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I interviewed Brian De Herrera-Schnering, a colorist for Pinto Pictures who has flexed his color-grading muscles on everything from commercials and corporate projects to feature-length films. We talked about what has changed in an even more virtual era of production, what remains the same in every era, and how he stays inspired.

Conversation edited for brevity and clarity. 

Alicia East (AE): Who should think about color-grading as a career? 

Brian De Herrera-Schnering (BDHS): There’s the artistic aspect and there’s the people aspect.

You need to be able to appreciate what an image can do to a viewer when it comes to the look, feel, and emotion. People with artistic vision and a love of art, color science, and color theory will thrive in this work. You’ll also need to be inspired and have the ability to appreciate other people’s work.

It’s a tech-heavy role so you really need to like technology and be able to learn the tools, which are always evolving. It’s very important that colorists like collaborating. The DP and producers and directors are the boss so you have to be able to enjoy helping someone else achieve their vision.

AE: What is your top 5 list of must have equipment/fave tools for color grading? 

BDHS:

• Calibrated broadcast monitor
• Control panel
• Powerful workstation
• Fast storage: SSD, hard drive RIAD, NAS, etc.
• Ergonomic environment

If you’re just playing around and uploading pieces to YouTube or Vimeo, you may not need a calibrated monitor, but once you start doing paid work, you’ll want to invest in the tools and software that allow you to manipulate the images better than a mouse alone. Like everything, you can invest in entry level gear as you get rolling and upgrade as you go.

AE: What recommendations do you have for working in the COVID-19 age? 

BDHS: Accurate and precise communication has always been important, but now it’s more important than ever. If you can’t meet in person, you have to be better about phone calls, email, social media–whatever it takes to maintain channels with clients, collaborators, and friends.

Setting up an online collaboration workflow that works for you and your clients is crucial. You’ll need easy methods for uploading project files, downloading/uploading footage, etc.. I like Dropbox. Frame.io is great for client review/internal review. You can set timecode notes and check action items off as they’ve been addressed. Being able to have an organized conversation around a particular note is incredibly helpful.

In the color-grading space, being able to stream a color session live is useful. I use AJA Helo because it works with Youtube, which is familiar, user friendly, and allows me to keep the work unlisted. It also allows instant collaboration and feedback you just can’t get through links. My system has about a 3-second delay, but clients can just open a Youtube link and get the SDI feed out of the workstation. The initial cost was an investment but it paid for itself after a couple of color sessions. The only catch is that Youtube has its music copyright whiskers on which can be prohibitive for editorial work.

Just experiment and see what works for you.

AE: How do you stay inspired?

BDHS: I love visiting art museums. Being able to see the Van Gogh exhibit and view his work chronologically as his use of color became more refined was fascinating. I was blown away. I’m always looking at graphic artists, photographers, and DPs on Instagram for their taste/style. I watch some movies and TV. I’m always watching for interesting color palettes, treatments or cumulative work.

Bottom line 

This highly-specialized arena of post production may not be for everyone, but for the right people, it makes an incredible career.

Whether you’re looking to hire a colorist or an entire video production crew, you can be sure you’ll find a highly-vetted option from our online database. And for those looking for work in production or post-production, you can apply to be a part of our database here.

Brian is a Director and Motion Picture Artist at Pinto Pictures

Brian De Herrera-Schnering is a filmmaker and colorist in Littleton, CO. He owns and operates Pinto Pictures (www.pinto.tv), a boutique post-production and color studio. His work has been seen around the world at numerous film festivals, on broadcast TV, and has garnered millions of views. When not working he loves cooking, playing soccer and hanging out with his wife, 3 children, and hounddog.

Wherever you fall on the issues, one thing most people can agree on is that this election is an important one.  Whether you expect to celebrate with a Mazel Tov cocktail (it’s a thing!) or spend Nov. 4th working on your emigration papers, now is the time to make your voice heard.

DEMOCRACY DEPENDS ON THE PEOPLE’S VOICES

Democracies aren’t perfect, but the core idea remains: Every vote counts and every voice matters. No candidate will represent your views perfectly, but casting your ballot for the one who most represents your values is the best way to make your voice heard and to play a part in the course the country takes.

Every election is important, but with interference from foreign forces and the misuse of social media platforms playing an increasingly important role in shaping public opinion, our democracy’s vulnerabilities are on full display. According to the FBI director, one way to combat misinformation is to get your information from reputable sources like your state’s page (which will end with a .gov) rather than social media.

MAKE YOUR PLAN

Increased absentee ballot requests cause increased concern over lost or invalid ballots. The best way to combat all of these issues is to observe CDC guidelines for masks and social distancing and to vote early / in person. Make your voting plan today. Whatever you choose to do, this site provides all the information you need. Just select your state and you’ll get all the information you need in one place.

WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?

2020 has been the year of curveballs, including added anxiety about getting to the polls. The possible effects of in-person voting have caused some poll workers (who tend to be older and more at risk) to sit this one out. The ripple effects mean some polling locations could be closed. You may also consider becoming a poll worker. Bonus: you will most likely be paid! Groups are especially interested in recruiting bilingual candidates this year.

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

Just in case you need a refresher, here are just a few of the top issues at stake in the 2020 election.

The Supreme Court

Top of mind after Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing is the direction of the Supreme Court. Republicans are moving quickly to fill the seat while Democrats are urging them to apply the same standards as they did in 2016. During President Obama’s last year in office, Republicans insisted the vacancy shouldn’t be filled until the new president was installed. With the Supreme Court steering the course of the nation for decades, it’s no small issue.

