Click 3X Adds Senior Colourist Fred Keller

Senior colourist Fred Keller is heading home; the veteran post production artist, a mainstay of the colour scene in Chicago for the past dozen years, is going back to New York as he sets out to build the colour department at Click 3X, the renowned production and digital studio based here. His appointment was announced today by Peter Corbett, Click 3X founder and CEO.

Fred’s colour credits are richly-hued and impressive. A Queens native and graduate of Fordham, Fred spent a dozen years as a Senior colourist at Filmworkers Club in Chicago, where he worked for every major agency in the Midwest, including Leo Burnett, DDB, FCB, Energy BBDO, Havas, Burrell, mcgarrybowen and others. He started his career in New York, however, at the venerable colour studio Manhattan Transfer, which later became Company 3. While there he not only graded commercials but also worked on longer-form projects including music videos, features and TV series such as “Sex and The City” and “The Wire” for HBO.

His current commercials reel includes spots for such brands as McDonald’s, State Farm, Coors, Walmart, Alfa Romeo, Capital One, Skittles and many others. To view his work, go to http://click3x.com/director/colour. In addition to handling colour grading, Fred will also partner at Click 3X with the renowned flame artist Victor Melton to offer clients an integrated colour, finishing and retouching resource.

“Bringing in a talent of Fred’s stature is an important part of our plans for Click 3X,” says Peter. “Our expanding our colour capabilities meshes perfectly with our relationship with our sister company Industrial colour Studios. They have a long legacy of doing high-end colour correction for fashion, beauty and consumer brands, and that appreciation for the role of the colour artist in the creative process is part of our corporate culture. 

“Given this, it made sense for us to elevate the colour work we’ve been doing, and Fred’s eye, his aesthetic and his experience working with agencies, creative teams and brands complements the ICS legacy nicely, as well as our own,” Peter continues. “They’ll provide the foundation for our colour department as we move forward.”

Fred says he was looking to return to New York, and the opportunity to not only lead but help build a colour department at Click 3X appealed to him greatly. “I’ve been aware of them since my time in New York, and knew they were a well-respected and highly regarded studio,” he says. “I was impressed when they became part of the Industrial colour family; it told me they’re a progressive company adapting to changes in the industry. When I asked around about them, the response I got from friends and colleagues was overwhelmingly positive.”

Being part of ICS, Fred feels, means Click 3X will be a major player when it comes to colour: “With this legacy, you really need to be able to offer colour work at the highest levels,” he says. “I see colour as playing a critically important role in achieving a client’s vision. It’s about creating a visual language that incites the viewer’s emotions, and I’m looking forward to working with creatives who want to take an unconventional approach to exploring the look and feel of their projects.”

While Fred will be based in New York, he’ll be available to Click 3X clients via the company’s expanded network of facilities located in Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas and Philadelphia. As for being back in Manhattan, he notes how the city and its post production marketplace has changed, as has the colour grading profession. “The ease of access to colour tools has made so many people think they can do colour work,” he observes. “But you really need an experienced colour artist, working with a supportive environment, to maintain the kind of quality clients, agencies and audiences expect. It’s important to avoid that mentality that says something is merely ‘good enough’ for digital or mobile.”

Fred’s signing comes not long after Click 3X announced the launch of Food@ Click, a new offering of expanded services for the development and production of visual content for food and tabletop clients. As part of the move, the company added three noted food and tabletop directors to its roster: Vittorio Sacco, Stephen Hamilton and Stef Viaene. The company also brought on Charlotte Omnès and appointed her to the new role of culinary creative director.