What’s The Role of VFX Colorist? With Christian Ganea Reitmeier

Understanding Color Workflow in the VFX Pipeline

Today, I talk to Christian Ganea Reitmeier, a Quebec-based VFX Colorist at DNEG. He shares what he’s learned solving creative and technical challenges for some of Hollywood’s biggest movies and shows. Just a few of his credits are:

Christian has a wealth of knowledge of color science, workflow, and the little details that make a big difference in making a movie look good. If you weren’t aware of the role of a VFX Colorist before, now this exciting position is on your radar.

Key takeaways from this Insight

• What is the role of a VFX Colourist?
• The path of an image through the VFX and DI process
• The creative and technical challenges of big movies
• VFX grading of blue/greenscreen shots
• How viewing shots in black and white helps shot matching
• The importance of picking – and using – your hero shots
• How CDLs are used for collaborative workflows
• How color management with OCIO is used
• How to deal with challenging shots or lighting conditions
• Workflow before and after the compositor’s work
• The different workflow options for VFX

External Links

• Christian’s IMDb
• ACES VFX Quick Start Guide (ACESCentral.com)
• OpenColorIO.org – OCIO resources website.

Related Mixing Light Insights

• What is a CDL and When Do You Use It – Take an introductory look at the Color Decision List (CDL) and learn about the strengths and weaknesses of an ASC-CDL based workflow.
• What is ACES? –  You learn what ACES is and how the post-production pipeline is executed.
• Getting To Know ACES Part 3: Visual Effects Workflows – Our Getting To Know ACES series continues, looking at the essentials of using ACES for VFX roundtrips with DaVinci Resolve. You learn to move images between VFX and color grading within the ACES color science.
• CDLs in Action and Roundtripping Through DaVinci Resolve – Learn how to create, export, and import ASC-CDL-compliant color grades using DaVinci Resolve. Plus tips and tricks with CDL data.
• Film Print Emulation: Paul Dore’s ACES DCTL Look Modification Transform (LMT) – In Part 3, learn how to go beyond LUTs for an artistic approach to emulating film print looks using Paul Dore’s DCTL in an ACES workflow.

Questions or Comments? Leave a comment!

Did you enjoy this interview? Let me know! I’m curious if you found this helpful, if you have something to add, or if you have more questions you’d like me to ask of professional colorists in the future.

– Kali