Colorist Jobs
What does a Colorist do?
A Video Colorist works in post-production to shape the look and feel of film, television, commercial, or digital video content through color grading and correction. They receive edited footage and apply primary and secondary color corrections, build LUTs, and craft a cohesive visual style that serves the director's creative vision. Day-to-day work involves close collaboration with directors of photography and editors, managing color pipelines, and delivering final masters in multiple formats and color spaces for broadcast, streaming, and theatrical distribution.
Key responsibilities
- Perform primary and secondary color correction on edited video footage
- Build and manage LUTs and color pipelines for consistent on-set-to-post workflows
- Collaborate with directors of photography to match or enhance the intended visual look
- Ensure color consistency across scenes, episodes, or campaign assets
- Deliver graded masters in required color spaces and formats (SDR, HDR, P3, Rec. 709, etc.)
- Manage project files, versioning, and client review sessions in grading software
Skills & tools
Education & background
No fixed degree requirement; most colorists build careers through film/media production study, apprenticeships, or self-taught grading practice backed by a strong reel.
Career path
Typically progresses from assistant colorist or conform artist to junior colorist, senior colorist, and lead colorist at a post-production house or as an independent freelance colorist.
Colorist jobs
