60 Seconds with Oisin O’Driscoll | Colour grading from home
Tell us about what brought you to the world of Colour and to The Mill?
I was really lucky in my upbringing to be exposed to loads of different creative outlets, none of which stuck until I was 12 when a female directing duo ran a workshop with my primary school class, and made a short film from start to finish with us. It wasn’t until we arrived at the editing process (on Final Cut Pro 1) that I became enthralled with post-production. Later, my parents sent me to a summer course called Fuse, a real life “Fame” if you will. After a couple of years going there, I started actively researching and watching films, music videos, and TV to broaden my knowledge. I delved into watching adverts from around the world, and The Mill’s work quickly stood out. Iconic spots like PlayStation Mountain & Sony ‘Balls’ showed me the creative power of advertising, the possibilities that were at my fingertips, and shortly after university, when the opportunity came to work for The Mill, I leapt.
Below: PlayStation Mountain
Below: Sony ‘Balls’
What’s your favorite part of being a Colourist?
The Baselight control surface is reminiscent of the helm of the Starship Enterprise — yes, that’s a Stark Trek reference. I get to live out my childhood fantasies daily; it’s like I’m eight years old again! But really, on a deeper level, I’m a huge people person, and I love the ethos of collaboration. In my field, you meet multitudes of creatives, each with wildly diverse backgrounds. It’s incredible to be part of that process and work with their vision by manipulating and enhancing images.
What have you learned from making the move to work from home under lockdown? How does your set up differ to being in the studio?
It’s been an interesting and unprecedented couple of months. It’s forcing each of us to check ourselves, to take notice of our processes and habits. I believe this pandemic and isolation period will change how we work forever; realizing how we can utilize our time and energy more efficiently while sharpening productivity. I know there are loads of people finding themselves extra productive while working from home. Even by cutting down commutes alone! I think after tasting a bit of this life, lots of people will want to continue remote working. Me on the other hand, not so sure! My home setup is very similar to the one I have at the studio, just with a much less comfortable chair, and smaller form factor. The only real change is all about file uploads and downloads, which have required some adjusting for reviews and sharing projects. It’s all been pretty straightforward otherwise.
You can check out Oisin’s work on his Creator profile or follow him on Instagram @oisin_colour.
