FEATURE | FEMALE COLOUR I STS
NSPCC campaign
Balmain online boutique
The Levelling
CAROLINE MORIN
S IMONA CRI STEA
VANESSA TAYLOR
From a visual arts background, Simona Cristea studied Fine Art Painting at the National University of Arts in Bucharest before being recruited to learn colour grading at post-production house, Abis Studios. She next worked at Prime Focus in London and Mumbai, before becoming the first female head of Colour at Rushes. Now at Coffee & TV, she works with a lot of her old colleagues from Prime Focus. “Historically, colour timing with film in the lab was considered more of an engineer’s job, a career path dominated by men, so it’s been great to see women galvanise on an international level over the past couple of years,” Cristea says. “I have now had many female assistants, and it is with great joy that I have seen them become colourists in their own right, such as my colleague at Coffee & TV, Katie Dymmock.” She adds: “Always remember film is a collaborative art form and your relationships with people matter. In my experience, some of the most successful people I have met have been the nicest. There are also great organisations for women in this industry, such as ‘Women in Advertising Production’, ‘Free the Bid’, ‘Good Girls Eat Dinner’ and ‘illuminatrix’. I actively support and involve myself with these where possible.” Job title: Head of Colour at Coffee & TV Location: London, UK Recent work: Advertising campaigns and brand films for the likes of Superdry, Jo Malone and Balmain
Vanessa Taylor has worked internationally on many prestigious projects over the past 20 years. She started out in online editing and visual FX before changes in technology brought her to the newly formed Digital Intermediate Department at Peter Jackson’s company, Park Road Post. This is where her passion for colour truly began. The following decade saw her grade more than 60 feature films and she has trained many colourists around the world. Recently, she joined the prestigious Molinare in London as a senior colourist. Her recent projects include Red Joan , starring Judi Dench, and the upcoming ITV drama Anne , starring Maxine Peake. “It is hard to get started in the industry for anyone,” Taylor explains. “You have to really want it, but that shouldn’t put anyone off. There is certainly more of a push to promote women in recent years, and I’m doing what I can to keep the momentum up. I’m working with a lot more women in key roles these days. Adult Life Skills , Lady Macbeth and Old Boys all had female DOPs, and The Levelling – which was written and directed by a woman – also excelled with a fully female camera department. I’m really excited by all the new stories being told from a female perspective,” she says. Job title: Senior colourist at Molinare Location: London, UK Recent work: Red Joan, Anne, Lady Macbeth, The Levelling, Calibre, The White Princess and Avengers: Age of Ultron
Job title: Colourist at WASH Location: London, UK
“My first experience in the film industry started when I decided to move to London,” Caroline Morin explains. “I started out as a runner as part of the Erasmus programme for a boutique facility in Dalston. During my spare time, I was helping the editors and quickly learned the skills of a good assistant, but my interest was always in the amazing work done by the colourist.” Initially hired as a colour assistant at CHEAT, Morin spent evenings and weekends outside work practising her grading skills to become a junior colourist. “It is important to learn to work under pressure and long hours in this industry, but if you are motivated and know what you want, the hard work will pay off,” she adds. Morin has now moved to WASH as a colourist, alongside Jon Dobson. WASH is a boutique post-production facility in Farringdon, London, specialising in colour grading and VFX finishing. Recent work: Campaigns include Champion- branded content, Adidas-branded content, Ama Lou music video and a NSPCC campaign
Portfolio: thewash.tv/showreel-caroline- morin
It is hard to get started in the industry for anyone, you have to really want it
Portfolio: coffeeand.tv/work/ grading-reel
Portfolio: molinare.co.uk/people/ vanessa-taylor
JULY 20 1 9 | DEF I N I T ION 53
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