Anastasia Shepherd
Anastasia Shepherd
Freelance Colorist
East Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA
www.anastasiashepherd.com
instagram @anastasiashepherd
linkedin
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“I’m a freelance film colorist. ”
I have a home grading suite and also freelance at studios around town. I work on features, shorts, commercials, music videos, TV shows, web content, social content, anything and everything film/video. My primary tool is DaVinci Resolve, and I also work on Baselight and Lustre for my studio clients.
Color grading is so compelling to me because as a colorist, I'm the last person to touch the images before they hit the screen. My job is a fun mix of technical reasoning and artistic expression. I get to collaborate with directors and cinematographers, enhance their vision, and broaden the reach of their film. Good visual style communicates so much and adds a lot of production value.
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
After film school at USC, I spent a few years working as a cinematographer and editor, and then taught editing at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. From there, I went to Denmark to teach editing at the European Film College, which is where I began exploring color grading as a new career path. I moved to Cambodia after Denmark and became a working colorist in Cambodia's burgeoning film scene, where there were tons of films getting made but very few local colorists to grade them. I bounced around to a few other countries to give workshops and do projects and then landed back in LA, where I got some great studio experience working at Company 3 and Technicolor on films like Avengers: Endgame.
I completed building my home studio mid-2019 and have been doing all my color work remotely since the lockdown began in March 2020. It's been such an interesting time for technological innovations in remote work and I'm really happy with the workflows I've been able to put in place.
How do you stand out in your field?
I have both an artistic and a technical background, which greatly informs my work. Studying painting, sculpture, analog photography (my college minor) and working as a cinematographer and editor right out of film school helped me develop a strong visual sense. I also worked in IT and computer repair, which taught me to RTFM and how to solve technical issues with a scientific approach.
Women are very underrepresented in color grading, especially at a professional level. According to this survey, women make up about 10% of colorists and are paid 77% of what their male counterparts make. Some clients find me through intentionally building their network with more women.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
Currently grading a horror film, a sports documentary, and a children's TV show. Very different looks! In the next few weeks, I have 3 feature documentaries booked back to back, so things are about to get very busy.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
Clean, elegant, and cinematic. I like to work with the photography and create a cohesive world. I work in a very wide range of genres, so I try to find a style for each project that suits the content and the message.
One of the most important photographic concepts I think about every time I'm grading is Roland Barthes "punctum" concept - the idea that there is one specific point in a photograph that grabs the viewer and makes the image compelling. A lot of what I'm trying to achieve in a grade is to draw the viewer's eye to the right area of frame and help the images elicit an emotional response from the viewer. It takes empathy to do this right - you have to put yourselves in the shoes of your viewer as if you're seeing the film for the first time, over and over again.
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
Don’t be afraid to reach out to ask for advice from more experienced filmmakers. I was always afraid I was bothering people when I was younger. Now that I have students and newer filmmakers that I mentor, I realize it’s beneficial on both sides. This is especially critical for women in film. We absolutely must support each other if we’re going to move the needle towards equality in our industry.
I also think it’s important to enter the field you wish to be in, even if there is no one who looks like you in it. It’s important not to be discouraged, and to work hard to become the role model you wish you had.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
Narrative and documentary features & shorts, music videos, trailers, commercials, TV, VR and web content.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
I love to work with creatives who are deeply personally invested in their work. I'm grateful for my experience working on bigger studio films because I can take what I've learned there and apply it to independent projects that have a little more heart. My goal is to bring studio-caliber finishing to independent stories from under-represented communities.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
Most people reach out through my website or Instagram and then we schedule a call to discuss all the details. I also have some great junior colorists that I can recommend for lower budget projects, so I encourage anyone to reach out who is approaching the final stages of their production.
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
I believe making and sharing something every day, even if it's badly made or not finished or cheesy, is essential to preserving your creativity. I try to make something every day and I try not to be too precious about sharing works in progress.
This member profile was originally published in August 2020.