🎨 Colorist Newsletter #534

Published: Sun, 10/16/22

Issue DXXXIV: The Pay Rate Survey Edition
The Color Grading Newsletter
News, reviews, thoughts, career advice, and humor for professional Video / Film Colorists & Finishers. Delivered Sundays. Curated by a professional color grader.
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Curated & Published
by
Patrick Inhofer
From The Publisher
How much should you charge for your color grading (or editing) services - especially if you're just starting out?

You could take a guess. You could just pitch a few potential clients. And negotiate downward from there.

Or - you could see what other professionals *in your market* are billing at different experience levels and use that to come up with a solid market-driven billing rate.

But where do you find wage information for post production professionals in your market?

Annually, since 2016, the Blue Collar Post Collective (BCPC) conducts the U.S. Post Production Pay Rate Survey. It's a Google Form that takes about 5 minutes to complete. It's completely anonymous (which you can further ensure using a VPN and private browser window).

They share the results for anybody to download and examine.

The information can be retrieved by city. If others in your metro area shared their wage scale, then you'll have solid market-driven data preventing you from undercutting your potential earnings.

But if you've been in the business for a while, why should you bother to share your pay rate with BCPC?

One sentence: It helps newcomers set their rates appropriately for your market.

Honestly sharing your wage scale helps prevent the 'race to the bottom' when newcomers enter the business. It protects them from undercutting everyone's earnings through ignorance, fear, or inexperience.
 
Sharing what we earn creates an educated marketplace that continues to sustain rich, satisfying careers for this generation - and the next.

I've already completely this survey.

Join me! Click on this link for the BCPC Post Production Rates Survey (USA) 2022.

I'll see you next Sunday.

Happy Grading!

Sincerely,

Pat Inhofer
Publisher (and Colorist)
The Craft
Featuring the work of creative craftsmen, the theory of color, and industry news. Learn practical workflows, useful theories, and actionable insights from existing (and emerging) leaders and teachers in our industry.

"Please respond for the role that you are in right now, your current job. If you are between jobs, please respond for your most recent job. Even if it's not normal for you, it gives us a snapshot of the industry, today."

"Exclusive education. Incredible exhibits. An immersive show floor experience. Four days in the media capital of the world with the products, practices and people who can help you make it happen." October 17 - 19.

"Join us in person or attend virtually for free. Register early, in-person attendance is limited." October 18–20.

Marc Weilage writes in about this look at Colourist Eric Whipp: "The visual demos show how much windows and masks can add to an image ... I thought it was a terrific demo, and the before/after comparisons are remarkable."

Colorist Cullen Kelly: "So what’s the more viable tactic: working your way up in a post house, or carving your own path? There’s no single right answer. The reality is that your control over this is limited at best, and insisting on one scenario versus the other can blind you to unforeseen opportunities."

(video) "How does a job come to you? When should you buy a kit? And many more questions were discussed here in this 1-hour session?"

"A paucity of new releases combined with the eternal desire to share a cheap thrill with a group of strangers in the dark means that horror flicks will keep chugging along, delivering a decent ROI to any studio smart enough to cut a modest check."

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Flanders Scientific offers high-quality professional equipment to the broadcast and post production industries.

From image monitoring and quality control to reference-level color grading, our DM Series of monitors has a powerful solution for every workflow.
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The Tools
Our craft keeps changing. And growing. Learn about updates to your favorite software. Discover new tools to help you work faster or more creatively. Build your toolchest with new techniques and approaches. 

"This article is mostly about OCIO configs and Display Transforms, which is a crtical part of the Image Formation Chain."

(video) "Does a CST go first or last? Is a Color Space Transform better than color managed? Answers to these and MANY MORE CST questions here, for Beginners and Intermediates."

"Learn more about the current status of 4K and the obstacles to be cleared. Discover the compatibility of the Livegrade product family with 6G and 12G-SDI and how to benefit from 4K. Finally ... we gathered already well-working 6G-SDI setups with Livegrade in the last section."

(video) "Want to level up your videos with better audio? Fairlight is the built-in specialized audio editor in DaVinci Resolve, and it can do quite a lot!"

I almost bailed on this article but as I scrolled down I came across a few good tips I had forgotten about: "Here are 24 tips to make your Mac or MacBook run faster and improve its performance."

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Pushing Photons
These stories are from MixingLight.com's membership Library of color grading articles, tutorials, and podcasts (Tao Of Color is co-Owner). Do you want to read a story listed here but not a member? Sign up for a free 7-Day Test Drive.​​​ There's also color correction Practice Projects for purchase. 
(video) "Have you ever used Fusion's 'Delta Keyer' for greenscreens - but with poor results? You missed a step! Joey D'Anna gets you keying successfully."
(video) "Image repair and dust-busting are frequent duties of colorists & finishers. Learn how Baselight's DSpot and Paint tools perform these fixes."
(video) "In this Office Hours, a team of Mixing Light Contributors tackles member questions about estimating time for HDR trim passes - and much more!"
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Gear Heads
Stay updated on the latest hardware that's shipping - because the craft of color grading isn't just about software. Plus, keep an eye on future equipment trends and hardware odds-and-ends.

"While the GeForce line of video cards has historically been geared toward computer gaming, Nvidia knows that the cards are also valuable tools for content creators, and several new features are designed especially for those users."

Oliver Peters does a nice job of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of this peripheral.

"The ARRI ALEXA 35 offers 19 recording formats. In order to explain the logic behind these formats, ARRI has published a poster describing the formats and their potential implementations in the industry. Check it out..."

"DFT Polar HQ provides clients with the tools to handle difficult-to-scan film material by introducing a new film handling system called Smart Motion. "

"Christopher Cohen, CTO of FiLMiC, joins Shawn McDaniel to discuss how things have changed, and the incredible opportunities that the new integration between FiLMiC Pro and Camera to Cloud brings to video production of all kinds."

Sunday Fun(nies)
Random thoughts, tidbits, and fun stuff that caught my attention this week. Maybe it's color grading related. Maybe not. Ya got'ta read to the end of the Newsletter to find out.

(video) Definitely fun.

"Here’s how each contributes to the feature set that makes it more than just a VR gaming and entertainment device. And yes, let’s discuss that $1,500 price tag."

 
Th- th- th- that's all folks! I'll see you next Sunday.
 


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