[TaoColorist] Sunday Morning Reading (The Direction of Light)

Published: Sun, 03/04/12

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The Tao Colorist

Curated links of news, reviews, thoughts, career advice, and humor 
for professional Video / Film Colorists & Finishers. Delivered Sunday.
Issue LXXXII                                                           Brought to you by: Tao of Color.com
Editor's Note: My apologies for not delivering last week's Newsletter. Last minute revisions on a job (yes, on a Saturday night) had me drop what I was doing. I think this week's edition will make it up to you! There's a ton in here... dig in!

The Craft

  • The Color of Emotion - Handling skin tones when your subjects get flushed with emotion. (VanHurkman.com)
  • Oscar Nominees: Cinematographers Discuss Film vs Digital - Lots of interesting commentary in this article. (LATimes.com via @BourkePR)
  • A RED Post-Production Workflow - This is a rare case where I don't agree on a key point with Oliver Peters. It's not that there's anything wrong with this workflow - but I don't see the advantage of doing in two apps what can be done more efficiently in one. I'd love to know what's the 'cost' of the RED SDK abtraction layer in color grading software versus grading directly inside REDCine-X Pro. (DigitalFilms.wordpress.com)
  • [Video] Prepping for a 4K World - Talking to the LAFCP User Group, Light Iron's Michael Cioni discusses the 4K workflow they used for The Muppets and Dragon Tattoo. At about 26 minutes is an overview of the codecs they used, the apps they used and their finishing pipeline from RED r3d camera originals to final delivery. (YouTube.com via @craigbergonzoni @clayasbury)

The Techniques

  • RGrain: Realistic Film Plates For Your Digital Footage - A collection of 7 film grains to overlay on your footage. (HDCamTeam.com)
  • DaVinci Resolve: The Bleach-Bypass Look - Colorist Denver Riddle shows two different techniques for starting towards a bleach-bypass look. (ColorGradingCentral.com via James Wicks)
  • Overlay An Inverted Layer To Brighten Underexposed Areas - A Photoshop technique you might want to try out. (PetaPixel.com)
  • HD Monitor Calibration: SMPTE, ARIB, and White Balance - Using test patterns and scopes to balance your monitor... DIY-style. (NegativeSpaces.com)
  • [DaVinci Resolve] Grading RED HDRx Footage - The basic technique for pulling in the 'X' track. Pithy and well explained. (Vimeo.com)
  • Working with RED Raw Footage - When you need to share the footage in multiple apps what codecs should you use? A good number of alternate workflows are suggested without much of a commentary track. (RedUser.net)
  • Customizing Lens Flares Inside Smoke: Part II - Using Video Copilot's 'Optical Flares for After Effects' textures. Nifty. (ProMediaCoalition.com)

The Tools

  • [Forums] DaVinci Resolve: Tangent Element Support Coming Soon - Over on the Cow, Resolve's Product Manager announced the next beta version of Resolve 8.2 will include support for all four of the Tangent Element panels (which, I've heard from people who have tried them, are very nice). He also announced BlackMagic has no intentions of shipping a lower cost panel to compete with the Tangent, Avid Artist or JL Cooper panels. (CreativeCow.net)
  • Canon C300: LUTs for Download - Working with C300 footage yet? Here are 3 LUTs available from Canon. (usa.canon.com via NotesOnVideo)
  • Magic Bullet Denoiser II - After losing the licensing for the core engine of MB Denoiser, Red Giant Software built Denoiser II in-house from the ground up. Currently it's only available on After Effects. Free upgrade to all current Magic Bullet and DeNoiser owners. (Prolost.com)
  • [Review] 'Yanobox Moods' for FCPx - A collection 30 presets wrapped in a plug-in that riffs on FCPx's Color Board interface in an interesting way. (TejBabra.com)
  • Avid DNxHD Codec Specs - Great handy guide to the full range of DNxHD Codecs including data rates, frame sizes, chroma subsampling and bit depth. Bookmark this. Direct link to PDF. (Avid.com via @atlantacutters)
  • [App] LUT Translator - One stop app for moving around your LUTs... translating between 1D and 3D and from one format to another. Priced at $300 - if you need this type of thing it's well worth the money. Just make sure it supports the apps / cameras you use. (NegativeSpaces.com)
  • Arri's LUT Builder - Very cool. Create multiple LUTs with different characteristics to help you more easily 'dial-in' your footage before making a single Primary Adjustment. (Arri.de via Pepijin Klijs)
  • FilmWash for DaVinci Resolve: Commercial Grades Made Easy - It's a set of 65 PowerGrades for DaVinci Resolve. Hopefully the next version of Resolve will provider folders so we can easily organize packaged effects like these away from the PowerGrades we use on a daily basis. About $60 US. After Effects version also available. (CuriousTurtle.com via @pkiener)
  • Render Watcher: Render Notifications On Your iPhone - Or via email, text, or push alert. For FCP 7, Compressor 3, Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Media Encoder. (DigitalRebellion.com via David Bell)
  • BlackMagic Video Hub: Version 4.9 - New software update to BM's router includes Macros and additional network-based functions. Am I the only one who wishes I had 4 rooms just so I could have one of these? (ProVideoCoalition.com)
  • Matrox Releases Beta Drivers for FCPx Monitoring - In case you missed this. (FCP.co)
  • [Download] 3D Television Production Guide PDF - A collection of 'Best Practices' jointly created by 3net whose joint partners include Discovery, Sony and IMAX. This thing is serious and covers Pre-Production through delivery including DPX and HDCamSR deliverables. Here's the direct link to the PDF. (Stereoscopy.com)
  • What Is OLED TV? - Including explanations on LED vs OLED, RGB OLED vs 'white' OLED and AMOLED vs OLED. (reviews.cnet.com)
 

