Color Grading for an Independent Film: “American Dream”

In another first as a video editor, I was tasked by actor and producer Rick Dumont to color grade for his latest film, “American Dream.” The film was inspired by Rick’s years of experience working with the unhoused and less fortunate. His goal with American Dream is to raise awareness of how all homeless people are human beings like anyone else, just down on their luck, with their own unique stories. Rick’s film strives to paint how the homeless are not that different from us, and how in a turn of misfortunate, we could be in their shoes.

As a film colorist specifically focused on color grading, I began this project by establishing a neutral baseline: color correcting each scene by tweaking temperature, highlights, shadows, whites and blacks, and so on to reach a balance that felt native to the conditions of each scene where and when it was filmed. This was a meticulous process that involved continuously comparing clips within a given scene to match them as close as can be.

Once I had my baseline, it was time to actually color grade; to tweak the color of each scene for artistry and symbolism rather than realism. To backtrack briefly (and without giving too much away), this project started with Rick and agreeing it would be fitting to accentuate an idea already present within the film at that point in post-production: a dichotomy of hopelessness and hope. To achieve this, I created two adjustment layers; filters that would split each of the main scenes into a gray-blue gloom and a radiant light, representing hopelessness and hope respectively.

My part in this film was an iterative process, checking in with Rick continuously to gauge his thoughts on my progress. In the end, we came away with something that I believe will complement the film’s focus on the shared humanity of homeless and those who have homes, and how showing our humanity through understanding and acts of kindness can brighten even the darkest of days for the unhoused.