By Randi Altman
Colorist Rory Gordon has always had an interest in photography. In fact, while studying at RIT’s School of Film and Animation she focused on cinematography in addition to imaging and processing/technical courses. It was that overlap of art and science that drew her in.
Currently a senior colorist/color theorist at LA’s Arsenal, she is continuing that path, testing workflows along with making good-looking television. She is also a SMPTE volunteer and this year will be presenting a paper called “The Color Compass: A Color Navigation System in a Dynamic Deliverable World.”
Rory Gordon color graded the HBO series Lovecraft Country.
“I got involved with SMPTE because I needed to find other deep-niche nerds with the same laser focus on color reproduction I could bounce ideas off,” explains Gordon. “Being able to just ping someone and ask, ‘Can you help me calculate this?’ or ‘Is there a metric for this thing I’m observing?’ is a huge relief. At a certain level, the questions we have aren’t really Google-able. It’s great to have a database of articles I can search but also real human beings to talk to. For example, Catherine Meininger at Portrait Displays helped me with some calculations I had in my 2020 paper.”
That paper focuses on a color navigation system, which is basically a tool (and a set of vocabulary) for communicating color needs that was developed using the same principles as chroma encoding. “Instead of simply saying “make this thing cooler” or “make this warmer,” the vocabulary in the color compass system allows people to specify how hue needs to change and whether it’s because of a creative desire or because a new LUT/incorrect monitor setting is leading to clipping errors. The simplest breakdown is, “Warmth and coolness have two axes. Let’s use both of them to describe hue more completely.”
We reached out to Gordon, whose credits include Lovecraft Country, Manhunt: Deadly Games, Raising Dion, Counterpart, The Tick, The Good Doctor and Waco, to find out more.
How did you move from cinematography to color grading?
Color was something that always felt like a good fit to me, and as I moved from on-set work toward being a colorist, I started to self-study some fundamentals like pre-calc and basic chemistry and physics — anything that had to do with the natural laws of light. I would find something interesting, it would be over my head, and then I’d go, “Well I guess I have to go learn this other thing first.”
I took a couple community college courses at PCC (Pasadena City College). I was working as a dailies operator and then dailies colorist, so my sleep schedule was tremendously strange; I think I found the constant studying and looking for tools to be very soothing while I was on edge every day waiting for a call time. At the time, I still didn’t think I was capable of being an anything-scientist, let alone a color scientist. I just genuinely love light and wanted to learn more about the reproduction of color.
How did being a cinematographer influence your work now?
I think starting in photography/cinematography is absolutely invaluable to the work I do now. I think I am very architectural in how I look at light, I ask, “How was this image assembled? What are the structurally important pieces of the picture? Does this pool of light draw my eye?” I take the pieces and try to emphasize what was intended and serve the original visual idea from set.
My set experience also allows me to imagine what would have been a challenge on set and what they might want to boost.
Rory Gordon in her Arsenal color suite
When did you join Arsenal, and how did your path there lead to color science?
I joined in 2012, and I’m very grateful that the team here really recognized and encouraged my aptitude for color workflow and testing in addition to calibration. I had worked with Randy Starnes when he was at Sony Colorworks doing dailies on shows he was finishing. He was extremely generous with his knowledge. After he joined Arsenal, he brought me along.
Larry Field, one of the founders/partners at Arsenal, encouraged me to become involved with clients’ increasing needs in HDR, including testing new LUTs and getting familiar with the components of them, EOTFs (nonlinear electro-optical transfer function) and the like. Colorfront’s Bill Feightner said to me, “You should check out the Barten contrast sensitivity function if you really want to see what’s in PQ (the HDR transfer function Perceptual Quantizer and standard SMPTE ST 2084).” And then I spent a year trying to read the book and fill in the gaps of my technical knowledge until I could understand it. I say it took me a year to read the first chapter.
In 2016, around the time I did my first work in HDR, I got the bug to write up some of my observations on how lighting ratios change between SDR and HDR. I presented a paper at SMPTE 2018, where David Long from RIT was my session chair, along with Sally Hattori, who was the co-chair. I had zero experience with technical writing at the time and they really helped me focus the data I collected.
They showed me how I could use my unique production experience as a valuable thing in itself, enhanced by data collection and the research process. This year I will be presenting my second paper. In 2020 I am almost comfortable calling myself a color scientist, although probably “applied color scientist” is more accurate.
Can you tell us more about your role at Arsenal?
At Arsenal, part of my job is to validate new builds of software in addition to new color-related hardware, like scopes, panels and monitors. Monitor calibration is another interest of mine, in addition to proofing and iterating workflows. I enjoy driving around new color science and sharing with the team.
But my primary responsibility is pushin’ pixels and color-grading gorgeous shows.
Where do you typically find inspiration?
