Hannah Squires - Colourist
Job title - Colourist
Experience - 5+ years
“You shouldn’t compare yourself to others, everyone is at different points of their careers, everyone is learning and developing all the time. Other women are not your competition, they should be your inspiration.”
Tell us about your job role and the kinds of projects you work on;
Hello Edit Girls! My name is Hannah and I’m a freelance colourist, based in lovely Bristol, but I work with clients all over. I work on a range of different projects from commercials to music videos, to the occasional short film. I’m inspired by all things vintage, so my aesthetic tends to be heavily film or VHS inspired, even on the glossy beauty commercials I like to include a little hint of my own style. I’m also really interested in colour theory and I love how colour can impact how we feel. I think the fact that you can use colour grading to emphasise the emotion you’re trying to portray, is pretty amazing! I feel very privileged that I can genuinely say I love my job!
What does an average day look like in your post-production working world?
Every project requires something unique and different, and I love that no two grades are the same, however the structure of my day does tend to be quite similar. Every day starts with coffee, or as my friend Molly Richmond likes to call it, ‘post-production juice’. As a freelancer I am my own assistant, so I start by setting up the DaVinci project and doing any conforming. Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve absolutely hate each other, and there are a few different ways to roundtrip, so I normally like to discuss the best workflow with the editor beforehand, to make this process (and the online edit process) as smooth as possible. I also like to calibrate my grading monitor once a week, this is a super important step for ensuring colour accuracy and that the grade looks as consistent as possible across various screens.
After I’ve set up for the day, I usually have a briefing call with the director, DOP, client and we discuss the overall vision for the look and feel they want to portray. I spend the rest of the day getting my head down and bringing this vision to life.
Finally, I’ll spend an hour at the end of the day catching up on enquiries and all the admin jobs that come with running your own business. I’m also really fortunate that I do a lot of work with Dan Moran Colour. So I usually check in with my post-producer Suzi Grochala, to see if she has any upcoming bookings for me - She’s awesome, another fantastic female in post!
How did your career in post-production begin?
I started by doing a Media Production degree at University and gravitated towards editing. When I graduated I started applying for editor roles, even though all I had to show for it was two student films! I soon realised that to get into the industry you need to start at the bottom, after a very kind producer from Big Bang Post Production offered me a Runner job instead. This was fantastic because although I had to make a lot of coffee, I learnt very quickly about how post-production houses operate. I worked there for a good few months before landing my first Edit Assistant job at a small film company, Doubleshot and after a lot of hard work, I was promoted to Editor.
Tell us about a career highlight;
This is a really tough question, as I feel like every project is a highlight. I’ve had the opportunity of working with some amazing brands. I particularly love working on anything that empowers women. I worked on a short documentary for Wiper and True called ‘XX’ to highlight the anonymity of women in the brewing industry. I also worked on an incredible series of films for Intimina called ‘While Bleeding’ to break the silence around women’s health.
For music videos, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some incredible artists like James Arthur, Orlando Weeks, and Rina Sawayama, but I’m also really passionate about working with up-and-coming artists too. I recently graded a music video for Sophia Alexa - she’s so talented!
A couple of years after that, I moved to Aspect Film and Video where I worked as an Editor/Colourist for around four years. This was where I really found my passion for colour grading, which drove me to learn DaVinci Resolve really quickly.
After three years at the agency, I started freelancing on the side so I could take on even more colour projects, but eventually working two full-time jobs got a little bit too much, so I took the leap to go freelance full time and focus on colour-grading and I absolutely love it!
What has been a pivotal moment in your career?
I think the biggest pivotal moment in my career was transitioning from edit to colour. Editing was always the goal, it was the thing I saw myself doing and the career that I was working towards, but I fell in love with colour grading and had this instant passion for it. I really pushed myself to learn very quickly and it instantly felt more me. I think this is one of those “trust your gut” moments and it’s honestly been the best decision for my career.
Which women in post do you admire?
There are so many talented female colourists that inspire. To name a few, Karol Cybulski, Caroline Morin, Katie Dymmock, Simona Cristea, Jax Harney. All such amazing talented colourists whom I stalk on here daily! One particular piece of work that I recently can’t stop thinking about is Simona’s grade for Jo Malone ‘Bloom’ Directed by Emma Dalzell-khan. The light, softness, and delicate texture of the piece is so beautiful and unique.
What advice do you have for other women wanting to start a career in post?
My advice for women wanting to start a career in post would be Firstly, take the leap and go for it. It’s a lot of hard work, but if you love it then it's totally worth it!
Secondly, trust your gut and make sure you try a bunch of different roles that interest you before finding your niche.
Finally, I know it’s hard, but try and dismiss any niggling feelings of self-doubt or imposter syndrome. You shouldn’t compare yourself to others, everyone is at different points of their careers, everyone is learning and developing all the time. Other women are not your competition, they should be your inspiration.