Ahead of this years FilmLight Colour Awards, jury member Jax Harney, founder and senior colourist at X-LDN speaks to TVBEurope about the colourists role and what she hopes to see from the 2024 entries
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: July 23, 2024 Updated: July 24, 2024
Ahead of this year's FilmLight Colour Awards, jury member Jax Harney, founder and senior colourist at X-LDN speaks to TVBEurope about the colourist's role and what she hopes to see from the 2024 entries
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> Ahead of this year's FilmLight Colour Awards, jury member Jax Harney, founder and senior colourist at X-LDN speaks to TVBEurope about the colourist's role and what she hopes to see from the 2024 entries
https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/the-grade-should-flow-not-steal-the-show-colourist-jax-harney-reveals-her-hopes-for-the-filmlight-2024-awards title=Share via Email class=share-email>
Do you think it's important for colourists to be recognised in awards like these? Absolutely, these awards are essential for validating the skills and artistry that colourists bring to the table.
You've been working for over two decades as a colourist. What are you looking for in entries? I'll be looking for creative use of colour that enhances the story being presented. I want the grade to flow - not steal the show, but compliment what I'm watching. I'll be looking at texture and then the obvious clean keys, fine shape work and making sure my attention is being led to where it's required.
Jax Harney, founder and senior colourist, X-LDN As a colourist specialised in advertising, what are your thoughts on the new category for this year - Emerging Talent? I think this new category is an incredible way to recognise and celebrate the fresh faces in our industry who are bringing in new energy and ideas. This category not only highlights their hard work and potential, but also encourages them to keep honing their craft. I'm really excited to see this kind of recognition and support for the next generation of talent. It's definitely a step in the right direction towards a more innovative and inclusive industry.
Having worked for so many luxury brands, what is the most important part of the grade for this type of project? Is it skin tone, the discussion with the creative agency, etc.? Anyone who knows me, knows how much I bang on about collaboration being key. On every job, I try to work closely with the director, DoP and creatives to achieve the best results. With beauty work in particular, I have to be gentle with the skin tones and stay as real as the environment will allow. This can be difficult sometimes if the client wants their product singing out of the scene, but it's always a team discussion on how to walk this fine line of staying true to the scene while also delivering what the client wants.
You set up your own facility in 2020, can you tell us more about it? I did indeed and it is the best thing that came out of the pandemic for me. The model we've created is based on collaborations with different independent artists and post facilities. Colour is still my main focus and the core of the business at X, but over the years I've connected with some incredible talents in all areas of post, which has led to some amazing creative partnerships across the globe.
How do you prefer to work with the DoP on colour? For long form I always try to connect with the DoP early in the process. This gives us time to shoot ideas around, test looks and create a solid LUT. I find that consistent communication throughout the shoot, with tweaks to the look as we go, always yields the best creative outcomes. I much prefer having the DoP in the suite for the final grade, but in commercials that isn't often the case. In this instance, I will always endeavour to at least have a brief from set to try and carry as much of the creative intent across.
What are the key challenges of your role as colourist? Particularly in advertising, diminishing budgets mean less productions are factoring in the appropriate time for colour and finishing. Plus, some editors are now using AI tech for colour in their edit software, so we are finding that the colour grading is being axed to save money. A lot of the time this results in us having to pick up a project very late in the day - when the production hands it over to fix what hasn't been achieved in edit and what hasn't been accounted for at the beginning of the project.
What's your career highlight to date and why? I have quite a few career highlights for various reasons, so I will list a few.
Going to the BAFTAs with the short film, Kamali (2018), directed by Sasha Rainbow and shot by Jake Gabbay. This was super special.
Working with Nicole Ackermann, Adam Bentel and the amazing VFX team at The Mill NYC on the trailer for the Bethesda Game Studios' game, Starfield' was also pretty special. I'm a huge gamer and grading video game trailers is my happy place.
Setting up my own post facility - that's got to be up there.
Finally, watching the cast of Celebrity Gogglebox get all emotional while watching episode 6 of Big Boys (season 1).
The shortlist for the 2024 FilmLight Colour Awards will be released in autumn with winners announced at EnergaCAMERIMAGE in November. For more details, visit: www.filmlightcolourawards.com.
Elvis, JFK cinematographers among judges for FilmLight Colour Awards
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
20/01/2026
SVG Sit-Down: BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on the Future of Cloud, Remote, Softwar...
20/01/2026
From architecture to reality: What CBC's Milano Cortina 2026 workflows tell ...
20/01/2026
Milano Cortina 2026: Making the Winter Olympics and Paralympics workflow work fo...
20/01/2026
Countdown to Milano Cortina 2026: SVG Launches SportsTechLive Blog in Lead-up to...
