There are many roles within the field of post production and they all add different elements to a final film. One of the most important is that of the colourist. But what does a colourist do and how do they fit in with the rest of the post-production team?

What is a colourist?

Let’s start by answering the obvious question: what does a colourist do? In simple terms, they are specialists in colour and they use their skills to help create the overall effect that the director is looking for in any film. 

Typically, a colourist will work with the director and the director of photography to decide what kind of visual effect they are looking for. This will often involve the colourist creating a colour palette that is then applied in post-production. 

So, if you want your film to have a dreamy feel, you might go for hazy, pastel shades, while if you’re looking for something with high impact, a bold defined palette will likely be more appropriate. 

Once the footage has been shot, the colourist will adjust it to fit this pre-determined palette. They will manipulate both the saturation and brightness of the colours in the visuals, to ensure that the overall atmosphere the director wanted is captured. 

Why is a colourist’s work important?

Ensuring that all the footage from a film is colour matched gives it cohesion. For areas like advertising, where you want to make a statement or convey a particular message and only have a short time in which to do so, this is essential to get the maximum impact from your advert. 

It also means that even footage shot in different ways or at different times – such as if you’re using scenes from an old documentary in a new production – can be brought into line with the overall ambience of the whole film. 

Alternatively, a colourist can apply different colour palettes to certain sequences, helping to distinguish them from one another. For instance, a dream or flashback sequence might be made to look slightly hazy and washed out, which contrasts with the vibrancy of the rest of the film. 

This process is known as colour grading and it helps to create a more stylised piece of footage, which, again is essential in industries like advertising but also important in film and TV work. 

The colourist will also work closely with the VFX team and post-production supervisor to ensure that any visual effects that are added to the film match up with the overall look and feel that they’ve created. 

Colourists can also apply effects to footage, such as making it sepia tone or even black and white. Similarly, they can take a black and white piece of footage and work to reintroduce colour – although this can be a painstaking process. 

Colour has a psychological impact on how we view certain footage, which is why it can be so powerful for evoking specific emotions or even encouraging an audience to take action, which would often be the aim with an advertisement.