Episode 007: Ayumi Ashley

On this episode of Colorist Podcast, I have a conversation with Ayumi Ashley. She is the co-founder of Mission Film and Design (MFDSF) in San Francisco, California. It's a boutique color, sound, and VFX facility, focusing mainly on commercials, music videos, and short films. She has completed work for North Face, Skyy Vodka, and Ben & Jerry's. Additionally, Silicon Valley clients like Adobe, Pinterest, and Square have also finished their work with her.

Ayumi started working as a freelance colorist while still attending college. Apple Color and the reduced price of DaVinci Resolve helped her hone her skills and enter the ranks of working colorists quickly. The combination of affordable grading platforms, higher demand for colorists, and minimal competition in her area, helped her and founding partner Matt Notaro start and run her own finishing company.

In this interview, we talk about:

• How she got started as a colorist
• Why the 5D mk ii had such a profound impact in her market
• The low cost of entry for color tools: is it a good thing?
• Working in San Francisco and why there aren't many colorists there
• Helping clients understand why they need a colorist
• Running a facility and prioritizing the budget accordingly
• Making her clients feel pampered and comfortable
• Listening and performing live for your clients
• How she uses remote reviews with Frame IO
• Handing off her work to other colorists
• Using Full DaVinci panels verses using the Tangent Element
• How to draw on inspiration when your sessions are only three hours long
• Working with software other than DaVinci Resolve

Mission Film and Design 
http://mfdsf.com/

Personal Page
http://www.ayumiashley.com/

Twitter
https://twitter.com/ayumash

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

This episode is sponsored by mixinglight.com. Use the coupon code josh10 for 15% off your first quarterly term or josh40 for 15% your first annual term.