20/01/2026
Grand finale: Rally Saudi Arabia pushes WRC to make the most of cameras and dron...
20/01/2026
State of Change: What's Happening in the Remote-Production Business?NEP Group, Game Creek Video, Dome Productions, Mobile TV Group, Program Productions exec...
20/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: A Look Back at SVG's Complete CoverageGo behind the scenes with ESPN, Game Creek Video, Van Wagner, and the champion Indiana...
20/01/2026
The Gotham, Film Independent, and Creators Coalition on AI Join Alliance
by Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director, Sundance Institute's Artist Programs...
20/01/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
20/01/2026
December, the first month of winter and the holiday season, has traditionally encouraged families to spend time together in front of the television. During this...
20/01/2026
During December, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.3%, an increase of 0.1 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YUMI TV,...
20/01/2026
Christmas Day is Most-Streamed Day Ever with 55 Billion Viewing Minutes, led by...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Disguise and ASB GlassFloor today announced a strategic partnership that turns the arena floor into a fully customizable interactive digital surface. This will ...
20/01/2026
Last summer, ITV celebrated the tenth anniversary of its popular reality dating show, Love Island. To ramp up the excitement of series 12 (launched in the UK on...
20/01/2026
Berklee's Mark Ethier Named One of SPIN's Most Influential People in Mus...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Emergent, a provider of AI-powered media production solutions, today announced its presence at ISE 2026 in Barcelona, taking place February 3 6, where it will u...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery Amend Agreement to All-Cash Transaction
Business
20 January 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
All-C...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Now You Can Play a Role in Our Live Events With Real-Time Voting
Elmar Nubbemeyer
VP, Member Product
Product
20 January 2026
Global
Link...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Indiana Football's Digital Crew Generate Hyp...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Van Wagner Relies on Experience for Indiana-Miam...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Game Creek Video Fields Premiere IP Compound for...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: For a Slew of Studio Shows, ESPN Turns Hard Rock...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: ESPN's Sweeping Live Game Production Leverag...
19/01/2026
The new L3Harris NOVA binocular system is the every-soldier goggle' - and the beginning of a new era for night-vison capability....
19/01/2026
The Majority of Those Surveyed Prefer to Buy Brands Who Advertise in Content Tha...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Straight to Hell' Sets April 27 Premiere: Teaser Trailer,...
19/01/2026
New Workflow Enhancements for All Broadcast Pix Systems, Plus 4-Channel ISO Recording for Hybrid and Roadie Tyngsboro, Mass. - January 2025 - Broadcast Pix ann...
19/01/2026
Monday 19 January 2026
Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap
Sky News today announces The Wrap, a bold evolution of its 10pm ou...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces the Series Nights & Days, Directed by Kamila...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones is striking a new chord in piano miking with the debut of its DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit, an out-of-the-box, plug-and-play miking solution that ta...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones will present its 4099 CORE Instrument Microphone and redesigned...
19/01/2026
Trianel relies on Arvato Systems for future-proof data center operations
Moving to the cloud: Arvato Systems implements extensive IT migration project
Migrat...
19/01/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Irish Album of the Year 2025 - Shortlist Announce...
18/01/2026
January 18 2026, 21:30 (PST) Dolby Cinema Arrives in Bengaluru: Dolby Laborator...
17/01/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, is helping to elevate the Google Meet experience with the introduction of an integration with Taurus UCX. Th...
17/01/2026
Clear-Com announced a strategic partnership with NETGEAR AV to offer four high-performance networking switches as original equipment manufacturer (OEM) solutio...
17/01/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, today announced a new U.S. distribution partnership wit...
17/01/2026
NUGEN Audio announces the latest evolution of MasterCheck, its industry-trusted optimization plug-in for cross-platform mastering and loudness verification. Des...
17/01/2026
BHV has announced that it will highlight its new SportsBox remote vision mixer and picture processor at ISE in Booth #4H900 marking its official introduction in...
17/01/2026
Clear-Com will return to ISE 2026 to demonstrate its latest intercom solutions for broadcast, live production, and AV professionals. Exhibiting at Stand #4P700...
17/01/2026
Grass Valley, a leading provider in live production solutions, will exhibit at ISE 2026 in Barcelona from February 3 6, presenting its vision for how modern Bro...
17/01/2026
Utelogy Corporation, the global leader in connected workplace management, monitoring, control, automation and analytics closes out a record-breaking 2025. The c...
Ahead of this years FilmLight Colour Awards, jury member Jax Harney, founder and senior colourist at X-LDN speaks to TVBEurope about the colourists role and what she hopes to see from the 2024 entries
