globe.

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/24-hour-online-colorist-mixer-2020-by-csi-icolorist-ica-tickets-127830174493

“It’s important for people to come together this year,” says CSI President Kevin Shaw. “We are ending 2020 on a positive note and with a unique twist. Our annual mixer will be held online and run a full 24 hours.”

The online mixer will be held on Zoom and begin at noon UTC-8. Each hour will include a speaker, panel discussion or technical presentation, followed by social events, games and competitions. Breakout rooms will allow attendees to mingle.

Opening remarks will take the form of an informal chat between CSI president Kevin Shaw and colorists Warren Eagles and Diego Yhama about 2020, a year unlike any other, and what lies ahead for a global post-production industry that’s undergoing radical change.

Keynote speakers will include Walter Volpatto, CIS, Hollywood; Andreas Brueckl, FutureWorks Media, Mumbai; and Mark Toia, writer/director of the new film Monsters of Man.

SGO, Dolby, Abelcine, Asus, fxphd, Flanders Scientific, Red Giant, Filmworkz and Eclipse Tech are among the companies offering technology demonstrations on topics including color grading technology, look-development software, HDR displays, remote workflows, cameras and more.

Other highlights:

Film Restoration, a spirited session highlighting best practices, insider knowledge and hacks from Marc Wielage, VP color & workflow, Chroma; Gary Adams, product specialist, broadcast and digital film restoration, Blackmagic Design; and Blake Jones, CSI, colorist, editor, instructor and consultant.

How to Start a Boutique Post House hosted by Juan Ignacio Cabrera, founder and lead colorist of LightBender, Santa Monica.

Women in Film, a panel discussion with colorists CJ Dobson, Junbin Chen and Andrea Chlebak on their experience as women in post-production. Moderated by CSI board member Sarah Priestnall.

Meet CSI ANZ, a lively chat with colorists Warren Eagles, Jarryd Hall, Deirdre McClelland, Luciano Marigo-Spitaleri and David Gibson, members of CSI’s newly-formed chapter in Australia and New Zealand.

JZ Speaks, technology guru Joachim Zell, formerly with EFILM/Deluxe, Technicolor Thomson and Grass Valley, reveals what’s coming next in production and post-production workflows, ACES and imaging science.

ICA Tips and Tricks 2020, in two sessions ICA Instructors Diego Yhama, Kevin Shaw, David Catt, Blake Jones, Yuki Ariandi, Francisco Ramos and Warren Eagles share their top new techniques and favorite discoveries of the past year.

Prizes, awarded throughout the day, will include discounts for ICA classes, licenses for Mistika Boutique Professional Immersive Edition, a Resolve V17 Mega Pack, membership to fxphd, memberships to Mixing Light, a Dolby Vision Mastering and Playback license, MultiDock, 4k mini UltraStudio, Red Giant subscriptions, an Asus ProArt Display, machine time from Eclipse Tech, Filmworkz subscriptions and a Dolby Vision Mastering & Playback license.

Sponsors include Colorist Society International (CSI). International Colorist Academy (iColorist), AbelCine, Asus, Dell Technologies, DolbyVision, Eclipse Tech, FilmConvert, Filmworkz, Flanders Scientific Inc., fxphd, Mixing Light, Portrait Displays, Red Giant and SGO.

CSI Chapter Formed in Germany

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 22:05:00 GMT

A new CSI Chapter has formed in Germany. The group is led by veteran colorists Fabiana Cardalda, Felix Hüsken, Biggi Klier, Tobias Wiedmer and Dirk Meier, who, collectively, offer impressive credits across features, television, documentaries and advertising. The group is open to colorists living and working in Germany, as well as to the broader German-speaking community around the globe. It has close ties to the German Society of Cinematographers (BVK), which also accepts colorists as members.

We’re excited to have an active chapter in Germany and wish them success in supporting colorists and building a strong, welcoming community. The officers have already been working toward that goal. Earlier this year, they hosted a gathering of colorists and cinematographers from Germany and the international community at the Berlin International Film Festival for a discussion on HDR and other topical issues. Currently, they are working on a survey of colorists that should be of great interest to all CSI members. Stay tuned!

Dell Technologies Joins Friends of CSI

Keith Gayhart — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 21:54:30 GMT

CSI welcomes Dell Technologies as an official member of its Friends of CSI corporate sponsors. Dell will support CSI events and initiatives, including the annual Colorist Mixer. It will also take part in CSI-related webinars, podcasts, training sessions and clinics.

“As a Friend of CSI, Dell Technologies is demonstrating its support for the craft of color,” says CSI president Kevin Shaw. “It’s also tapping into the expertise and goodwill of our members. We look forward to a synergistic relationship that will be good for colorists and benefit the entire post-production industry.”

Dell Technologies helps organizations and individuals build their digital future and transform how they work, live, and play. The company provides customers with the industry’s broadest and most innovative technology and services portfolio for the data era. This includes an extensive range of award-winning Dell monitors that provide the industry’s most advanced monitor technologies, design and key features to help boost reliability and productivity. The top of the range Dell UltraSharp PremierColor monitors offer added features specific to the unique needs of color professionals.

Dell Technologies will contribute prizes to the 2020 Colorist Mixer. Jointly sponsored by CSI and the International Colorist Academy (ICA), it will be held December 12^th as a 24-hour virtual event, after traditional in-person events associated with NAB and IBC were cancelled due to the pandemic.

CSI Fellow Charles Poynton

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 18:42:13 GMT

The Science Behind the Art of Color

Charles Poynton, PhD is legendary color scientist, video engineer and CSI Fellow. He is the author of two influential books on the science of color in digital video, and frequently speaks and teaches on the subject. In the 1980s, he designed and built innovative digital video processing systems for NASA’s Johnson Space Center. He also helped to develop standards used in digital cinema, cameras and displays. However, Poynton may be best known as the “inventor” of the number 1080…at least in terms of its use as the standard pixel height for high definition video. Were in not for his insight, the world today would be…or at least look…very different.

Charles Poynton recently spoke with CSI about his life and career.

CSI: Why 1080?

Charles Poynton: It’s simple. 1920 times 9, divided by 16 equals 1080. The number 1920 for pixel width had already been agreed upon and had solid roots in engineering, but the number for pixel height was, strangely, uncertain. Sony and NHK preferred 1035, but that would have led to non-square pixels. They were perfectly fine with that because, at that time—and this was 25 years ago—they didn't appreciate the pervasive nature of computing. But anyone engaged in computing knew that it was a mistake. I spent a year of my life working to fix that problem.

CSI: Inventing 1080 and building computers for NASA are big accomplishments.

CP: The other thing I’m proud of is earning a PhD later in life. My PhD was conferred two years ago. My doctoral work concerned the translation of color into digital media.

CSI: Could you expand on that?

CP: When you look deeply into making movies or digital video, you realize the goal is not to reproduce the colors that are in front of the camera, but to reproduce them as they are supposed to look. Pictures aren’t taken, they’re made. In a documentary, the director and DOP don’t have much flexibility to make alterations. They have a philosophical obligation to stay true to what’s in front of the camera without imposing too much “art.” Things are much more fluid in fiction. Colorists understand this and adjust their approach to the philosophical goals of the project. My PhD thesis looks at those tasks and the math that allows colorists to accomplish them in a sensible, straightforward way.

CSI: That’s fascinating.

CP: It was a lot of fun. It was an interdisciplinary PhD because it bridged hard science—physics and math—with movie-making, and a certain amount of psychology. CSI members might appreciate it, but if a PhD thesis sounds too heavy, I suggest they go straight to chapter five. It’s more approachable.

CSI: How did you get involved in CSI?

CP: CSI was formed about the time the second edition of my book, Digital Video and HD: Algorithms and Interfaces, was published. The founders of CSI were familiar with the book, which had a lot of math and a tiny bit on the philosophy of digital video. I was also doing a lot of teaching at the time, and many CSI members attended my courses and seminars. So, that’s how we got connected.

CSI: You taught science to colorists?

CP: I liked teaching and I challenged myself to teach, not just programmers and engineers, but also artists and craftspeople. So, I began teaching courses, seminars and workshops stressing the art. I even taught cinematographers, which was a big challenge, because, unlike colorists, they don’t get the math quickly. I had to learn to teach it in a way that’s approachable. The late Richard Feynman once said, "If you can't explain it to your grandmother, you don't know how it works." I took inspiration from that in teaching cinematographers. For example, cinematographers today often shoot in log mode, which means shooting logarithms. But, what is it about logarithms? It’s a bit of a leap for them because they didn’t study calculus. So, I work hard to explain those concepts in a language that they understand.

CSI: How do you see the role of colorist evolving?

CP: Colorists need to learn how to balance art, craft and science. All three are challenging. The science is becoming more complicated, so colorists need to keep learning about tech. The tools are changing and that makes a big difference in how material is delivered to colorists. The craft is changing too. There are a lot of new deliverables and colorists must consider how material will look on different devices, in different viewing conditions and different picture sizes. In terms of art, there is the ongoing challenge of accommodating the DOP’s vision and acting as custodian of image quality all the way through the chain.

Colorists have a really important role in pre-production. Cinematographers will often perform camera tests as a basis for choosing cameras and lenses, but pre-production should be more than that. Colorists should be connected to that process because they are in a position to make informed choices about how camera material is ingested at the front end of post-production.

