Picture Shop Leads Color Class for Reel Works Narrative Lab
If you’ve ever watched Wandavision, Bridgerton, or Murder on Middle Beach, then you have seen the work of Picture Shop. This award-winning post-production house has been creating and coloring some of the most beautiful movies and shows out right now.
“Picture Shop New York is proud to support new voices and emerging filmmakers. Meeting the Narrative Lab students was inspiring, and we look forward to seeing their careers develop. The conversation between our colorist, Alex Durie, and the students will hopefully help demystify color grading post-production and allow the students to tap into this tool to help fully realize their creative visions and allow audiences to see their projects exactly as they intend, said Eric Jordan Baker, Director of Marketing at Picture Shop. “Reel Works is an important part of the NY filmmaking community and we’re honored to be a part of it.”
On Wednesday, Picture Shop Colorist, Alex Durie visited the Reel Works Narrative Lab and shared the impact of color in pre and post-production.
“It was so informative, I’ve never thought of color so deeply, or in that way,” said Delilah,16, reflecting on the class, “I saw how it changed the tone of the scene.”
Alex opened up his editing software and took a scene from a show he was currently working on and began shifting highlights and adding colors, creating a shift in tone with every click. The smallest adjustment would make a clear impact.
Rachel, 16, watched on, intrigued, “it was good to watch him work and see him change a video in front of us, so we can decide if a scene should be more happy or gloomy.”
Toward the end of the workshop, Alexander shared a bit about the trajectory of becoming a colorist, from coffee runs to feature documentaries, and his work at Picture Shop.
“My favorite thing about [color grading] is collaborating with filmmakers. When you’re all on the same page, it looks awesome, it’s the best feeling in the world to be able to finalize [the film] in a way they want it to go. I like the collaborative aspects and it’s the last stage of the process where everything comes together. It’s cool that I get to see the culmination of everything right before the film goes out to the world.”
“My first job as a colorist was with student films. Even with professional jobs as a colorist, you start by apprenticeships with a senior colorist. My approach has been to work with the same senior supervising colorists for the past 7 years. I was his assistant for a while and also doing my own color work - student films, graduate thesis projects, and projects for friends. Usually these jobs are free or favor jobs or after hours when you have access to the equipment. You start with your peers, make connections when you are coming out. Then, those jobs have turned into paid professional jobs as we’ve advanced our careers together.”
One student was bold enough to simply ask, “how much do you make?” Alexander laughed but gave a range of pay for colorists.
There were audible gasps in the room. After the workshop students began discussing ways they would incorporate color into their short films.
For David, 15, the demonstration promoted him to think about ways to implement color beyond just tone. He began seeing applications through the world of VFX.
“It was helpful to me because in my story, my character’s eyes glow and it’s good to know how a specific color tells you something and how you’d want to target that color,” said David.
Later this year, through our partnership with Picture Shop, students will have a hands-on demo using DaVinci Resolve, the same professional software Alex used in his presentation. We’re excited to see the palette of storytelling in this year’s Narrative films, as their colorful visions come to life.