Back in college I took an art class that discussed in depth how we perceive colors. I specifically remember being shocked when the professor held up a color swatch next to another color, then swapped the color it was adjacent to. Before my eyes, the original color changed. It really showed the importance of context….
Snickers had one of the most talked about Super Bowl spots with their :30 commercial “The Brady Bunch”. It was extremely well executed and came off flawlessly. The interaction of present day actors combined with footage that is over thirty years old is quite impressive. To pull this off correctly there had to be hours…
In the color suite the interaction between a cinematographer and colorist is critical. Especially in feature work. It’s our responsibility to make sure that the original vision of the film is represented accurately and brought to life. In this quick four minute clip cinematographer Daryn Okada takes us behind the scenes of Dolphin Tale 2…
While color grading over the years I have seen some trends in commercial work that have become popular for one reason or another. New influences, styles, and evolving ideas seem to grab hold of the creative community and not let go for quite some time. Of course one of the most popular looks is the “teal…
When color grading black and white I have to get myself in a different mindset by thinking about areas and specific regions of contrast while maintaining the integrity of the shot. It’s a lot easier said than done. One of my biggest pet peeves is when someone thinks all that has to be done is…
One of my first blog postings was a color breakdown of a Powerade commercial graded on Baselight. It’s not too often that these become available for public consumption, so when they do, I love to share them. Many times these high profile clients require Colorists to sign non disclosure agreements (I know that I have…
After getting a chance to meet Cirina Catania last week at the latest BOSCPUG meeting, she contacted me about conducting an interview with Digital Production BuZZ. I was already a fan of The BuZZ and all that they do for the post production community. Quite frankly, I was flattered when asked. When I called in before the show…
Shoot online has recently published a great article interviewing some of the top Colorists in the business. Ranging from :30 commercials to Oscar winning feature films, almost all types of color grading are covered. This article is a brief glimpse at the mind of a Colorist and the way that they work outside of pressing…
When color grading a piece that has clean plates for VFX it’s essential to do your best to envision the shot as a whole. Hopefully, the framing is locked off and the lighting is controlled. However, that is not always the case. It’s important to know what the VFX capabilities are after your color grade session and to…
A couple of weeks ago I got a Twitter notification from fellow Colorist Dan Diaz asking to do a blog write up on making bids from a Colorist’s perspective. There are a lot of things to take into consideration when trying to put a monitory value on your profession. We all want to work. And…
Every once in awhile a commercial catches my eye while I’m half watching television at night. I try to pay attention to the popular trends and brands while storing away ideas for future commercial grading sessions. After all, imitation is the best form of flattery. Tonight, randomly, I happened across the most recent Fiber One…
Not too long ago I wrote a blog posting covering what I thought the top 5 creative features in DaVinci Resolve 10 would be. After having worked as a demo artist at NAB 2013 I had a pretty good idea as what to expect and how to implement these features into my everyday work. Now, less than…
We all remember the switch from SD to HD. Those clunky 4×3 televisions are now a thing of the past. With HD televisions in nearly every home, is it now time to raise the bar and take the quality of television to the next level? The Netflix team thinks so. Their highly acclaimed original content…
I recently had the pleasure to work with local photographer/director JJ Miller on a national broadcast campaign for Leslie Pools. JJ managed to capture some really great moments and wanted to create a unique look that would make the commercial stand out from the pack. We decided to go with an Instagram-like look that would help…
While browsing through my Twitter feed I came across a post by fellow Colorist Josh Petok that sparked my interest. The link was for a Facebook group that consisted of mid-century photos ranging from the 1930’s to the 1960’s. Maybe it’s just me, maybe I’m just nostalgic (for an era I never lived in), but…