Alastor Arnold is a senior colorist at FotoKem, a privately owned post facility that offers digital and film capabilities, including a full-service film lab. They work on features and episodics, providing digital intermediates, dailies, color, audio, visual effects and restoration of classic movies. Its family of companies includes Keep Me Posted, LA Studios, Margarita Mix Hollywood and Margarita Mix Santa Monica. Headquartered in Burbank, FotoKem also has facilities in Atlanta and New Orleans.

Alastor Arnold

Arnold has been with FotoKem since 1998, working on all sorts of projects over that time, including The Green Knight, starring Dev Patel. When asked what would surprise people the most about what falls under the title of colorist, he says, “It’s funny, but sometimes when I say I’m a colorist, people think I color hair.  But once I explain what I do, it surprises people when they understand what it means and how fun it sounds. Being a colorist is definitely one of those rare jobs that’s not a job. Collaborating with artists and being in that creative zone is rewarding and challenging. Even when it’s work, it’s amazing.”

Arnold is clearly someone who loves his job and where he works. Let’s find out more…

You most recently worked on The Green Knight. Can you tell us what it’s about and describe the look?
The film is an adaptation of a 14th century Arthurian poem, “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.” It’s a movie that I find hard to describe, but if I were going to keep it simple, I’d say it’s a story about someone meandering through life who finds adventure and their true self in the process. It is a very meditative film, and I think it’ll stick in a lot of people’s minds for quite some time. I’ve seen it more times than I can count, and I still find myself meditating on it to this day.

How did DP Andrew Droz Palermo and director David Lowery describe their vision to you?
Neither Andrew nor David provided any references when we started the look development. Andrew had shot some test footage before he headed to Ireland, and we sat together with David in the DI theater and came up with a look together, organically.

Andrew guided me as to what he was going for in terms of tone curve, color bias, etc., and we fine-tuned until everybody was happy. It’s a very dark, bold-looking film, and I consider it some of my best work as a colorist.

What was it shot on?
ARRI Alexa 65.

Can you talk more about how the look was developed?
Like the look of the film, I think the grade can be seen as dark, bold, and adventurous too. Some scenes are riding complete darkness, with only pin points of eye light visible, while others embrace rich hues and saturation. One of the things I love about the film is the number of looks that it embraces; it’s certainly one of the most visually stunning and diverse films I’ve had the pleasure of contributing to. I hope as many people as possible get to see it in the theater where I feel the grade will be appreciated the most.

Was there a particular scene that was more challenging than others?
The Christmas Day scene where Gawain first meets the Green Knight in the great hall probably involved the most time and effort. It’s a very long, pivotal sequence with many story points and different looks. Also, being the beginning of the story and setting up why Gawain goes on his journey, it needed to grab the audience and resonate with them for the adventure that follows.

The film embraces mood and weight, and I worked with Andrew and David to incorporate that ethos. Some shots have layers of little tweaks and shapes that all add up, and I think this scene is a great example of how I was able to support Andrew and David’s creative vision for the film.

What are some other projects you’ve worked on recently?
So many! Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar was a blast. It was a big color movie, and everybody involved made it fun and creatively fulfilling. Bad Trip was also a lot of fun. It was a challenge to make all the “hidden camera” footage look as the best as it could, but it all came together beautifully. Lastly, Sean Baker’s new film Red Rocket, which just premiered at Cannes this year, is a stunning film, beautifully shot on anamorphic 16mm film, and I can’t wait for the world to see it!

Bad Trip

Can you talk about providing things beyond color?
There are elements that would have been considered visual effects deliverables years ago but are now expected in the color bay. I’m also often involved in conversations with cinematographers about deciding on the right camera for a project, setting up dailies workflows, and even technical conversations about hardware, software and room design.

