Z is our color-in-chief. As a film director and DOP himself, he brings a narrative-focused, cinematic approach to color grading. With over two decades of experience in digital media color, Z blends technical knowledge with artistic sensibility to create stunning looks that elevate stories. And yes—skin tones.
Z is our color-in-chief. As a filmmaker he approaches color grading through a story-first lens—treating it as a narrative layer that shapes, elevates, and accentuates story beats. With over two decades of experience working with color in digital media, Z brings both precision and artistry to every frame. And yes—he’s obsessed with skin tones.ng
The art and science of color
We founded Witchery because we felt a big disconnect in terms of story-buy-in from hired guns in post-production. In other words, It's hard to find people who give a f*ck. With more people shooting RAW/ LOG, color grading takes center stage. Grading moved beyond "match the camera LUT" to become a storytelling craft. Problem is, it is hard for indie filmmakers to find technically sound colorists that are not in amazon-driver-delivery-rush mode. Colorists that will approach the production in a story-driven way. We do. We've created Witchery to do just that.
Coven
Coven (photo) is our fully equipped dedicated color grading studio. The studio is fully equipped with color-accurate Calman® calibrated monitors, Blackmagic panels and Resolve Studio software running on last generation Mac Studios.
Coven is also running on professional color grading suites including Hollywood-grade color transforms and film emulators, the same used in high-end productions.
🖖 I'm Z...
... and I'm Su.
Su Tais is a Berklee College of Music alumni music composer for film and TV. She's been sounding films, TV and games since 2017.
Fun fact: Su was a data-scientist and used to manage A.I projects at Apple in Silicon Valley, where she worked for many years before transitioning careers into film music.
Questions we are always asked
How much it will cost to grade my short film?
We grade 3-10 minutes of footage / day, depending on the needs of the project. Our base daily rate is £600, minimum of two days. We also have the super low-budget DIY Setup + Masters option for a fixed £650. In this option we'll grade 3 master shots and deliver a Resolve (PRJ) file back to you with the color pipeline correctly configured, so you can DIY from there.
Keep in mind there are factors that slow things down: Multi-camera, conforming issues etc. We'll send you instructions to help you make sure your files are in good shape for supply, so we can hit the ground running and focus the time on creating production value.
How can I get a quote for VFX work?
There are two approaches to getting a quote from us on the VFX work you need.
Option 1: We have been involved since the beginning.
In this case, we will help you break down the script to find out where VFX will be needed and advise you on how to shoot scenes so they are cheaper for you and more believable in the end.
Option 2: You did your thing and need help.
In this case, you will send us a list of things that you want modified, along with references and assets you already have.
In both cases, we will send you an email with detailed instructions on what we need.
Where are you located?
We are based in the UK, 20 min from London Paddington Station. We provide fully remote color, visual effects and music services for clients worldwide.
Do you work with commercial and music videos?
Absolutely.
What files I need to provide for Grading?
You'll need a picture lock cut. No changes to edit after grading starts. This will help you save money and achieve consistency throughout the grading process.
Remote Grading:
All you need to provide us with is a lossless Prores 444 (or similar highest possible quality) render of your picture lock cut.
Grading + Conform:
If you are supplying hard drives with RAW camera footage, we will send you detailed instructions on how to groom and export the timeline for grading so we can achieve the best results possible.
How many reviews do I get?
For Grading or VFX workflows, you get two review rounds, and it should suffice for most projects. If you need more review rounds, we can provide them at an additional cost.
How Witchery came to be?
Just take a look at the disheartening post-production stories on Reddit. As filmmakers, we've been there. We've lost money, got our footage wrecked, and, in the end, had to redo it all ourselves.
Story-aware post-production work is not easy to find, and it is especially harder for low-budget productions. We want to help indie filmmakers tell their stories.
Tell me about the overall workflow.
We will be discussing story and moods at the beginning of the project and then meet for remote review rounds. Our client engagement workflow is completely automated and runs on top of widely adopted industry standard tools like Frame.io. No materials or notes are ever exchanged via email or files through third-party transfer sites. This also avoids messy, untraceable back and forth and keeps everyone informed, happy, and the project moving.