The Color Code
The Color Code
Cullen Kelly
5 Rules for Starting Your Own Color Grading Company ft. David Tomiak
1 hour 24 minutes Posted Mar 25, 2026 at 4:30 pm.
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Show notes

David Tomiak went from breaking both his arms in a bicycle accident and leaving behind cinematography to grading A24 features with A-list talent. In this episode, David shares with us the 5 rules that took him from freelancing in a 100 square foot room to being founder of Elemental Post.

From how he almost quit the industry entirely after starting his first color business, to building one of Vancouver's most respected post houses, David opens up about the real cost of starting your own color grading company — the loneliness, the ignorance tax, and why compromising your standards means you should "just go work for someone else".

Check out my look dev plugin Contour (which David used to build the look for the A24 film "Eternity"): http://cullenkellycolor.com/contour

Download Referent, my free viewing transform: https://cullenkellycolor.com/toolkit/referent