Health Care

Coverage, cost, and quality are all at play here. Oh, and politics, of course. NPR breaks it down here.

The Economy

Election season uncertainty knows no limits—it affects individuals as well as businesses owners. Between unemployment, shuttered small businesses, and a global pandemic still raging, it’s an especially profound consideration this go around, though we won’t be able to measure its full effects anytime in the near future.

The good news is that while short-term volatility often increases immediately after election day, the uncertainty tends to ease in the months following. Still, 2020 is the year of no guarantees, so…

THE BOTTOM LINE

We are now 40 days from election day. Now is the time to make your plan and use your voice. Do it to it. Vote!

We reached out to one of our crews, Yuki Uemura of Urban Samurai Creative, to answer some questions about remote video production. His company is leading the charge on the effort and we talked with him about the challenges, benefits, and user experience.

Alicia Sample East (ASE): What was the most surprising challenge you’ve faced as you’ve rolled this out?

Yuki Uemura (YU): The biggest challenge we faced was how to fit the best tech within the smallest package. As we developed the Remote Crew, we spent a lot of time swapping different pieces to find the best arrangement and weight. Creating quality video requires many different components, such as a proper camera, lights and audio, but one of our objectives was to keep the product realistic in size and convenience. We wound up going through multiple prototype versions before finding our final design. Compared to our early adaptations, our current model has shaved off a few pounds, now includes an audio mixer, and is condensed for shipment.

The tech itself was important to consider. As tech-savvy creators, we have a strong idea of the varieties of equipment to choose from, but again, we wanted to make sure to have a comprehensible interface for talent/corporate clients who don’t have the same knowledge as us. Ultimately, there will have to be some preparation on the client’s part because of the entire idea of a “remote crew,” so we aimed to make the setup of the product as simple as possible. With the Remote Crew, all the talent needs to do is plug in power, ethernet, attach their microphone, and adjust the camera to be ready for a shoot. 

ASE: How did you overcome that and other challenges?

YU: Prototyping and testing. With the help of my employees, it took about 2 months to produce our current model. We sought feedback from our industry friends as well, and worked up to a sound and convenient design with a lot of experimentation. We also left plenty of room for further configuration as technology and projects adapt.

ASE: How do you establish a rapport with the clients and people in front of the camera when you can’t be in the same room?

YU: It is definitely a different experience going remote, but I think we’ve all gotten somewhat accustomed to the idea. One great feature that we’ve added is a monitor placed adjacent to the camera lens. With it, we communicate through Zoom the entire process from initial setup to recording to make our clients comfortable. Overall the experience is not too far off from a regular shoot, which I think they appreciate. We try to take as much of the work off the clients’ plate so all they need to focus on is delivering their best product on camera. We understand a lot has changed due to the pandemic, so we hope to reassure them with a sense of normalcy.

ASE: What place do you see remote production playing in a post-COVID-19 world?

YU: That’s difficult to say, because the Remote Crew was specifically built to solve the problems our customers are encountering now. At the beginning of the pandemic, we got many requests from clients to edit their webcam/camera phone videos, but the quality was all over the place. The clients want professional footage, but due to the social distancing restrictions, many video production options were simply not available.

As we’ve seen, however, in-office solutions are already being widely adopted, so we feel it’s important to keep up with our customer’s demands. We don’t know exactly when the pandemic will end, but clearly some form of the remote work trend will continue. We also see an increase in corporate panel discussions and live streaming, and feel this product definitely has future application in instances when sending an entire crew is unfeasible even in normal conditions. There’s sure to be plenty of applications for the Remote Crew in the future as we see that remote work trend settle in.

ASE: What are the benefits to remote production?

One and the biggest benefits is of course producing quality video content while maintaining maximum safety and convenience for our clients. A lot of clients are hesitant to continue forward with their projects because of current health risks, so it’s great to offer a service that is definitely needed. I think remote production will ultimately benefit both clients and producers who have seen our video industry brought to a standstill. The remote crew also has the added benefit of letting us work from home! We’ve seen several inquiries from reality and documentary TV shows producers who want to utilize our kit for quick interviews as main production has been stalled.

ASE: Where do you see opportunity for this technology to evolve and how are you preparing for that?

YU: It can always be more convenient! Right now we are working on a Remote Crew Mini—an even lighter package for clients who are looking for just simple interviews. We also feel that Remote Crew kits can be more adaptable to a client’s specific situation, so we keep up to date with any new recording equipment coming out so we can customize a more tailored service. We don’t know how long remote work will last, so I see it as a service to our clients to constantly be improving our product as long as it does.

 Click here to connect with Yuki’s crew or book your next shoot.

Recording Zoom calls is acceptable during a pandemic, but what if you want to be able to use the footage well beyond 2020? And what about virtual events? When you’re talking about making sure there’s a flow between remote speakers, audience participation, online elements, and no fewer than eleventy billion cameras–you know you need the right team in place.

We’ve added some roles to crew profiles to meet the times. For video production, we’ve added remote producing to our long-standing remote shooter. And for events, the crews that offer remote event production are now clearly marked on their profiles.

Rest assured, we can connect you with pros in some of the most crucial roles for your virtual shoots and events.

Virtual Roles

• Remote Event Production– As the event’s point person, this role is responsible for setting up the event within your platform, managing the live event, and dealing with any glitches.
• Remote Producing/Shooting– Curious how someone could produce and shoot a production from afar? Well you know they’ve figured it out. This post goes into the details of how it can be done.

Looking to hire for remote roles? We have ’em!

Raise a Glass

You can now produce a high-quality video or event from afar. I think that deserves a toast, don’t you?