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 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.

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!

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.

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

Register: https://bit.ly/2BRKpMJ

More info: http://www.coloristmeetup.com

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: 

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

 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. 

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

The judges will consider these criteria: 

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

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.    

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.”