Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Unlock my full pro tools, grading system & community here: https://colorist.inc
Ian Vertovec has been shaping images you'd recognize instantly for nearly two decades. He co-founded Light Iron in 2009 and has graded The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Palm Royale, Gone Girl, Devotion, GLOW, and much more.
We talk look development, why the grade should be fine-tuning rather than invention, and what story-first finishing really looks like.
______________________________________________
Grab Referent, my free viewing LUT. It’s the foundation I use on almost every project for clean, filmic contrast and color right from the start:
cullenkellycolor.com/toolkit/referent
______________________________________________
0:00 - Introduction
0:54 - Pipeline and look development
3:38 - Early DI and film print workflows
4:44 - The Social Network and Red Gamma
7:21 - Rec.709 to film print density
14:29 - T-CAM and scene referred masters
18:22 - Inverting display transforms
23:29 - T-CAM look development
26:26 - T-Log look library
27:11 - Chromogen and film print emulation
29:34 - Look operators and third party LUTs
32:58 - Negative and print looks
36:56 - HDR masters and SDR trims
39:47 - HDR mastering levels
45:00 - Softness and color in HDR
50:36 - HDR and film print references
52:25 - ACES RRT and K1S1 references
55:11 - Buying Light Iron from Panavision
1:00:32 - Freelance colorists and open workflows
1:02:24 - LUTs and client relationships
1:04:22 - Shaping darkness
1:06:03 - Clipping shadows in Snack Shack
1:09:15 - Haze in Gone Girl
1:12:19 - Depth maps and auto roto
1:16:03 - Look development on big productions
1:19:26 - Grain, halation and BLG
1:22:58 - One day for look development
1:27:23 - Conclusion
Unlock my full pro tools, grading system & community here: https://colorist.inc
Ian Vertovec has been shaping images you'd recognize instantly for nearly two decades. He co-founded Light Iron in 2009 and has graded The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Palm Royale, Gone Girl, Devotion, GLOW, and much more.
We talk look development, why the grade should be fine-tuning rather than invention, and what story-first finishing really looks like.
______________________________________________
Grab Referent, my free viewing LUT. It’s the foundation I use on almost every project for clean, filmic contrast and color right from the start:
cullenkellycolor.com/toolkit/referent
______________________________________________
0:00 - Introduction
0:54 - Pipeline and look development
3:38 - Early DI and film print workflows
4:44 - The Social Network and Red Gamma
7:21 - Rec.709 to film print density
14:29 - T-CAM and scene referred masters
18:22 - Inverting display transforms
23:29 - T-CAM look development
26:26 - T-Log look library
27:11 - Chromogen and film print emulation
29:34 - Look operators and third party LUTs
32:58 - Negative and print looks
36:56 - HDR masters and SDR trims
39:47 - HDR mastering levels
45:00 - Softness and color in HDR
50:36 - HDR and film print references
52:25 - ACES RRT and K1S1 references
55:11 - Buying Light Iron from Panavision
1:00:32 - Freelance colorists and open workflows
1:02:24 - LUTs and client relationships
1:04:22 - Shaping darkness
1:06:03 - Clipping shadows in Snack Shack
1:09:15 - Haze in Gone Girl
1:12:19 - Depth maps and auto roto
1:16:03 - Look development on big productions
1:19:26 - Grain, halation and BLG
1:22:58 - One day for look development
1:27:23 - Conclusion
