Best Color Grading Studios in Dublin (2026)

Introduction

Dublin has a small, close-knit grading scene, and the 6 studios below are among its established names. Nearly all of them run colour as one department of a wider post house, so the choice often comes down to a particular colourist and suite.

The biggest recent change was the closure of Windmill Lane Pictures in early 2025, after 47 years in business. The company cited the 2023 US strikes and the weakened competitiveness of Ireland’s VFX tax credit. Two of its senior executives launched Elephant Goldfish that June with Molinare Creative Group, and its long-serving head of colour, Dave Hughes, went with them. Section 481 tax relief is part of the pitch to overseas productions, because post and VFX can qualify on their own.

Each firm here has a Dublin or Dún Laoghaire studio shown on its own site or in trade listings checked in November 2026. They were chosen for colour credits, the depth of the grading offer and recent work. The list is unranked, since the right studio depends on the format, the budget and the colourist you want to sit with.

The best colour grading studios in Dublin

1. Elephant Goldfish

Partnership with Molinare Creative Group · Docklands · elephantgoldfish.com

Elephant Goldfish launched in June 2025 and is based in the Freight Building in the Docklands. Former Windmill Lane executives Deborah Doherty and John Kennedy founded it in partnership with the UK’s Molinare Creative Group. Dave Hughes heads colour. He spent many years running grading and DI at Windmill Lane and has worked with cinematographers including Robert Richardson, Seamus McGarvey and Sean Bobbitt.

The studio’s colour page lists Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon, Neil Jordan’s Greta, Jim Sheridan’s The Secret Scripture and Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Leviathan. Some of these come from Hughes’s earlier career, so ask to see what has been finished in the new suite. It was working with Blumhouse on two features at launch and offers remote workflows between Dublin and London.

2. First Element

Private company · Fitzwilliam Square · firstelement.ie

First Element has worked in Dublin since 1998 as a boutique post and VFX house, with in-house sound and a colour grading suite. Bernard Rogan is CEO, and the site lists Natalia Witkowska and Ricardo Rodriguez Gambini as colourists. Its Screen Producers Ireland listing shows Room Taken on the 2025 Oscar shortlist and Horseshoe winning Best Irish First Feature at the Galway Film Fleadh.

The same listing is one of the fuller records of recent Irish work on this page: Infraction and Hallima in 2026, then Cooper & Fry, Missed Call and All that Glitters in 2025. It also handles lifestyle and factual television, such as Help Me Buy A Home.

3. GABHA Studios

Private company · Dublin · gabhastudios.com

GABHA Studios is a Dublin post house with production and editorial alongside its colour department. Senior colourist Andrew Francis handled the grade and digital intermediate on the MGM and Amazon feature One Fast Move, a three-week grade that had to match Sony Venice footage with helicopter and on-board Alexa Mini material.

Its screening suite pairs a Christie 4K projector with a 250-inch screen and 7.1 sound, and it has used Louper to let directors follow the colour feed remotely. On the commercial side, LBB credits it with post on 2025 work for Heineken, Allianz Ireland, Tesco Mobile, Tayto and Patta x Nike.

4. Outer Limits

Private company · Dún Laoghaire · outerlimits.ie

Outer Limits Post Production started in 2013 and describes itself as a specialist in colour grading and visual effects, which makes it one of the more colour-focused houses on this list. Company director and colourist Gary Curran graded Normal People in DaVinci Resolve for Element Pictures, and also handled its online and deliverables.

The site’s list of recent jobs includes Kneecap, The Surfer, The Quiet Girl, Evil Dead Rise, The Dry, Obituary and Small Town, Big Story, for clients including Sony, New Line, Sky and RTÉ. The studio is on George’s Street Upper in Dún Laoghaire.

5. Raygun

Owner-managed · Baggot Street · raygun.ie

Raygun started in 1986 as a digital audio studio and now finishes picture and sound at 34 Lower Baggot Street. Colourist Leandro Arouca joined in 2023 and is listed among its owners. He began at O2 Filmes in São Paulo, has worked with Fernando Meirelles and Adriano Goldman, and won Best Colour Grading at the Shark Awards in 2023 and 2025 for music video work.

Much of Raygun’s visible work is Irish commercials. Arouca’s credits include Guinness, Jameson, Cadbury and An Post, and LBB lists Raygun on Guinness’s “No Place Like Home” and work for the GAA. The studio also takes drama and documentary for RTÉ, Channel 4 and TG4.

