Film Colourist

Picture Shop is a global, artist-driven post production company that provides filmmakers with unparalleled creative picture and sound services and cutting-edge technology across features, episodic, unscripted, and commercials.

If you'd like to find out more about flim colourists please keep reading. Otherwise, this page is primarily for SEO purposes so you can ignore its contents and go straight to checking out our work for Feature Films, Episodic, Unscripted and Commercials.

For general enquiries, please email us at info@pictureshop.com.

You may also wish to contact our Sales team or visit our locations across the US, UK and Canada.

Why Choose a Professional Film Colourist?

Colour has the power to transform a picture and transfix an audience, which is why it’s such an important element of any project. With a professional film colourist on your team, you can ensure that shades, tones and hues depicted on screen convey the narrative and contribute to the picture’s visual storytelling.

With specialist knowledge and training, professional film colourists bring unrivalled skill and expertise to your project. 

In addition to this, colour artists use advanced tools and technology to elevate the quality of your picture, working in collaboration with the filmmakers.

What Does a Colourist Do in Film?

A colourist’s role varies depending on the needs of the filmmakers. In some instances, a colourist may work with the director and cinematographer from the outset to create the film’s colour palette and determine how colour will be used as part of the picture’s storytelling process, for example. 

In post production, a film colourist will use state-of-the-art technology and precision techniques to adjust the colour on screen. This may mean making minor changes to eradicate errors or it could mean drastically altering the chroma and luminescence to change the mood of the shot. Similarly, colourists will modify shades and tones to achieve ‘shot matching’, which improves consistency and quality.

The Art of Film Colour Grading

Colour grading may sound deceptively simple but it’s much trickier than it seems – especially for longer content that requires extensive, intricate colour grading to achieve consistency from frame to frame. 

While today’s colour artists use high-tech tools and software to achieve a desired look, colour grading has been around for decades in one form or another. Traditionally, colour analysers were used to enable artists to modify colour and brightness but the level of modification was limited. More risk-taking colourists may have resorted to bleach bypasses, flashing or forced developments to try and alter the colour of a picture but, unlike today, there was no ‘back’ button to revert changes!

The technology that we use today has, of course, revolutionised the way colour is used in film and enables colour artists to employ colour in a more adventurous and effective way. With aesthetic choices determining the mood of the film and correction techniques used to perfect each frame, colour artists have become a critical element of any film production.

Film Colourist Services

A film colourist may employ a variety of techniques and tools when working on a project.

Colour correction refers to fixing problematic areas to make them appear as they naturally should, while colour grading is the process of modifying colours to create a particular look or feel. Similarly, HDR grading refers to modifying the colour and contrast across a higher dynamic range (HDR) to deliver more depth and detail. 

Transform Your Film in Our Studios

To find out how a film colourist at Picture Shop can assist on your next project or to request colour correction or grading services, get in touch with us at info@pictureshop.com