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Flanders Scientific Broadcast Monitors

The LM-2461W is an affordable 24" color critical reference monitor featuring 10bit color depth, 3G/HD/SD-SDI Inputs, 12 onboard scopes, and DCI P3 support. All standard and all for just $4,995.

Learn More About the LM-2461W

 

The Business

  • [Review] The Lytro Camera - "Basically what's happening inside the Lytro is that in addition to measuring the intensity and color of light like a typical camera, it also measures the direction the light is moving at any given time. Instead of just opening a sensor and absorbing light for an instant as it hits the camera, the Lytro is measuring all of the light in a scene, and then recreating the whole three-dimensional field of light more or less exactly as it was." This is cool. And it's now shipping. (TheVerge.com)
  • The Size of the Lytro Sensor Compared to Other Sensors  (PetaPixel.com)
  • Illuminating the Future: On Laser Projectors and Frame Rates - A discussion with SMPTE President Peter Ludé on the future of Laser Projectors and why 3D exhibition will benefit greatly from them. Plus the huge obstacles facing this new projection technology and why many filmmakers are targeting 60 frames per second as the new sweet spot. (FilmJournal.com via @fatimasantosbee) 
  • Fisher-Price is Bringing Back the ViewMaster! - It'll be an iPhone app (of course) that doesn't require 3D glasses. (Stereoscopy.com)
  • Can Drive-In's Make A Comeback? - I, for one, would like to see it happen. I have lots of fond memories of Tao Pa' and Tao Ma' taking me to see 'The Big Bus' in my pajamas and then (mostly) sleeping through the Creature Feature double-bill (although I once did peek to watch 'Snakes'... big mistake). But the big problem is the DCI spec... Drive-In's can't deliver 5.1 sound or mask their screens making them non-compliant and unable to take delivery of DCI-encoded films. This article is terrific, feature-length, and has an informative conversation with the President of the Drive In Owners Association. (DigitalCinemaReport.com)
  • The End of Movie Theaters? - A CBS News piece exploring why 2011 theater attendance was the lowest in 15 years. Surprisingly - this piece is a pretty good overview, including the influence of overseas sales on which films get made. (FilmmakerIQ.com)

Outside 'The Box'

  • Be A Better Camera Op Part 2: Technique - Essential skills you should hone. (FilmmakerIQ.com)
  • Shooting Abe Lincoln: Advice About Filming On An Aircraft Carrier (Caparkinson.com)
  • Mastered for iTunes: How Audio Engineers Tweak Music for the iPod Age (ArsTechnica.com)
  • Tools for Better iPhone-ography - I've been exploring ways to use the iPhone 4S to help me produce better training videos... so this item I found interesting. (FilmmakerIQ.com)
  • How To Avoid the Police When Shooting In Public - Shooting with a camera, that is. (Strobist.blogspot.com)

Edumacate Yer'self

  • SMPTE-NY: 4K and Beyond - Discussing Cameras and Workflow. Admission is free. Wed. March 14, New York City. (eventbrite.com via @LordOfVisions)
  • [Video] Why Pink Doesn't Exist - Or rather, why pink (or purple) doesn't exist in a rainbow. (BrainPickings.org via Tom Parish)
  • Download Canon C300 and F3 Footage - To play with. Requires creating a User Account at the website. (XDCam-User.com via NotesOnVideo)

NAB 2012

  • Important Show Transportation Tip - On getting a pass for the monorail and why you should buy it before you get to Las Vegas. (UberMediaHD.com via @donaldberube)
  • Full Day Color Grading Training: 43 Days Until Show Time - On Monday April 16 your Tao Newsletter editor, colorist Robbie Carmen and colorist Alexis Van Hurkman will be hosting a full-day of training on color grading as part of NAB's Post | Production World training series. You can buy a One Day Pass - which will give you access to all the classes available that day. If you buy before NAB begins it'll save you $100. Pricing details are here. Registration is here. The program outlining our color grading training is here.
  • The "Edit Lounge": MEWShop Brings Free Training to the Show Floor - Manhattan Edit Workshop - a friend of the Tao - will be offering free training sessions on the show floor. Be sure to stop by, say hi and let them know the Tao sent you! Check out the details and pre-register. (MEWShop.com)     
 
  
Current Colorist Control Surface Drivers
 JL Cooper Eclipse Avid Artist Color Tangent Wave

