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.

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.

• 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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

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.