CSI: What technological developments do see coming that are going to have the biggest impact on colorists and the industry generally?

CP: Colorists and the post-production community should think about what’s coming next, but it’s increasingly challenging. Many of us grew up in a world where studio, production and acquisition technology was the driver. Consumer technology was at the other end of the chain. Now, the reverse is true. Consumer devices are driving production technology. Strangely, broadcast technology is at the rear. It used to be the locomotive, now it’s the caboose. It’s been reduced to a one foot cube bolted to the last hitch. Colorists ought to be aware of this and work through CSI to have a voice in technological development on the acquisition and presentation sides. Our goal is not to turn out content like a sausage factory, but to produce quality programs.

CSI Partners with ICG for the Colorist Awards

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 18:04:16 GMT

Entries are being accepted now for the first-ever competition devoted purely to color in film, television, advertising and other media.

CSI is joining the Independent Colourist Guild (ICG) as partner and co-organizer of the newly-launched Colorist Awards. The first-ever international competition focused exclusively on the craft of color, the event recognizes outstanding work by colorists across feature films, television, documentaries, commercials, music videos and shorts. Entries are being accepted now through December 31^st for work first appearing in 2020. Winners will be announced in March.

The Independent Colourist Guild, whose membership includes more than 400 professional colorists worldwide, launched the Colorist Awards to draw attention to an essential, but underappreciated craft. “We want to highlight the great work being done by colorists around the globe and raise awareness for color’s artistic role in movies, television, advertising and other media,” says ICG founder Alexander Prohorushkin. “We feel that an awards competition for colorists is long overdue.”

CSI, the first professional society of colorists, also sees the competition as a tool for gaining wider recognition for color. “It’s a way to celebrate our profession and build its legacy,” observes CSI president Kevin Shaw. “Our hope is that the Colorist Awards will become a showcase for work of the world’s best colorists and set the standard for excellence.”

Entries will be evaluated by an international jury composed of colorists, directors, cinematographers and producers. Work will be evaluated for artistic excellence, technical achievement, stylistic effect and reproductive accuracy. Participation is open to all colorists, regardless of professional affiliation. Event partners include SGO, Portrait Displays, 3DL, Panasonic, ICG Calibration and ASUS, among others.

Formed in 2017, ICG provides a forum for its members to promote their work, develop their skills and share experiences and ideas with colleagues. It hosts member reels on its website (www.icguild.org) and serves as a clearinghouse to connect colorists with employers. It operates an ongoing educational program, including master classes on new technologies, techniques and workflows and other educational events. It also teams with leading hardware and software manufacturers to ensure its members are kept up to date on the latest technology.

Member Project: Greg Hamlin, CSI Finishes Netflix Animated Series “The Midnight Gospel” in Dolby Vision

Keith Gayhart — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 16:29:50 GMT

Co-created by Pendleton Ward and Duncan Trussell, the Netflix adult animation series The Midnight Gospel centers on a “spacecaster” named Clancy who uses a malfunctioning “multiverse simulator” to conduct philosophic interviews with creatures on dying worlds. Called by Entertainment Weekly “a heartfelt cosmic masterpiece,” the series takes viewers on a hallucinatory journey through time and space while tackling issues ranging from spirituality and loneliness to enlightenment and death.

Post-production for the series was done at Dolby Laboratories in Burbank. Master colorist Greg Hamlin, CSI used FilmLight’s Baselight to apply the final color grade in Dolby Vision HDR. Hamlin explains that Dolby had been working with Netflix to develop budgets and workflows for finishing animated content in Dolby Vision. With its kaleidoscopic imagery and vibrant color palette, The Midnight Gospel offered an ideal subject to test the process.

“The show has lots of rich primary red, greens and blues,” says Hamlin. “It’s also filled with all kinds of secondary hues: chartreuse, magenta, pink, orange, sienna and ochre. We wanted to stay true to the colors established by the animators, while introducing a greater dynamic range. One of the great advantages of Dolby Vision is you can take highlights brighter, while holding onto the saturation. It was great fun to work in high dynamic range with those deep, rich colors.”

Hamlin has been a colorist for more than 25 years. Since joining Dolby in 2015, he has performed Dolby Vision HDR remastering for numerous features including The Accountant, The Legend of Tarzan, I Am Legend, Fifty Shades of Grey and Argo. He has also mastered short films and marketing media for OTT streaming, 4K UHD Blu-ray and other screening outlets.

The Midnight Gospel has been an especially enjoyable challenge for Hamlin due its mind-bending aesthetic and out-of-this-world plot twists. “It’s a unique show, not just in terms of color, but in the animation style, the characters and the story,” he says, adding that series co-creator Pendleton Ward attended all of the grading review sessions. “He was very excited about the HDR version. He was also very interested in the derived Rec 709 version to be sure it accurately represented the original artwork and color palette.”

In terms of preserving artistic intent, Dolby Vision is a welcome development, not only for animators, but all content creators, Hamlin says. “So long as you are looking at a Dolby Vision-capable display, you can be sure that you are seeing the best possible image,” he notes, “one that is as close as possible to the original intent.”

CSI Gets Social

Keith Gayhart — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 22:59:04 GMT

Our new social media manager, Bobola Oniwura, CSI, will lead a new awareness campaign.

CSI is increasing its presence in the social sphere and we’re asking you to join the conversation. We are launching a new campaign to promote our shared craft, highlight the achievements of individual colorists and educate the public about the role color plays in telling stories in film, television and other media.

Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll be increasing our outreach through Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and other social platforms. The effort is being led by Bobola Oniwura, CSI, who, along with being a talented colorist, has more than a decade of experience in managing social outreach for international brands.

Our aim is to raise awareness for the profession of colorist, especially among film and television fans who today know little about how color contributes to the entertainment products they love. We hope to generate public support for our effort to gain recognition for “colorist” as a distinct craft on IMDB and elsewhere. We also want to build bridges with other professional organizations and colleagues from other disciplines. “Social engagement is very useful in helping people understand an organization’s identity and aims,” Bobola explains. “The amount of information that can be shared through a website or the press is limited, but there are no limits in social media. You can use it to state, define and reinforce your message every day.”

Your help is needed to make this campaign a success. We urge you to get involved by engaging with us and helping build our network. If you haven’t done so already, become a follower of CSI social accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Additionally, please share your social handles in an email to Bobola. We want to share your project news, press coverage and other accomplishments with our followers.

“Social accounts provide a good way for members to get to know other members,” Bobola notes. “CSI members are located around the world and work in isolation from each other, with few opportunities to physically meet. Our social accounts offer a way to meet virtually and build personal and professional connections.” One cinematographers group on Facebook, for example, has 45,000 members. Instagram’s Cinematography group boasts nearly a half million members.

Bobola promises to make CSI’s social presence informative and fun. “We hope to include interviews with industry leaders, articles on new technologies and best practices, and information about job opportunities,” he says. “We also want to showcase the work of our members. We’re excited about the possibilities, but participation from our members is the key.”

Member Profile: CJ Dobson, CSI

Keith Gayhart — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 22:09:22 GMT

Relic, the feature debut from Australian director Natalie Erika James, has drawn rave reviews in the wake of its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival for its haunting tale of a daughter, a mother and a grandmother dealing with the latter’s dementia. When the elderly Edna (Robin Nevin) goes missing, daughter Kay (Emily Mortimer) and granddaughter Sam (Bella Heathcote) travel to their remote family home to look for her, only to discover that a sinister force is haunting the house.

For colorist CJ Dobson, CSI, who was involved in the project from pre-production camera tests and LUT creation through dailies and final grading, collaborating with James on the genre-bending film was both thrilling and uniquely challenging. “I really enjoyed being a part of the team for Relic, not just because I had beautiful images to work with, but also because I really believe in the message of the film which Natalie chose to tell in a very scary, yet sympathetic way,” she says. “It draws on her personal experience with her grandmother’s Alzheimer’s to tell an honest, human story within the context of a horror film.”

A Melbourne-based freelancer, Dobson worked with James and cinematographer Charlie Sarroff to craft a look that delicately walks a line between dramatic realism and familiar haunted house film tropes. “During the initial stages of production the DOP Charlie and I sat together to generate a set of LUTs which were used on set and applied to the dailies,” she recalls. “Keeping light levels down, colours muted and applying subtle hints of blue and green, we created a dark, deep and moody feel.

“Having already established the ‘look’, meant we saved time during the final stages of the grade. So it was really polishing, adding shape, highlighting areas of the frame where we wanted the audience to look (or not look) and occasionally adjusting our ‘look’ when the story required a different feel.”

“We had a lot of conversations about how dark to go,” she adds. “We wanted to retain most of the detail but decided to let some things fade into the darkness to add suspense. We then came back and applied a different treatment for the TV pass to compensate for users at-home viewing conditions, but we didn’t go so far as to lose the feel we had worked so hard to achieve for the cinematic version. Ultimately, the best experience for viewers is going to be in a dark room. Lights off people!”

Dobson began her career in Wellington, New Zealand as an editor, compositor and colorist. Ultimately electing to focus on color, she joined Digital Pictures, Melbourne, in 2010. A few years later, she became an independent. Her credits span commercials, episodic television, documentaries and features, the latter including Tanna, a 2017 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film.

