My Biggest Lesson: Vincent Taylor

Colourist Vincent Taylor is known for his cinematic imprint on an engaging mix of projects, including long-form dramas, features and commercials. 

It’s a pretty simple one when you get right down to it - the piece of wisdom is being open to listening, really listening.

I’m not sure how old I was when this lesson smacked me across the head. The fact that I don’t know how old I was hints that I must be old now I guess. I was working at a boutique post house in Melbourne Australia, which was back in the Telecine days, called Complete Post. I’d only been working as a colourist for just shy of two years and was eating up that learning curve with a passion. I was at the point of my career where my confidence was starting to build and that’s a wonderful time because you really start to believe in your own ability.

It’s going to be challenging to remember the specific details but I certainly remember the ones that count. I was grading a project with a client I had worked with before. The 35mm negative was laced up on the telecine chain and we were working through the scenes one by one. It was looking great. My client then proposed that we push a whole bunch of yellow into the scene. ‘More’ he kept saying. Internally I remember thinking that it was going to look terrible if we did that and I felt that very strongly. Eager to practise my skills as a professional I kept my thoughts to myself and began the process of injecting more and more yellow into the shot. Finally, the client said ‘That’s it, that’s how it needs to be’ so now the scene had this very late afternoon, warm, glow to it. I took a long look at it and realised that it looked incredible and was in a very different direction from what I would have taken the shot. I was smart enough, luckily, to realise that this was such an important lesson and it’s contributed to where I am today. As I mentioned earlier, it’s a simple lesson that crosses over into a couple of mini-lessons. First, always listen, and really listen to what a client wants. Second, even if you don’t agree, still absolutely give it a try as long as the time restraints of the session won’t be compromised (If they are, well, that is a separate lesson!), and, finally, always remember that the project is never yours. Yes, you want to put your creative input into your work - that’s why you are in the room - but you are there for the project, the project is not there for you.

I think the reason this lesson had such an impact on me was that it came at a time when I was beginning to master the tools of my job (Disclaimer: I am still trying to master them) specifically the technical tools of my job. I came to realise that using the machines and the software is only a small part of your job as a colourist. This is why it is such an interesting job to have. The colourist is consistently balancing technology, artistry, time, personalities, and fulfilling what is needed for a specific project. 

I think I have always loved learning, even when I hate it. I hold onto important lessons like markers on a map. I made a film many years ago called ‘The Limit of Maps’ and it’s essentially a film about lessons. This specific lesson did multiple things simultaneously: It reminded me that my ambition or confidence was important but to remember that that should never get in the way of the project; and it affirmed for me that I would always be open to recognizing lessons as I moved through the map of my career because learning was so incredibly valuable to me.

There was no need to reevaluate this lesson, only to build on it and, quite simply, remember it in situations where the pressure was on or the project was particularly challenging. I’d touched on the idea earlier of balancing a client's input with the amount of time given for a session. Sometimes you just can’t tick every box that the client wants and that’s where experience mixes in with these kinds of lessons so that you know how to listen to what is being asked of you but at the same time keep the project on track.

I do share this advice whenever it’s appropriate because it’s such an important lesson. How do people respond to it? That depends on how well they are listening.