S
o then… Colours titillate you.
Rainbows mesmerize you and the
vibrancy of our visual existence
brings you nothing but joy. You
love how green the grass is, how
comforting the azure heavens can be. You
marvel at how grey skies or bright sunshine
affects people’s mood. There’s inspiration in
everything and an added appreciation for the
world around you. If this is the case, perhaps
being a Film Colourist is a career worth
considering.
Something of an unsung hero in the industry,
film colourists have so far garnered little to no
reputation. And yet, if you ask any director
or cinematrographer, they’ll admit that this
career, the hero of hue, the king of contrast, is
vital when adding to the creative scope of any
project. All by enhancing the visual detail of a
story with a dab of colour here, adjusting the
tint there. A little bit of contrast, less gamma,
more brightness. Basically, you’ll have heaps
of things to fiddle with.
A good start for getting into this career is to
have a deep appreciation for the colours of
life. Tom Reiser, Film Colourist at EFILM in
Hollywood remarks how people who want to
do this sort of job should, “…look and observe
everything. Go out in nature, in crowds, just
look at everything in different lights.” Sounds
awesome, right?
Then again, most film colourists will tell you
the hours are exhausting both physically and
mentally. The upswing being how the outcome
can be awe-inspiring and, in the end, quite
rewarding. It’s a chance to help tell a story by
giving it more character and, in most cases,
a unique ‘feel’ simply by fine-tuning certain
optical aspects.
If you must know, the first colour films were
released in 1935. Originally, these films were
made with three-strip colour palettes, used to
give us movies such as The Wizard of Oz (1939)
and Gone with the Wind (1939). The use of
colour grading helped alter and enhance the
narratives of these films, implementing a look
and feel reflecting the tone of the respective
flicks.
The impact this career has is clear to see in
the washed-o WBw&VV