Software: v2.6b4

 Mac: v2.6.2

Software: v3.8

HUB v1.0

Color Plug-in: v 1.0.5
 PC: v2.6.2
Firmware: v1.9

Updated:
Nov 21

 Updated: October 20 Updated: Feb. 7(ish)
 

Sunday Morning Fun(nies)

  • The Coolest Post-House Demo Reel You've Ever Seen? - Or maybe the Hottest demo reel? Or maybe it should be called the most Blistering? As in - a blister. An oozing blister... (I'm just kidding with them) (BulletsAndBloodshedPost.com via @glenmontgomery)
  • [Video] Yosemite HD - If you're in the mood for some good time-lapse photography... the evening time-lapses are particularly well executed. (Vimeo.com via @JohnMahanCreate)
  • How Samsung's Super-Sized 'Galaxy Note' Changed My Life - The most awesome product review you've never seen. (TheTechblock.com)
  • Stereo-3D Photographs... From the Civil War - A collection of 150 year old stereographs, including Ulysses S. Grant. Be sure to click on the photographs to get a sense of the stereo. (theAtlantic.com via @ywwg)
  • Re-Edited: Should You Upgrade to Mac OS Mountain Lion? - The Elaborated took a recent TechCrunch post and re-edited the language. Please, please, please... I hope no one ever finds it necessary to do this to one of my posts. How embarrassing! But - it is an informative read. (TheElaborated.com)
  • [Video] Prototyp-0: Font Generator - A video showing the terrific capabilities of this font generator. For a guy like me with a background in finishing, this is very cool. (Vimeo.com)
  • InfoGraphic: Apple's Market Cap Is Compared - To other companies when they first became the largest publicly traded companies in the stock market. Measured by market capitalization. (NYTimes.com)
  • [Video] Solving Rubic's Cube In 5 Seconds - Built using 4 LEGO MindStormer Kits and run off a Samsung Galaxy Andriod app - which takes the pictures and then makes the calculations for the solve... in 5 seconds. The phone communicates with the LEGO kits via Bluetooth to physically solve the puzzle. The video is ridiculous (in a good way). (YouTube.com)

Weekend Warrior

  • DIY: Twin Lens Reflex Camera from Legos - It works. (PetaPixel.com)
  • DIY: Build a Camera Dolly You Can Sit On - Total cost: $120. (FilmmakerIQ.com)
  • [Parody] DIY: How To Increase the Performance of Your Canon Lens Kit - Paint it. (FilmmakerIQ.com)
  • Create A Mac OS 10.6 Bootable Installer For Newer Macs (MacWorld.com)

Gear Heads

  • The Argument for the MacPro - Why Apple should still consider the MacPro an essential part of its product mix. (Pixelegend.com)
  • [Bench Test] Radeon 7970 in a MacPro - With the expectation that new MacPros will be shipping with ATI cards, BareFeats tested this card on the 'current' MacPro (which hasn't been updated in almost 2 years) in Windows 7. I love the second to last sentence of this review. (BareFeats.com)
 
Learn A Skill               Get More Gigs         Early Bird Special Ends Soon

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Your Career

  • Are Successful People Nice? - If you're a man... not so much. (blogs.hbr.org)
  • The Myth of the Eight-Hour Sleep - Do you wake up in the middle of the night? Don't fret. It's human nature. (BBC.co.uk via @TheSpindleshay)
  • How Seinfeld's Productivity Secret Fixed My Procrastination Problem - If I can work up the energy to do this... (LifeHacker.com)

Tweet Of The (Last Two) Weeks

"Wealth without work... Knowledge without character..." Gandhi's list of the seven blunders society commits -bit.ly/xuEvex   (via @the99percent)
 

The Next Step Is A Doozy Dozer

  • Meet Joe: The Man Who Excavates His Basement Using R/C Models - Over 7 years he's dug about 21 cubic yards of dirt from his basement with heavy duty commercial radio control excavators, dumpsters and bulldozers. Scroll down for some video of his trucks in action. He's Canadian (I can't figure out if that's a story point or not ;-). (carscoop.blogspot.com)
  • Turn Your $100K Tesla Electric Car Into A un-Towable Brick In One Easy Step - Leave it unplugged. Your Federal Tax Subsidy Dollars at work. (theUnderstatement.com via @dhh)

A Step Too Far . . .

  • AT&T: iPhone Unlimited Data Plans Get Throttled - Yup. Use too much data in a month and AT&T will cut back your internet speeds. . . by up to 98%. Kind'a like going to an All-You-Can-Eat shrimp bar that suddenly limits you to one plate per hour; but hey, it's all you can eat. (apnews.myway.com)
  • Speech-Jamming Gun - It silences people who are talking. Obvious usage cases: Presidential debates, your boss, my sister and - of course - clients. (myFoxOrlando.com)

Useless Headlines . . .

  • What Do People Watch On HBO GO? Mostly HBO Shows - You don't say. . . ?? (Gigaom.com)     
 

Th- Th- That's ALL Folks! See you next week. Happy Grading!
  
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