Colour Through Time with Seamus O’Kane
Seamus O’Kane is one of the industry’s most prolific and sought-after colourists. He joined The Mill from VTR in 2004 – at The Mill Seamus was instrumental for the company’s data pipeline success as head of colour and saw that the nurturing of talent became a prime objective. In 2021 he joined The Post Arm, bringing with him a wealth of experience after having worked on some of the most iconic commercials of the recent decades. But this isn’t just a story of luck. It’s one that starts with complete fascination.
“What brought me to this industry was the sheer complexity of it all,” he says. “Not just of colour grading, but of the entire world of post production.”
At the time, the post world was changing, and the craft skills of film-based technology were being fed into new companies who now used emerging TV post-production methods, because, as Seamus jokes “ironically, these new methods were often too expensive to be understood by the TV companies themselves.”
Post-production houses were investing in physical technologies that demanded highly skilled engineering support “at the base,” but with creative exploitation “at the sharp end.” At the same time, advertising still had substantial budgets and a flourishing of creative talent, so this sharp end “became a magical, effervescent, exciting place,” says Seamus. “The physical manifestation of this were opulent suites that looked like a cross between a sci-fi set and a luxury hotel.
“However, still hidden in the dark, usually in a basement, there existed a telecine machine where the world of film acquisition and laboratory processing was transformed into video images to feed this exciting world of VFX, GFX and CGI.”
So, while Seamus was “bitten by the desire” for post-production, the fascinating blend of optical science, mechanical engineering, electronics and chemical-based film tech, which formed a telecine machine… that was a whole different story.
“In the end I found it was not just a machine. It was a gateway to a whole world of specialist knowledge and an amazing array of characters and personalities from scientific gurus to creative giants all with immense talents and skills. I think I was very lucky indeed.”
Colourists, from rags to riches
The role of the colourist, along with its home – the post production world – has transformed almost beyond recognition since. Cue some tech talk and colour history.
When film was the only capture medium, it came with a complex but necessary laboratory process. It started with developing the film camera negative and progressed to producing ‘one-light’ positive or print images of each camera negative roll. These would be viewed and edited into the final commercial or feature film.
The final stage in this workflow was to take an edited camera negative and produce a ‘final graded print’, which was done by a team of colour timers who used filters to determine the exposure or density of each shot. These filter settings were transferred onto punched paper strips that were then fed into the film printer, as the cut negative and print roll ran together through the machine, producing a colour timed positive print image. This is what was then run through the telecine machine and created video images that were recordable to tape.
“Transferring this ‘final’ print of a commercial meant our role was to not deviate from those carefully made laboratory settings,” explains Seamus. “This was however almost impossible as the differences in colour reproduction between film and TV meant that there was never a single control setting that could play even a 30-second spot, without some shots glaringly jumping in colour or contrast levels.”
In comes computer-based hardware, which allowed for basic colour controls to accurately change settings on a given frame, revolutionising everything. “It became possible to pre-programme a roll of film with differing colour settings and play them out in real-time as a video recording was made.
“Stemming from an initial desire to save money within the expanding music video industry this technique was also seized upon by commercial producers because optimum quality could be derived from the negative transfer. The fact that our grade sessions would now run for hours was offset by the savings at the laboratory and the huge advantage that directors, DOPs and creatives could input their comments directly!”
The race to exploit the improvements in picture quality meant that many new technologies were added and the set-up costs for a telecine suite exceeded a million pounds, and with the adoption of HDTV, two million.
“With this increasing value within the perceptions of post houses and the creative industry came a slow but steady recognition that the colourist played a pivotal role within the post-production workflow.”
This trend has since continued, and the creative toolkit has also expanded. And while new software-based systems have now lessened the hardware costs, they have continued to establish the role of the colourist as a pivotal one. “We are now a vital part of the design and implementation of looks and styles from the very beginning of a production and have the oversight of the workflows, which ensures continuity to the very end,” concludes Seamus.
After the covid-19 pandemic started, things plunged into a new era of change. As Seamus puts it, March 2020 marked “the beginning of a revolution.” Then, nobody thought that the industry could transition from exquisite studios to home grading.
“Even at The Mill we were doubtful,” he says “But thanks to some amazing engineers and an incredible colour team we managed to get four remote suites up and running within a week.” Other London post houses were equally successful in bringing colour grading home. It was that unique stimulus that allowed a level of flexibility and in turn, creativity, that the industry had never expected to see.
To retain full resolution of the files at the remote location, however, means meticulous preparation and EDL (edit decision list) management when relying on remote internet connections. While this may be seen as a disadvantage for all remote systems, Seamus believes that all software grade manufacturers recognise that remote grading is here to stay and are now moving to cloud-based solutions. “It’s clever and intuitive and is a necessary workflow within the production of streaming content for regional audiences on a global scale.”
So yes, the role of the colourist is not what it once was, and the industry knows it. But misconceptions might be left over – Seamus believes that some people may not even be aware that colourists are an integral function of the creative at all. “After all, your smartphone takes great stills and records great images generally, no matter what you do with it. You know you have image processing controls on it but most people ignore them and just treasure the image they capture,” he explains.
“Having said that, everyone who watches a streaming series, a film, a documentary or a commercial, is aware that there is an immediate sense of time and place, of mood and historical context, of emotion and spirit, of style and fashion and ultimately, of believability and engagement. That is all conveyed by the way it looks.