Other recent projects include the just-released drama Escape From Pretoria from director Francis Annan and Arclight Films. Starring Daniel Radcliffe, it is the true-life story of two political prisoners who make a daring escape from a penitentiary in apartheid-era South Africa. Dobson worked directly with Annan and cinematographer Geoffrey Hall ACS in finalizing the look. "The grade was set up with a cinematic yet natural feel,” she recalls. “We wanted the audience to believe this was all taking place during apartheid South Africa without going down the path of applying a cliché ’70s filter’ across the film. Francis had originally hoped to shoot film for aesthetic reasons but in the end the project was shot digital so I used some techniques to deepen colors which gave the image depth without having to push the contrast too far. There was already beautiful contrast and shape within the lighting, so much of the grade was spent enhancing narrative cues and applying the look and feel across every scene.”

“Exterior day time scenes were given a bright hot look to contrast the darker scenes within the prison,” she adds. “We wanted the bright blue skies and green trees (just visible beyond the prison walls) to contrast the dark and muted tones of the prisons interior."

A relatively new member of CSI, Dobson joined the organization to have closer contact with other colorists and to share ideas and techniques. She also wants to help raise the profile of her chosen profession. “People aren’t aware of the importance of color,” she says. “I’m an advocate for color and excited to be part of an organization that is getting the message out.”

To learn more about CJ Dobson, check out her interview with Robusty and her website cjdobson.com.

“Green Book” Colorist Walter Volpatto Becomes CSI Fellow

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 17:06:56 GMT

Veteran colorist Walter Volpatto, CSI has been appointed to the leadership of the Colorist Society International as a Fellow. A senior colorist at EFILM in Hollywood, Volpatto was nominated for a 2019 HPA Award for his work on the filmGreen Book. His more than 100 credits also include the features Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, Dunkirk, Midway andIndependence Day: Resurgence, as well as the television series Homecoming and Queen Sugar. He joins Dale Grahn, Lou Levinson, Charles Poynton and Kevin Shaw as CSI Fellows.

As a CSI Fellow, Volpatto will act as a spokesperson for the organization at industry events and in reaching out to other segments of the industry. He will also work to build the organization through recruitment and the establishment of new local chapters. “Before CSI was formed, colorists had no way to come together and make their voices heard,” he said. “CSI is playing an important role in ensuring that colorists are represented in awards competitions and properly credited in film and television listings, and in establishing standards for our craft.”

Volpatto adds that one of his objectives is to push the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences to recognize “colorist” as a distinct artist discipline. “I’m a member of the Academy and I would like to see more colorists become members,” he notes. “When the number of colorists reaches a certain critical mass, we may be able to leverage our numbers to establish our own branch within the Academy.”

Having grown up on a farm near Turin, Italy, Volpatto began his career as an engineer and visual effects artist. He got his start in color in 2002 with Cinecitta in Rome before relocating to the U.S. a year later to join Fotokem. He has been with EFILM since 2018. Over the course of his career, Volpatto has forged close relationships with many top directors and cinematographers, the former including Christopher Nolan and Roland Emmerich.

While acknowledging that colorists make a crucial contribution to the look and feel of movies and television shows, Volpatto says, they need to approach their craft with humility. “The project is always someone else’s vision and it’s the job of the colorist to get that vision to the screen,” he says. “Obviously, we all want to take ownership of our work, but we need to stay humble and focused on who the project belongs to.”

CSI Lends Its Support to Green Production Advocate "Filmmakers For Future"

Keith Gayhart — Thu, 19 Mar 2020 20:39:21 GMT

CSI is getting behind a new initiative to promote environmental sustainability in the motion picture and television industry. Filmmakers For Future (Fm4F) wants to encourage production and post-production operations to lessen their adverse impact on the planet by adopting green practices. It also wants to stimulate dialogue and an exchange of ideas about recycling, renewable energy technologies, green offices and similar topics.

Fm4F was formed by two young German film professionals, Paul-Vincent Roll and Wolfgang Wolman, in solidarity with the Fridays for Future movement spearheaded by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Roll and Wolman were disturbed by the amount of waste and carelessness they witnessed on film sets and felt that at least some of it could be eliminated through simple adjustments to common production practices. “In talking to people on sets, we realized that different departments often have a lot of good ideas to improve sustainability,” says Roll, “but, sadly, many continue to work in an environmentally harmful manner because it seems cheaper or less complicated, or because ‘it ’s always been done that way.’”

Roll notes that information is already widely available on how to make production and post greener. That includes such basic steps as reducing and/or eliminating the use of paper call sheets, plastic water bottles and disposable plates on sets. Productions should also recycle materials used in set building and employ clean power supplies. Post facilities can adopt renewable energy sources for electricity and in some cases use waste heat from servers for heating. They canrely on tap water instead of bottled water for drinking, recycle waste, and implement low-emission interior design features. “Such things are merely basic steps that all companies should have been doing for ages,” says Roll.

“Our main goal is to raise awareness among crew members and production staff,” Roll adds. “We want to encourage crew members to think deeply about environmentally sound practices and to push productions they work with to adopt them. We hope that in the near future, most of uswill think twice about working on projects that do not operate in an environmentally-friendly manner.”

CSI plans to support Fm4F by educating its members about sustainable production and working to make post-production greener. It also encourages members, who are concerned about the industry ’s environmental impact, to sign Filmmakers4Future ’s Statement of Support.

NAB: "Best Ways to Manage Color for HDR & Multiple Deliverables"

Hugh Heinsohn — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 17:15:12 GMT

The CSI is hosting an interactive panel and open discussion about best practices for color management and color workflows from cinematography to color grading for live action, animation and VFX footage in a world of HDR and multiple format deliverables.

Anyone with any type of NAB pass (Exhibits, Flex Pass/conference, and so on) can attend the session.

Click here for more information.

Please share the the Birds of a Feather Free Exhibits Pass code in your communications so anyone else you know who may be interested can register easily. The code is: BOF19.

Who Should Attend: Colorists and finishers, post producers, DITs, restoration artists, VFX artists and pipeline developers, color scientists, and scanner and telecine professionals, along with cinematographers, editors, directors and producers.

When: Monday April 8th, 15.30 - 16.30

Where: The session will be held in Room N243, in the North Hall, Upper Level. The room sits near the top of the escalator leading from the wide concourse walkway between Central and North Halls to the upper level meeting rooms. (The concourse is where the American Express lounge, a FedX and fast food shops are located). It is not a long walk from anywhere on the floor!

Beverages: We will be serving complimentary wines and beers after the session (16.30 - 1800).

Please plan to join us!

CSI New York Chapter Meeting - Thursday, March 4th

Wed, 27 Feb 2019 01:04:40 GMT

Dario Bigi CSI is organizing and hosting a CSI New York Chapter Meeting on Thursday, March 4th after 6pm.

Where: The Penny Farthing on 13th and 3rd in Manhattan

Good beer choices - Good affordable food options. Expansion into the basement bar if needed. Check out their website for more information about the venue.

It's by the L train and 4,5,6 trains. Union Square is also walking distance for the N and R trains.

Colorist Meetup in LA! Thursday, February 28th

Hugh Heinsohn — Tue, 26 Feb 2019 00:20:10 GMT

The Colorist Meetup is hosting its third event in LA and is bringing in a lineup of great guests:

Sarah Priestnall from Colorist Society International will be there to deliver Q&A session. You can ask Sarah any question you like by clicking on this link https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeVmvQC-odh2e7VnMuJM-_dwUl5Pang6i1G-GothsXIZPEGUA/viewform?usp=sf_link
Dado Valentic will demo JOI - AI assisted color to assist for dailies. It is an exclusive preview just for Colorist Meetup Community ahead of its launch on NAB. It is a great opportunity to see what future of grading might be holding.

We are looking forward to welcoming you all on Thursday 28 February @ 6 pm at Abel Cine Burbank

Program:

6:00 PM Doors Open

6:30 PM An Assortment of tasty appetizers and colorful spirits will be served

7:00 PM Sarah Priestnall, Colorist Society International

7:30 PM Dado Valentic, ColourLab

8:00 PM Demo

More info: http://www.coloristmeetup.com

Working for gender equality

Kevin Shaw — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 08:23:39 GMT

by Ola Bäccman, CSI

Approximately 2-3% of my turnover goes to charity. But how could I support gender equality in the film business?

In the summer of 2015, I had to quit my job as a colorist after my department was phased out. I had been an employee for over 13 years. I realized I had a lot of contacts and decided to start my own business. Quite quickly I understood that this would work just fine and the wheels began spinning. I had many thoughts on how to start my own enterprise and since it’s me, myself and I who is running the business I decided to include my personal core goals:

Environmental issues
Solidarity with refugees
Gender equality

So since 2016 I have supported WWF (World Wildlife Fund), Naturskyddsföreningen (The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation) and UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency). Approximately 2-3% of my turnover goes to charity. But how could I support gender equality in the film business?

My naive and simple solution was to get to the source in all business. Money. I talked to some organizations and some female DPs and directors about it and they thought it was a good idea. So by offering reduced prices I encourage clients and producers to think more about equality in their team choice.

