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"Moving forward, I believe the role of the colorist will continue to evolve with technological advancements, allowing us to push the boundaries of creativity even further." How would you describe your grading style? "Adaptive. Every show has its unique requirements and styles, and having a fixed look can hinder creativity. I like to approach each grade with a sandbox mentality, exploring the 'what ifs' and 'maybes.' I dislike the idea of acting like an Instagram filter, swiping through LUTs until one fits a show. Instead, I believe in tailoring the grade to enhance the story and vision of each project." What are some of your career highlights? "It's always fun when people ask about career highlights because it's hard to pinpoint just one project. Everyone expects you to talk about the biggest shows, but working on a low-budget short film and bringing something unique to it for the client is just as rewarding. Having clients appreciate my work and input is a weekly highlight. "Having said that, if I had to pick some- thing, it would be sitting with Sir David Attenborough in the grading suite as we worked on color together. His excitement and energy is incredible." You work on FilmLight's Baselight system. Tell us about your setup? "I've been grading on Baselight since I joined Molinare three-and-a-half years ago. It was a switch I had been wanting to make for a long time. What I love most about Baselight is the deep color man- agement and how the tools react. There is a smooth and refined touch when pushing the tools. I also appreciate how powerful Baselight is when working on effects with detailed work." What are your thoughts on Baselight 6.0? "I have been using Baselight 6.0 for a while and was fortunate enough to be part of the beta testing team. This gave me early access to the new tools and the opportunity to provide feedback. I'm loving many of the new features. I find the new Curve Grade much smoother, more refined and less destructive. This, combined with X Grade and the mod- ulation edit function, makes for a very powerful combo." Tell us about your work on Sexy Beast? "I worked on Sexy Beast for Paramount+ alongside DPs Birgit Dierken, Ralph Kaechele and Mattias Nyberg, and series producers James Levison and Matt Barber. The brief was to create distinct worlds for the characters while maintain- ing a uniform style. "For the day exteriors, we aimed for a mundane, uninspiring look for Dom's life, using soft contrast and muted tones. Birgit wanted the day interiors to have a slight contrast, making them warmer to reflect the idea that British homes add color to an otherwise dull outside world. As we delved into the nightlife and the criminal world, we increased the contrast and richness of the colors. We wanted the scenes with significant red elements to have deep, foreboding burgundy tex- tures, symbolizing power and wealth. "A key scene in the story is the casino, which we treated with a smoky, grimy texture, but with vivid colors, balancing contrast and color density." What were the key challenges on this project? "One big challenge was Episode 4, which was set in Spain. They had such poor weather on the shoot, so we had to work hard to contrast it heavily with Dom's experience in England. The goal was to make Spain look stunning and sun-kissed during the day, and a jeweled-like starry night sky that would make Dom feel bewitched by his surroundings. "Production considered bringing in a VFX team to enhance the skies and inject some sun into the scenes, but first they asked me to mock up a few ideas to discuss with the VFX team. After a few tests they were very pleased with what I achieved with the compositing tool in Baselight — taking skies from other parts of the series or stock elements. "I combined this with other Baselight tools — using boost tools to enhance contrast and saturation as starting points in my primary layer before add- ing a slight warm hazy effect, and then my balance layer followed. I applied the hazy layer by setting the blending option to screen with some diffusion and adjusted the opacity to control the volume of the effect. I also used a com- bination of the DKey tool with shapes to add shadows, helping to sell the strong, sunny vibes." How about your work on Inside No. 9? "Grading Inside No. 9 is always exciting because it provides the perfect oppor- tunity to showcase a wide range of skills and develop multiple looks within the same series. The show is a testament to filmmaking, with outstanding re- sults despite lower budgets. It's one of those projects where you can throw out various ideas and see what works. The final series presented challenges, such as turning Arri Alexa camera footage into Ring doorbell style or recreating 1970s film stock. I will miss this series and the creativity it involved!" What advice would you give to aspiring colorists? "This is a big topic and I could give advice all day long. In short, find a genre you would like to work in, secure a job at a company and work your way up to grade assistant. Build relationships with the colorists and learn from them. Explore all the tools and practice when- ever you can. Be cautious of following video tutorials on YouTube, as some can be misleading. Remember, it's not a quick path to becoming proficient. Clients are trusting you with months or even years of their work, and you have a finite time to deliver. Keep this in mind when they make difficult requests." What's next for you? "I'm currently working on the second series of SAS: Rogue Heroes for Kudos and the BBC, and working as supervising colorist to Jake Davis on a feature documentary by director Dan Gordon (BAFTA winner for Hillsborough). Plus, several feature films, and a few other feature documentaries for streamers, which unfortunately cannot be named. These projects will definitely keep the creative juices flowing!" COLOR GRADING www.postmagazine.com 31 POST MAR/APR 2025 Paramount+'s Sexy Beast