Colourist Vicki Matich (Steve, Pierre, The Marlow Murder Club) showcases how colourists convey power through grading social class.

Leading colourist Vicki Matich (Steve, Pierre, The Marlow Murder Club) showcases how colourists convey power through grading social class Colour grading has always been about more than polish or the finishing touch. At its most effective, it becomes a quiet, yet compelling narrator. It shapes how we read power and aspiration, dereliction and desperation. As technology progresses in post-
production and we have an ever-evolving toolset, we are seeing the how grading choices are doing the subtle work that production design once did. Rather than simply refining what has been captured on camera, the grade now plays an active role in storytelling and how this is perceived by audiences.

With the massive success of the "domestic noir”, I have noticed a real shift in how social class and aspiration are now conveyed on our screens.  At the intersection between privilege and danger, grading is used almost imperceptibly to create hierarchical systems of representation.

In my mind, some of the most recent examples we’ve seen of this are in Succession, All Her Fault, The Undoing, The Better Sister, Disclaimer…and the list goes on. The thing that all these shows have in common is that they display the difference
between the aspirational and the dysfunctional. These rarified worlds of privilege often look warm onscreen, sometimes even beige, but always stripped back with softer, intentional pallets that exude elegance and wealth. Luca Guadagnino's
recent film After the Hunt is also a perfect example of this warmer pallet as representative of the elite world of Academia, wealth, and ambition.

What is striking about these grades is often not what they reveal, but what they withhold. Contrasts are carefully managed, colour separation is softened, and the use of saturation is kept in check. An image can feel composed, settled, and confident - qualities that have become closely associated with power and status in contemporary storytelling.

Another series that masterfully uses this concept of contrast is the hit FX series, The Bear.  When we are first introduced into this manic and gruelling restaurant world, specifically that in The Bear, the kitchen is a rundown and grimy space. It heavily
features dirty greens, fluorescent lighting, as well as being simply grainy and dark. It feels like an unsafe space that’s full of chaos and instability. This kind of veiled tone is similar to a short film I worked on last year Dark Skin Bruises Differently written, produced, directed and featuring Susan Wokoma, where the grain and film-like density lends itself to the intensity of that specific film’s subject.

By the last episode of The Bear, there has been a profound shift in lighting, tone and atmosphere, which is reflected within the grade. ‘The Original Beef of Chicagoland's’ metamorphosis into the Michelin aspiring high-end establishment, displaying a much cleaner palette. It feels bright, the walls are white and there is a distinct shift towards the cooler, bluer tones, no hint of green. It denotes order, calm, aspiration and almost a clinically hygienic feel.

What makes this transformation so effective is how intuitively it is felt. The audience follows the story, but the grade amplifies this, signalling a reordering of control and intent, not only in the culinary world of The Bear, but also as a reflection of the lead character, Carmy’s, mind.

For the upcoming Channel 4’s series Pierre, my approach to the grade will aim to mirror the emotional and social currents of the story, using palette choices that quietly reflecting status, vulnerability, and intimacy of these characters. Warmth, contrast, and saturation can be powerfully measured in a way that communicates
feeling and hierarchy without ever calling attention to itself, allowing the audience to sense change as instinctively as they follow the narrative.

This instinct toward restraint aligns closely with what I feel is the rise of “quiet luxury” in contemporary grading practices. Much like fashion’s move away from overt logos and blatant displays of wealth, modern high-status grading often avoids visual noise. Neutrals dominate. Beige, warm greys, soft creams, desaturated blues. In an era of excess and overconsumption, restraint has become synonymous with authority,
elegance and a sense of pre-eminence. The ability to pull back, rather than be outwardly loud and audacious suggests confidence, and has been reflected in colour choices onscreen to communicate belonging and power in a story.

I feel there has been a definite shift toward warmer tonalities in contemporary television. Warmth has become shorthand for safety, intimacy, and now more so, aspiration and wealth, helping to subtly communicates power, safety and belonging.
Of course, these cues are not completely fixed, as warmth can also conceal unease, and restraint can mask ambiguity. Similarly, cooler palettes are not always hostile, as they can signal control, discipline, and emotional distance. The meaning and use of colour within a grade remains fluid, shaped by narrative context as much as by palette itself.

Through the skilful use of colour, we can map class systems; signalling wealth and define emotional landscapes. Whether through the quiet confidence of luxury, the warmth of aspiration, or the grime of a hostile space, colour continues to shape how stories are felt as much as how they are seen. With audiences becoming more visually attuned to these languages, the challenge for colourists will not be how boldly we can speak, but how precisely.

In today’s ever-evolving production landscape, with the latest technology at our fingertips and more diverse stories being told on screen, colour grading has evolved into more than a narrative amplifier - it can orchestrate how audiences perceive emotion, status, and social hierarchy. The choices made in tone, saturation, and contrast do not just complement a scene but can define the world the audience inhabits, shaping how we interpret privilege, power, intimacy, and vulnerability. With viewers reading these cues intuitively, colourists can guide how audiences feel.

Colourist Vicki Matich (Steve, Pierre, The Marlow Murder Club) showcases how colourists convey power through grading social class in an article with British Cinematographer.