Light Iron Colorists Nominated for Creative Awards

Nominations have been announced for the 2024 FilmLight Colour Awards and HPA Awards, and Light Iron Supervising Colorist Ian Vertovec and Senior Colorist Élodie Ichter are among the nominees.

The FilmLight Colour Awards celebrate the work of colorists from around the world and are open to artists using any grading platform. Vertovec is nominated in the TV Series/Episodic category, for his work on the series Griselda, featuring cinematography by Armando Salas, ASC. This is Vertovec’s second FilmLight Colour Awards nomination; he was nominated in 2022 for his work on the feature Being the Ricardos, shot by Jeff Cronenweth, ASC.

“I’m honored to be nominated for the color grading of Griselda,” Vertovec shares. “Armando wanted to emulate the look of vintage Polaroids updated for a modern HDR look. For the color grading, we developed a custom on-set HDR workflow that supported grain, halation, and the color palette of grittiness and opulence. Many thanks to Armando for his creative vision and to everyone at Light Iron for their excellent support.”

Presented by the Hollywood Professional Association, the HPA Awards recognize creative achievement, outstanding artistry and engineering excellence throughout the post-production industry. Ichter is nominated in the category of Outstanding Color Grading – Live Action Episode or Non-Theatrical Feature, for her work on the Shōgun episode “Anjin,” photographed by Christopher Ross, BSC.

“I spent a lot of time with the directors, DPs and other key collaborators getting into the details of what we wanted for the show in general,” says Ichter, who graded the first four episodes. She worked on the series while at post house The Mill, just before joining Light Iron. “The series is set in the 17th century, so the palette is muted, but it was important to have differentiation within those tones. The first episode, ‘Anjin,’ required the most attention because it sets the look for the entire series. We spent a lot of time getting it right. It was a full-on creation, and I felt truly valued.”

Ichter is also on the jury for this year’s FilmLight Colour Awards. (Jurors are recused from any categories where there might be a conflict of interest, so Ichter will not have a vote in the category where Vertovec is nominated.) “Color grading is a collaborative process,” she says. “You work from the creation of another person’s work: the director, director of photography, set designer, costume designer and so on. While judging the FilmLight Colour Awards, I’ll be looking for the colorist’s grade to have an understanding of this initial work — the lighting choices and the narrative. It is not about making it ‘look good,’ it’s about adding to the story that’s being told.”

The FilmLight Colour Awards will be presented on November 17 in Torún, Poland, during the Camerimage International Film Festival. The HPA Awards will be presented during a gala ceremony on November 7 in Los Angeles.