From my experience, post-production technicians do focus on being the ultimate geeks, and rightly so since most of the time the technical part is essential in order to deliver high-quality and high-production-value films.
For a colourist, it is about monitors, colour management, calibration, color space and colour transform and so on. But thankfully it isn't only just about becoming a knowledgeable geek; as Dave Hussey would say, we forget that colour grading is a creative job.
Some well respected colourist like Dave Hussey, Aidan Farrell and countless others have battled for years and years to shake the stereotype of colourists being geeky engineers.
The geek and technology side of our job is just a byproduct of what we need to know to achieve our creative results. In other words, knowing the precise XY coordinates of a particular hue on a CIE 1931 diagram is great, but does the shot you’re working on actually look good?
As colourists, we take footage from the real-world and add the final touch of magic that along with lens choice and lighting and countless other decisions in the image-making process, takes us away from our screen into the story.
That’s what being a colourist is all about – enhancing stories.
I do love and share the idea that production and post-production is a team work and that colour grading is certainly there to make you believe in the story even more. there to take you on a journey.
Here is a nice little video from Studio Binder that explains just that, Colour Theory and Colour Psychology in films.
Enjoy!
Content source: Mixing Light and Studio Binder