Senior colorist Vincent Taylor has brought his extensive experience in the grading suite, his background and training as a cinematographer and his far-flung cultural perspectives to the New York office of the Moving Picture Company. The move reunites Taylor with MPC, as he spent three years leading the color department in its studio in Shanghai prior to moving to New York where he most recently served as head of color at Chimney.
Taylor’s introduction to the grading suite was part happenstance. After working behind the camera for a decade as a cinematographer in Australia, he pitched in to shoot a short film that was a personal project for some friends. When it came time to grade it, the post facility they were working out of asked him if he would consider crossing over from production to that of telecine and the art of color grading.
“I said yes and have never looked back. I love it,” he recalled. “It was the continued crafting of the image that drew me in, which is of course exactly what you do once you’re in the color suite. I found that DPs and directors really appreciated my background; I’d been on set and had extensive lighting experience. So I fell into color quite naturally.
“First and foremost, I’m a storyteller,” he added about his approach to color. “I studied to be a director, but it was lighting and cinematography that attracted me. And in that respect, people often don’t fully appreciate how color can be part of the storytelling, regardless of whether you’re working in comedy or drama or documentary. I’m always asking questions about the story, about what we’re trying to say. Needless to say, directors and DPs love the approach to color from this perspective.”
Currently Taylor’s color grading is on display in visually stimulating commercials spanning genres, techniques, categories, and disciplines, from comedy to fashion to automotive to food and beverage. In Shanghai, for example, Taylor worked on Airbnb’s introductory TV commercial launch in China and led color for major campaigns including Bentley, BMW, Coca Cola, Sky TV, Mercedes, L’Oréal and Johnnie Walker. He’s also worked extensively in the music video space, recently grading clips for artists such as Lil Nas X.
Taylor said he feels as though he never left MPC. “I’ve continued to follow the work that’s being done there, and many of my friends are still with MPC around the globe,” he pointed out. “I think the quality of the work they’re doing is always attractive to an artist, especially if you’re looking to continually grow, and that’s certainly something I’ve always aimed to do.”
At MPC he plans to continue to work on high-end ad assignments as well as feature films, TV series and movies, documentaries and music videos. Angela Lupo, managing director of MPC’s NY studio, described Taylor as “a senior colorist with a true creative voice and a passion for his craft.”
