Meet Jerimiah Morey | Colorist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jerimiah Morey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jerimiah, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
When I first started in the industry, for roughly 8 years, I would work as much overtime as possible. Normally 60-80 hour work weeks on average. I was extremely motivated in moving up to a respected artist position and being involved and available as much as possible seemed to be the best way to make that happen. The extra money was also nice. One of the big reasons I ended up going full time freelance was that sort of lifestyle took a toll on my body and it’s difficult for me to sustain that sort of hours for more than a month now. Being freelance I’m able to have much more control over my schedule than I would at a facility, especially with regards to weekend work.

What should our readers know about your business?
I think the biggest reason my clients choose me over other colorists would be the value I provide along with the reliability. I started in the post production industry as a data manager with the idea of doing something more artistic. Originally I wanted to do 3d CGI, but in talking to friends that were already working in the industry, they recommended against it. The facility I was working at, Pacific Title and Art Studio, was in the process of opening up a DI department while I was working as a data and systems administrator. DI is the process of taking negative film and doing all of the post processing digitally, including online editorial, dustbusting, color correction and general finishing, then producing film prints as well as video deliverables that ultimately go onto dvd/bluray or streaming services. The most artistic aspect is color correction and at the time there were not a lot of colorists. It was very challenging to get where I am today, in part due to the fact that a lot of the known colorists today started in the 90’s and are still doing the majority of the feature films, television, and short form/commercial work. I was working at various facilities in LA and around 2011 I setup a grading room in my house. Davinci Resolve had been released for mac in September 2010, prior to that a professional system like I used at work would cost at minimum $500,000, the ones I typically worked on were around $1,000,000. With the introduction of resolve on mac, while it wasn’t quite as powerful in terms of speed as what I was used to, it was every bit as capable. I was still working at facilities until 2015, doing a full day’s work then coming home and working until 2am some nights, but mostly wrapping around 10pm. By that time I felt comfortable leaving my daytime job to pursue freelance work full time and I’ve been doing that ever sense. I don’t advertise in any traditional way, all of my business is through recommendations from my clients and it keeps me busy enough. In the industry it’s always difficult to maintain a comfortable steady amount of work, it’s been that way since before I started and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Often refereed to as feast or famine, so it’s important to budget both time and money accordingly, enjoy the free time as it’s available.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I did an introductory flight class in Burbank, we flew from Burbank airport down to Malibu, Santa Monica, Downtown, Dodge Stadium and back to the airport. It’s an excellent way to see the whole city. Sushi Iki has the best sushi I’ve ever had, and I’ve been to Japan 3 times. I also enjoy all of the museums LA has to offer, The Getty probably being my favorite.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Jimmy Tom – Colorist.

Website: https://jerimiahmorey.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jerimiahmorey/

Image Credits
Jerimiah Morey