6. Screen Scene

Privately held · Upper Mount Street · screenscene.ie

Screen Scene has operated since 1985 and offers picture, sound and VFX under one company, with SSVFX as its visual effects arm and a second office in London. Jake Walshe is President and CEO. The documentary Mrs Robinson, on its unscripted page, took the George Morrison Feature Documentary award at the 2025 IFTAs.

Its commercials and unscripted teams both include colourists. Commercial clients on the site include Tourism Ireland, PTSB, SuperValu, Toyota, Tesco and Sky. The site does not name individual colourists, so ask for reels by person when briefing.

What to look for in a Dublin colour grading studio

Start with the colourist, since several Dublin studios name only one or two people on colour. A studio’s credit list can include titles graded elsewhere or finished before a colourist joined, and people here move between a small number of houses. Ask who graded each title on the reel and who would be in the room for yours.

Match the suite to the delivery. For theatrical work, check for a projection room and DCP support. For streaming, ask about Dolby Vision experience and the HDR reference monitor. Camera tests and a show LUT agreed before the shoot save time later.

If you are using Section 481, raise it early. Post and VFX can qualify for relief of up to 40% on eligible Irish spend without an Irish shoot, which puts Dublin on the list for some overseas features. Whether a given project qualifies is a question for your producer and tax adviser, and the studio should be able to tell you what paperwork it has done before.

Finally, ask how review works between sessions. Directors and DoPs are often abroad, so remote grading tools have become common, but producers, agencies and clients still send notes on exports. Agree where the current version lives, who gives notes, and who signs off, because a grade can drift across several rounds when those comments arrive through different channels.

How Fabric helps colour grading teams

Fabric gives a post team one workspace for exports, look references and client notes. Grading files are large, and Fabric’s cloud drive streams them on demand, so they take no local disk space and open without a full download. Shared team folders keep the latest version in one place, alongside reference stills, LUTs and delivery specs.

For finding references, search works by meaning across documents, images and transcribed video, and colour search finds visual assets by shade. Similar search takes a selected image and looks for others with a similar composition, colour and subject, which helps when a DoP points at one frame and asks for that feel.

Review works through sharing. Send a grade to a director or agency on a shared link with commenter access, and they can leave timestamped comments on the video without creating an account, add a drawing on the frame to mark a skin tone or a window, and draw on stills. The team marks each comment completed as it is dealt with, so the notes work as a checklist. Fabric handles the notes here, and final colour sign-off still belongs on a calibrated display.

For delivery, any file or folder can be published as a web page. Published links are view-only, with optional download, so they suit the approved master more than a review round. Link analytics shows when each named recipient opened a link and for how long.

Link analytics is included on Pro and Team plans. See plans for teams.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best colour grading studio in Dublin?

There is no single answer, because it depends on the job. For features, Elephant Goldfish has Dave Hughes and Outer Limits has a strong run of Irish drama. GABHA Studios has projection for theatrical grading, and Raygun’s Leandro Arouca has won Shark Awards for his grading.

What happened to Windmill Lane?

Windmill Lane Pictures, founded in 1978, closed in early 2025, citing the 2023 US strikes and the reduced competitiveness of Ireland’s VFX tax credit. Former executives Deborah Doherty and John Kennedy then launched Elephant Goldfish in the Docklands, with Dave Hughes as head of colour.

Can a film shot outside Ireland use Section 481 for its grade?

Trade reports on Dublin’s post sector say post and VFX can qualify independently of the shoot, at up to 40% of eligible Irish spend. The rules for a specific project should be checked with your producer and tax adviser.

Do Dublin colourists offer remote grading?

Some do. GABHA Studios used Louper to share the colour feed with the director and cinematographer on One Fast Move, and Elephant Goldfish runs remote workflows between Dublin and London.

Should I choose a colour specialist or a full post house?

In Dublin the two overlap, since many studios here grade, edit and mix under one roof. A single house can simplify delivery. If the project needs editing, VFX and sound as well, the Dublin post-production list covers the full-service side.

Related lists

Colour grading in other cities: New York · London · Los Angeles · Chicago · Toronto

More in Dublin: Creative agencies · Post-production · Editing · VFX · Video production

Run your studio on Fabric: Fabric for video editors · Get client feedback on a video · What is colour grading?