The NFB is committed to respecting your privacy

We use cookies to ensure that our site works efficiently, as well as for advertising purposes.

If you do not wish to have your information used in this way, you can modify your browser settings before continuing your visit.

Learn more
Skip to content Accessibility
New release
Coming 
None

The Colour of Ink

2022 1 h 49 min
Leaving soon

The Colour of Ink uncovers the mystery and power of our oldest medium through the eyes of Jason Logan, a Toronto inkmaker. Harvesting colours from the natural world—weeds, berries, bark, flowers, rocks, rust—he makes ink from just about anything.

This content is not available for free viewing in your location.
Your rental expires on
None
You've already purchased this film.
Download it from My purchases.
Not available
Share
The Colour of Ink

Details

Ink is our primal medium. It has always been with us, inscribing the evolution of humanity. The Colour of Ink uncovers the medium’s mystery and power through the eyes of Jason Logan, a visionary Toronto inkmaker. Working with ingredients foraged in the wild—weeds, berries, bark, flowers, rocks, rust—he makes ink from just about anything. Jason sends custom-made inks to an eclectic range of artists around the world, from a New Yorker cartoonist to a Japanese calligrapher. As the inks take on a life of their own, his playful alchemy paints a story of colour that reconnects us to the earth and returns us to a childlike sense of wonder.

Arts Industry and Commerce All subjects
  • writer
    Brian D. Johnson
  • director
    Brian D. Johnson
  • featuring
    Jason Logan
    Koji Kakinuma
    Roxx
    Justin Bullock
    Cats Kelly
    Liana Finck
    Jørn Harald Hurum
    Esther Van Hulsen
    Habucuc Avendario Luis
    Heidi Sopinka
    Winter Logan
    Soren Logan
    Lux Logan
    Heidi Gustafson
    Corey Bulpitt
    Manuel Loera Fernandez
    Fidel Cruz Lazo
    Maria Luisa Mendoza de Cruz
    Grace Lynne Haynes
    Margaret Atwood
    Yuri Shimojo
    Arvid Al Chalabi
    Thomas Little
    Julia Norton
    Wendy MacNaughton
    Marta Abbott
    Soroya Syed
    Chris Fouts
    Eva Novak
  • director of photography
    Nicholas De Pencier
  • editor
    Robert Kennedy
  • composer
    Don Kerr
  • producer
    Sherien Barsoum
    Brian D. Johnson
    Lea Marin
  • executive producer
    Anita Lee
    Ron Mann
  • associate producer
    Kate Vollum
  • production manager
    Nadia Tavazzani
  • production coordinator
    Mallory Andrews
    Mercy Lam
    Kazuyoshi Ehara
  • animation director
    Craig Small
  • additional cinematography
    Blake Hannahson
    Derek Howard
    Brian D. Johnson
    James Arthurs
    Cam Roden
  • location camera
    Keisuke Orikasa
    Masato Gungi
    Adrian Storey
    Katrina Tan
    Tim Haukenes
    Quinn Thomashow
  • direction of photography
    Kazuyoshi Ehara
  • drone photography
    Joshua MacDonald
    Mike Reid
    Silvio Repetto
    Patrick Shannon
    Isis Monteux
    Jack Smith
  • camera assistant
    Chris Niesing
    Jefferson Crawford
  • sound recordist
    Joe Harris
  • assistant editor
    Lu Asfaha
    Alysha Baker-Diaz
  • post production services
    Urban Post Production Inc.
  • re-recording mixer
    Keith Elliott
    Rudy Michael
  • re-recording assistant
    Lucas Cecchetti
  • sound editor
    Chris Matheson
    Lauren Rice
  • foley artist
    Matt Thibideau
  • foley recordist
    Dave Mercel
  • ADR recordist
    Ehren Pfeifer
  • online editor
    Kyle Campbell
  • colourist
    Andrew Mandziuk
  • post producer
    Ike Murphy
  • v.p. of operations
    Roberta Bratti
  • picture operations manager
    Bruce Rees
  • picture facility technician
    Jon Morrison
  • closed captioning
    Quay Media Services
  • descriptive video
    Wanda Fitzgerald
  • archival research
    Elizabeth Klinck
  • archival research coordinator
    Ned Currie
  • music supervisor
    Amy Fritz
  • story editor
    Marni Jackson
  • consulting geologist
    Chris Fouts
    Aaron J. Celestian
  • guide/interpreter
    Denise Lecher
    Linda Hanna
    Tonio Recamier
  • production assistant
    Livia Sa
    Melissa Jenkins
    Bill Best
  • translator
    Amy Loo
    Kazuyoshi Ehara
  • transcription
    Multimedia Transcripts
    Power of Babel
  • translation
    Multimedia Transcripts
    Power of Babel
  • production accountant
    Patricia Rose
    Audrey Quinn
  • production auditor
    Kudlow & McCann
    Jimmy Ye
  • legal counsel
    Hall Webber LLP
    Lon Hall & Associates
    Michael Sniderman
    Daniel Goldenberg
    Mitchel Fleming
    Peter Kallianiotis
  • clearance counsel
    Hall Webber LLP
    Lon Hall & Associates
    Michael Sniderman
    Daniel Goldenberg
    Mitchel Fleming
  • insurance
    Front Row Insurance Brokers Inc.
    Darlene Milley
  • studio operations manager
    Mark Wilson
  • production supervisor
    Marcus Matyas
  • senior production coordinator
    Katie Murray
    Adrianna Marling
  • technical coordinator
    Kevin Riley
  • technical assistant
    Q'Mal Labad-Workman
    Shaghayegh Haghdoust
  • studio administrator
    Andrew Martin-Smith
  • marketing manager
    Jessica Gedge
  • publicist
    Jennifer Mair
  • executive in charge of production
    Jordana Ross
  • senior director
    Sandra Kleinfeld
  • musician
    Don Kerr
    Mike O'Brien
    Jason Haberman
    Christine Bougie
    Emily Steinwall
    Tom Richards
    James Rhodes
    Hugh Marsh
    Brian D. Johnson
    Ewen Farcombe
    Nick Fraser
    Jacob Gorzhaltsan
    Aline Homzy
    Scott Peterson
  • vocals
    Lux Logan
    Felicity Williams
  • arrangements
    Tom Richards
  • vocalist
    Alanna Stewart
  • vocal arrangements
    Alanna Stewart
  • music producer
    Tom Richards
  • music mixer
    Tom Richards
  • recording studio
    Union Sound

Enjoy the NFB experience on your favourite device

Roku Apple TV Fire TV Android TV Apple App Store Google Play Store

Education

Mini-Lessons
Mini-Lesson - The Colour of Ink
The Colour of Ink
Purchase options
Licence information
Already paid to see this film?
Licencing information

Home licence (worldwide); Classroom licence (Canada only)

You may download this film for private, personal or classroom use only. Public screenings and institutional (non-educational institutions) uses are not permitted. Download films in standard or high definition. (Please note that bonus materials are not available for DTO films.) You can copy each file up to 5 (five) times, onto various devices. DTO films cannot be hosted on a streaming server. To add DTO films to an institutional or educational streaming server, please contact a sales agent to discuss pricing.

Institutional licence

The institutional price includes the rights to screen this film in institutional settings and in free public screenings.

Explore