Alana Cotton is a colorist at Auckland, New Zealand-based Images & Sound, a full-service post house covering editorial, grading, visual effects, Foley, composition, ADR, mixing and deliverables. It’s been around for 40 years.

Let’s find out more about Cotton and the way she likes to work…

As a colorist, what would surprise people the most about what falls under that title?
When I first started coloring, it was a bit of a dark art (excuse the pun). It was something you had to learn on the job in the suite from other artists. But these days, with the programs being more accessible and tutorials a click away, people have a better understanding of what the job entails. The technical job itself has come into the light, so to speak. So perhaps it’s workflow or emotional support.

Are you sometimes asked to do more than just color on projects?
The systems are constantly evolving, and the color tools available to us are ever-increasing, so there is definitely an expectation to be able to cross over into other departments. I do a little editing, beauty work, graphics addition, paint-outs/comps and other small VFX tweaks.

So yes, while I do some of them when required, I am not always the best person to do it. I have a Flame artist sitting right next door who, with their 20-plus years of experience, is likely to do a more refined and appropriate fix than what I could do.

The same would be reversed with color work. So while the boxes have similar toolsets, the skill and experience of the artist are more important.

What are some recent projects you’ve worked on?
Bad Behaviour by Alice Englert, which premiered in the World Competition at Sundance 2023, and Black Hands, an episodic dramatization of the tragic Bain family murders directed by David Stubbs.

Can you describe a challenging scene from one of them?
Black Hands wasn’t challenging technically (it was shot beautifully by Dave Garbett), but due to the nature of the piece, it was challenging to hit the right note.

The story was very high-profile here, but this was the first time we as a country were really spending any time with the members of the family that was killed. It was important to be tender with the portrayal of the characters as they were real people with surviving family and friends.

Unfortunately, the story is so well-known in this country that it had evolved to the point where it had almost become a punchline in certain spaces. We wanted to remind people of the tragedy and the humanity. We wanted to tell the victims’ story.

How do you prefer to work with the DP/director?
I tend to be led a little by what the creatives prefer. I am aware that I am one small piece at the end of a film that has been crafted over months or even years before me. I bounce quite well off other people, so I am happy to have creatives in the suite when it suits them.

Saying that, being in a dark room can be exhausting if you are not used to it. I do recommend some time away for the health of the piece and yourself.

How do you prefer the DP or director to describe the look they want? Physical examples?
To be honest, whichever way works best for them. I’ve had a director come in with a canister of pearlescent candy pastilles and say, “This is the film we’re making.” I had another director say, “This should feel watery” on a smoky amber tobacco and cyan piece. In this case it meant we needed to give a heightened, translucent feel to the palette.

If a director has seen a film that references the intention, they send stills, or I watch it — whatever is the easiest way for them to convey what they are looking for. It is my job to interpret it. If I don’t understand, it is my job to ask questions and offer suggestions until I do.

Any suggestions for getting the most out of a project from a color perspective?
Light. Time. Early conversations. The earlier you can talk to your colorist, the better. It starts the gestation of ideas, builds trust and can often save you time and money.

Do you provide LUTs for on-set?
I do. Not only is it an incredibly useful tool to help with setting the look early for on-set and editorial, but it’s also a great opportunity for some early conversations with the creatives so that we can get everyone on board and thinking about the color story early on.

How does your process change when working on a film versus episodics versus commercials, etc.?
All forms are inherently storytelling, so it is really just time management.

For commercials, you have more time to really craft a shot, which is important if you only have a few shots to sell your story and (often) more people answer to.

For episodic versus film, this is budget-dependent, but I tend to have a bit more time on a film than on episodic. So it is really just managing the suite time so that you have a cohesive piece at the final grade.

What system do you work on?
FilmLight’s Baselight. We have three rooms set up at Images & Sound to cater to the different deliverables: a 4K DCI grading theater, our 4K HDR suite and a broadcast suite.

What’s your favorite part of color grading?
The evolution. The ideas always move as we solidify the energy of a piece. Often, it’s in those last couple of days — when all of the VFX are in and the creative work is done — when those final little bumps of color need to settle themselves.

Do you have a least favorite? If so, what?
The room. I have a really nice one, but the job is long hours in a dark room looking at multiple screens. It is not that healthy for you, so you really have to love the job to do it.

Why did you choose this profession?
It chose me. I was working as an assistant editor when I applied for a job as a cinetape operator, but it was deemed more appropriate for the color assist role that was going. I fell in love and never left.

If you didn’t have this job, what would you be doing instead?
I suspect that I would still be in this industry, perhaps as an editor or sound mixer, as I like to get lost in the tiny details. Those small increments that change the tone of a piece gently but effectively.

If I wasn’t in the industry, it would be the complete opposite… perhaps a tramping guide. I could very happily spend my days in the fresh air of the maunga (mountains) and diving into waterfalls.

What is the project that you are most proud of?
For short form, it’s a recent collaboration with Tom Gould for Canterbury, New Zealand. Tom is someone whose work I look to for inspiration, and this one felt like a passion piece for him. Each frame was dripped in personality, and it was such a pleasure to grade.

For long form, it’s The Luminaries with DP Denson Baker. It’s a moody, atmospheric, sumptuous period piece. A dream. The way Denson captures light and texture is wondrous, so to paint frames with him for a couple of months (albeit remotely) was incredibly fulfilling.

Where do you find inspiration? Art? Photography? Instagram?
This might sound cheesy, but it’s everywhere. It could be the texture of a dusty footpath, the way the light reflects off a broken bottle, the paint used in a Renaissance masterpiece or a note in a moving musical composition.

I am that annoying person that pulls over on the side of the road to see how the sun is setting over the hillside. I remember biking home one evening when I was working on the biopic Whina with DP Leon Narbey, and I called him and made him go outside and look at the bruised-apricot sky as a reference for a scene we hadn’t quite landed.

Is there a film or show that sticks out to you as an example of great color?
So many. The one that comes to mind right now is last year’s The Batman, colored by Dave Cole. There was clearly a lot of collaboration and trust between the director, the cinematographer and the colorist, and it shows. Gotham City is really its own character, and the color intensified the mood, the grime and the danger of it. There were some brave choices, and they paid off. It was striking.

Any tips or tricks you would like to offer up?
One thing that I am still working on is taking enough breaks, getting some space from the project. It is so easy to get drawn into the finer details that you can lose time very quickly. The ability to step back and refocus is important and often gives you new perspective.

Can you name some technology you can’t live without?
The Baselight Blackboard. It is essentially another limb at this point.

What do you do to de-stress from it all?
Winter dips in the sea, cycling and climbing any of the extinct volcanoes around the city.