Making The Grade: The New Era of Colour Grading with Dylan Hageman

Dylan Hageman is a colourist based out of Los Angeles providing colour correction for commercials, music videos, and films.

LBB> What was your first experience with the world of colour grading – and when did you decide that being a colourist was a role that you wanted to pursue? 

Dylan> I got into stills photography in high school and quickly realised I needed to learn Lightroom and Photoshop to elevate my work. Soon thereafter I became obsessed with colouring my photos but had no idea colour grading was a career option at that point. For the longest time I thought I wanted to be a photographer, but in high school I enrolled in my high school’s video production class, picked up a motion camera, and fell in love with cinematography. 

I ended up going to film school and everyone was either colouring their own student films or paying professional colourists to colour them. I ended up learning Resolve and worked on my own films, but by the end of my second year all of my friends were asking me to colour their films too.

LBB> What was the project that you felt really changed your career? 

Dylan> When I first moved to LA my friend from film school introduced me to Kimberly Stuckwish at Little Ugly. They took a chance on me and gave me access to my first 'real projects' after coming from a slew of student films

LBB> How/where did you hone your craft and did you have any particular mentors?

Dylan> While studying cinematography in film school, I found myself becoming everyone’s go-to for colouring their films. Once I found myself wanting to spend more time in the bay than on set I knew this was something I should pursue.

I was fortunate enough to take a class in school taught by the great Tashi Trieu ('Avatar: The Way of Water'). Tashi was gracious with his time and taught us the fundamentals of colour grading, workflow, and the foundations of colour science amongst other things. We still keep in touch to this day and I will always value his mentorship and guidance.

LBB> Tell us more about your creative process - (e.g. when you get a project, how do you go about developing a look?) 

Dylan> When I first get on the project I’ll connect with the director and cinematographer to see if they have any references or a general creative brief. After that I’ll watch the piece down a few times to start to get ideas for the approach. 

Usually after that I’ll pick a few hero shots per scene and pull up references on my monitor to discern the original intent of the creatives. If we’re working without reference images and I haven’t worked with them before, I’ll sometimes look at their reels to get a better sense of the type of grade they might be drawn to. I love the ability to play around with different looks and the collaboration I get to have with so many talented filmmakers.

LBB> From experience, we’ve found that colourists often love art and photography - when you’re out of the studio, what inspires you? 

Dylan> I grew up in the Seattle area surrounded by nature and took a lot of inspiration from the landscapes around me. Now living in California, I try to get outside as much as possible. I find myself really inspired by various photo books too.

LBB> Colour grading is largely a digital affair, but there’s also been a resurgence of film over the past few years in commercials and music videos. What are your thoughts about working on film versus digital formats like 4K? And what are your favourite techniques for capturing a vintage or tactile feel? 

Dylan> For me, there’s a certain way film responds that’s hard to achieve when shooting digital. 

There’s something about when things are shot on film that feel more natural and can lend themselves to more emotion on screen. Film can really transport the viewer to another world whereas sometimes digital can be harder to emulate that same type of feeling.

LBB> When working in commercials, what role can colour and a grade play in enhancing a brand’s assets and what sort of conversations do you have with creatives and clients about that (e.g. is there often a strategic/consistent ‘look’ for a brand? Can these be too heavy handed?) 

Dylan> Colour is crucial in commercials because it can help unify a brand’s visual identity, evoke desired emotions, and highlight/exemplify certain physical products. 

Discussions with creatives and clients often focus on aligning the grading with brand guidelines while still allowing for creative freedom in the grade.

LBB> How do you ensure that each colourist-director partnership is a success? 

Dylan> It’s important to remember it’s ultimately the director’s project and vision first and I’m here to help them execute that. A good playlist and a stocked mini fridge certainly helps too though.

LBB> What advice would you give to budding colourist? 

Dylan> Get your hands on as much footage as possible and never stop pushing yourself by trying out new approaches. Connect with directors or cinematographers at the same point in their careers – invest in them and grow together.

LBB> In your opinion, what’s difference between a good grade and a great grade? 

Dylan> A good grade might look nice and be aesthetically pleasing, but a great grade fits the story and helps further the emotional impact without being distracting.

LBB> How is the craft and trade of colour grading changing? 

Dylan> The grading tools themselves are continuing to evolve as programs are starting to focus on more tools for creative colour grading rather than simply colour correction. 

Covid also ushered in a new era of remote colour grading which has allowed for artists to collaborate across borders. Beforehand most of my clients were local in LA and now half of my client base is spread across other areas in the world.