“I think that is the one misconception about grading. That somehow it is just a set process that reveals the true image. The reality is that there is never a true image, but we make a collaborative effort to find a consensually relevant image for each piece of work.”
Listening and feeling colour
Indeed, colour is one of the pillars of filmmaking’s silent magic, no matter if we, the audiences, notice it or not. It’s only fair to wonder, how does someone with so much experience as Seamus, feel every ebb and flow of the narrative, every rise and fall in tension, every subtle and grand change in emotional resonance, and then how does he transform it into colour?
“The first and most important thing to do is to listen to what your client is saying,” he says. “Regardless of the scale of the project or the time, the director’s input and creative ambition for the piece must be understood.”
If there is a divergence of opinions between clients on a project, this also must be understood, according to Seamus: “The grade might be able to articulate both points of the view.”
“Then, one must ‘feel’ the image by exploring the lighting and perhaps homogenise different cameras to effectively iron out the creases, but always in empathy with the light.”
At this point, Seamus says that the grade will start to reveal its character and the play of the emotion within the piece will dictate specific scenes. “This is a process of discovery, more than a predetermined ambition or application of specific tools. Some things just work, and others just don’t.”
As the end of the grade approaches, a simple overall process might be applied to each scene, which often unites extreme amplitudes by tempering the surface. While at other times, a bold progression of the overall look with an aggressive shift “sandwiched” between softer layers dramatically lifts the piece. In line with this, one thing seems to not have changed:
“Every project is unique and responds to so many different factors. That is why, regardless of the scale and budget, the challenge to create a consensual pleasing interpretation of a brief is as daunting now, as it always has.”
Talking about colour palettes, Seamus opens up about the inspiration he draws from the contrasts of the real world. “The differing weather, environment and air all contribute to letting us experience the everyday, be it industrial-scape or cityscape or natural landscape, with a constantly changing interplay of light and mood.”
Things like ‘favourite palettes’ can’t be a thing when your love of colour surrounds you, and you have eyes for its changing complexity. Seamus says he seeks to move tones toward the mood dictated by the photography – a process developed over years of looking, seeing and feeling.
“Cities look amazing in the cool winter light where blues and washed greys contrast with the warmth of interiors. But they also look beautiful in the summer heat, with the yellow tinged concrete set against cool dark shadows. People look incredible in these environments too.
These are the natural palettes that I probably enjoy the most because they can be seen everyday by everyone, but I get the opportunity to play with that light and enhance beauty or subtract the distracting and harmonise the overall.”
It’s his love of colour that brought Seamus into the industry but it was his skill and collaborative nature that put him on set of some of the most well-loved and recognizable commercials in the industry. Looking back to some of them, Seamus rightfully struggles to pick his favourite moments, but he’s sure of one thing: “There have been times when the sheer impact of an image has brought a full suite to silence.
“It may be the realisation that a creative dream is fulfilled, it may be the stunning beauty of a landscape, or the fragility of a human, or the power of an animal caught in some magical light, either natural or crafted. It may be an inspiring image, or something desolate evoking despair, anger and shame… But you feel the image hitting home. You sense the impact that has on the teams that created it.”
It is only the power of creativity that can unite a room of diverse opinions, as Seamus puts it. “There is a point when you feel that you are realising the hard work done by many others, and that is so rewarding.”
Of course, the bigger the project, the more special this hard work becomes, as the human connections between all of its moving parts become stronger over its course. But sometimes it’s the smaller productions, the one with the low budgets or those done entirely for free are the ones that really lodge into a creative heart. Elevating the emotion in these projects is what’s most satisfying to Seamus.
Looking ahead, Seamus sees only more changes – something of a constant for the post production world. Changes to grade systems and workflows, and adoption of AI plunge Seamus in more technical talk, but he’s certain of one thing:
“The past has proven that everything in colour processing is in a constant state of flux and that techniques and methods are adapting to either outside influences or internal improvements. That is what keeps it interesting and ensures it will remain relevant.
“I don’t think AI will supplant the colourist role as such because with any content the most satisfying result will sometimes break some rules and depend on the unexpected. That ability is innate to the quirks and personalities of people.”
And The Post Arm’s role in all of this? Their ambition is to reinforce the collaboration between the creative disciplines that used to “naturally work together” when film was the only technology used in high-end production.
The advantages of modern data capture cameras have brought major changes to how production teams work together, or don’t, but for Seamus and The Post Arm, the key elements of creative collaboration remain. And none of those is stronger than that of a director and an editor, as Seamus adds.
“The relationship between the director and their editor is the key to the success of any project. We believe that involving the colourist early in the process allows for yet another level of creative decision making to be introduced at an early stage.
“We have seen the benefits of our unique position pay off many times already for clients and by extending our role into VFX and working collaboratively with VFX houses, we have followed many projects through the entire post-production pipeline to final delivery.”
Covering past, present and future, all wrapped up by Seamus’ endless devotion to colour grading, one thing is left to do. Turning to young colourists trying to break into the field today, Seamus has one key message: “Keep trying.”
In his eyes, if one truly enjoys the discovery of how to produce images and is getting the opportunities to grade, then it is crucial to keep trying.
“Understanding the history of image capture from film acquisition, to data sensors, is important as is appreciating colour science from human perception, to display technologies,” he continues. “Your clients will have many issues to solve and the more you learn, the more you can help them. Learning to build a grade is always the most important skill.
“Learn to bake the cake before you decorate it!”