Grade discount for Female DPs and Directors

Since DPs and Directors are my actual clients I focused on them. Giving a discount of 15% for each role in the team, with a maximum 30% off my list price if both the Director and DP are female. In 2017 it ended up as more than €10,000 in reduced fees, but in the big picture, that’s nothing. More has to be done. Maybe this is an idea other CSI members could adopt in their business.

The statistics

In 2017 I did a total of 71 jobs, ranging from a big 20 day-grade for a TV-series to small music videos with zero budget. I did commercials, bumpers, pilots, documentaries, short films, art films, feature films, trailers and horror films. And I did some statistics that I found it interesting. Even if everyone, now and then, does low budget or no budget projects, it all even out in the end, right? My graphs show the opposite. Women end up as double losers. Not only are they under represented, they also have less budgets for their projects. I’m not a statistician, but I think my graphs shows a pattern. Here’s a breakdown of male and female Directors and DPs, and the turnover for each group.

I divided my fee on every job in two, based on the assumption that the Director and DP contribute equally, then just did the math. In some productions it was hard to tell who is who. This goes for animated films, stockshot based films and archive material. They are the “Unknown” category. To make it easier to compare people vs. budget I have used percentages in all my graphs.

If you have any questions please contact me. Make room for the women!

Ola Bäccman, CSI. Senior Colorist
Mail: ola@baccman.se
Web: www.baccman.se

Fix it in Post...or on Set

Kevin Shaw — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 13:01:39 GMT

by Ben Allan, CSI

It has become one of the catch-cries of the industry… Fix It In Post! The pervasive attitude that surely everything will be easier for the digital wizards in post to fix than it is spending time and resources on a fast moving set. Of course this inevitably leads to things being left to post that should have been fixed on set but equally I’ve seen cinematographers agonise over fine tuning on set that could be accomplished with no fuss or hassle in the grade.

So how does it work when one person does both roles? For over a decade now, I have been serving as both Director Of Photography and Colorist on the majority of the projects that I do and that phrase “Fix It In Post” takes on a whole new meaning when you know that you’re the one who will be doing the fixing!

The first thing that I like to make sure I’ve got right on set is exposure. This may sound obvious and of course with RAW and high bit depth LOG formats there is often a huge amount of latitude to correct exposure. However, I’m seeing an increasing tendency for cinematographers, particularly some of the younger ones coming up through the ranks to assume that if you get the exposures close, that’s fine. The big problem here is of course consistency and although it’s possible to easily correct the exposure levels, getting the right subtle consistency of feel shot to shot becomes a much more fiddly job when the exposures are jumping around in the range. To me, this is dead time, not furthering the creative look of the project, just fixing errors that could have been fixed on set. Consistent exposures require discipline, not time or money.

I do find that using a lightmeter on set helps with an extra degree of precision compared to the other exposure tools available and then a waveform or histogram becomes a quick double check that everything is sitting where I think it is. I find that if my eyes, meter and waveform are all telling me the same thing, then it’s going to be an easy grade.

Another trend that worries me is cinematographers constantly exposing to “protect the highlights”. While there are odd occasions when it is important to retain specific highlight detail, the midtones are usually so much more important and it’s tragic to see otherwise good pictures compromised because the skin tones are jumping up and down through the camera’s dynamic range out of fear that digital can’t handle highlights!

One thing that used to take lots of time on set is darkening down backgrounds, particularly walls in small rooms while using soft light. In the late 90’s when shooting on film, I often had actors making their way through an obstacle course of cutters and C-stands just trying to stop light from bouncing around the room. It worked, but a big soft power window, tracked when needed, does the job at least as well and so much more efficiently. Being able to often work with just the light sources not only speeds up the shoot but also gives the actors and director more freedom, so that’s a no-brainer.

More recently, eye-lights were something that still needed to be done on set but more and more now I’m finding that I have more control by doing them in the grade, so rather than a time saver (although it is), that one is a creative control issue.

One tool from post that has made it’s way to set now is the LUT. I find that using a LUT helps me more as a cinematographer than as a colorist. Essentially a LUT is just a color correction that has no variables. As a cinematographer your job is to control all the variables in the imaging chain so this can be quite helpful. On most of the projects I do, we use a single LUT which is either supplied by the camera manufacturer or one that’s hand made for the job. To then be able to work within that LUT on set as well as having it applied to the dailies is great for keeping track of how the look is progressing with lighting, lenses etc and it also makes it easier to spot and solve with technical issues such as exposure calibration, light pollution or noise.

Having the LUT applied to the dailies and the proxy files that go to editorial mean that everyone is one the same page creatively throughout the edit process and this is a huge help when we get to the grade because there has been time to get to know the footage with the intended look and identify what needs to be fixed or enhanced.

In the grade I usually use this same LUT on a node so that it’s easy to work above or below the LUT to fine tune to look and only tend to occasionally remove the LUT and grade from scratch when there’s a particularly challenging shot, such as one recently where we lost direct sunlight on a drone shot and needed to rebuild the contrast to match the earlier footage.

I realise that I have been very lucky to be able to be both a cinematographer and colorist for so many years on such a wide variety of projects. Once upon a time it was virtually impossible to learn both crafts because access to the tools was so prohibitive that it took total commitment to even learn one. But as the access to the tools has become more and more easy, I have been surprised by how few cinematographers have started to learn to grade.

In the future I believe that it will become expected for a cinematographer to know how to grade in much the same way as it is expected that we know how to pull focus or set up lights. In the same way most will work with specialists in each of those roles on most projects but as grading gets more and more powerful and efficient, a deep understanding of the craft and how it works will become more and more important for cinematographers and their capacity to collaborate effectively with the artists who finish the work they start.

Equally there should be more opportunities for colorists to be involved in pre-production. I know many productions are starting to do this but for me, one of the biggest advantages of doing both roles is that it guarantees the colorist is always around in pre-pro and the DP is always around in post. This makes it easy to solve a lot of issues before they become problems and keep the technical from getting in the way of the creative process. By doing this that question of fixing in post or on set becomes a constant and beneficial discussion rather than just a casual statement.

Ben Allan, CSI is an award winning cinematographer, producer and colorist with over twenty five years industry experience. He has a background in shooting and post with both film and broadcast technology and has over 1,500 TV commercial credits as well as work in documentaries, features and primetime episodic TV.

2018 Colorist T shirt Competition

Kevin Shaw — Sun, 08 Apr 2018 21:30:12 GMT

CSI T shirt Design Competition

First Prize: BMD SmartScope Duo

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

The Contest opens for entries on Sunday 8^th April 2018 ET and closes June 30^th 2018 ET (referred to herein as the Contest Live Period). Entries must be received by 12.00 am ET on June 30^th 2018 ET. Winners will be notified by email, and announced in July 2018.

For your entries to qualify for consideration, you must meet the following requirements:

Entries must be sent by email to info@coloristsociety.com and include your name, email address, telephone number and physical address for shipping of the prize.
Please provide a description of your entry including the type of shirt(s) the design is intended for and where on the shirt the design should be used.
The design may consist of several elements, in which case a mock-up of the layout should be included. Mock-ups are also useful to show intended size.
Entries can be for one or more types of t-shirt and designs for front back and sleeve will be accepted. A single entry can include several similar designs, intended as variants or as a series but separate entries must be substantially different
T-shirt designs should be printable, golf shirt designs can be embroidered. Embroidered designs must be clearly marked as such.
Send, or provide downloads for illustrations of a suitable resolution for printing or embroidery. File type options: EPS, PDF, GIF, JPEG, PNG

Send your entry to info@coloristsociety.com with the following information:

Name
email address
phone number
address to ship the prize to
Type of shirt (t-shirt, golf, long sleeve etc) the design is for
Location and size of your designs
Printed or embroidered (golf shirts only)
number of designs included in the entry
additional information explaining the design (optional)

The judges will consider these criteria:

Originality
Appeal
CSI Branding
Cost
Manufacturing

There is no limit on the number of entries a person or team can make can make but each entry must be a substantially different design idea.

CSI reserves the right to cancel or alter or amend the competition at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, or if circumstances arise outside of its control.

JUDGING

CSI Full Members will have the opportunity to recommend and comment on entries in the private Members forum during the Contest Live Period. The CSI Board will make the final decision based on the comments of the voting members. There will be only one prize. The CSI Board decision as to the winner is final. No correspondence relating to the competition will be entered into.

Terms and Conditions

The Board and their immediate families are not eligible and are prohibited from entering

Winners will be notified by email, and announced in July 2018.

There is no cost to enter the Contest.

Entrants must be 18 years of age or older. The CSI Board and Fellows and their immediate families are not eligible and are prohibited from entering.

The Contest is open worldwide, except where prohibited or restricted by national or local law.

The entrant may submit multiple different entries to the Contest, but each entry must be a substantially different design idea. If the same design idea is submitted more than once, the entries will be disqualified.

Entries must be submitted by email and meet ALL the entry requirements

No responsibility will be accepted for entries lost, delayed or damaged in transmission.

Entries can be for one or more types of t-shirt and designs for front back and sleeve will be accepted. A single entry can include a related series of designs but separate entries must be substantially different

By entering, entrants warrant that to the best of their knowledge: (1) their entry is an original idea; (2) they are authorized by the owner of the design to enter the design in the contest; and that (3) the design does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party.

