Careers A–Z · Post
Colourist
The colourist grades the picture: exposure, contrast, colour and the shaping that makes a sequence feel like one film rather than forty days of weather.
Spelled colourist here, and the room is called the grade.
The basics
Also known as, and where the grade sits.
| Colourist | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Colourist. Online editor and finishing artist are adjacent grades in the same room. |
| Level | Senior craft grade in post, working with the DoP and the director. |
| Reports to | The post production supervisor, creatively the DoP and director. |
| Comes after | Assistant colourist, DIT, or online editing. |
| Leads to | Senior colourist, or supervising the finishing pipeline. |
The job
What does a colourist do?
You take the graded look from set, balance every shot to match within a scene, then build the show look and shape the audience’s eye through each frame with windows and keys.
You work in a calibrated room with a client behind you, taking notes live, and you deliver to specification for cinema, broadcast, streaming and HDR versions of each.
The unglamorous end: matching shots nobody will ever consciously notice, long sessions with clients in the room, and delivery specifications that change late.
The requirement
What is a colourist good at?
Colour judgement, technical rigour and the ability to work with someone watching.
Colour vision
Consistent, accurate judgement across a long day in a dark room.
Technical control
Colour space, transforms, HDR and what a delivery spec demands.
Speed
Working live while a client watches, without losing the shot.
Client manner
Taking a vague note and turning it into a decision.
Consistency
Scene to scene, reel to reel, version to version.
Kit
Tools of the trade.
| What | The actual items |
|---|---|
| Systems | DaVinci Resolve and FilmLight Baselight, with a panel surface rather than a mouse. |
| Monitoring | Calibrated reference display, scopes, and a room built for grading rather than an office. |
| Colour management | ACES or a show LUT pipeline, camera transforms and the DoP’s on-set CDLs. |
| Delivery | Masters for cinema, broadcast and streaming, HDR and SDR passes, and the QC report. |
| Reference | Camera tests, the DoP’s stills, and the look agreed before the shoot began. |
The unit
Who does a colourist work with?
| Who | What passes between you |
|---|---|
| DoP | The intended look, and the shots they are worried about. |
| Director | The final say, and the emotional shape of the film. |
| DIT | On-set looks, CDLs and what was captured. |
| Editor and online | Conform, versions and turnovers. |
| Post supervisor | Schedule, deliverables and QC. |
Routes in
How do I become a colourist?
A grade reached from post, from set, or from a facility floor.
Assistant colourist
The standard route: conform, prep and sessions alongside a colourist.
Online editing
Conform and finishing artists cross into grading regularly.
Facility runner
Post houses promote from inside, and the machine room teaches the pipeline.
Grading your own
Shorts, promos and documentary graded properly build a reel.
A degree is not essential. Colour is judged on a reel and on whether a DoP trusts you with their work.
Manufacturer and facility training on the actual systems is worth more than a general course.
Nearby
The grades either side of this one.
The grade sits at the end of a chain that starts at the camera.
Post department guide
Free professional software and a free curriculum behind it. The best free offer in the industry.
Never been on a set? Start here. Offered a first day? Read this first. Want to know where this grade leads? Where people have gone names people who trained here and the productions they went to.
