Film Colorist Portfolio – Case Study
Sleepyhead (short film, 2021)
Sleepyhead (2021) is a surreal psychological horror/thriller film I wrote, directed, edited, & color graded. It was also my 1st Year Spring Narrative film project as an MFA filmmaking student at the NYU Tisch School of the Arts.
Below you will find comparisons between the raw SLog-3 footage from the Sony FS7, compared with the final result of my color grading, for which I used the Lumetri Color tools in Adobe Premiere Pro.
• More about the film on IMDb
E. Duffy gives a terrifying performance as IVY in 'Sleepyhead' (2021).
CREW
• Writer / Director – Zach Busch
• Cinematographer / Camera Operator – Sara Crow
• Producers – Noam Argov, Zach Busch
• Executive Producers – Martin de Crane, Rachael Sonnenberg
• 1st Assistant Director – Noam Argov
• 1st Assistant Camera – Blaine Isreal
• Production Designer – Rachael Sonnenberg
• Grip & Electric – Rachael Sonnenberg, Blaine Isreal, Joecar Hanna
• Editor / Colorist – Zach Busch
• Sound Recordist – Joecar Hanna
• Sound Recordist (sitcom scene) – Noam Argov
"Do you want to know what happens when you die?" Michael Benzinger as BUTLER in 'Sleepyhead' (2021).
CAST
• Young Man / David – James Baksh
• Young Woman / Ivy – E. Duffy
• Butler – Michael Benzinger
• Young Man (sitcom) – Blaine Isreal
• Young Man (sitcom) – Rachael Sonnenberg
• Masked Figure – Joecar Hanna
DAVID (James Baksh) starts to realize something is off in 'Sleepyhead' (2021).
SPECS
• Runtime – 10 minutes (not including credits)
• Camera – Sony FS7 / Arriflex 16SR-2 (sitcom scene)
• Format – Digital [SLog-3] / 16mm film (sitcom scene)
• Resolution – 4K UHD
• Edited in – Adobe Premiere Pro
• Color Graded in – Adobe Premiere Pro
The terrifying "reality" starts to hit home. From 'Sleepyhead' (2021).
A new meaning of the term "day-for-night." Michael Benzinger as BUTLER in 'Sleepyhead' (2021).
I am fairly confident I'm the first director to ever make espresso machines creepy. From 'Sleepyhead' (2021).
Michael Benzinger as BUTLER in 'Sleepyhead' (2021).
The final cut of my short psychological horror/thriller film 'Sleepyhead' (2021).
