Megan Lee on using her intuition, finding calm, and letting things unfold
Megan Lee has built her career on intuition, patience, and being attuned to feeling. In the grading suite, her approach is as much about psychology as it is about colour. Calm, considered, and creatively ambitious, Megan’s journey into post production is proof that there isn’t one way to succeed in the world of craft... and that sometimes the most powerful work happens when you give yourself permission to move at your own pace.
Finding Post Production
After studying Film and TV at Westminster University, Megan initially imagined a future in cinematography or production design. But the reality of the pace and lack of predictability on set felt overwhelming rather than energising. “You’d prepare everything, get on set, and then everything would change,” she says. “I just couldn’t handle it. I remember calling my mum, having breakdowns, thinking, ‘I can’t do this.’”
Leaving university didn’t bring clarity straight away. Instead, Megan tried a bit of everything: PR internships, fashion, TV production companies, searching for a role that felt right. It wasn't until a recruiter at The Mill spotted her hybrid background and brought her in for an interview that she found post production. “I’d been out of uni for about a year, waitressing, and I felt like I needed to take a gamble,” she says. “So I did.” That gamble turned into a role as a runner where she discovered the magic of colour grading.
Where Maths Meets Feeling
The first colourist Megan remembers meeting was Matt Osborne. Sitting in the suite, talking about colour, something clicked. “I’ve always been creative, but not in a traditional way. I’m not great at painting or drawing,” she says. “But I loved editing photos. I was that annoying person at parties with a DSLR, going home, editing everything on Photoshop and uploading to Facebook.” At The Mill, she realised that this love of editing still images could be transferred to motion.
“At school, maths was the only academic subject I was really good at,” she explains. “It was actually between maths and film when I was choosing for uni. When I found colour grading it felt like the two coming together...the analytical and the creative in one place.”
She worked her way through MCR and data lab roles, learning workflows, building technical knowledge, and slowly developing confidence. “I like the pace of post,” she says. “You can sit with an image. See how it feels. Make small changes. It’s intuitive.”
In the early days of grading, Megan says she was terrified of showing anyone her work. “There’s that gap between your taste and your skill... I spent a long time just trying to close that gap.” She tried things out, building confidence before inviting external opinions. When she eventually began sharing her work on social media, the response surprised her. “People started saying, ‘You’ve got a good eye.’ That was the first outside validation I’d had.”
Colour Suite Tranquility
Today, Megan is known for the calm she brings into the grading suite. “It’s all about the vibes,” she says. “People tell me they like my energy. That I’m understanding.” It helps that the grading suite is dark, like an enclosed hide-away. “People just start telling you their life story,” she laughs. “I love psychology, I love asking questions. Any way I can put people at ease makes my life easier and helps me grade better.”
Her approach is pretty simple: music she knows people will enjoy, minimal technical explanation, and an intuitive read of what a project needs to feel like rather than just what it should look like.
Even with different personalities in the room, she stays grounded. “You can’t take it personally. Sometimes you don’t gel, and that’s OK. You do the job, you do it well, and you move on. Sometimes they even come back!”
Overnight Success Takes Years
In 2025, Megan was named one of Televisual’s Top 10 Colourists. The only woman on the list. “That was my five-year goal,” she says. “And I hit it two years early.” Then the pressure became about staying there, “but without rushing or burning out,” she adds.
Her philosophy is about patience. “I saw something once that said ‘overnight success takes years’, and that’s something I remind myself of regularly” she says. “There’s no rush. As long as you put the effort in, you’ll get there.”
Leading With Vulnerability
Now at Harbor, Megan’s reputation as a force of calm is contributing to a culture where care and creative trust matter as much as technical excellence. At a time when post production is under constant pressure to move faster (and cheaper), her approach feels kinda radical. She leads with emotional intelligence; asking questions, admitting uncertainty, and making space for honesty in the room. That openness strengthens relationships and results in grades that feel more truthful. And when you’re spending hours together in a dark room, the way someone works matters as much as the work itself.
