Taylor Schafer is a colorist at Modern Post, a bicoastal post company that provides editing, color and finishing services. She recently joined the studio, bringing almost a decade of post experience with her. Schafer’s journey to colorist includes roles as an assistant editor at AMC Networks and as both an assistant editor and colorist at Uppercut, where she pioneered and expanded the color department, becoming the company’s first colorist. Schafer’s portfolio includes collaborations with brands such as Volvo, Meta, Verizon, MLB, Oscar de la Renta, Dockers and Victoria’s Secret.

We reached out to Schafer to find out more about her path and workflow.

As a colorist, what would surprise people the most about your job?
Probably that I end up doing a variety of things outside of color. I have to adjust the look of projects, and that could be something simple like applying a film grain or removing a logo or beauty retouching.

I think color is moving in a direction where it’s not just about color anymore but the overall cohesive look. As mentioned, I’ve done things like applying grain and nearly anything visually that has to do with the project. I’ve also been asked to do retouching and compositing, and I think that’s becoming more common.

What is a recent project you worked on? And anything stand out as challenging about it?
I just worked on a campaign for Hugo Boss, and it was challenging because it was shot on film. Rather than adding grain, they wanted to de-noise the grain because it was too heavy. They also had different lighting set-ups, some were shot in red, and some were shot neutrally. So another challenge I faced was that I had to make the neutral lights look like it was shot in red. 

How do you prefer to work with the DP/director?
I prefer to start with a kickoff call/email to get everyone on the same page about color. Then, I usually do a first pass of color completely on my own. Down the line, if it would be helpful, we might do an in-person session to knock out any additional issues.

 How do you prefer the DP or director to describe the look they want? Physical examples? Film to emulate, etc.?
Since I mostly do commercial coloring, I prefer to see what they did for their stills campaign. If that’s not possible or there were no stills from the campaign, then I love receiving stills from other commercials and films that demonstrate the look we are going for.

Any suggestions for getting the most out of a project from a color perspective?
Work with what you have instead of against it, plan ahead with the DP rather than assuming you can fix it in color.

Do you provide LUTs for on-set?
We do not, usually — we get involved after production.

We realize you focus on spots now, but if you are on other types of projects, does your process change when working on a film versus episodics versus commercials?
If I’m working on long-form projects I usually spend more time planning the overall look and organizing all the different clips and scenes. For commercial projects, I usually just jump right in and start playing around with color.

What system do you work on?
Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve and I use Nobe OmniScope for my scopes.

What’s your favorite part of color grading?
I think the part I like the most is anytime I can make someone say, “You are a magician!” and kind of save the day with color.

Do you have a least favorite? If so, what?
I guess, filling out time sheets.

Why did you choose this profession?
I feel like, along with most other colorists, I stumbled into it. That is a really common theme with coloring. I initially fell into it after my friend who is color blind needed help white balancing his project. He ended up crediting me as the colorist and, since then, people have wanted to hire me. I also love the blend of art and tech, and I think it’s a really interesting job in the way it combines the two.

If you didn’t have this job, what would you be doing instead?
I probably would still be an assistant editor, but if I wasn’t in this industry I would probably have become an architect.

What is the project that you are most proud of?
It’s hard to pick just one, there are a lot of projects, but probably the first feature documentary I did when I was still in college. I did not think I could color a film that long and I was still doing all the assistant work on it but I got through it and now I do many feature docs, so that was the first one where I proved I could do it.

Where do you find inspiration? Art? Photography? Instagram?
One of the best decisions I’ve made on social media was to follow all of my favorite painters and unfollow all the influencers and meme accounts, so now I just have a feed of painters. That has been an amazing source of daily inspiration. I also paint with watercolors, which kind of helped me develop a color instinct over the years.

Is there a film or show that sticks out to you as an example of great color?
My favorite film last year was The Holdovers, and I’m still impressed by the look of the film, which was colored by Joe Gawler.

Any tips or tricks you would like to offer up?
Create templates! Create templates for projects or node trees — it will save you time.

Can you name some technology you can’t live without?
I feel like everyone says their phone, which is true so probably my phone, and more specifically Google Maps, because I get lost very easily.

What do you do to de-stress from it all?
Just in the past year, I picked up ice skating and I’m hoping to play ice hockey, which has been very helpful in getting a physical outlet. I also have a very calming rooftop garden and I volunteer at high school robotics competitions as a field supervisor.

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