Selected Skills
What I Do
Dan’s a Senior Colourist based in the UK. Dan used to work staff at Smoke & Mirrors and then Coffee & TV – both in London before setting up his Bristol, UK creative grading studio in 2018.
He’s collaborated with major directors such as Yorgos Lanthimos, Joseph Kahn, Anton Corbijn, Mert & Marcus, Emil Nava, Director X, Martin Stirling, Ninian Doff, Kathryn Ferguson and many more. He’s also worked with internationally renowned cinematographers including Daniel Landin BSC, Henry Braham BSC, Christopher Probst ASC, Tim Maurice-Jones BSC, Stephen Murphy BSC ISC
Commercial clients include: Nike, H&M, John Lewis, Netflix, Gucci, Ikea, Cadbury, Samsung, Smirnoff and many more.
His music videos clients include Radiohead, Bjork, George Michael, Zayne Malik, Calvin Harris, Sam Smith, Depeche Mode, A$AP ROCKY and many more.
During this period, Dan was also the co-founder of and a Contributor to MixingLight.com.
Tutorials by Dan Moran
Behind The Curtain - Building a HDR Ready Show Look
In this Insight Dan (well known for his gritty looks) tries to bring a bit of that style to a cleaner, HDR ready show look created in Baselight
Colorist Inspiration - UK Music Video Awards 2020
Dan shares some grading inspiration from the 2020 best colour grading nominees at the UK music video awards
Color Grading Challenge – Tri-X Style Black & White
Dan briefs you on a Black & White Tri-X look. If you grade to his brief and post in the comments, he'll play 'client' and offer feedback.
Colorist Inspiration – January 2021
Dan looks back at a rollercoaster 2020 and his most memorable moments. Then he looks forward to a new color grading suite he's building.
Behind The Curtain – GH5 Music Video In Baselight Part Two
How easy is it to do final finishing in Baselight? Dan shares his approach to adding titles, audio, compositing and rendering
Behind The Curtain - GH5 Music Video In Baselight
Grading a one-shot music video shot on the Panasonic GH5 was challenging. Check out this Insight to learn Dan's approach.
Moving To Baselight Fulltime
In July I started the proecess of moving to Baselight full time for my grading. As a 10 year Resolve veteran I need to let go of the past
Baselight Start to Finish – Project Creation & Conform
Everything you need to know from project creation to starting your grade including, colour management, project management & Scene Detection
Baselight Start to Finish - Series Overview Kodachrome Inspired Look
An introduction into building a Kodachrome inspired look on Arri Alexa footage using Basegrade, Looks, Grain and Color Crosstalk
Grading Challenge – Baselight Sci-Fi Grade
In this insight Dan reviews your submissions and shares his own Sci-Fi look using primarily Baseilght Base Grade
Grading Challenge – Modern Sci-Fi Brief
Dan plays client and dishes out a grade brief for a Modern Sci-Fi film that he'd like you to execute. Remember there are no wrong looks!
Colorist Inspiration - January 2020
Dan kicks off January 2020 by looking back on 2019 and speaks about his personal favourite grades & experiences of the past year.
Color Grading In Spectachrome Part 2 - Working With The Fuji XT-3
Working with new cameras is always a challenge. Get an inside look at what Dan does when working with the Fuji XT-3 camera
Color Grading 'Origins' In Baselight - Project Overview
In this new series, Dan's grading the short film 'Origins' (using Baselight). It's got VFX, ACES, multiple deliverables (and light sabers).
Color Grading In Spectachrome - Starting With Grain
Dan answers some comments from members about why he adds his grain to the image at the very beginning of his node graph
Color Grading In Spectachrome - Going Full Wes Anderson Part One
Dan cracks open another project fresh from the grading suite. In this part we take a look at the Spectachrome brief & project organisation.
Working On The Road - Taking Vacation As A Freelance Colourist
Working as a freelance colorist seems like freedom and flexibility. But what do you do on vacation - and the client has urgent revisions?
My Favourite New Feature In Resolve 16 - Analog Damage ResolveFX
Dan shares his thoughts on recreating tape based artifacts using the brand new Resolve 16 Analog Damage tool.
Troubleshooting 101 – Color Compressor & Node Resizing
Dan shares his breakdown of cleaning up a bike frame using the color compressor and node resizing in Resolve
Troubleshooting 101 - Cleaning Up An Annoying Background
Dan shares his thoughts behind his solution to removing a reflection using Resolve's Color Page - on a 16mm shot with moving grain structure.
Look Inspiration - Emulating VHS Camcorder Footage
What's harder than faking a VHS-look from a high-end camera? Intercutting that look with actual crummy VHS. Learn one way to do it.