Colorist Q & A with DAVE COLE, November 2008

Written by Christine Purse

Dave Cole’s DI credits read like a veritable who’s who of directors, blockbusters and top cinematographers, beginning in his native Australia at Digital Pictures and continuing on to Hollywood. When Cole decided to head to Los Angeles from Australia, he wanted to work in an environment that featured a strong behind-the-picture infrastructure and not simply a pretty façade. He chose LaserPacific. In the late 1990’s, Cole had set up Melbourne’s Digital Pictures digital film division and played a pivotal role in creating the digital intermediate industry in Australia. His enviable pre-US credits include “Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring” and leadership of the team of colorists on his sophomore collaboration with Peter Jackson, “King Kong.”

Createasphere: You’ve had an illustrious career. What brought you to the US and specifically to LaserPacific?

Cole: I wanted to get into DI at a facility that I could help build. LaserPacific has great rooms, great color science and a top team. Having a team that includes talented people like Doug Jacqua, who I think is second to none, was very compelling. And the rooms are beautiful, too. But having a beautiful room without the science and support behind it isn’t really worthwhile.

Createasphere: Would you care to highlight a few projects that were meaningful to you?

Cole: Obviously, working on “Lord of the Rings” and “King Kong” are highlights.

My first DI in the US, a great introduction, was “Southland Tales,” directed by Richard Kelly and shot by Steven Poster. That led to Richard’s next film, “The Box.” Working on a huge blockbuster like “Alvin & The Chipmunks,” it just passed the $350million mark worldwide, was quite something as well. I worked with Tim Hill, the director, and Peter Collister, the cinematographer during “Alvin” and then got to work with Tom Ackerman again. Tom was the 2^nd unit DP and Director on “Alvin.” (The pair worked together on “Balls of Fury”). I finished “Pride & Glory,” and it’s a fantastic movie with a great cast, and working on it with Declan Quinn and the director Gavin O’Connor was completely enjoyable. And, of course, working with Roland Joffe on the initial version of “Captivity” was another high point.

Createasphere: Peter Jackson, Richard Kelly, Roland Joffe, Claudio Miranda, Dave Klein, and Steven Poster - you have a proclivity for return engagements with creative people.

Cole: It’s my job to keep everyone’s best interests at heart, but the director and the cinematographer absolutely have to be happy. We really hone in on their opinion.

These relationships lead to creative short-hand and ultimately an understanding. You get to know how to work together. When I came here from Australia, I didn’t personally know many of these people, and we have built relationships very easily. We all work to make their projects what they want them to be.

Createasphere: DI has come into its own as part of the feature post process. Is it now a part of the creative process as well, before production?

Cole: If a director is familiar with what can happen in a DI suite, then it makes an impact on their thinking. Last year, I was working with a director who said that one of the effects we were using inspired him to use a “look” for a character. He was already thinking of engineering a story around something we did visually. So, absolutely, it is now a part of the creative process.

Createasphere: Let’s end with some wishful thinking. If you had the power to create a DI tool, or revolutionize the process, what would you do?

Cole: Obviously, we always want more, more, more, and computers that are faster. But interactive, 3D lighting would be great. I’d love to have a tool that allowed you to move lights. As it is now, we fake it in the 2D plane, draw around objects and people and do the best we can. But, if this was a real “let’s pretend” situation that I could just make it happen, I want virtual light, not simulated light. I want to put a light in the back of a scene or to light a face and create shadows. That would be an amazing thing. We saw a very simple version of that a few years ago, but it hasn’t evolved or come to fruition. Hopefully with the development of new 3D tools, it will be possible soon.