Question about hiring a "colorist"?

D

david_p

Veteran
I've shot and edited a 90 minute feature film and will have audio and video in place by about Nov 1st, 2017. its not my project as i don't own any rights but I'm heavily involved.

i "may" do the grading myself in Davinci and the people involved would like me to but I'm very curious & interested in seeing what someone that does this for a living would do to it.

QUESTION...

if the management for this director/writer approaches people or companies that do final film grading... is it fair to expect that a company would do up a *sample* of about 30 seconds from 5-6 supplied clips to show what they might do?

1--could we expect a colorist to be eager to show their abilities on 30 seconds supplied for the chance to get the job? (kind of like a discovery meeting)
2--should we expect to have to pay some *CASH* to get that 30 second sample of 6 clips? some that are challenging, rough and need a bit of work with face tracking masks etc?
3--assuming a colorist is hired...should we expect that the director/writer/actor = (same guy) would be allowed in the room with the colorist for some of the time? all of the time? NONE of the time to observe progress? (please elaborate on how this typically works)?

this is not a hollywood movie. its and independent that has spent a fair amount of cash.

the budget for the colorist could be up to **15k** (?) but **WE** are going to NEED to know what to expect from the colorist and not just hire on blind faith.

this is my first experience with this as well as all involved. i would appreciate any and all help & guidance!

the film is a whacky comedy with a very mild Christian overtone with a great amount of absurdity.

thanks!!
david
 
Hi David,

It's not uncommon when looking for a colorist to have them do a rough sample grade perhaps as you say for management to make sure the person can do the job, I've done it before a few times in the past before. But management also shouldn't then specifically pick a colorist based on samples sent back because they didn't like the look the colorist came up with on his own, etc.. as once you were to actually commit to the colorist you will no doubtingly get into the conversation of what kind of look you're going for, discuss and review references, and likely sit in on the initial "live" grading sessions. So that approach of asking for 30 second sample is a bit of a catch 22 and I find that people who do this end up treating the whole thing like picking color swatches rather then recognizing the skill behind the colorist, etc.. but at the same time I realize you kind of need something to go off of. It's really good you are asking this information now, upfront, and trying to learn about it.

Yes, usually when you hire a colorist you would sit in on the grading session. Definitely at least the initial ones to establish the base look and narrow things down. How I work is to go through scene by scene and establish these base looks, you need the input, direction and approval on them first. Afterwards, the colorist can work by themselves to start matching cuts and coloring on a cut by cut bases along with 2nd and 3rd round passes to tweak and polish. you could probably sit in on all of that if you really wanted to, but I think you would be bored out of your skull - to give you an idea I've spent as high as 40 hours on a 8 minute short film from beginning to end coloring it. No director/producer I met really wants to sit through it all.

I've also done some completely remote work where I'll send a variety of "looks" applied to a few shots in a scene by email and then we start discussions to narrow things down and we discuss more about what fits the mood or emotional tone of the story, then I start working on the film. I've even done remote screen sharing sessions with voice conferencing, we are no longer bound or limited by distance!

Not to get too much into budget, but for example a very high profile company that is known for color might charge around $350 per finished minute of film that needs to be colored. It could be higher or it could be lower depending on the work that is needed, but any brick and mortar company with a coloring suite, comfy couch and cappuccino machine is going to be on the higher side when compared to a freelance artist. Having said that, post companies can make deals on the work if the film is of a larger profile for example - so there are many factors that can go into getting to the a final cost.

Hopefully this gives you some idea, and if you're interested to contact me further about working on your project let me know. I can send you my company's website and some demo links. :beer:

Dennis
 
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hi starcentral,

thanks for this very informative reply! you make good logical points. ill pass this along to management and the top guy.

thanks again!
david_p
 
$15k is plenty for an indie feature. You probably will work with a colorist who has his own set-up at his place/small office. That said the gear is cheap so it's probably will be very professional. It's best to flat rate the project. Or have the colorist establish the time span. With your $15k you have money for around 2-3 weeks of colorist's time so you are good.
 
Anyone and everyone can attend the colorist session - his/her back is to you anyway (but know that it will take longer with all of the input). btw - tracking color correction is common and not considered a specialty (by those that do it for a living). In fact, almost every good colorist will use masks and tracking in every session whether or not you ask for it (if I understood your question correctly).
 
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