Entrants grant the Sponsors permission to contact them using the information provided, including name, address, email address, and phone number.

CSI is not responsible for any expenses incurred by entrants in connection with participation in the Contest and will not return any materials submitted to the Contest.

CSI reserves the right to disqualify entries that are frivolous or fail to meet the entry requirements as described in these Official Rules.

CSI reserves the right to cancel or alter or amend the competition at any stage, if deemed necessary in its opinion, or if circumstances arise outside of its control.

Entrants are authorized to and do grant Colorist Society International, the right to use, reproduce, or incorporate in any manner whatsoever all or any portion of the entry designs. Entrants represent and warrant that the materials are owned by them or their company free and clear of any liens or claims of any third-party, that they have a legal right to grant the permission herein given on behalf of themselves, their company, or a third party, if appropriate. Furthermore, the entrant agrees that he/she/they, or, if the design is owned by his/her/their company, that his/her/their company will indemnify and hold harmless Colorist Society International against liability should any third-party claim that the use of the materials by the Primary Sponsors, their affiliates, assigns, agents, and employees violates any right of such third party to the materials.

Prizes cannot be substituted or redeemed for cash except at the sole discretion of the CSI Board. Sponsors reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value if a prize cannot be awarded as described for any reason.

Participation in the Contest constitutes an agreement by each entrant, including all members of a team in the case of a team entry, to be bound by these Official Contest Rules.

Entrants agree to abide by the terms of these Rules and by the decisions of the CSI Board, which are final and binding on all matters pertaining to this Contest. By entering, they agree to waive any right to claim ambiguity or error in these Official Rules. Except where prohibited by law, the winners consent to the use of their design without further compensation.

Questions? Contact Us

Colorist Awards Outline Part 2

Kevin Shaw — Sat, 06 Jan 2018 12:05:35 GMT

by Dale Grahn, CSI Fellow

Last month I discussed why awards for colorists have been long debated yet not actioned. In this second part I outline my view of what we can expect of Colorist Awards. It is a view that is supported by Colorist Society International and a view we plan to make a reality.

Independence

What I am trying to accomplish here is to lay down the first basic categories, rules, conditions and expectations for receiving an award. These will be discussed privately in the CSI forum, then finalized and refined by the Awards Committee before being officially adopted. Membership involvement and opinions are very important and welcomed, so please take the time to visit the forum, even if it is to say “yes, I agree”.

By ‘Independence’ I mean the separation of our unique or ‘Owned’ skill sets from all other skill sets in the film industry. An Owned skill is one that is unique to any craft, job, or workflow using unique equipment and or techniques that cannot be bypassed or accomplished by any other means.

A simple example is a cameraman shooting an image with a camera. That is a unique job, equipment and workflow, so it is an Owned skill.

For a colorist, continuity or shot balancing is an Owned skill set. It is a unique postproduction workflow with uniquely needed skills and equipment. There are of course other colorist Owned skill sets that are in line with their unique interactions with the given projects that they work on. Until technology removes any or all our Owned skills, they belong to us, and we have every right to judge and thereby award those same skills as we see fit.

This type of independence will bring attention to us in our community in a way that will raise awareness of our unique contributions to the film industry. It will also serve to discourage any and all who would try to take credit for our contribution.

For these reasons, I feel that we should identify and award all our uniquely Owned skills. I consider all of the following award standards to be colorist Owned skill sets. These are the standards we should be recognized for and by which we should be judged.

Awards Standards

Continuity

Accurate and exact shot to shot consistency is our most basic skill and an absolute requirement. Any inconsistencies in this area will be noted and points removed based upon the level of unevenness. Continuity is an Owned colorist skill set and is required. Points are deducted for any inconsistencies throughout the entire project submitted for any award.

Any artistic decision unbalancing the project must be explained in detail and must accomplish the proposed purpose.

Beauty

Beauty in some form is an essential aspect of any work up for consideration of any award.

All recipients considered for excellence awards must have accomplished a unique work with a genuinely proposed artistic intent. An explanation of the intent and methods taken to achieve it should accompany all award nominations.

All applicants may be questioned by the Awards Committee concerning any proposed awards project.

Color Concept

Color Concept is truly one of, if not the highest of our skill sets. Mastery of the first two skill sets are needed to accomplish this third.

Color Concept is the use of color to tell a story, improve understanding of the imagery, or to add an extra dimension to a project. It must be used constructively in harmony with the standards of continuity and beauty as well as with other core elements of the project such as sound, cinematography and editing. Above all the color concept must be relevant to the project and influence the audience experience in a positive way.

Color concept is sometimes integral to a project from inception of the creative process. Recognition is given for the enhancement of the project design, but the introduction and execution of a meaningful Color Concept by the colorist is expected for the highest scores.

Colorist Award Categories

Colorist Special Award: Feature Storytelling - Original Concept

For excellence in the use of color to create an original concept storyline for an entire theatrically released feature film.

This award expects an exceptional display of excellence and will only be awarded when an appropriate entry is received. This award might not be given every year.

The Colorist must be solely responsible for creating an original Color Concept for the storyline throughout the entire project. Work should not follow production’s original color vision by direction but collaboration with other creatives is allowed.

The Colorist must be supported and nominated by the production creatives for this award. The Colorist’s nomination must be approved by at least two seated CSI Fellows.

CSI leadership may be nominated for this award.

This is a solo award to the Lead Colorist only and must be unanimously supported to win the award.

Colorist Award: Project Storytelling

For excellence in the use of color to create the storyline of an entire project.

The Colorist must be solely responsible for creating the color storyline throughout the entire project. The work should be the colorist’s own original idea with explanation of the reasons and techniques. Creatives may be involved but not direct the work.

The colorist must be supported by the production creatives for this award. The Colorist’s nomination can be submitted by self, the production, or individual full members of the CSI.

The Colorist’s nomination must be approved by at least two seated CSI Fellows.

This is a solo award to the Lead Colorist only.

Colorist Award: Technical Excellence

For excellence in the overall technical consistency within each sequence and throughout the entire project.

Many workflows and all projects eligible for any award, qualify for the Technical Excellence Award. Consideration is given for continuity, damage repair, storyline consistency, visual direction, and beauty. Entries may consist of a single feature film, a single program episode, or a series of episodes.

The Colorist’s nomination can be submitted by self, the production, or individual full members of CSI. The nomination must be approved by at least two seated CSI Fellows.

This award can be made to an individual or a team of colorists. The award goes to the Lead Colorist first and then to the Team that he/she directed.

Colorist Award: Creative Collaboration: Theatrically Released Feature Film.

For excellence in artistic collaboration, accurately producing the original creative vision of and with the Head Creatives Direction.

The Lead Colorist must work directly with the main creative heads and be responsible for all color decisions during the entire feature film.

The Lead Colorist must be endorsed by at least two creative heads including the Director and Cameraman or Editor.

The production must submit the nomination for the Colorist/Team. The nomination must be approved by at least two seated CSI Fellows

This award can be made to an individual or a team of colorists. The award goes to the Lead Colorist first and then to the Team that he/she directed.

Colorist Award: Creative Collaboration: Project

For excellence in artistic collaboration, accurately producing the original creative vision of and with the Head Creatives Direction.

The Lead Colorist must work directly with the main creative heads and be responsible for all color decisions during the entire project.

The Lead Colorist must be endorsed by at least two creative heads including the Director and Cameraman or Editor.

The production must submit the nomination for the Colorist/Team. The nomination must be approved by at least two seated CSI Fellows

This award can be made to an individual or a team of colorists. The award goes to the Lead Colorist first and then to the Team that he/she directed.

Colorist Award: Friends of the Colorist

Awarded to one or more Creatives for artistic collaboration with a colorist in producing a creative vision that best displays Color Concept, beauty and technical excelllence.

The Lead Colorist or individual full members of CSI must submit the nomination for the Creative(s) with one or more projects for consideration. The nomination must be approved by at least two seated CSI Fellows.

This award can be made to one or more individuals that worked closely with the Lead Colorist.

N.B. Dale’s outline is integral to the CSI Awards which we plan to announce in 2018 with the first awards given in early 2019. The outline, terms and condisitons are under discussion in the CSI Forum. – Kevin Shaw CSI

Legendary motion picture Color Timer Dale Grahn is a Fellow of Colorist Society International (CSI). With hundreds of major film credits including, ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ ‘War of the Worlds,’ ‘Minority Report,’ ‘Gladiator,’ and ‘Predator’ Dale Grahn has shaped much of the look of modern cinema, working with directors Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and cinematographers Janusz Kaminski, Michael Ballhaus, and John Mathieson.

Colorist Awards Proposal Part 1

Kevin Shaw — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 10:15:20 GMT

by Dale Grahn, CSI Fellow

The question of awards for colorists by the Academy has been raised yet again with many varied responses. Some say that it is too early in the digital timing world to be thinking about awards. Others say it’s long overdue.

I personally have faced this question most of my career. The way that the industry viewed color timing would never have opened a door to the consideration of an awards program from the Academy. They had no idea what or how we as color timers did our job. They customarily would consider the color and look of the film to be the work of the cameraman, set design and costumes.

