Color Correctionist/Grader needed for Feature shot on RED

[Tim Whitcomb]

Well, I AM a colorist, and I can tell you through experience that none of these systems are "effin sick fast" compared to any of the others. They all have convenience features, they all (well, at least Lustre, Baselight, Resolve, Film Master, and Pablo) have very extensive, very efficient custom control panels with direct access to all common functions (and some not so common ones), and they all do a great job. It is the experience and dexterity of the operator that is in question, not the particular system. I get it, you like Quantel because you worked with someone who was experienced with Quantel systems and can operate it fast and efficiently. I would say that if you had worked with a very fast and efficient colorist on Baselight - or Lustre, or Resolve, or Film Master - you would be saying exactly the same thing about those systems.

If anything, to most American colorists (and editors, for that matter), Quantel's systems are generally considered the "oddballs." This is primarily because their user interfaces have generally been designed around a pen and tablet as the primary input device, which has long been popular in Europe, but has not enjoyed the same popularity here in the US unless you happen to be a Flame/Inferno/Smoke artist. And just to add to a previous post, all of the multishot trim functions that Jake was mentioning are also available in Scratch (at a considerably lower cost than any of the systems we're now talking about), as is the ability to copy specified parameters. But I think Jake already knows that....



All that tells me is that he has never worked on a high end title with a demanding cameraman and/or director. 40 hours is generally considered a "budget" DI. 80 hours is generally considered a "quality" DI. Less than that - certainly less than 40 hours - and you're cutting corners, not allowing yourself revision passes that are usually used for really finessing the image, or both. Simple scene matching, even with some secondary isolations, can be done quickly if the colorist is either working alone or with a very cooperative client. I've done features in as little as 2 days myself. And I would call them "passable." But I wouldn't call them finely crafted, or even close to perfected. On a high end DI, perfection is what's called for. And that takes time, no matter how fast you think you are.

Good to know, thanks for sharing. Boy there sure is a lot of inconsistency depending on who you talk to. Appreciate the information... and also that you have also worked at a reduced schedule... Im not saying it was great either... but compared to what it looked like originally, it was a big difference... and definitely worth what they paid.

my other experience WAS on a Scratch... and it took the guy (Senior colorist from Davinci bg) a month off and on to get it right... so agreed, operator is the key.

thanks again for perspective

 

[Tim Whitcomb]

Mike. I didn't mentioned Scratch, as I was comparing the high end systems to Color. But I still find it curious an inability of Baselight to perform the simple task of copying just one parameter. Baselight can copy whole layers. Their suggested workaround is to copy the layer and then delete unneeded parameters. Not very good for such great system...
Tim. The answer to your question is I got the info from my personal experience, while working at Hollywood post houses and from my friends working in the same field. Are you saying, that Company 3 or RIOT does their features in such a short timeframe? Where are you getting this information? You'd been in the business a while. So, even if you're not a colorist yourself, you must know, that most of the time on this kind of low budget $2500 student feature will be spent on conforming and dealing with "issues". If someone has everything conformed and ready to go, then I have no problem with doing it in two days. Pablo, even being wickedly fast, wouldn't make this kind of a project any faster or any less painful.
Oh yeah, last thing. All high end grading systems more or less contain the same "copy the grade from the timeline and apply" functionality as Pablo, but at much lower price point. Baselight recently enabled new video scratchpads, which can be used for a quick store and recall with just one button. You can then even see your current scene with all 10 saved in the scratchpad settings applied up on the screen. Very useful and powerful...

Thanks Jake. I appreciate this perspective as Im still learning... As a producer, I like to know every aspect, mainly so I don't get ripped off... so again thanks for taking the time to chime in. Appreciate the perspective.
Sounds like I got some bad info...

 

[M Most]

and also that you have also worked at a reduced schedule...

Having worked for a number of years on television series, I can tell you that television programs are ALWAYS on a "reduced" schedule. In most cases, one hour shows are completed in 10-12 hours, including laydown (which is, in most cases, and in all cases when using a DaVinci 2K, in real time). Some allow 16 hours, some max out at 10. The reality shows that go through color correction (a lot of them do, I did a number of "Biggest Loser" episodes a few years ago) usually have to get done in 8 hours, complete. There aren't a lot of colorists, even in L.A., that can do that. But all colorists working in high end television are trained for speed, and everyone has their own bag of tricks. The funny thing is that when I got to Florida a few years ago, I color corrected a couple of TV movies that were shot on video cameras (Varicam, as I recall). I was asked how long the 90 minute movie would take, and I said 2 days. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy, and all of them said that was impossible, it would take at least 3 and possibly 4 days. Well, I finished the color correction in about 12 hours, and that included developing some custom looks for some flashback scenes. Everyone was amazed, but I explained that this was simply what I do. But I did find out that outside of L.A. post houses, that kind of speed is very, very rare, primarily because longform is not the bread and butter work, so nobody really develops working methods around it. When you have to do something, as long as you have the experience and talent, you figure out how to budget your time and get it done. But it's not as simple as it seems.

 

[Alex Ferrari]

[SIZE=-1]Looking for an experienced and artistic color correctionist/grader for a low budget independent feature comedy currently in post production. The film was shot on the RED One camera. We are based in Los Angeles, CA.

We need someone who has the proper equipment/programs (Scratch, Da Vinci, etc), not someone using Final Cut or Avid color.

We only have $2,500.00 to spend on color correction so please do not reply if you are looking for more money. Wish we had more to spend.

Great movie, great chance to really showcase your talent with color!

Please send me a message with your contact info, resume, and if possible links to examples of your work.

Thanks!


[/SIZE]

Check out our RED color grading reel, you might be interested: http://www.numbrobot.com/color.html

 

[Emery Wells]

Good discussion here guys. As a colorist myself and someone who has worked with many colorists, I can tell you that everyone is different, everyone has a different pace. Grading a feature in 2 days certainly sounds like a slap job to me. We typically will spend 5 days for an indie and even then we find ourselves picking up an extra day or two to fine tune.

The creative process doesn't happen instantly. You need time to grade something, live with it, and then change it. We VERY often will go back to a scene that we graded earlier in the movie and completely change it based on a decision we made later in the movie. Gotta let the scenes 'stew' for a bit before you are sure they are just right.

Speed also really depends on the level of detail a colorist goes into. When we started working with big agency clients several years ago we would get some complaints because things were taking too long. We might spend a whole day on a 30 second spot and meanwhile Company 3 would do the same spot in 3 hours. What I later came to realize is we were doing *too good* of a job. Every request the client made we would oblige. This often required 10 layers of grading on every shot, some with detailed roto. We've since gotten much better at 'managing' client request and helping them understand what is a simple change, and what is a 4 hour change.

Bottom line is the amount of time you spend on something is really all over the map. It's highly dependent on the source material, the client, and the colorist. I've done a 30 second spot in 1 hour and I've done others that take a whole day. I've done feature that took 14 hours, and features that have taken 90 hours. It's really quite difficult for a producer to bid a job because there are so many variables that are often not fully clear until you get started.