“When my 14-year-old daughter found out I was working on Paper Towns, she was incredibly excited,” colorist Sean Coleman recalls. The source material, the young adult novel by John Green (The Fault in Our Stars), is enormously popular in her demo although the film is also getting strong advanced reviews from the trade press, which suggests potential appeal for a wider audience.

Perhaps part of the reason for that is that director Jake Schreier is attracted to a somewhat gritty approach to material as indicated by his work on the indie Robot & Frank, which Coleman also colored. “The film has some of the feel of The Fault in Our Stars,” says the colorist, adding that Schreier and cinematographer David Lanzenberg also wanted something a little bit darker emotionally.

It was a kind of look that involved a certain amount of back and forth and experimentation. Coleman, who graded Robot & Frank on a very tight schedule, appreciated the additional time he had to work on Paper Towns. “It was nice to have time to experiment and try something and then pull back on it a bit,” he explains.

But the greatest reward isn’t at work. Of his daughter, Coleman says, “She’s so excited I’m working on this. I’m a king!”