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Q&A with Senior Colorist Fergus McCall

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Fergus McCall has been an integral member of The Mill since the company opened its doors in London in 1990. In April 2004, McCall moved from London to the newly opened New York office to lead the Telecine department. Over the past 20 years he has worked with some of the most talented directors, cinematographers and agency creatives on some of the world's most iconic advertising.

With his recent Cannes 2010 Golden Lion and AICP wins for Puma's 'After Hours Athlete', directed by Ringan Ledwidge and Jim Beam's 'Parallels', directed by Dante Ariola, Fergus has been more in demand than ever.

Q: What has been your favorite project this year?

A: Probably the Gillette 'Homage' spot that we recently finished. As a project, it has all of the ingredients that make a job rewarding; Input from the director and DoP, a creative who wants to produce something distinctive and memorable in a spot that contains a variety of interesting looks and styles and is not compromised by creative insecurities. The end result smacks of quality and of great collaborative film-making.

Q: What was your favorite project of all time?

A: I can't give one in particular, so I'll give you a few. From before some of my co-workers were born (almost), Tarsem's 'Swimmer' for Levis. While they were attending preschool, it was Michel Gondry's 'Drugstore', also for Levis. Moving into this millenium, Jon Glaser's 'Swim Black' for Guinness and more recently, Ringan Ledwidge's 'After Hours Athlete' for Puma. The last of these might just be my most favorite, not because of my part in it but because everything about it is brilliant and it has a v/o that sends a tingle down my spine every time I hear it. It's writing and execution in perfect harmony.

Q: You have been here since the Mill opened its doors over 20 years ago.  How has Telecine changed over the years?

A: Not quite from the beginning, but almost. In another few years somebody will be handing me the engraved gold watch and golf clubs and leading me out to pasture. Has it changed much in that time? Yes and no. Almost everybody reading this will be aware of the significant changes in technology both in production and post- production. The endgame remains the same, however. Make the images look great and make them look right for the imagery they are portraying. When I first started, editors stuck film together with sellotape (Scotch tape), we used to drink beer at lunchtime and CG didn't exist apart from in the heads of some clever blokes at a company called Pixar.

Q: How is TK different in New York compared to London?

A: Every market has their own particular aesthetic and way of working.  But when comparing New York and London specifically the question should be, "Are they in any way the same?" There are many dissimilarities between the two - different sensibilities, priorities and chains of command.  The advertising aesthetic is just different in New York, and it takes time to learn those differences.

Q: Do you prefer to grade Film or Digital footage?  Is it much different?

A: Film, by a mile, though the people over at Arri are beginning to close the gap. However, the other camera company that purports to be offering the future of image capture I am not a fan of yet. It seems they've spent the last few years telling us how fantastic they are without ever delivering on their well-managed hype. On a more conciliatory note, all of the newer digital capture cameras have their strengths and I'm sure other colorists will have noticed that since the largely noise free pictures of Alexa and Red have become the norm clients have become much more sensitized to grain and don't always like it.

Q: What advice would you offer to aspiring young TK artists?

A: As somebody that happened upon color correction by mistake I might not be the right person to offer advise to the young aspirant, but I'll give it a go.

At it's most fundamental level it requires an appreciation of imagery and an aesthetic of what works and what doesn't work. Remember that just about any clown can get a digitally captured image to about 85% of its potential. The magic is in the last 10% or 15%.

Always be able to step back and see the wood from the trees... so much of what is done in post-production is done at an almost pixel level while staring at single frames. The role of the colorist is to make the whole piece work rather than obsess on single shots.

Don't slavishly copy the style of your mentor, use your own aesthetic. Color, texture and contrast are all subjective so there isn't ultimately a right or a wrong way to make something look. There is an appropriate way, however.

Make sure you're not color blind.