I think the real answer is easy to find but, even when found, there are many who would claim our skills as their own and try to rob us of our prize including the technology that gives us our tools.

Standards

All of the crafts that are in line for an award must meet certain standards of excellence in order to even be considered by the Academy.

Each craft has over time, established the guidelines necessary to judge their own work. By creating these standards or guidelines, they have an unbiased way to measure and judge the skills being used in the work.

The work of a colorist is quite often considered an aesthetic art. Meaning that it cannot be accurately measured because everyone that views it sees it differently.

I find this to be incorrect for most films, if not all. A truly well timed movie will be seen the way the colorist has directed the eye of the viewer.

Storytelling with color - if done correctly - will direct the viewer’s eye and emotions, and carry them through the storyline with a more powerful effect, resulting in a more meaningful story experience.

The following example of this skill is a simple untouched iPhone image of a lake that is drying up. The small mark on the island is a Christmas tree placed there by a neighbor in an effort to cheer up a sad situation due to the long drought.

Before:

After:

Photos by Dale Grahn

Just looking at the shot of the lake from camera, doesn’t invoke a feeling of winter for a number of reasons.

First off, the overall tone is in the warm range with reddish browns, most likely mid-tone contamination and global warmth.

The effect being a lack of cool tones, which confuses the viewer’s eyes, thus raising questions concerning the season and time of day.

The corrections to the image in printer points are:

A global correction of +1 cyan, -2 yellow
Mid-tone correction of -3 magenta, -5 yellow, +2 density, +2 saturation
A highlight correction of -3 yellow

These are small but effective corrections and make the image look more like a winter day in the late afternoon. The eye and the emotions instantly recognize the cooler darker image even before the mind can process it.

The point of this illustration is this: the color runs independently in the background of the eye freeing the viewer’s emotions to experience the image without the need of the mind to receive it or explain it.

Seeing that color can truly tell the story of the images displayed by using the eye and the emotions, we can claim our rightful place in the artistry of film storytelling.

The Time is Now

As colorists we must now do as the other crafts have done; establish and define our own standards and guidelines for our craft. These skills and techniques are unique to the colorist alone, and cannot be done in camera or with lighting.

The CSI leadership is currently at work compiling a set of goals, rules, standards, skill sets and categories in the hope of creating an annual awards program for the membership.

Once completed, titles will be submitted for consideration for an actual and official CSI award for excellence in the category of color grading.

The CSI leadership had an awards program in mind when CSI was created, so this is not a new idea. My hope is that it will not take too long to complete and will be well received by the membership.

I know that it will be at least fair to all.

We need to be able to establish our own awards program based upon our unique skills, teach these skills by demonstrating them in lessons and our everyday workflow, thereby shining a light upon our skills that the industry cannot ignore.

I don’t really feel that we need the approval of the Academy to show our contribution to the industry. We can do it without them.

And, we should.

(editor’s note:) Next month, Dale will be back with a follow up on awards and judging standards that he calls, “Independence.”

Changes to the CSI Forums

Kevin Shaw — Thu, 23 Nov 2017 01:04:25 GMT

The two previous forums have now been amalgamated into one. All threads from the previous forums have been moved to the new CSI forum, which is accessible from the header of each page.

We would especially like to draw attention to the latest thread "Definition of the Role of the Colorist" which discusses work done by CSI members to create an international template for use by other organisations. This is a great example of how we can use the private forum to discuss and agree on something, then present with a single representative voice. As a professional community we are loud enough to be heard.

The CSI forum is open to Full, Alliance, Associate and Corporate members. If you are not a member already Join Us

Alone in the Room

Kevin Shaw — Sun, 03 Sep 2017 11:10:10 GMT

by Dick Hobbs

In last month’s newsletter, there was a great podcast interview with Juan Ignacio Cabrera CSI. He talked about a wide range of things, but one section that struck me was about his relationship with the people around him while he is grading a movie.

“In Europe, you work with the DP all the time,”

“In Europe, you work with the DP all the time,” he said. “Most of the shows I have done in Spain, the DP was sitting by my side, the whole process.

“There are no unsupervised sessions. Having the DP in the room with me, it was not a hassle, it was a blessing: it was amazing. What has strengthened my skills as a colorist has been working directly with DPs, and being challenged by them. And having them leaving the session comfortable, happy and excited – that’s an amazing feeling.”

I suspect most colorists would agree, that one of the gratifications of grading is the collaboration, the talking through issues and working together to achieve a great result. But is technology now threatening this fundamental partnership?

Until very recently, if you wanted to see what was going on, you had to be in the same room as the colorist, looking at the same (extremely expensive) calibrated monitor. Now, you can deliver files and projects or even stream sessions to remote screens which are calibrated to match.

Remote Grading

Nice Shoes was probably the pioneer in remote grading, with the client in one city and the colorist in another. FilmLight uses a render-free, metadata-driven grading scheme so you can put copies of the raw footage anywhere it might be needed, then just swap compact metadata files so everyone – even VFX artists and Avid editors – sees the latest grade. DaVinci Resolve has a feature that allows a system in one location – with clients - to be controlled remotely by a colorist in another location.

All of which is trending towards the unattended grade, particularly for long-form work. The director, cinematographer and colorist may meet up at the beginning of the project, and perhaps agree on some LUTs and base looks. Then they go their separate ways, two to the set and one to a lonely grading room to interpret and refine the original discussions.

Television work has been done this way for a while. Pressure on movie release dates often means that original photography and post have to be concurrent today. Then there is a growing body of work where the client sends a drive to the colorist who grades the material alone and sends it back graded on another drive.

Creativity

Do colorists find this approach satisfying, or do you miss the constant challenge and stimulation of working directly with people who are intimately bound up in the creativity? You tell me. Does this work for you?

Collaborative workflows, of course, depend upon communication. But an email list of comments is not the same as sitting together, talking the issues through.

It is also a brake on quality. If you can respond in real time to a thought – should the faces be a little cooler in this scene – then you will do it. If you have to wait for a render to go from 99% to 100% then you might not bother. If you have to put the idea into a report, which is then sent to the colorist to action for the next version, then a lot of the tiny details, which are the difference between good work, and great work will just be forgotten.

The good news is that CSI provides a place to network, to discuss ideas and share experiences. You can challenge established ideas – and I would love to see a debate in the private forums on what I have written here about unattended and remote sessions.

You can debate the issues of the day. For example, in last month’s newsletter the venerable Lou Levinson set out his definition of HDR, and Kevin Shaw responded with a very different set of requirements. I might weigh in on this question myself next month.

Finally, if you are going to IBC this year, then you can join in the Colorist Mixer – CSI is one of the sponsors. These evenings are not (necessarily) the wild hedonism of the old Telecine Fun Nights of blessed memory, but a great chance to network, meet up and talk. This year’s IBC event is at a great venue, too. You will definitely not be alone in the room.

Dick Hobbs has been a leading commentator and consultant on media technology for more than 30 years. He is well known for his writing and appearances at conferences and on panels, where his lively good humour adds to the detailed subject knowledge.

A Brief History of Grading

Kevin Shaw — Mon, 31 Jul 2017 17:28:17 GMT

by Dick Hobbs

The very first IBC – then called the International Broadcasting Convention – was held in 1967. I have been doing some research for a 50^th anniversary commemorative book.

Although I have tried, I have failed to find a catalogue of IBC '67, so I cannot give you a list of who was exhibiting and what. But I can be absolutely certain that there was a display of telecines. Indeed, I even have a picture of them.

The idea of IBC came from three sales directors. Two came from companies now largely forgotten: Tom Mayer of Marconi and John Tucker of EMI, both then big players in studio cameras.

The third was John Etheridge, general manager of the broadcast products division of The Rank Organisation, which later became Rank Cintel and Rank Brimar. He clearly ensured that his company got a good stand position, and a nice picture of the products.

Pride of place on the stand was a photo-conductive telecine, with the then relatively new 16mm twin-lens telecine also on show. A lot of space was given over to a slide scanner, too!

It was “broadcast products” because back then telecines were all about live broadcasting. VTRs were still relatively rare – around that time the BBC Television Centre in London (nine studios plus news plus the Television Theatre down the road plus editing) had a total of 16 VTRs. A lot of playout of programmes, as well as news inserts, was from telecine. Operation was by engineers, not grading specialists.

In 1978 Rank Cintel launched the digital version of its Mk III telecine, making the 3:2 pulldown possible and allowing it to be used in the USA and other 60Hz countries. At the same time it launched Topsy, its first separate programmer, which was succeeded in 1983 by the Amigo, which really ushered in the age of the colorist.

The shift was away from technical grading.

The shift was from technical grading (making the waveform monitor look right) to creative control (making the pictures look good). Film always had a lot more dynamic range than could be transmitted, so colorists developed techniques for digging into the colours, using secondary vectors as well as primaries (and ultimately the ability to isolate colours and operate in multiple windows).

Film scanning improved. HD came along. Peak telecine came with the contrasting images and operation of the CCD Spirit telecine (sometimes with a BTS badge, sometimes Philips, possibly even Thomson) and the Ursa family from Cintel. Third party colour correctors and controllers by now were normal. The Copernicus introduced digital colour correction, but the real contenders were Pandora and da Vinci, two great companies with innovative engineers and a positive attitude to having fun.

