Colorist Arianna Shining Star has joined the roster at Santa Monica-based color and finishing boutique Apache. Her credits include spots and branded shorts for Apple, Nike, Porsche, Budweiser, Tommy Hilfiger, Spotify, and Coca-Cola. Her music video credits include the MTV VMA-nominated videos “Wild Thoughts” for Rihanna and Justin Bieber’s visual album for “Purpose.” Her longform work includes newly released Netflix feature film “Ibiza,” a comedy co-produced by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell’s Gary Sanchez Productions.
After studying Cinematic Arts and Psychology at USC, she cut her teeth at Company 3 as an assistant colorist. She then worked as a Baselight specialist for FilmLight before joining Paramount Pictures, where she remastered feature films in HDR. She was then brought on as colorist at Velem, to spearhead the postproduction department of Milk Studios.
With Northern California roots, the colorist’s distinctive middle name (she goes by her first and middle names professionally) comes from her parents, who met at a Grateful Dead concert during a performance of the Jerry Garcia classic song, “Shining Star.” Something of a next-gen Dead Head herself, she admits to having seen the current iteration of the band over 30 times.
Her flair for color grading grew out of her interests in the visual arts, and she brings her background in painting, drawing and photography to inspire her work in the color suite. “It was serendipitous,” she explained about her introduction to the craft. Studying criminal neuroscience at USC, she had dinner with a friend who was interning at a post house. “She told me about [color grading], and I had an incredibly visceral reaction–it’s the perfect synergy between art and science. I immediately switched gears to the USC School of Cinematic Arts, started coloring friends’ films and never looked back.”
Her background and interest in psychology is clear as she explained what attracts her most to color grading: “It has the ability to elevate not only production value and overall aesthetic, but can help guide the viewers’ emotional journey through the piece,” she said. “I love the opportunity to put the finishing touches on a piece, too. After countless people have poured their heart and soul into crafting a film, it’s an immense privilege to have the last creative touch.”
Apache managing partner LaRue Anderson said of the first woman colorist on the company roster, “It’s a testament to her creative skills that she’s flourished in what’s largely a male-dominated category of postproduction. There’s a lack of role models for women coming up in the creative ranks of color and visual effects. Women have to work hard to get on the playing field. Arianna is not only on the field, she owns the field. She’s established herself as a specialist who DPs and directors lean on for creative collaboration.”
