Mystery makes people uncomfortable; it reminds them how much of life they CAN’T CONTROL.

4️⃣ While some online editors may also handle basic color work, dedicated colorists focus entirely on grading, as it’s a full-time, specialized role.

5️⃣ If you’re aiming to excel as a colorist, that’s where your focus should be!

2️⃣ Online Editor: Works with the original camera files, using the editor's EDL/XML to assemble the final sequence.

3️⃣ Creative editors typically work with proxies, so online editors bring back high-quality footage for colorists.

🎞️ Online Editor vs. Colorist 🎨
These roles are often confused but are very distinct in post-production.

1️⃣ Colorist: Focuses on color grading and shaping the final aesthetic of the footage.

Once you have this setup, you'll be BETTER EQUIPPED for color grading.

Hope this helps!

7. Ensure your monitor can accept LUTs or invest in a LUT box for external LUT loading.

6. Once calibrated, you'll create a display LUT to load into your monitor, ensuring color accuracy.

You're gonna need:

A breakout box like the BMD Mini Monitor; it's affordable and removes the OS from the color equation.
A calibrated monitor; use a probe like the i1 Display Pro for calibration. Avoid lesser tools like Spyder.

5. To work in a neutral room with D65 lights and a grey background to prevent color bias from the lighting and walls.

4. Understand that you may need to compromise as you upgrade your setup; the key is to recognize how you're compromising.

3. When correcting on iMacs, remember that settings like color profiles and night shift can affect your work.

2. Consider using an iPad Pro; they're considerd well-calibrated and provide a good reference for color accuracy.

Wanna Improve Your Color Grading With BETTER Equipment?

Here's How: (A THREAD)

7. You can quickly lower the contrast node opacity from 75% to 60%, simple and efficient!

These methods speeds up client approvals and keep your workflow organized.

4. For contrast, make the image too contrasty, then dial opacity to 75%.

5. This ensures that each part of your grade is independent and easy to tweak.

6. When clients ask for changes (like less contrast), adjusting is a breeze with independent nodes.

#ColorGrading Tips: Control Each Adjustment Like a Pro

1. Always do one adjustment per node. Basic rule, but essential.

2. Use separate nodes for contrast, saturation, color correction, grading, and power windows.

3. Push each adjustment a little too far, then dial back the opacity to refine.

Just my two cents from working with different types of clients! :)

9. If you’ve built trust with a client, they usually give you more freedom to work.

10. True collaboration happens when both sides trust each other and exchange creative ideas.

11. There's a fine line between collaboration and micro-management. Aim for balance.

6. Directors often provide less useful feedback, while DPs offer good input on lighting and color composition.

7. New clients unfamiliar with color grading tend to rely on you without offering detailed feedback.

8. It's crucial not to influence the cut so much that it feels like your film.

3. However, movie references aren’t perfect as everyone has seen different films.

4. Vague replies on tone or scene breakdowns are quite common, which can slow down the process.

5. Commercial clients usually give clear, direct notes—some of the best, in my opinion.

🎯 The Art of Feedback: Guiding Colorists with Effective Notes 🎯

1. I love when clients clearly articulate what they want from the color session.

2. Reference pictures work well, and movie references can help too.

🤝 Communicate effectively with directors, clients, and DPs for better teamwork.

📋 Stay organized with nodes, project names, footage, and exports.

🤠 Have fun! Enjoy the creative process and make it cathartic.

🔍 Keep learning, always stay curious and experiment.
FIN :)

📷 Learn your cameras, codecs, and bitrates to set footage expectations.

🚫 AVOID LUTS at first, create your looks to gain deeper understanding.

🖥️ Get comfortable with your software, know shortcuts to speed up your workflow.

📂 Practice importing footage; XML, and delivering projects properly.

📱 Facebook groups and Reddit can teach you from others’ mistakes and solutions.

🚀 It's your time to make mistakes—learn, don’t rush to flex on social media.

🎨 Color Management can be complex but becomes easier over time.

🔍 Understand your monitor tools: waveform, vectorscope, etc.

⏳ The process is long, but it’s worth it; start small.

🐢 Crawl before you walk, practice comes before perfection.

🌐 Use the internet to devour knowledge; blogs, YouTube, and social media

⚡ Beginner Colorist's Starter Guide ⚡

🎨 Let people know you're color grading; practice on friends' projects for experience.

💰 Don’t worry about money at first, focus on getting your name out.

🎬 Watch films with a critical eye, study how different genres use color to tell stories.

3) Finals Colorist: is

11. Everyone’s dream role!
12. Finalize the project's color.
13. Manage client expectations and deadlines.
14. You don’t have to be a Finals Colorist to have a successful colorist career! 🤷🏽‍♂️

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2) DIT (Digital Imaging Technician):

8. On-set color guru.
9. Import footage and apply LUTs.
10. Work live with the DP on looks and grades.

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1) Dailies Colorist:

4. Grade all daily footage.
5. Work closely with the DP.
6. Match cameras, flag issues, and establish early looks.
7. Mind-read the DP's vision in color.

So, You Want to Be a Colorist?

1. What type of colorist do you want to be?

2. It’s not just about “Finals Colorist.”

3. Let’s talk about the different roles.

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