In 1993 Kodak introduced its Cineon DI system

The big industry shift started in 1993, when first Kodak introduced its Cineon digital intermediate (DI) system, followed very shortly by Quantel Domino. Both systems included a film recorder as well as a scanner: post was a digital intermediate stage between (analogue) film acquisition and delivery. And it allowed colorists to bring their creative skills into the movie industry. Movies like Amélie (2001) introduced the idea of subtle grading to add another layer to the story-telling.

Texas Instruments developed the DLP chip 20 years ago, and today we have high power, high dynamic range, high frame rate digital projection which allows directors (and colorists) unfettered image control. Companies like Red, Arri and Sony developed digital cinematography cameras, largely eliminating film acquisition (although there is the odd outlier: this summer’s hot movie Dunkirk was shot by Hoyte van Hoytema for Christopher Nolan on 65mm and Imax celluloid. Walter Volpatto CSI is the colorist).

Digital origination eliminated the routine need for big, expensive film scanning hardware, and grading could be performed in software. A new generation of companies came into the grading business and, as standard computers became more powerful, prices plummeted.

Companies like Colorfront with Colossus (which became Discreet Lustre) led the way. Software grading became part of consumer-priced packages like Final Cut Studio and Adobe Creative Cloud. Blackmagic bought the intellectual property of da Vinci and offered a basic version free. They have also kept the Cintel tradition alive and 50 years on we can expect to see the Blackmagic Cintel Film Scanner at IBC 2017

Blackmagic Cintel Film Scanner

The result was a better awareness of color.

The result of software grading was a better awareness of color. While the initial reaction might have been that low cost grading meant the end of the colorist’s trade, like most such “end of the world” pronouncements it turned out that grading is a whole lot harder than some might think. It takes skilled eyes and a lot of experience, whether you are driving a dedicated, hardware accelerated platform or software on a laptop.

Ready access to the tools meant that television made time for grading where it had not been before. Producers came to expect their programmes to feature distinctive looks, whether it was tobacco skies on Top Gear or highly saturated colours on CSI Miami. Movies saw an even greater shift in workflows, with colorists part of the digital intermediate pipeline, not just an unavoidable and time-consuming matching process at the end.

Colorists have always been on the cutting edge.

Colorists have always been on the cutting edge of technology, from the days of live playout. Telecine was a rich source of HD in the early days. Colorists seized the potential that the replacement of chemical labs by the digital intermediate meant for the movie industry. Today we look to colorists to make the most from new advances like higher resolutions and frame rates, and particularly the extended colour gamut that HDR offers.

50 years on from the first IBC, the media world is very different. But there will still be much for the colorist to see and enjoy.

Reflections on HDR

Kevin Shaw — Sat, 29 Jul 2017 17:17:18 GMT

by Lou Levinson
After graciously being invited to be a CSI fellow, it seems that life circumstances forced me to have to pay attention to other things over the past year. Please accept my apologies, and allow me to stir up some trouble, if I may.

What I’d like to discuss is a subject that’s gained buzzword status in our endeavors on par with“Digital” and “4k* ”. Yep, that’s right, HDR. I’m sure you’ve all been inundated with this in one way or another. “Can you do this in 2020**? Your competition can”.

So, what do we mean when we say HDR? I have to say that I have yet to hear a simple and coherent definition, but everyone seems to know it when they see it. Do we mean high peak brightness? High average/diffuse white? Are we including wide color gamut? High frame rate? High spacial resolution? As far as I can tell, there are now five or six competing HDR “systems”. We’re well on the way to the 19 different standards of the ATSC. I have asked folk at NAB, at HPA, at ASC Technology Council (new name) meetings. I’m allergic to SMPTE meetings, and no one wants to send me overseas to IBC or to ITU meetings, but I do have work associates for that. So, even though Ideal with this all the time, I’m confused.

If we take a step back to SDR, we see a fair amount of energy still being put into defining it and the environs one would master it in. Really? Let’s get real here. The only place you’ll find 100nit pictures*** is in a reference grading room. Let’s define it well, and be aware that it will be applicable for those archival projects when we want to see what was done in HD****, hopefully with Creative input. Everywhere else you’re likely to view them is going to be significantly higher.

Your phone is probably 400nits peak or more. For those that can do this, try looking at something you’ve graded at 100nits and 400nits side by side. Or even as single stimulus; in two different rooms one after the other. Tell me how your 100nit grade holds up as consumed by the Best Buy crowd. SDR does point to other benchmarks we need to exceed, such as 709 primaries.

So, you ask, what would I call HDR? Well, let’s take a clue from some Dolby research that says that even untrained observers, in single stimulus, can tell when the peak brightness has gone up by 2 stops. If we chose 100nits as SDR then entry level for HDR becomes 400nits. If we chose a more current 400nits as SDR, then 1600nits becomes an HDR entry point. This is not as arbitrary as it seems, as will be seen in a bit. So I would start to define HDR as 1000nits plus peak brightness. I’m taking some away here for realism, i.e., what we can come close to building as a reference display right this minute. Add wider, P3 primary, color gamut as a minimum. Use whatever transfer function, gamma, pq, hlg, the ballistic curve of a 16” shell fired from the USS Iowa, that you feel works. Package it however you want (you will anyway). Just use enough bits to be user transparent. And make sure there’s clear metadata that says what you’ve done. I would make a plea to keep it simple, but that barn has already burned down.

One thing of note I can pass on from my more recent imaging voyages is that there is a place, between 100nits and 400nits where dragons reside. What I mean by this is that on either side of that gulf, one makes different creative decisions about one’s visual storytelling. Period. I’ve yet to see any automathemagical, transform driven solution that crosses that place well, if at all.

Keep that in mind when those cost conscious clients want one master to rule them all. It’s a long walk to Mt Doom. Staying above 400 makes those automathemagical transforms work better, if not perfectly.

What I might have done if I were king (oh, thank god) is set the following HDR target:

1000 nits peak bright
P3 primaries
D65 white
1886 or 2084 transfer curve (sensible metadata)
4096 minimum
12 bits minimum

I would like to assign some homework if I may, to be dropped on the CSI website in some manner to be determined by wiser heads than mine. I would like anyone who cares to, to submit your definition of HDR. The catch? You have a 147 character limit. [N.B. There is a thread in the CSI Forum to discuss this further - Kevin]

Next time, I might be talked into telling you why, almost certainly, none of your reference monitors exhibit ideal, reference behaviour.

Peace,

Lou
Half Moon Bay, Ca
July 23, 2017

* UHDTV is not 4k, it’s 3840

** Can you actually capture 2020? Can you display it? I thought not. Nice package, though.

*** I actually use 102.7 nits as it equals 30 fl

**** I’ve seen folk put masters graded on a crt up on a dlp projector in 709 and say that’s the reference. In the words of Wolfgang Pauli “That’s not even wrong!” Crt’s were SMPTE C not 709, 30fl not 14fl, and blacks were significantly different, as well. I fear for our ability to know what came before now.

Credit Where It Is Due

(Past member) — Wed, 05 Jul 2017 12:30:28 GMT

by Dick Hobbs

"My gut feeling is that, if you ask a director – who has probably been sitting next to the colorist for days – then they would certainly agree that the job deserved a high position credit. "

I first came across the world of color grading more than 25 years ago, way back in the last century. Back when it was mostly telecine, getting the best out of that strip of celluloid.

Remember the Spirit v Ursa wars? I was there and writing about it.

From the very first, I developed a huge respect for colorists. It is a hugely complex job, yet at the same time completely aesthetic. The colorist has to use an extraordinary array of tools, accessed through a big and undeniably impressive user interface, to create something that can only be judged artistically.

Then there were colorist superstars in the postproduction world. Today’s top colorists are equally highly regarded by their peers, and by their colleagues in production and postproduction. In today’s digital movie-making world they are even more important, since they are responsible for conforming and delivering a myriad of formats, taking raw footage from very high dynamic range cameras and crafting it into evocative, immersive, atmospheric looks across a host of different colour spaces.

So why don’t colorists have their names above the titles?

Of course all those names on the credits have made a real, practical and often creative contribution to the movie. But very few have painstakingly crafted every single frame of the film. Colorists have.

When Ang Lee came to IBC in 2016 to talk about Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk and all its technical challenges, he took with him his technical guru and his editor. Definitely not the colorist. Adam Inglis, working with Marcy Robinson, thank you for asking.

Anthony Raffaele was colorist on Café Society, Woody Allen’s first digitally-shot feature, with DoP Vittorio Storaro. The movie has distinctive looks for the locations and time periods of the hero, and is a real colorist’s movie. He is listed 243^rd in the crew section on IMDB.

This year, Jesse Glucksman, CSI, got a full screen credit, albeit shared with the assistant editor, on Tiago Mesquita’s The Shadow Within. Yes, the board does say Jesse Glucksman, CSI.

Damien van der Cruyssen had a full screen, solo credit, right after the editor, before the crawl, on a movie called It Comes at Night, written and directed by Trey Edward Shults. This has happened maybe three or four times in movie history:

Gonçalo Ferreira for Horse Money in 2014, for example. Eric Whipp CSI for Mad Max Fury Road (2015), Kevin Shaw CSI for “In Her Skin” in 2009. CSI co-founder Kevin Shaw once got his name on a movie trailer.

