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.”

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 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.

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 more.

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

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, 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.

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.

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

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

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 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.