Mark Song, CSI

Some screenshots from the trailer of Renoir, written and directed by Chie Hayakawa. Nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes earlier this year, the film tells the story of an imaginative 11-year-old girl, her hospitalised father, and dissatisfied mother during their eventful summer of 1987 in Japan. It was a pleasure working with director of photography @hideho.urata , with many emails exchanged about our thoughts on the story, lighting, palette and 80s Japanese cinema even before even commencing on the grade. With Hide-san's beautiful cinematography, I had great images to work with from the start. He and DIT @yosukematsukura had created a monitoring LUT through multiple camera tests, which I rebuilt using my own tools for the grade to preview the original creative intent and make further refinements. I made subtle adjustments to smooth the images out toward an even more filmic profile, and auditioned it for Hide-san's approval. From this starting point, we worked on the film from beginning to end in multiple passes. It was pleasant to discover that we shared similar philosophies in working hard to make the image look natural, taking pains to hide the artifice of our crafts while making the image look beautiful. With my colorist eye scanning each detail of the frame, I found myself constantly asking Hide-san about his lighting decisions and approach to shooting. It was inspiring to hear his generous insights and breadth of filmmaking knowledge, against the musical backdrop of our playlist that spanned 1980s J-Pop to classic Enka. Chie-san joined us at the polishing stage, which included finishing work like adding VHS and CRT effects for the TV shots. Her warm presence and love for cinema made the sessions a joy, and the perfect sendoff to the grade. Renoir continues its festival run, opening the Japanese Film Festival Singapore this October. Director: Chie Hayakawa Director of Photography: @hideho.urata Producers: Eiko Mizuno, @jgtokyo , Keisuke Konishi, Christophe Bruncher, @franborgia.akangafilm Production Company: Loaded Films Singapore Production Company: @akangafilm

Yesterday was a once-in-a-lifetime experience walking the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival for the gala premiere of Renoir. Being part of the motorcade, stepping up the iconic stairs of the Grand Théâtre Lumière, and facing a sea of cameras was absolutely surreal. Cannes has been an incredible journey so far: connecting with people from around the world, watching amazing films, and soaking in an atmosphere like nowhere else. I’m grateful to @franborgia.akangafilm and @akangafilm for making this journey possible, and looking forward to seeing what the rest of the festival has in store. (Red carpet photos taken by @wu.photo.video )

Back in the lab at @ngeeannpoly ! We just finished 8 lessons and 2 tutorials dedicated to the art of the grade. Watching these adult learners transform their footage - and their creative eye - over the last 40 hours has been a blast. Big thanks to @michael_kam for having me back!

How time flies...the collective look of shock when I mentioned I was @dr_jlim 's student before any of them were even born was the highlight of this colour grading workshop at Hwa Chong International School! Huge thanks to my former lecturer, Jeanine Lim, for inviting me back again to share what I’ve learned with the next generation.

"Just make it look sophisticated and classy." That was the simple brief for this spotlight of @toccotoscano on Singapore Hour. Despite its Italian name and heritage, the heart of the brand is purely Singaporean. Founded by James Wong - who honed his leatherworking craft in Tuscany - the label has spent 40 years building a global reputation for excellence. With his son Joseph Lor now at the helm as CEO, the brand is updating its rich design heritage with modern sensibilities. For the grade, I wanted the visuals to feel as tactile as the bags themselves.. I paid homage to their craftsmanship by subtly weaving in their signature leather tones - greens, browns and navy - into the visual palette. Production Company: @verite.productions Executive Producer: @rehinap Director: K. Rajagopal Producer: @darshanstagram Director of Photography: @wanmansg

Just wrapped up a rewarding 2-day colour grading workshop with So Drama! Entertainment. We spent our time diving into the Color Page of DaVinci Resolve, focusing on practical techniques to elevate their production value. It was a productive session with a solid group of creatives with different roles, and I enjoyed seeing them grow in their understanding of colour grading. Huge thanks to @sspanda88 for the invite and for putting this all together!

Chinese calligraphy is more than an art form: it’s a language of connection. This recent commercial for Eu Yan Sang uses it fully to express the idiom 心意相承, carrying forward a timeless tradition of gratitude and blessing. I made each painted stroke come to life by bringing out the bold red of the paper and elegant gold of the ink, two auspicious colours of Chinese New Year. Each painted character transitions to scenes of festive giving amongst friends and family, with a lightness and warmth that we associate with this generous season. As each character unfolds, it transitions into moments of festive giving, capturing the lightness and warmth of the season. Wishing you a season of generosity and joy! 新年快乐！🧧 Client: @euyansang_singapore Artiste: Jeanette Aw @jeanetteaw Artiste Manager: Pauline @bao_peektures Stylist: Jenine Hairstylist: Ryan @ryan_yap MUA: Elain Calligrapher (Hand Talent): Corinna Supporting (Friend): Deborah Supporting (Colleague): Shanice @shanicekoh Supporting (Father): Cherng Hui Supporting (Mother): June Bay @junebayy Executive Producer: Zim @zimvisions Director: Elgin @lghtc Asst. Director: Sher-Ann Asst. Producer: Amanda Goh @catlvr___ Dir. of Photography: Douglas Tan @douglasaiksan Gaffer: Terence Sia @terencesia Prop Master: Kiira Art Asst.: Kayon Art Asst.: Amanda / Mervin Cam Asst.: Snoop Grip: Dzul Grip: Danish Supporting Talent HMUA: Hana @hanalmua @hanahearts Art Mover: JJ (Jia Jie) Sound Recordist: @claudio.chock Editor: Kor Yee Wan @yeeewann Colourist: Mark Song @marksonggrades

