With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color
Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
John Daro is the Lead Digital Intermediate Colourist at Warner Bros. Discovery’s Water Tower Color, where he has become a defining figure in the fusion of classical cinematography and cutting-edge colour science. With over two decades of industry experience, Daro has supervised the finishing of more than 100 feature films, spanning major studio blockbusters, innovative animation, and immersive special venue projects.
Recently, Daro led the monumental task of grading The Wizard of Oz for the Sphere in Las Vegas. This project represented a paradigm shift in immersive entertainment, requiring the faithful translation of the 1939 classic onto a 160,000- square-foot, 16K wrap-around LED screen.
Beyond his work on the lot, Daro is a recognized pioneer in the application of machine learning in post-production. He developed MatchGrader, a tool that uses machine vision to artistically grade images based on reference frames, and SamurAI, a sophisticated upresolution process. His extensive filmography includes Netflix’s Academy Award-nominated The Sea Beast, Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion and Kimi, and the animated hits The Boxtrolls and In Your Dreams.
A founding member and officer of the Colorist Society Hollywood and a member of the Visual Effects Society, Daro’s contributions have earned him several HPA Award nominations and a FilmLight Colour Award nomination. He remains a sought-after collaborator, educator, and innovator, continually pushing the boundaries of what is possible within the digital darkroom.
