Color Grading: Tech vs Art
Is it better to be a geek or an artist?
In this article, I’m going to tell you about a battle that’s been raging in the world of color grading since the beginning of time: Technology vs Art.
Technical colorists say that tech is everything. Creative colorists say that art is everything.
What do I think about it?
You need to be both!
Let me explain why…
A colorist’s job is a creative one, there’s no doubt about it.
Oh, you don’t agree?
OK, let’s talk about it
Try asking a hundred different colorists to color the same shot. If it were a purely technical task, the result would be a hundred identical shots.
But in reality, the opposite would happen: you’d end up with a hundred completely different shots.
This brief example illustrates how much of a difference the artistic aspect really makes.
So, is there any point in being a technical colorist?
Yes, absolutely!
Having the widest possible knowledge about every aspect of your job means that you will be independent and much faster at problem solving, especially if you work as a freelance diigital colorist.
On the other hand, in very large companies, technical knowledge might be completely useless to you.
What do I mean?
Working in a big company is very different from working as a freelancer.
There’s a good chance that the company will have a dedicated tech team which will take care of everything like data management, project implementation, delivery etc.
If that’s the case, good for you! Your only task is to color.
As absurd as it might seem, you could color the next Super Bowl spot without even knowing which model of computer you’re working on.
Being too technical
Becoming an overly technical colourist could be your downfall
What do I mean by “overly technical”?
To me, being too technical means getting to the point where technology has taken over from creativity and is slowly killing it.
The point where you’re more worried about which processor and how many nodes you’re using than what emotions your art might inspire.
However, sometimes being too technical is all you’ve got.
It’s not everyone who’s born with a sharp artistic eye and a gift for creativity.
What do I mean?
Just become someone works in a creative job, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are a creative person!
I once had the experience of working with a vfx artist who was a genius at creating special effects, but literally started panicking if he was asked to go beyond the plans and do anything even remotely creative.
And what does the client want?
Let’s be upfront about this…
The client doesn’t care which processor you’re using, how many terabytes of storage you’ve got or how large and complex your node structure is.
Be honest now: would you choose a painter based on which brushes he uses, or on how beautiful his work is?
The final result is what counts.
What about you, which side are you on? Let me know in the comments!
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