Veteran colorist Kevin Shaw, who spends a lot of his time consulting and teaching through the International Colorist Academy, works on projects through his company Final Color, which provides color grading and restoration services. The very busy Shaw is also founder and president of the five-year-old Colorist Society International, a professional society devoted exclusively to furthering and honoring the professional achievements of the colorist community.

You founded the Colorist Society International. Why was it important for colorists to get their own organization?
As Dale Grahn (a CSI fellow and color timer on such greats as Saving Private Ryan and Gladiator) told me, “Not represented means not recognized.” Many colorists are unhappy with the lack of recognition for our craft. It is a creative craft not simply a technical skill. The main reason for the lack of recognition is that we were not represented. One colorist was never going to change that.

Namibia – The Spirit of Wilderness documentary

Occasionally colorists get full-screen credits above the line, but more often we are told that it has never been done like that. The role of the colorist has changed from transferring film to videotape to conforming, grading, finishing and delivering the master and versions. What used to be called online is now mostly done by the colorist. Colorists in unions get labeled “tape-ops” (in an all-digital age) or sound engineers. There are few awards or even mentions at the awards.

Most of our credits follow catering, drivers and support crew. That is a blow to the ego, but the bigger problem is that, often, the colorist could have averted problems for the production — saving time and money and preserving quality — if only they had been consulted earlier in the process. We need to stand together and make changes that benefit everyone. It sounds like a no-brainer, but our industry is resistant to change. That’s why Colorist Society International focuses on all professional colorists, color scientists and other related skills. At this stage, it is about standing together. Later, we or others can celebrate the elite and the heroes of our profession, but first we need to be recognized as a creative profession.

What are the objectives and functions of CSI?
Colorist Society International (CSI) strives to advance the craft, education and awareness of the art and science of color grading and color correction. It is not a labor union or a guild but an educational and cultural resource. Membership is open to professional colorists, editor/colorists, DITs, telecine operators, color timers, finishers, restoration artists and color scientists. CSI full-member applications are vetted regardless of credits or standing in the community.

How are you working to gain more recognition for colorists?
We are pursuing several initiatives. First, many organizations use the IMDb structure as a template, but colorists are hard to find there. Currently, colorists are listed under several categories. We are in discussions with IMDb to change that and have created the biggest petition they have ever seen asking for a distinct color department. If you have not already voted to support or added a comment, please do so here.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has about a dozen colorists as members, but again they are not recognized as a separate category. They are simply listed as Members at Large.

We also support local chapters, the Colorist Mixer and other events to help colorists help each other. As a professional body, we can now work with event organizations like NAB and IBC to hold colorist-related meetings and seminars. We can also help with visa applications.

OK, let’s talk a bit about your role a colorist. What would surprise people the most about what falls under that title?
Many people in our industry still have the idea that we simply balance images in a timeline, when in fact the job has evolved to include conforming (which was called “online” in the old days) and delivery. Look development is my favorite part of the job. Some people have the misconception that we just stick a LUT on the picture and make that work. We have the internet to thank for that. In fact, it is often the colorist who creates the LUT in the first place.

My personal message is that the look must add value to the project, and I will massage the look to add value to the narrative. Often this means making it easier to follow, but it also involves invoking the right emotions and, sometimes, opinions.

What systems do you work on?
Blackmagic’s Resolve and sometimes Digital Vision’s Nucoda.

Can you name some projects?
Namibia: The Spirit of Wilderness, StreetDance 3D and Monsters.

What else do you provide other than the color grade?
These days, much of my work involves problem-solving. Sometimes, I work with other colorists to help with a new workflow (Academy ACES, for example) or in look development.

I have spent the last three years working as much as I can with HDR, and I often help with HDR projects. Sometimes I get involved with restoration projects where color is important but there is also film damage to address. And then there are the alternative jobs: I spent three years at the BBC as lead technologist relocating its mastering and digitization facilities and optimizing new digital workflows.

How do you prefer to work with the DP/director?
I have always liked having a discussion before the grading session. We exchange sample scenes with ideas and work on the concept. The approach to the grade and the look comes out of that. By the time the session starts, I already have settings that I can dial in overall, and we can focus on detail. I love the detail work. This is working well with the COVID self-isolation, so as much as I prefer having the DP and/or the director in the room, I think more and more of my grading will stay remote.

How do you prefer the DP or director to describe the look they want? Physical examples?
I have stopped asking how they want the project to look. It can lead to some very superficial conversations. With an ACES or color-managed workflow I can see what the DP saw, and it’s great to have that as a starting point.

My questions to them are, “What are you trying to say, and how do you want the audience to feel?” Having said that, I do find mood boards and production scrapbooks very helpful. They show development of ideas in a way that a reference image usually does not. I would add that the thing that makes me most uncomfortable is when someone tries to tell me how to grade rather than what they are trying to achieve.

Any suggestions for getting the most out of a project from a color perspective?
Color and look development are incredibly powerful. There is no doubt that the best results come from involving designers, cinematographer, director and colorist from the start. That way you can lock in the direction, with some flexibility, at the outset so that during shooting, editing and VFX, everyone is seeing the artistic intent. Trying to force a look or change the direction is always a bit of a compromise, although there are good reasons why it can happen. The colorist can polish artistic intent during and after editing and VFX, but this is a team sport; it’s not about egos.

Namibia – The Spirit of Wilderness

Of course, in addition to the creative advice, we must look for technical excellence. With HDR deliveries, I think the skills for shooting film will come back. Use a light meter, capture as much data as possible, think of the capture as an intermediate (film negative) to get what you need. I am a big fan of the Ansel Adams theories on the camera, the negative and the print.

How has the pandemic affected how you work?
With COVID-19, I have recently been reassessing my business, like many other people. I have transitioned my training classes to a live, online format, and I am working on an HDR class for FXPHD. One of the interesting things I have tried is running grading software in the cloud. Monitoring is still a bit of a compromise, but I think we will get past that. Cloud-based post production seems to me a sensible way forward.

What’s your favorite part of color grading?
The part when everyone goes, “Wow!”

Do you have a least favorite part?
Conforming. We all have to do it, but I do not have an editing background. I feel the editor should be able to conform his/her own work

How early on did you know this would be your path?
Like all colorists of my generation, I came to it in a roundabout way. Telecine colorists were very obscure. I studied photography, film and television and began a career as a stills photographer. I discovered motion-picture (telecine) grading while doing a stint as a runner at the Moving Picture Company in London. I was immediately captivated by the possibility of applying my darkroom skills to film without breathing in bromides, cyanides and all sorts of other toxic chemicals.

Where do you find inspiration? Art? Photography? Instagram?
I find inspiration in everything. Art and photography, yes. But also walking down the street and looking. Looking is more than seeing. That’s one reason I love travel. In a strange place, it is easier to observe things for the first time, to make connections and to take notes. I love Adobe Capture for that.

Can you name three pieces of technology you can’t live without? 
My iPhone, my 5.1 surround sound system and my grading system. And my camera… you will have to give me four.

What do you do to de-stress from it all?
I value a good night’s sleep, so it is important to de-stress before going to bed. On a tough day. I will pour a glass of red wine and watch a favorite on TV. I have a large library of DVD and Blu-ray titles as well as Amazon and Netflix. Watching something great reminds me that I love my job.