Color grading in Costa Rica for film, series and commercials
Cucumelo Films offers color grading in Costa Rica for producers and production companies abroad. We grade feature films, documentaries, series and commercials, remotely or with you in the room, and deliver a finished image ready for festivals, streaming and broadcast.
We have been making documentaries and commercials for nearly 20 years, for clients such as the European Union and GIZ. Our grading is led by colorist José "Chisco" Arce, who has graded feature films, documentaries and series in Latin America and the Middle East.
Color grading in Costa Rica for productions abroad
Most of our grading clients never travel here. They send the cut, we build the look with them over a live session, and they review the rest online.
- Feature films and shorts
- Documentaries and docuseries
- Commercials and branded content
- Music videos
- Episodic series
What the grade includes
Every project gets the same core process. The scope changes with runtime and the number of looks.
- Conform from your edit and a check against the reference export
- Balance and shot matching so the film reads as one piece
- Look development with the director or DP
- Secondary work: skin tones, skies, power windows and tracking
- Quality control before export
- Deliverables in the formats your distributor asks for
How remote color grading works
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Send us the project
Upload the media and the timeline. We check that everything links before we start.
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Look session
We grade the key scenes with you on a live stream, at your hours.
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Full grade
We apply the look to the whole film and send review files.
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Notes
You leave your notes on the review files. The rounds of revisions are set in the proposal.
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Delivery
We export the masters and the versions your distributor asks for.
Why grade in Costa Rica
Your working hours
Costa Rica runs on UTC-6 all year. That means live sessions during your working day if you are in North America, and morning sessions if you are in Europe.
English and Spanish
We work in English and Spanish, so notes never get lost in translation.
We also shoot
Because we also shoot and direct, we read footage the way a DP does: we know when a shot needs help and when it should be left alone.
If you are shooting in Central America, color grading in Costa Rica keeps the whole post-production close to the set, with the same team from dailies to final delivery.
Meet the colorist
José "Chisco" Arce studied fine arts before cinema and photography pulled him into color. He has also worked as a cinematographer and editor, so he grades from the DP's side of the camera and respects what was planned on set.
He has graded feature films, documentaries, series and commercials across Latin America and, more recently, the Middle East. Each project gets its own visual identity instead of a house style. On the episodic series Zaman Al Ajjaj he worked with the cinematographer from pre-production and with the VFX team to keep the look consistent across episodes.
Chisco was featured in the Time in Pixels Colorist Spotlight. Full credits on IMDb.
Our grading suite
Every grading decision is checked on scopes as well as on the monitor, so you can see exactly why a shot changed.
- DaVinci Resolve as the grading platform
- Flanders Scientific XMP310 reference monitor
- Nobe OmniScope for technical monitoring: waveform, vectorscope, false color and skin-tone scopes
- HP workstation
Selected credits
A selection of projects graded by José "Chisco" Arce:
- EVAFeature film directed by William Reyes (Honduras). A palette that moves from warm tones to cold, desaturated blues and greens and back. 2025.
- Zaman Al AjjajEpisodic series (Middle East)
- GuiánDocumentary directed by Nicole Chi, shot over five years in China and Costa Rica, 2023
- La PicadaDocumentary, 2022
Start your color grading in Costa Rica
Tell us about your project and we will reply with a proposal and a schedule.
You can also write to info@cucumelofilms.com or message us on WhatsApp.
Color grading in Costa Rica: frequent questions
Do I need to travel to Costa Rica for the grade?
No. Most clients attend the look session through a live stream and review the rest online. If you want to sit in the suite, you are welcome.
What do you need from us to start?
The locked cut, the timeline export, the camera originals and a reference export of the edit. A short note on the look you have in mind helps a lot.
How long does a grade take?
It depends on runtime and the number of looks. We confirm the schedule in the proposal.
Do you deliver for festivals and streaming platforms?
We deliver masters in the formats your distributor asks for.
Can you also handle the sound mix or the edit?
Yes. Cucumelo Films is a full production company, so we can take on the rest of the post-production.
See also our projects, our documentary work or go to contact.