There is an interesting article at www.EndCrawl.com on who gets credited and why some might not. But I think the issue is not that colorists are not getting any credit: simply that it is way down in the crawl when people are trying not to tread on the spilt popcorn while shuffling out of the theatre.

My gut feeling is that, if you ask a director – who has probably been sitting next to the colorist for days – then they would certainly agree that the job deserved a high position credit. But the director and colorist work together in the last few weeks of a project, and are always under huge time pressures: credits are the last thing on anyone’s mind. And the colorist does not want to divert the flow of energy by sounding needy.

I think the answer lies in making CSI more authoritative. The DGA has strict rules on credits, which are widely recognised and respected. One way forward is for members to use the letters CSI after their name, wherever the credit lies. Ensuring the society is recognised will go a long way to ensuring that so are its members.

Editor’s Note:

May 2017 Newsletter Online

Kevin Shaw — Wed, 10 May 2017 03:16:59 GMT

Divergent Media become our latest sponsor. The NAB roundup and the answer to the often asked question "How long does it take to grade?"

Read it here...

April 2017 Newsletter Online

Kevin Shaw — Fri, 21 Apr 2017 03:00:53 GMT

CSI Tours and more at NAB. And don't forget the Colorist Mixer at the Stratosphere

Read it here...

CSI at NAB 2017

Kevin Shaw — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 21:43:32 GMT

Attending NAB2017? Colorist Society International is a sponsor of the infamous Colorist Mixer and has organized a number of group tours for CSI members at the booths of its corporate sponsors.

As an added incentive, many of the booths will offer refreshments. CSI co-founders Jim Wicks and Kevin Shaw will lead the tours at the following times:

Colorist Mixer - Sunday 4/23 from 7-10pm - The Air Bar, floor 108, in the Stratosphere Tower

Dolby #SU1702 – Monday 4/24, Tuesday 4/25 and Wednesday 4/26 at 5pm-6pm each day

FilmLight #SL3829 – Monday 4/24 at 11am – expect an announcement that could benefit all colorists

FSI #SL6328 – Tuesday 4/25 at 1pm – monitors for colorists

S-A-M #SL1805 – Tuesday 4/25 at 3pm – Rio does HDR

Blackmagic Design #SL216 – Wednesday 4/26 at 4pm – check out the new panels

March 2017 Newsletter Online

Kevin Shaw — Sun, 09 Apr 2017 21:37:40 GMT

Dolby sponsor CSI, Oscar colorists, the Peter Doyle podcast and so much more.

Read it here...

February 2017 Newsletter Online

(Past member) — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 14:50:21 GMT

The ASC Spotlight Award, the Colorist Podcast, and much more in the February 2017 newsletter. Plus, be sure to check out the special offer from IMDbPro and discounts for CSI members.

Read it here...

January 2017 Newsletter Online

(Past member) — Fri, 13 Jan 2017 16:22:53 GMT

The January Newsletter starts off 2017 with a great contribution by Marc Wielage, CSI, including FREE downloads. Plus, be sure to check out the special offers and discounts for CSI members.

Read it here...

December Newsletter Online!

Kevin Shaw — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 10:46:00 GMT

The December 2016 Newsletter finishes the year with a big announcement about IMDB and CSI. Plus in the spirit of the season there are plenty of special offers for CSI members. And our exclusive 3 part series by CSI Fellow Dale Grahn concludes. Seasonal Greetings from all of us at CSI.

Read it here...

November Newsletter Online!

Kevin Shaw — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 13:31:22 GMT

The November 2016 Newsletter has part two of our exclusive 3 part series by CSI Fellow Dale Grahn. There are also some more special offers and events.

Read it here!

October Newsletter Online

Kevin Shaw — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 08:48:56 GMT

The October Newsletter has part one of a fascinating 3 part series by Dale Grahn, C.S.I. fellow and a very special deal from our sponsor FSI (limited offer)

Read it here!

September Newsletter Online

Kevin Shaw — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 08:45:12 GMT

The September Newsletter tells of CSI at the IBC Colorist Mixer and shows our first CSI screen credits.

Read it here!

August Newsletter Online

Kevin Shaw — Sun, 21 Aug 2016 06:53:21 GMT

The August Newsletter has a round up of progress made by CSI and some of the activities and successes of our members.

Read it here!

Lou Levinson Named Fellow of Colorist Society International

(Past member) — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 15:19:41 GMT

Variety ran the news about Lou Levinson joining Colorist Society International. You can read the full story here:

http://variety.com/2016/artisans/news/lou-levinson-named-fellow-of-colorist-society-international-1201797571/ 

“The colorist is a person whose primary responsibility is to help creative authors of visual storytelling in all its forms further that storytelling with the ‘look,’” Levinson said. “This means dealing with color, density, texture, composition, and motion issues as prime involvement. Helping the industry recognize the value of the colorist is why I support CSI’s mission statement.”

We're very excited about Lou's participation in CSI, and that Variety took notice of this distinguished honor.

Dale Grahn Named Fellow of Colorist Society International

(Past member) — Mon, 16 May 2016 22:33:36 GMT

Legendary motion picture Color Timer Dale Grahn has been named a Fellow of the Colorist Society International (CSI). With hundreds of major film credits including, ‘Saving Private Ryan,’ ‘War of the Worlds,’ ‘Minority Report,’ ‘Gladiator,’ and ‘Predator’ Dale Grahn has shaped much of the look of modern cinema, working with directors Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, and cinematographers Janusz Kaminski, Michael Ballhaus, John Mathieson.

“CSI is very exciting,” said Grahn upon receiving this distinguished honor. “CSI will help to change the way the industry views the colorist. This is the single best thing that could happen to the industry and the colorist. But the best part for me is that I will be able to work with CSI Leadership in this very important addition to the industry and the art of the craft.”

Colorist Society International (also known as CSI) is the first organization devoted exclusively to furthering and honoring the professional achievements of the colorist community.

A Fellow is an honorary position within CSI. It is given out in honor of distinguished service to the art and craft of color in motion pictures and television.

CSI represents a unified voice for the professional colorist in the film and digital entertainment industry, and promotes the creative art and science of color grading, restoration, and finishing.

Motion Picture and Television Colorists Jim Wicks and Kevin Shaw founded colorist Society International. CSI is dedicated to advancing the craft, education, and public awareness of the art and science of color grading and color correction.

The Colorist Society International is a paid membership organization that will seek to increase the entertainment value of film and digital projects by attaining artistic pre-eminence and scientific achievement in the creative art of color; and to bring into close alliance those color artists who desire to advance the prestige and dignity of the color profession.

CSI Wants You!

(Past member) — Mon, 16 May 2016 22:13:50 GMT

“At last, a Society that represents colorists! For years we have talked about an association, moaned about lack of recognition and wished for better representation.”

So said colorist Warren Eagles, who let fly with the reasons why he joined Colorist Society International (CSI), and why you should, too!

Check out the full story that Warren wrote and posted, (here).

Thanks Warren!

Thank You from Jim and Kevin

(Past member) — Thu, 21 Apr 2016 15:30:11 GMT

Hey all, Kevin and I want to take a moment to thank all of you who have expressed interest in joining or knowing more about CSI. The overwhelming response is exciting. And, to be honest, a little bit scary, too. The work has been nonstop.

CSI was created, in part, to help advance the art and science of color correction and color grading. Our goal is that you will be able to exchange ideas, discuss techniques and promote color as an art form.

Until now, those of us in the color community have not been properly represented. As Dale Grahn says, “In the film industry, unrepresented means unrecognized.” We hope CSI will help change that.

You'll be hearing from us soon. Meantime, check out the latest blog report on the CSI launch, on Randi Altman's PostPerspective blog.

Thank you for your patience. You will be hearing from us soon.

Cheers, Jim

First Professional Association For Motion Picture Colorists Launched

Kevin Shaw — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 13:00:00 GMT

Las Vegas, NV - Motion Picture and Television Colorists Jim Wicks and Kevin Shaw are excited to announce the first professional association for colorists with the launch of Colorist Society International. The Colorist Society International (also known as CSI) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the craft, education, and public awareness of the art and science of color grading and color correction.

The official launch date is today, Monday April 18, 2016.

"The colorist community has been growing for quite some time," said Kevin Shaw, co-founder. "We believe that a society by, for, and about colorists is long overdue. Current representation for colorists is fragmented and we feel that the industry would be better served with the coherent voice of the Colorist Society International"

"The notion of a colorist society is not far fetched," said Jim Wicks, co-founder. "In much the same way, directors, cinematographers, and editors - the artists that we work closely with - have their own professional associations, each with similar mission statements and objectives."

The official name is Colorist Society International, however it can also be abbreviated to The Colorist Society, or by its acronym CSI.

Membership is open to professional colorists, editor/colorists, DITs, telecine operators, color timers, finishers, and color scientists. Corporate sponsors and members from alliance organizations, such as cinematographers, directors, producers, are also welcome.

For more information about Colorist Society International contact Kevin Shaw, Jim Wicks at: info@coloristsociety.com.

Contact Information:
Colorist Society International
Web: www.coloristsociety.com
Email: info@coloristsociety.com
Kevin Shaw, co-founder
Jim Wicks, co-founder