How do you collaborate with other video professionals on color grading and filters projects?
Collaborate, create, and elevate! Achieve exceptional results in color grading and filters projects through effective communication, shared vision, and a phased approach.
My answer to this question comes from my background in live Video Engineering/Video Shading, where I specialized in matching and correction. Collaborating with other video professionals on color grading projects requires a comprehensive understanding of the project's goals, artistic vision, and technical requirements. Whether your content is live or sent into post-production, good communication is key to success.
When starting a project, it's essential to grasp the desired look and feel that the creative team wants to achieve. That involves understanding the artistic and technical goals of the project, such as exposure fixes, color correction, camera matching, or a heavily stylized look influenced by the script. Open and ongoing discussions with directors, producers, and cinematographers help establish a shared vision and ensure that the color grading decisions align with the overall narrative and aesthetic objectives.
For live production, I would carefully develop a baseline match for my cameras in pre-production. Changes to look and feel could be accomplished quickly by relighting the scene or altering the depth of field in my cameras on-the-fly.
With projects intended for post-production, I recommend a phased approach. It's beneficial to develop both the desired look and the workflow in iterations. This iterative process allows us to test different ideas, gather feedback, and refine the look before production begins. Additionally, it provides an opportunity to fine-tune the workflow, identify potential issues, and optimize efficiency, ultimately ensuring a smoother collaboration and superior results.