What is HDR? Why does it matter? Will it last? And how should we handle it? Kevin Shaw casts some light onto the brights and darks of this tech

The traditional film process of bleach bypass leaves a black and white image superimposed over a color image, a process that results in a distinctive high contrast, harsh, faded look. The technique has been around for a long time and is continually in vogue.

In our industry some looks are becoming so familiar that the value of their effect is diminishing, and becoming mundane. Any look is striking the first time, but with increased viewing the interest wanes. Most colorists consequently search for more creative approaches that are more engaging for the viewer and add deeper meanings. In short we look for fresh visual metaphors. 

Most colorists have had a marathon session at some time. At some stage in their career, they all hit the “wall” just like marathon runners. Colorists need to be pro-active in continually developing our techniques and looks to continue to compete.

The theory and practice of the ACES workflow, created to improve and simplify post-production workflow; restore and preserve current motion picture assets; create a standard that is ready for future technologies. 

Sometimes sitting in front of my grading system feels like sitting in a Bugatti Veyron on a motorway with road works and a 30mph limit.

The new tools and features surpass the most optimistic wishlist of 10 years ago, but the impact on grading has been relatively minimal. Why has improvement in tech not lead to advances in grading?

What are one-lights, tech lights, best lights, calibrated scans, in context grades? This covers different terms and workflows used by colorists.

There are three ways to understand what ‘color’ means: impression, expression and construction.

A layer is broadly defined as a set of tools that can be applied in addition to the base grade, usually to a selected part of the image. Secondaries (content based isolations), and windows (geographical based isolations) are really types of layers. But a colorist might also use multiple layers that affect the whole image.

Hardware systems color correctors are usually judged by how many windows they can do. Software systems can have an infinite number of windows, so often their speed is compared. That seems simple enough, but actually it is quite complicated.

Christopher Nolan shot Interstellar on 65mm Imax and intended it to be watched on 70mm prints. What is it like watching this movie on film?

What questions do you need to ask and answer when booking a colorist to grade your project? This list will help make the process easier.

A dissertation on what role colour has played in storytelling since it’s introduction to cinema, through to its role today.

During film production, skin passes through many stages and different scenarios will need different decisions and adjustments. In order to gain a deeper understanding of how the visual appearance of skin is created, reproduced and shaped, this paper explores the different influences on skin which contribute to its final look.

The questions I get most about being a colorist and grading a project