Our processes give us many options thanks to the support provided by Canal RCN, which is always looking to improve the quality of the product. We don’t have a fixed workflow and so we can be very flexible with our pipeline. We are looking for efficiency on each project so we define a detailed workflow from the set to the finish every time.

FilmLight’s versatility runs throughout the workflow from production to post - using a FLIP real-time image processor to generate BLGs for the editorial, allowing us to carry forward all the metadata from the set, even through to VFX for the finish via Baselight for NUKE. At RNC, we take advantage of the renderless workflow between Baselight for Avid and our Baselight TWO system, using the BLG format to exchange creative metadata between our Avid and Baselight suites. Depending on our needs, we can use the render engine within Avid or use the Baselight grading system for final colour and deliverables.

I personally like a distinct touch of blue or green. I find in these two colours a supreme finish, like a full stop at the end of a story.

I don’t think so. It is more about the way you look at the pictures. Your creativity and aspiration varies and some days it is better than others. Go outside, take a breath, have a coffee and go back. Be patient - time pressures don’t help.

The BLG workflow allows us to devote more time to matting and secondaries, because the initial look envisioned by the director is already imprinted in the BLG file, which saves a considerable amount of time.

Being involved in pre-production is important. This is where you get to meet the DoP and share their vision from the start. See the locations, the climate, the theme, the characters, the story, the cameras and the lenses, as well as how the material is being transferred. As a colourist, I can accomplish things on-set that will transition straight into the colour suite. After all, teamwork is a key component of the success of every project.

For our channel, this is completely collaborative: from the moment we capture and generate the BLG colour files to post-production, where we visualise and make modifications, right up until we reach the final colour.

The VFX material can be read in the Baselight plugin for NUKE. We have the option to work layer by layer, and add complex colour correction to the shots quickly if required. With Baselight we are able to deliver all the material for VFX in the highest resolution and we also provide BLGs for VFX.

With the editorial workflow, the benefits are even more obvious. The AAF files created in Avid and conformed in Baselight can be sent directly to our Avid Unity ISIS.  

Having the same colour science throughout VFX, offline and finishing helped us to achieve a very effective workflow.

First and foremost, Baselight is user-friendly. It has an intuitive interface that can be customised for you as an individual so you can achieve the most effective ways of working to suit you. Once you know Baselight, it becomes a wonderful world.

The Matte RGB and Hue Angle keyers, Telecine Grade and layer blending are great toolsets. And of course, once you are used to the Blackboard panel, you manipulate the image even more efficiently.

Baselight is not limited to one or two grading tools. It offers a multitude of tools and options to accomplish the final result, providing both quality and fulfillment.

It’s easy! It is a job that is extremely gratifying and exciting, but it’s also challenging in the sense that we need to evoke the viewer to experience the same thoughts and feelings that the writer had in mind for every moment. You give your life, you put all of your heart into it, and the hearts of hundreds of people that have contributed to the making of the story. Even if it’s hard to satisfy everybody, of course.

It’s important to feel, cry, laugh, dream, be afraid, be brave, read, prepare and rehearse, watch and enjoy every moment of your life. Then you can find how to transmit these feelings in every frame.

In nature, tranquillity, the landscapes, in movies, what I see while I’m walking on a street or watching TV. But what’s most important to me is what emanates from your heart, this helps me talk in colours. 

It is an honour for us as Colombians, that “Embrace of the Serpent” received an Oscar nomination for Foreign Language Film. The team behind this movie deserves such recognition and they continue to create new projects that constantly push the boundaries in cinema and TV.

Be with my family, my children, my wife. We like to watch the night, the day, landscapes, walking ... and to smile.

We hope to continue to grow, face the constant changes, and learn about Baselight and its tools that pleasantly surprise us every time we are challenged with something new. We will continue to enjoy the privilege of testing different ways of completing upcoming projects, each in their own style.