My alarm goes off…
..at 7:30, I'm definitely not a morning person. Talk to me after my Splice coffee.
I’m responsible for…
...making the footage pop and exciting. As a Colourist, I work closely with the Director or DP. My aim is to bring their vision to life through varying levels of colour and contrast. I use a range of tools within Baselight to create certain looks and colour palettes appropriate for the project. We may take the grade in a direction to evoke certain emotions in the viewer - often in a drama or short film for example.
Another large part of the role is balancing out a variety of different camera sources to appear seamless and thus maintain a sense of flow. Colour grading is a fun, creative and sometimes challenging process! I love it.
I got my job…
I was fresh out of Uni with no plan and little money in my pocket I hopped on a train to London, coming from a small seaside town in the North West. I picked up a Runner job in Soho and hated it! (laughs) Soon after I stumbled on a Runner job vacancy at Splice. It was the friendly staff that sold me - all approachable regardless of position. It was clear that Splice is proactive with promoting from within. There was an opportunity for shadowing and eventually using the kit on weekends or after hours. This was essential for me and it's something you just don't get at other companies. I climbed up the ranks over a few years and here we are!
My typical day…
It depends on what I'm booked on. We do a variety of work at Splice, such as long-form broadcast, drama, commercials, music videos - each of which requires a different creative approach but also level of pacing. An hour-long BBC documentary, for example, could have 1800 shots to get through, a commercial or promo may have under 10.
When starting a new project typically I'll work closely with the Director in the morning; setting a look/tone to the film. Late afternoon we'll watch it through and make tweaks together, before outputting the sequence to one of our Online editors to work on the following day. In more recent times we've been doing remote grade reviews using Sienna technology. It means that the Director can see the grade session in real-time from the comfort of their own home, an absolute game-changer.
The current situation has taught me...
...how important my friends and family are to me. I'm really looking forward to meeting up with them again, there's only so many Zoom quiz's one can do. Splice has been open throughout the pandemic, using skeleton staff, so I'm in the office during the week - I'm more than happy to escape my tiny flat for a few hours each day for work.
My most memorable work moment…
It's definitely a cliché, but seeing my first broadcast credit on the telly was a big moment.
I guess another memorable moment was my first experience with an HDR high frame rate grade for ''Born Mucky: Life On The Farm' at the time (2019) it felt mind-boggling and an opportunity to see the future visual standard of TV/ film. I was also shortlisted for the Young Talent of the Year award at the Broadcast Tech Innovation 2020 awards, which was a surreal moment.
The best part of my job…
...is the opportunity to be creative every day, working on high-end hardware and developing good relationships with clients. Post production is a real collaboration, with each department working closely together on one project.
After work…
In these current times, honestly - my only hobbies are excessive eating/drinking, Netflix and Xbox (laughs). I've crawled back into my former teenage self. I do live pretty close to Hampstead Heath which is a pretty sweet spot, so you can often find me strolling around there on weekends.
My Plan B…
That's a tough one. I studied a filmmaking course at uni and have been here at Splice ever since.
I guess if I wasn't doing this, I might be doing something with animals...I remember always wanting to be a vet or similar when I was younger.
Connor is a Colourist and joined Splice in 2014.