The Color Code

Ian Vertovec has been shaping images you'd recognize instantly for nearly two decades. He co-founded Light Iron in 2009 and has graded The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Palm Royale, Gone Girl, Devotion, GLOW, and much more.
We talk look development, why the grade should be fine-tuning rather than invention, and what story-first finishing really looks like. ______________________________________________
Wanna go all-in on your grading with pro-level tools, private workshops, and AMAs with top-tier colorists — including Obsession colorist Jake White? Check out my membership program: https://colorist.inc
Grab Referent, my free viewing LUT. It’s the foundation I use on almost every project for clean, filmic contrast and color right from the start: https://cullenkellycolor.com/toolkit/referent

Cinematographer Steven Poster, ASC has spent five decades behind the camera, and helped lead the industry from film into digital along the way. He's shot for Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, and John Carpenter, and served as president of both the American Society of Cinematographers and the International Cinematographers Guild. He also oversaw one of the first digital intermediates ever finished, lensed the cult classic Donnie Darko, and shot the iconic "Like a Prayer" video for Madonna.
We explore his origins learning his craft from a Chicago newsreel shooter, his career-long drive to innovate new technologies and techniques, his approach to daylight and diffusion, and why he thinks DPs shouldn't operate their own cameras.
Grab Sweet Spot, my free exposure tool that gives you simple, scene-accurate metering in stops, for every camera: https://cullenkellycolor.com/toolkit/sweet-spot. Steven called it a “game-changer” after using it on his most recent project.

Chapters
0:00 — Welcome
0:24 — Chicago beginnings and union politics
5:55 — Seeing digital coming: NHK, Sony, and the HD experiments
9:51 — Stuart Little 2 and one of the first digital intermediates
14:00 — Three weeks on the soccer field: working blind
20:22 — Donnie Darko: 22 days, anamorphic, and an untested film stock
27:35 — Shooting daylight: polarizers and diffusion
30:34 — Coming up with Vilmos Zsigmond
33:42 — Blade Runner: the tunnel shot
44:00 — Collaborating with Richard Kelly on Donnie Darko
50:28 — Why a DP shouldn't operate their own camera
51:55 — Working with Sophia Loren
56:09 — Lessons from Ridley Scott
59:51 — Core principles: don't be afraid
1:02:30 — Next-generation display technology

David Tomiak went from breaking both his arms in a bicycle accident and leaving behind cinematography to grading A24 features with A-list talent. In this episode, David shares with us the 5 rules that took him from freelancing in a 100 square foot room to being founder of Elemental Post.
From how he almost quit the industry entirely after starting his first color business, to building one of Vancouver's most respected post houses, David opens up about the real cost of starting your own color grading company — the loneliness, the ignorance tax, and why compromising your standards means you should "just go work for someone else".
Check out my look dev plugin Contour (which David used to build the look for the A24 film "Eternity"): http://cullenkellycolor.com/contour
Download Referent, my free viewing transform: https://cullenkellycolor.com/toolkit/referent

Today you get a chance to learn with a 2x Oscar-winning film chemist who spent nearly 30 years working at Kodak. He's the co-creator of Genesis, the man behind the Joker LUT, and the person who built the Kodak Look Management System - basically the first film emulation out there (so good, Kodak's "jaws dropped").
It's a very special treat to further introduce you to Dr. Mitch Bogdanowicz, who's about to share some important grading and filmmaking lessons from his 50 year career in the business. We'll also be revealing the process behind how we built our film emulation plugin Genesis.
Also, Mitch's knowledge goes far beyond just film chemistry. After working in the film business for nearly 50 years (and nabbing two Academy Awards along the way), he’s an incredible problem-solver and collaborator – skills he's passed along to his three kids, who all have done major work in Hollywood and film.
Mitch also covers:
Why finding the perfect LUT won't make your job easier — and what you need to do instead
The thing most colorists try to do that works against getting great filmic images
Why only focusing on color is "career suicide"
How to be a stand-out collaborator instead of an order-taker
The right process for problem-solving in a grade
Why recording out to film for "the film look" is mostly a waste of money

Want to understand what makes film the gold standard in high-end grading — and get those aesthetics in your own work using tools you already have? Grab a seat for this free webinar (limited spots): https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/5417725689482/WN_IF6s_rdYQTu4yizr7zNWRg

I'm speaking with Corinne Bogdanowicz, Hollywood colorist for projects
like Our Flag Means Death, Reservation Dogs and more. Hear about
Corinne's start in the industry "dust busting" and how she grew her
client skills and coloring skills into a professional practice.