Riverboy is one of the most challenging works in recent years. Learning the cultural nuances on the fly and incorporating them in the film was fun but tough. Director @tippyhutianpei upped the difficulty further, requesting the film to be shot vérité-style. Working with non-professional actors and limited lighting pushed me to think more creatively, creating an atmosphere that captures the raw emotions and actions in the everyday moment. This was only possible with the team’s support behind me, especially @lsxian_ . Editing the film was experimenting with the limitless possibilities, while intercutting between two different timelines in the story was tricky, yet extremely fun to see things come together at the end. Last but not least, thank you @marksonggrades for bringing the story to life with the amazing colours! —— Human emotions are never simple. Who can truly be called truly straight or absolutely gay? They are like a bridge suspended between mountains—where does nature end and where does artifice begin? From a small riverside town in China to the sprawling metropolis downstream, Xinyue embodies the portrait of a Chinese youth: leaving hometown in chase of freedom, yet constantly shaped by new surroundings. New friends, new experiences and silent farewells to old friends and puppy love. Just like the river in his hometown, once clear and pure, his journey flows ever onward, only to become more entangled and murky, no longer as innocent as before. Life, too, is like that river. What never changes is change itself. What remains beautiful is regret. And it is through pain that we learn to grow. —— Riverboy Presented by: Li Song Director: @tippyhutianpei Scriptwriter: Hu Tianpei, Zhao Yifan, Li Song Line Producer: Hu Tianpei, @hi_southernboy Director of Photography / Editor: Adrian Tay Qi Yuan Assistant Photographer: @lsxian_ Production Sound Mixer: @chenrj390 , Li Lan Sound Designer: Soo Yuen Yiet Colorist: @marksonggrades , CSI —— #sonycamera #sony #filmmaking #editing #cinema @sonysingapore

Moza is a 14-year-old para swimmer born with only one arm. Her journey representing Singapore at the Asian Youth Para Games in Dubai is the focus of this episode of Limitless: Season 2. The goal of the grade was to keep things natural but positive looking, reflective of Moza's positive outlook and the constant support from her family. Water is also a major recurring element, enhanced slightly to help viewers immerse themselves in the medium where Moza feels most at home. Production Company: @verite.productions Executive Producer: @rehinap Director: @makckfilms Producer: @makckfilms

How do you visualise a world that no longer exists? In this episode of Through Time: A Tale of Three Worlds, we join two heritage guides to rediscover Singapore’s iconic amusement parks: New World, Great World, and Gay World. To bridge the gap between eras, I used a distinct visual approach. For the modern documentary footage, I leaned into sentimental light browns, giving it a hint of nostalgic warmth without wandering into full sepia territory. In contrast, I pushed the vibrance of the animated recreations to mirror the colourful character of the era, adding filmic textures to ground them in analog charm. The archival footage in between was balanced to provide a clearer lens into the past. It was a rewarding creative challenge to find a visual language to tie together the different pieces of this heritage journey. Production Company: @protagonistbym Executive Producers: Jeevan Nathan, @theaudant , CK Chan Director: Jeevan Nathan, Shermin Toh Producers: Shermin Toh, Upneet Kaur DP: Sivarajah Kanesananthan, CK Chan

Through Time: A Tale of Espionage and Spies is a documentary follows Xin En's search into her grandfather’s past as a WWII intelligence officer in Force 136. We blended real interview footage and archival material with recreations to bring his story to life. Working with showrunner Jeevan Nathan, we establishd a bleak, sombre mood for the present-day footage as Xin En uncovers the harsh and traumatic conditions her grandfather faced during the war. For the recreations, I pushed the grade even further into gritty bleach bypass territory. Layering in textural elements like lens aberrations, colour warping, and heavy grain helped to mask mperfections, while creating a highly stylised look that distinguishes the recreations from reality. This project was an eye-opening experience in how colour grading can enhance recreations to tastefully integrate it within a larger narrative, effectively filling the gaps in archival storytelling. Production Company: @protagonistbym Executive Producers: Jeevan Nathan, @theaudant Anthoney, CK Chan Director: @luinlam Producer: Shermin Toh DP: CK Chan

When the director's brief is "keep the colours vibrant, quirky, and fun," I know I'm in for a good time. That's exactly the direction we took for this episode of Singapore Hour, featuring @vintagewknd - a couple-run business designing and selling upcycled fashion. Beyond just bringing out the rich colours of the textiles and eclectic facades of Haji Lane, I pushed the colour in slightly unorthodox ways to infuse the image with a playful character. Knowing that 'vintage' to the younger generation often means the 90s in terms of fashion and aesthetics, I also added a touch of chromatic aberration and fringing, inspired by that era's handycam footage. These subtle lo-fi effects were dialed in just enough to take the modern digital edge off and fit the vibe of the profile. Production Company: @verite.productions Executive Producer: @rehinap Director: @darshanstagram Producer: @darshanstagram Director of Photography: @wanmansg