Going Freelance As A Colorist + Using Scopes With RAW Footage

Hi Guys, great advice especially about the Freelancing. As someone who is in his first freelance year, I can definitely recognize most of the issues you’ve discussed. The colorist market here in Holland is not as big as it is in the US or even the UK. I find that I can find a decent amount of work by teaching small production companies and other filmmakers about color grading. A lot of them simply don’t know anything about it and are a little reluctant to send their projects to a colorist. While they themselves are having trouble competing (quality-wise) with hobbyist filmmakers. I’ve found that a proper grade can help them in that area. And, although the budgets are a little low, it brings a me a group of clients that come back regularly.

Are you finding that after teaching them they come back to you to grade their bigger jobs? Are you doing full day training sessions with them or smaller 3-hour session that occur after hours? It sounds like you’ve found a good solution to the problem of clients ‘not knowing what they don’t know’.

Right now I am at a point that I am actually invited as a speaker to a group of freelance filmmakers, to tell them about the power of color correction. But clients have hired me in the past to give them full-day or 3 hour training session in basic color corrections. The results are usually the same. They realize the power and that it is easier / better / less expensive to hire a professional then it is to invest in all the equipment and training.

But I have had the most success with free samples. These are filmmakers whom never used grading in their projects. And whenever I talk to one off them, or better jet they hire me to shoot/light a project. I offer to grade a 2/3 minute video for free. (as a gift to them.) (on my own schedule off-course). After that most of them call me back regularly with payed work.

Coolness. Thanks for sharing your strategy! Keep up the good work.