Nice Shoes has promoted Phil Choe to full-time colorist after nine years with the company as an assistant and junior colorist.
Nice Shoes CEO Dominic Pandolfino said of Choe, “He’s extremely talented and creative, and he complements the rest of our team so well. I’m proud to have him as a part of our roster and look forward to seeing how he continues to grow as an artist.”
Choe took a non-traditional route to a career in postproduction, attending Stony Brook University as a pre-med student, before changing his focus and graduating in 2004 with a degree in fine arts. His first job out of school was with Nice Shoes, working and learning in the studio’s in-house training program.
“I had great artists and mentors like Chris Ryan and Lez Rudge. Our whole team has always been very generous, answering questions and sharing knowledge,” said Choe. “I continue to learn from those guys every day, and I try to pass on that knowledge to our younger artists and assistants as well.”
Taking a sabbatical from Nice Shoes in 2010, Choe moved to South Korea, where he worked with Creative Image Company and Seoul Vision, gaining valuable experience collaborating with international advertising clients. Choe added, “I’m a native New Yorker and a Korean American. I wanted to explore my roots while broadening my horizons as a colorist.”
Choe’s return to New York was well-timed as it coincided with an opening on the color team of Nice Shoes. “It couldn’t have worked out better,” said head of color Lenny Mastrandrea. “It was like Phil never left, except he came back with a wealth of useful knowledge and skills.”
Choe has put together an impressive reel in a short amount of time, collaborating on multiple documentary projects for TIME and VICE, music videos for Kat DeLuna, Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé, and for clients such as Beats, Champion, and Facebook. Choe has especially enjoyed the experience of working on longer form projects that have allowed him to explore and create beyond the boundaries of traditional 30-second advertising projects.
