Jennifer Mendes, Colourist, Loudness Films Brie Clayton May 31, 2023
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Jennifer Mendes is a colourist at Loudness Films in Portugal, best known for her work on Os filhos do Rock , O Patio das Cantigas .
Mendes started working in the audio-visual industry as a motion designer and VFX compositor. She's been a colourist for 11 years and has worked on a variety of content including commercials, music videos, documentaries, as well as features films and TV. Mendes loves to work in different colour spaces and is passionate about creating rich, vibrant, and dynamic colour palettes that bring life to her projects.
Can you tell us about your journey to becoming a colourist?
I was looking for a job as a motion designer when Loudness Films opened its doors in 2011. My (now) boss was opening an audio and image post-production studio in Lisbon and they wanted someone to manage the colour correction suite. They made me the proposal and I went to experiment to see if it was a good fit for me.
My first project was a documentary series. I remember walking into a room of five or more people who were focused on me and what I was doing. I didn't have any experience, but I passed. I took some courses and projects continue to emerge up until this day.
Amelia's Children
Tell us about your role at Loudness Films?
Loudness Films is an audio and image post-production studio. We have image and audio editing rooms, a Foley recording studio, a Dolby Atmos studio and a colour correction room. We work on all kinds of projects, but mostly our focus is feature films and TV series. I started to do a little bit of everything, but right now I'm dedicated to colour correction work.
Cuba Libre
How would you describe the post-production industry in Portugal?
The post-production industry in Portugal is not very big and there are few post-production studios here. In comparison to neighbouring countries, the industry does not benefit from incentives and subsidies and national productions do not have large budgets.
However, the post-production house in Portugal has a high level of technical expertise and offers a huge range of services in film and video editing, visual effects, colour grading, sound design and animation. And it's in constant development according to the needs of the market. I think that more and more producers are taking advantage of the country's competitive cost structure and its talented pool of professionals.
Gloria
How does Baselight aid your role as a colourist?
When I started using Baselight, about five years ago now, I had a year with a lot of work and it would have been a much more challenging time if it wasn't for this system. The Baselight ASSIST helps to maximise efficiency as it allows someone to do the conforming and rendering work in the background while I focus on the colour work with the clients. The internal cache is also very important as it allows us to read the footage in real time while we are working. The option to have several projects open at the same time, or to have the thumbnails on the second monitor and to be able to quickly copy grades, helps a lot - especially in episodes or between reels to maintain the consistency of the look across the episodes or film.
Gloria
What's your career highlight to-date?
I think it was the opportunity to do colour correction in HDR for the first Netflix original series in Portugal, Gloria (2021).
And also a comedy film that is part of a trilogy of remakes, O Patio das Cantigas (2015), which was until today the most watched Portuguese film at the box office in Portugal.
Gloria
How do you think colour shapes the way audiences perceive film?
Colour plays a crucial role in shaping the way audiences perceive film. The choice of colours and contrast can set the tone for a scene, convey the mood and emotions of characters and even help to advance the plot. For example, warm colours like red and orange can create a sense of excitement and energy, while cool colours like blue can evoke a sense of calmness and tranquillity.
In addition, colour can also be used to create visual symbolism, by using a particular colour to represent a specific theme or idea. For example, the colour green might be used to symbolise growth and renewal, while the colour black might symbolise death or mourning.
Colour is a powerful tool in filmmaking that can greatly impact the way audiences perceive and experience a film. The use of colours can enhance the visual impact of a film, but like Ivan Albright once said: a colour is as strong as the impression it creates.
Gloria
How have you used colour to communicate with an audience?
As a colourist, one of the ways we can communicate with an audience is through the use of colour and contrast. Colour and contrast can evoke emotions, set the mood and create a visual style that supports the storytelling - enhancing the overall impact of the film.
Colourists can communicate with audiences by using colour to create a visual style for a film and help to establish its overall tone and mood. For example, in the film Bem Bom, which is set in the 1980s, we use a warm tone and vintage look. Colour can be used to support the story and help the audience understand the mood and tone of a scene. If a scene is meant to be tense or suspenseful, for example, the colourist might use a desaturated, high-contrast look to create a sense of unease.
In Gloria there is a romantic beach scene where two characters, woman and man, go to the beach. We used colour here by adopting a desaturated tone, to create more suspense between the characters' relationship.
In my opinion, a colourist can effectively communicate with an audience and help bring the director's vision to life.
Gloria
How do you like to work with the director and cinematographer?
I like to work closely with