You have been busy with projects even during the shutdown. Can you talk about working remotely or in a bubble of sorts? How did that affect your process?
It’s an interesting question, and I’d say that it depends on a lot of factors. One common issue is the client’s viewing environment. FotoKem can send out calibrated displays for client review needs, but sometimes there’s no time or budget for it, and you hope that whatever the client is looking at is at least a close approximation of what you’re seeing in the bay.

The great thing is that consumer displays and mobile devices are getting to the point where they can be very close to reference, but there are myriad potential issues regarding settings and calibration that can muck stuff up.

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar

There are generally two ways that I’ve worked remotely: live streaming or review links. They both have pros and cons, and both have proven valuable during the pandemic. Live streaming is great because it’s interactive and you can often get things done more efficiently working that way. It’s nice to get instant feedback as you’re working, and I think it’s a more collaborative experience overall. However, there are issues with live streaming, like scheduling. You need to make sure everybody is available, that the streaming encoders are on tap, that everybody has sufficient internet bandwidth and a few other details.

Review links have advantages too. Namely, if everybody is happy with the work, you can get things done much faster. It’s also more affordable and allows people to review and give notes on their own schedules. The downside of review links is that it can involve more back and forth to get things perfectly dialed in sometimes, whereas if you were in the room together, it would be easy to just wiggle a knob until the client felt it was correct. In the end, there is no perfect system. You just have to use the best options for each project individually.

What system do you work on?
Exclusively Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve, and I’ve worked extensively on Quantel and Mistika systems in the past. I don’t choose a system based on the project. Colorists are often tasked with things that fall outside of color like visual effects, titling, editing, etc. Resolve is very capable in all those arenas, even sound.

What’s your favorite part of color grading?
Just being creative. I couldn’t imagine a more perfect way for me to spend my time if I tried. It’s like somebody literally designed the perfect job for me. The hours are long, and it can be a lot of pressure, but the fact that my input, ideas and execution are sought out and appreciated makes being a colorist one of the best jobs in the world.

Do you have a least favorite? If so, what?
The waiting. Working on film and TV can involve a lot of waiting for delivery of visual effects, graphics, editorial, creative feedback and people stuck in LA traffic. Sometimes there’s a pile of work sitting in front of you, but you can’t start until one of those elements or people shows up.

Why did you choose this profession?
I wouldn’t say I chose this profession; I’d say it chose me. I started at FotoKem over 25 years ago while going to school studying computer sciences. I love film and technology, and the company helped me schedule work around my classes. But as I became more and more exposed to the craft of color grading at work, I shifted my goals and decided to pursue being a colorist full-time.

If you didn’t have this job, what would you be doing instead?
I like to make weird experimental films with my free time, so maybe I’d choose to pursue that full time. I guess I’d still be sitting in front of a computer bending pixels all day, so I’m not sure this is a fair answer but I’m sticking with it.

FotoKem grading suite

Where do you find inspiration?
You never know where or when inspiration will strike. I’m always motivated to do better when I see my colleagues’ work, but motivation for color ideas is a little harder to nail down. Recently, I was at The LA County Museum of Art and saw an amazing exhibition of Bill Viola’s room-sized video installation “Slowly Turning Narrative.” I found it completely mesmerizing and inspirational. Originally exhibited in 1992, the piece uses dual projection onto opposite sides of a rotating, double-sided screen, of which one side is matte and the other a mirror. The video slowly tears apart and scatters off the room’s walls in the most beautiful and profound way. I thought it was such an interesting physical way of manipulating video and a great reminder that there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

Can you name three pieces of technology you can’t live without?
My Kindle, because reading is where it’s at when you’re not watching movies.

Spotify, because when you’re not reading or watching movies, music is where it’s at.

Lastly, I guess I should throw in the classic answer, my iPhone. There is no way in hell I could enjoy all that modern life has to offer without it.

What do you do to de-stress from it all?
I’m a people person, so hanging out with friends and family helps me recenter and relax. Hiking, bike riding, skateboarding and boogie boarding are also activities I enjoy and find reinvigorating.