I am inspired by a lot of different mediums, even physics, and how light happens in the real world. I love to listen to lectures I don’t understand. I love to garden. I also enjoy acrylic and gouache paintings and keeping up with concept artists and art directors in animation. My partner is a storyboard artist at DreamWorks, and I love seeing the work they are doing — color use in animation is so fun for me to experience.
Additionally, I love following makeup artists and seeing how folks are able to paint illusions of light directly on a face.
Lovecraft Country
Have you been working through COVID? If so, can you talk about working remotely and name some projects?
I am finishing up Lovecraft Country for HBO, which is airing Sunday nights at 9pm. I have been working on it for most of the pandemic and did the first passes from my home studio via a proxy workflow. It was shot by Rob McLachlan and Michael Watson, who are both truly wonderful photographers. The showrunner is Misha Green, who has a tremendous vision and an eye for detail that I really admire. I am extremely proud of the work I’ve done with all three of them and grateful we’ve been able to collaborate remotely. Arsenal has been doing remote sessions since 2012, so while the process had to evolve and mature, the groundwork was fairly well-laid.
I also did Manhunt: Deadly Games, which is being released on CBS. It premiered September 21st, shot by John Lindley, another fantastic DP.
How would you describe the look of Lovecraft Country? Did you work directly with the director and DP?
The look of Lovecraft Country is really in the negative already from Rob and Michael’s photography. The color is just being true to that and delivering the most rich, cinematic version possible. We also aimed for really immersive contrast that gives you deep texture without losing anything in compressed shadows, especially as a horror show with a lot of moody, atmospheric elements.
Lovecraft Country
Above all else, the look is badass skin tone, which is at the direction of showrunner Misha Green, who has an incredible eye for detail. As I’ve come to think of it, we wanted to see the blood pumping in everyone’s veins. We were very collaborative from the beginning of the camera test, and Rob, Michael and Misha were all very involved throughout the process.
There is such a marriage of the practical choices through post processing, from art and effects to lensing and lighting, I tried to play all of that up and really emphasize those decisions. For example, in Episode 8, Rob told me early on this would be the hottest day of the year, so we should “save a little heat” for that one. That was a very fun note to implement. It’s such a deep world that was built with such care, one simply doesn’t need to editorialize.
Any challenges or interesting tidbits about working on the show?
We didn’t begin our final passes with Misha until the pandemic and lockdown happened, so we set up a calibrated screening room for her in order to facilitate our screenings. By and large we had a very successful season working remotely. Really, once we figured out the phone etiquette for talking on speaker phone with two or three people in multiple locations, we were golden. Arsenal has been doing remote sessions since 2012.
What was it shot on, and what system did you use? How about your at-home studio during COVID?
The show was shot using the Sony Venice camera, which I’ve come to be extremely fond of. I work on Autodesk Lustre, but at this point the color correction software is really just a detail. I’m happy with any platform that allows me to handle material quickly and efficiently.
I installed blackout curtains on three out of four walls in my home office, which created a very nice little studio, and use the same monitor I work on at Arsenal (the Sony X310) and the same bias light we use in our color bays. I was able to test the client stream as well from Clearview Flex and check to see fidelity between that feed and the feed straight out of my box. This inspired a lot of confidence.
All these Lego pieces are the same as they were before COVID; we just had to take a breath and verify we had them in line properly from the home studio.
Rory’s home studio assistant
Over your time in the industry, have you seen the number of female colorists grow? If so, what do you think has happened to open that door to females and others?
All the female colorists I have encountered have been extremely supportive and open with sharing information and cheering each other on. I met Lynette Duensing, who is senior colorist at LA’s Instinctual, through Randy, and her guidance has been such a source of strength. In addition, watching how Lynette encourages mentees year after year and actively seeks out young folks is really inspiring. I am now connected with many of her other mentees, and it’s been wonderful to watch some of those relationships evolve from a formal mentor/mentee to “here’s another badass colleague who can stand on her own.”
I think as transparency about our differences increases, that enables the general workforce to stop “othering” people and placing them in only one box. Nobody wants to be “that woman colorist,” or insert any descriptor. We just want to be “that great colorist.” Yes, of course, people are different because they are XYZ, but if we can make way for folks to show up as they are instead of spending all their mental energy camouflaging, that can only make the work better and the process more enjoyable.
I think especially as a white woman with my own privilege, it’s my responsibility to make way for other minorities, and not only in small quantities. People need to be around humans that have shared experiences, so I think efforts like Renard Jenkins’ SMPTE Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are truly critical. It’s hard to be the only person of a certain kind somewhere. Actively pursuing more equity and greater pools of different backgrounds enables folks to let their guard down and learn better if they’re not alone. Everyone wins.
On that note if anyone is reading this and needs some guidance… please Google me and get in touch.
Don’t forget to tune in and watch Gordon present her paper during the SMPTE Technical Conference on Tuesday, November 10, 8:15pm–8:45pm UTC. Check out some other speakers and sessions here on the newly redesigned SMPTE website. This year’s conference theme is Game On, and a full day will be focused on the convergence of esports/gaming and media technology.
