Katie Dymmock - Colourist

“Make your goals known, advocate for yourself, and just take all opportunities to learn as much as you can. Be open to ideas and new methods. Keep in touch with people you start out with. ”

— Katie Dymmock - Colourist

Describe your job role and the kinds of projects/clients you work with and what software you use.

Being a Colourist is about working with the Directors/DOPs/Clients to achieve the vision they have in mind, enhancing what was shot through the manipulation of colour, and I do this in DaVinci Resolve. I most frequently work on Advertising and Music Promos. I wish I could remember who first said this to me, but I describe grading as the look, feel, and flow. The look and feel are more creative aspects of the job, using colour to portray a mood, or to draw your eye to certain aspects of the image, and the flow is more technical - making sure your scenes match and sit in the same world, and so they don’t jar when cutting between shots.

What does an average day look like in your colour grading world?

So the pandemic really made us rethink the way we connect with clients. Depending on my relationship with the client I might be left to my own devices, especially if this client and I have worked together several times. Otherwise I might be working from home, using clearview to share my output and be on a zoom call and we can talk through in real time. This is particularly useful for clients in other time zones. Or, the classic scenario, in the suite all together in Coffee&TV’s Soho studio.
Firstly we’ll talk through any references they have in mind, usually in terms of colour palette, then start building some looks for any key scenes, or highlight anything that was an issue in production, i.e pick up shots that might be lit differently, or changing light. Anything that could impact that “flow” element. For advertising jobs I may spend a lot of time making sure brand or product colours are really accurate, while music videos will often be more creatively free.

What has been your colour grade career highlight?

I absolutely loved working on Jarvis Cocker's Live From The Centre of the Earth. Such a unique concept, directed by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard. The deadline was so tight but all the different coloured lighting setups were a dream to get creative with.

How did your career in colour grading begin? How did you discover that grading was what you wanted to do for a career?

Like a lot of Colourists I come from a photography background, I was really interested in image manipulation, and when I took my portfolio to university, they introduced me to Visual Effects - image manipulation for moving image. I think there was one lecture that mentioned Colour Grading for about half an hour, but when I found out that was it’s own job I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I joined Rushes as a Runner, then worked my way through the machine room/data lab into Grade Assisting, before being promoted to Colourist at Coffee & TV.

Tell us about a pivotal moment in your career

Winning the Kinsale Shark for Best New Colourist was a wonderful surprise. For any Creative, I think it's easy to be plagued by imposter syndrome. As silly as it sounds, that was really affirming that this was a career I was good at!

Female colourists you admire?

How long have you got?! There are so many now it's fantastic, and the launch of Grade Girls is really going to help highlight us more! I am incredibly lucky to have had Simona Cristea’s support, as a friend and mentor, for my entire career, and I think Megan Lee, Andi Chu, and Karol Cybulski are incredibly talented young colourists. Our very own Tash Hicks is not only a stunning photographer but a great colourist. And on the long form side Jet Omoshebi and Jill Bogdanowicz are both phenomenal.

What advice do you have for other women wanting to start a career in grading?

Go for it, then keep going! The timeline for becoming a colourist is not the fastest, though I think quicker now than when I started. Make your goals known, advocate for yourself, and just take all opportunities to learn as much as you can. Be open to ideas and new methods. Keep in touch with people you start out with.

Stand out scene (or scenes!) you've worked on.

The Louis Vuitton Tokyo show was another longer-form piece that was a really unique opportunity, Oscar De La Renta was a wonderful VFX-heavy colourful wonderland, and in the music promo world Holding Absence - Afterlife was very special to me as the Welsh music scene is near and dear to my heart.