Any really good school for Colour Correction?

[Laura Egea Garcia]

Hi. I´m from Spain. I´m at the University studying Audiovisuals. Soon Ill star to look for a Master. I´ve studied photography and lightning but I would like to be a specialist on postproducing colour. I have been looking schools and others but I really dont trust what they say about themselves. So please, I beg you, do you know a really god school on posprocesing colour? Thanks

[Ari Davidson]

If you're really serious about becoming a colorist, don't waste money on school. If it were me, I'd take that money and invest it in:

 

• Books (any school will make you do this anyways), and Magazines: The Art & Technique of Color Correcting, Color Correction Handbook, Post Magazine, and ICG
• A workstation: Mac Pro & Wave Panel, or B&H Photo Mac Pro Workstation Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve/Mac Pro RAID Turnkey System
• Additional Hardware: HD Link, Additional Monitor, Storage

Once you've learned a thing or two, put yourself out there! Start small with some student and indie shorts. Whilst doing that, maybe intern or apprentice at a post house/color correction facility.

 

To me the key is not to wait for some seal of approval from an institution that certifies you as a qualified component of our workforce. In this business it's a lot about who you know, and there's a lot more people to meet outside of school :)

 

With a new flavor of digital cinema being released every other month, this is an exciting time to get into your area of interest! I hope this helps, even though it wasn't quite the answer you asked for.

[K Borowski]

What Ari said: The School of Life™ is where you need to be. At the same time, I wouldn't invest money in expensive equipment. I'd look to intern first and find work under another experienced colorist.

 

Unless you're a savant, this sort of skill doesn't come overnight. Developing a good eye for color correction takes years of application.

[Ari Davidson]

I wouldn't invest money in expensive equipment. I'd look to intern first and find work under another experienced colorist.

 

That goes without saying! My point is if you're going to burn some cash to "make" yourself official, gear is cheaper than a degree, alas it will not make you good at your job...

[Laura Egea Garcia]

Thanks a lot¡¡ ^^ My problem is: In Spain is REALLY hard to star working by yourslef and he industry is full, like everthing is already covered. So I was thinking that maybe in a school appart from learn would be a way get to know people from outside and start working (I have already worked as cinematographer in one indie short, and the producer didnt trust anyone in the project so he was bossing around and the result really was a mess). In Spain the cinematography is not as respected as it should be. Recently Alcaine (Almodovar´s cinematographer) started a little "war" to defend the cinematography and the important of it. But REALLY THANKS A LOT because colour and grading really look to me a god job, and also would help me to work in animation etc. But with the crisis in my country (and more specifically, my city) is not helping with the money, and for the moment is easier for me to ask for money help for studying than buying this things because I cannot work in my city in this stuff (small city really far from cinema). BUT THANK YOU¡¡ Also this forum is like heaven ffor an student and that´s because the people here are profesionals^^

[Ari Davidson]

Recently Alcaine (Almodovar´s cinematographer) started a little "war" to defend the cinematography and the important of it.

 

That sounds an interesting documentary idea you could work on to stay busy, and meet cinematographers.

 

Don't give up!

[Bruce Greene]

Hi. I´m from Spain. I´m at the University studying Audiovisuals. Soon Ill star to look for a Master. I´ve studied photography and lightning but I would like to be a specialist on postproducing colour. I have been looking schools and others but I really dont trust what they say about themselves. So please, I beg you, do you know a really god school on posprocesing colour? Thanks

 

To get started, you don't need to invest in an expensive motion picture grading system, but you should learn color correction in Photoshop really really well. And there are lots of books about how to use photoshop.

 

Once you're a Photoshop expert, adapting the concepts to cinema grading software should be fairly easy.

[Alberto Cayuela]

Hi LauraI think I can put a little ray of light into your darkness, check ICA International Colorist Academy www.icolorist.com then can teach you techniques and also train in grading softwares as Nucoda Filmmaster and Da Vinci´s. I´ve been in a workshop in London half and a month ago learning Nucoda with the new precision panels and training was really good, also went to a Display Monitor Calibration workshop and very useful.

If you want to check in Spain there is www.709mediaroom.com where you can apply for Davinci´s workshops wich it´s good for learning the basis

 

Before grading I recommend you to apply to colorist assistant, as I did, there´s a lot of technical knowledge to achieve before you start grading and showing your craft, conforming, rendering, multiple formats, dcp´s, calibration processes, film, video, new cameras every month, and many grading softwares...our lovely profession is a never ending road to knowledge

 

I´m grading in Madrid with Baselight in a post facility, currently with the tv series "Cuentame" if you are from madrid fell free to visit, no job vacancy but kind to help you with tips and advices if you want to

 

I wish you luck

 

Welcome you to the "dark side" ;-)

 

Magenta Kisses Laura!

And cheers everybody too!