On July 20, Blackmagic Design and IntekTV hosted South America’s first ever Colorist Mixer at Country Club Lima in Peru. Held in conjunction with Blackmagic Week, the event drew an enthusiastic crowd of approximately 60 people from across Latin American, including more than 20 colorists. It was also streamed with the help of the Davinci Resolve Latino community.
Diego Yhama, CSI, founder of Estudio Roco, Bogota, and creator of the podcast Coloristas Hispanos, acted as host and gave an informative talk on AI-assisted color grading. He was then joined by Peruvian colorist Miguel Mendez, CSI, Chilean colorist Wawin Arriagada, and Argentinian colorist Cecilia Belliz, CSI for a discussion about opportunities in Peru’s growing post-production community. That was followed by networking and socializing.
“We began with a short talk about AI tools available in DaVinci Resolve, how AI can help colorists, and whether AI is a threat to jobs,” says Yhama. “Our panel discussion focused on the role of the colorist, the state of color grading in Peru, how to create looks and how to work with clients. It ended with a beautiful exercise with panelists and attendees discussing the creation of node structures and important considerations in doing so. That was my favorite part.”
Yhama added that the event underscored the desire for connection among post production professionals in Latin America and the advantages of membership in Colorist Society. “There’s never been a Colorist Mixer in Peru,” he notes. “I expect several of the colorists in attendance to join CSI. “It was a great opportunity to begin building a professional community. We look forward to more events like this. It was wonderful to see such a large group of colorists talking about their work and sharing ideas on how to improve our craft.”
Yhama is currently leading an effort to raise the profile of colorists in South America through membership in CSI. “There are colorists in countries across South America, but they are hard for producers to find,” he explains. “Membership in CSI will give them greater visibility and better access to good projects. We’re stronger together.” He is currently working with the officers of CSI Argentina to create a chapter open to Spanish-speaking colorists throughout the region. “We’re from different countries, but we have the same goals. We are stronger together.”
Although local film and television production is growing, South American countries continue to get much of their content from the United States and other foreign suppliers. The development of a community of colorists and other professionals may help tip the balance in the other direction. “Colorists here and not only highly skilled, they also bring cultural experience and understanding,” Yhama observes. “Events like Blackmagic Week and the Colorist Mixer are important because they provide training and information in our language. The amount of television and film production in Spanish will continue to grow and we want to be ready for it.”
