Born in Burundi
Documentary Color Grading
This project required careful documentary color grading to honor a story set in a rural Burundian hospital where life and death meet daily. The film follows Carmelite sisters and local staff who care for mothers in labor, children with malaria, and patients living with HIV. Because resources are scarce - fuel, medicine, and blood - the human stakes feel present in every scene. Therefore, the grade had to stay honest, quiet, and emotionally precise.
I shaped the look to reveal truth, not to decorate it. First, I established a neutral baseline and matched sources. Then, I refined midtones for natural skin tones and kept highlights controlled. Moreover, I preserved shadow detail for readability in low light. Part of the work involved remote color grading sessions, which enabled real-time creative decisions with the director.
For look development, I worked under Kodak 2383 Film Emulation (D65). This choice added gentle contrast, stable color separation, and a familiar filmic roll-off without forcing stylization. Additionally, an interpositive master in DNxHR HQX 10-bit UHD served as the cut-negative for reliable review and finishing. The footage, captured by DP Piotr Wolski with Sirui Anamorphic lenses in harsh African conditions, delivered rich flares, soft fall-off, and dimensionality. I protected those qualities, because they carry the film’s texture and presence.
The pipeline ran in DaVinci Resolve using DaVinci Wide Gamut Intermediate.
As a result, color transforms remained predictable, and deliverables stayed consistent from review to master. I handled conform, shot matching, and final trims; I also supervised QC and subtitle timing. Finally, I prepared broadcast MXF OP1a and 10-bit H.265 online masters.
In short, the goal was simple: keep viewers inside the moment. A colorist for documentary must serve story first, while picture finishing ensures the image travels intact across platforms.
Born in Burundi — Documentary Color Grading (Project Overview)
This project required careful documentary color grading to honor a story set in a rural Burundian hospital where life and death meet daily.
The film follows Carmelite sisters and local staff who care for mothers in labor, children with malaria, and patients living with HIV.
Because resources are scarce—fuel, medicine, and blood—the human stakes feel present in every scene.
Therefore, the grade had to stay honest, quiet, and emotionally precise.
I shaped the look to reveal truth, not to decorate it.
First, I established a neutral baseline and matched sources.
Then, I refined midtones for natural skintones and kept highlights controlled.
Moreover, I preserved shadow detail for readability in low light.
Part of the work involved remote color grading sessions, which enabled real-time creative decisions with the director despite distance.
Consequently, we maintained momentum and accuracy across time zones.
For look development, I worked under Kodak 2383 Film Emulation (D65).
This choice added gentle contrast, stable color separation, and a familiar filmic roll-off without forcing stylization.
Additionally, an interpositive master in DNxHR HQX 10-bit UHD served as the cut-negative for reliable review and finishing.
The footage, captured by DP Piotr Wolski with Sirui Anamorphic lenses in harsh African conditions, delivered rich flares, soft fall-off, and dimensionality.
I protected those qualities, because they carry the film’s texture and presence.
The pipeline ran in DaVinci Resolve using DaVinci Wide Gamut Intermediate.
As a result, color transforms remained predictable, and deliverables stayed consistent from review to master.
I handled conform, shot matching, and final trims; I also supervised QC and subtitle timing.
Finally, I prepared broadcast MXF OP1a and 10-bit H.265 online masters.
In short, the goal was simple: keep viewers inside the moment.
A colorist for documentary must serve story first, while picture finishing ensures the image travels intact across platforms.
