Career as a colourist

What does a career as a colourist entail?

Today, the use of different forms of video technology has become important in the creation of spectacular content experiences. Advanced video technologies improve the qualitative aspects of filmmaking, as they ensure lifelike and crisp visuals paired with immersive sound experience, simpler editing tools, and various digital ways to distribute a content piece. Understanding the importance of quality video in TV shows, movies, music, and games is pivotal for filmmakers, music producers, or game designers to be able to give an enriched content experience to the viewers.

Visual is the use of images to represent ideas. Visuals can be incredibly helpful in conveying complex things quickly and easily. With fast-evolving content consumption habits, consumers are paying closer attention to the quality of the visuals they watch. It is the ultra-vivid colours and incredible brightness and contrast that make entertainment come alive.

Under the broader term of visual technology, the role of a colourist is of utmost importance. A colourist helps viewers build a deeper connection with the stories and characters they love. They work directly with the director and the director of photography on the palette of a movie and help decide the mood and look of the film by defining its colours. So, if you’re interested in demonstrating and utilising your creativity, a study in the art of being a colourist is your calling.

A colourist improves the engagement of content by applying permutations and combinations of ultra-vivid colours, sharper contrast, and richer details, thereby unlocking the full potential of HDR technologies and giving viewers a dynamic picture quality. When they use the right colour combinations, surprising new details that would otherwise get lost are revealed. Whether to use milky colours or primary ones, whether the palette has to be muted or bright, colourists contribute to these looks by changing the luminance levels (brightness) and chroma (colour).

A colourist must be proficient with creative know-how and have expertise in operating technical systems associated with the workflow. He/she must have experience with and training in the art of colours. It is always helpful to read literature on colour theory and study manuals on the industry-standard colour grading tools.

For more dedicated learning, there are various courses in India such as the diploma course in Colour Grading at Shemaroo Institute of Film and Technology in Mumbai. Similarly, Davinci Media College in Chennai and Digital Film School in Mumbai also offer courses in colour grading.  

There are many verticals that fall within the ambit of being a colourist, such as DI Colourist-Feature Films, DI Colourist-Short Films and Ad Films, On Location-Colour Supervisor, Colour Grader, Colour Editor, Digital Cinema Support Engineer, among many other profiles.