CT102: Colorist Strategies with Kevin Shaw of the ICA

This is the most popular ICA class and is designed for industry professionals, assistant colorists, and self-taught colorists. It covers colorist theory and a detailed look at color tools. It also suggests grading strategies, and session management techniques. Each student has a workstation with a choice of Resolve or Nucoda software to work with. Participants are encouraged to bring frames or clips to discuss during the class. 

The first day covers colorist theories and explains the physical, psychological and cultural aspects of seeing. This leads to an understanding of how influential visual clues are in audience reaction and emotion. The course then examines the film, video, and graphics color tools that are available and how, when and why they might be used. We also cover best practices for colorist workflows and session management.

The syllabus has been updated to include scene referred workflows, 4k and HDR basics.

Topics:

• How we perceive and react to color
• The truth about resolution, bit depth and dynamic range
• Ways to work with log and linear grades
• How colorists make an image look great
• Why primary tools are actually different on every system
• Which techniques are most effective for secondary grading
• What you can do to protect image quality
• How to work faster
• Ways to use DI workflows
• How to work with clients

NOTE: This class is recognized by the Motion Picture Editors Guild and their members are eligible to get two thirds of cost of the class reimbursed through Contract Services. More information at www.csatf.org. You must apply to them and be pre-approved in order to qualify for reimbursement.

About ICA: The International Colorist Academy (ICA) was established in 2009 to provide “training for Colorists by Colorists”. They conduct small group workshops around the world where instructors share their firsthand knowledge of the skills needed to master Color Grading. icolorist.com