The latest news, reviews, thoughts, and humor for professional (and aspiring) moving image Colorists and Finishers. |
Errata: Last week I linked to a Facebook page calling itself "DaVinci Resolve Colorist". It turns out to be a personal Facebook page for a freelancer. It is NOT a fan page. Sorry about the confusion.
Resolve Fans Unite!
- The REAL DaVinci Resolve Facebook Fan Page: As penance for the above Errata, I started an actual Resolve Fan Page. Promote your work, talk tech, ask questions... and become a Friend of the page! (Facebook.com)
- LinkedIn: DaVincie Resolve - J.R. Friesen started a group for Resolve users. If you swing more towards LinkedIn, be sure to join his group. (LinkedIn via @jayfriesen)
Tools We Use
- 1000fps by Shooting 60fps and using Apple Motion's Optical Flow - I'm always looking for ways to add value to my clients projects. Motion's Optical Flow is a great way to visibly improve speed changes. Philip Bloom highlights a CrumplePop tutorial on using Optical Flow (including a quick trip into Cinema Tools to change the frame rate). (PhilipBloom.net)
- The Other Changes in Mac OS 10.6.6 - Yup, this update wasn't just for the new Mac App Store. Just be sure to clone your boot drive before updating your production machines. (hardmac.com)
- New App: Cut Notes - Digital Rebellion (developers of FCS Maintenance Pack) just released a new iPad app for timecode-accurate client review note-taking. I haven't bought this yet, but it looks like it can be easily customizable for color grading client review sessions. (itunes.apple.com)
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"Gray Scale"
- Nano Squid Skin: Advancing the art of camouflage by studying the skin of... octopus and squid, certain species of which have the same proteins as our eyes to help them adapt to their environment (okay, it's a reach to to call this a color-grading related story... but it's nifty and I couldn't help myself). (eurekalert.com via @hurkman)
- Don't Leave Learning to the Young: Ours is a fast moving industry. As old workflows get torn down we're left to rebuild them. This New York Times article talks about the ability of our brains to re-wire and help us adapt. (NYTimes.com via @sandygautam)
Edumacate Yourself
- Demystifying Color Grading II - Yet another informative blog post by Oliver Peters. It's a great roundup of 3rd party grading filters and goes well beyond the typical filters you've already heard about. (digitalfilms.wordpress.com)
- Colorista 2 Review - A good write-up from Shane Ross on Colorista 2 and his initial impressions, both good and bad. (Little Frog In High Def)
- Colorista 2 Training - If you're interested in Colorista 2, Tao Of Color has a Colorista 2 training track, grading a 14 minute short film entirely with that filter. (TaoOfColor.com)
Sunday Morning Fun(nies)
- Motorola, iPad & The Theory of Evolution - Fun, even if it's a promo for Motorola. (KenSegall.com)
- Holiday Tips for Your New Boxee Box, Roku, XBox, & PS3 (gigaom.com)
- The 7 Films Still in the Running for a VFX Oscar (Deadline.com)
- Custom Fit Etymotics - Nifty product, but this link is in this newsletter for the sight-gag. (fotobabble.com via @ShawnKing)
Gear Heads
- MacPro 2010 (Mid 2010): Black Screen After Installing ATI Radeon HD 5870 - This is not the stock 5770 that is certified for the DaVinci Resolve, but it might effect Color users. (support.apple.com)
- SSD Speed Comparisons - Also, on the bottom of the page is a link to a seriously extensive SSD Round-up (hardmac.com)
- ATI 5870 vs Quadro 4000 - Interesting results, though the testing was limited to Apple's Motion. (UberMediaHD.com via @ericstm)
- Intel Says 'Light Peak' is Ready To Go - Philip Hodgetts covers this story, about a new connection standard that could transfer the entire contents of a BluRay in under 30 seconds. Or offer a single connection that could capture HD-SDI, carry your ethernet traffic, and plug in your Firewire 800 drive... simultaneously. (PhilipHodgetts.com)
Looking Forward
- 7 Predictions for the Creative Community - including distributed production, the death of crowdsourcing, and the connected portfolio. (the99percent.com)
- Fearless Forecast 2.0: 2011 Post-Production - This is Part 2 of Mike Most's two-part prognostication on post-production, distribution, and technology. Part 1 covers productiona and acquisition. (MikeMost.com)
The Craft
- 5 Questions with the editor of Tron: Legacy - Including how they worked with the 3D and visual effects footage. (studioDaily.com via @artguillotine)
- Craftsmanship Unnoticed... and then found - A fascinating story about a still photographer who took tens of thousands of photos, but she never developed most of the negatives. In 2007 the collection was sold at a storage locker. Read the rest of the story. (SpliceNow.com)
The Next Step Is A Doozy
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