[TaoColorist] Sunday Morning Reading (The Evernote & Zombies Edition)

Published: Sun, 05/20/12

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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 XCI                                                           Brought to you by: Tao of Color.com
 
Editor's Note: Have you ever wished you could search the text of every Tao Colorist Newsletter? If you're an Evernote user... now you can! A friend of the Tao, Esteban Aguilera is compiling every edition into a Shared Evernote notebook. Once you sync it you'll have a super-easy-to-search local copy of almost 2 years of Newsletters. Feel free to thank Esteban for his initiative. And Join the Shared Notebook.

Our Craft

  • British Academy Craft Awards - Colourist Aidan Farrell was bestowed the Special Award for his lifetime contribution to the craft of colour grading. (bafta.org via @AnthonyW52)
  • Split Toning: A duo-tone technique using curves on Avid Media Composer. (AvidScreencast.com)
  • Technicolor 3-Strip: Explained in 37 Seconds - Nicely done. (YouTube.com via Cub Reporter Jim Wicks)
  • Creative Uses of Black & White Using Blend Modes - A Photoshop technique. It might inspire a few new ideas for moving image colorists. (TipSquirrel.com)
  • Color Schemes: How Colors Make Us Buy - A great article detailing the use of color on buying decisions. (CBC.ca via @builtbylight)

Our Tools

  • [Forum] DaVinci Resolve: Avid Roundtrips and Speedwarps, Solved - A great post by colorist Josh Petok on how to deal with 1 frame images that have been extended out using Avid's 'Motion Effect Editor' filter. This filter 'kills' the roundtrip into Resolve. Josh first offers up a solution for those colorists who bill by hour. Later in the thread he comes up with a much simpler solution for those colorists who flat bid. Thanks Josh! (LiftGammaGain.com)
  • Arri Alexa: DNxHD for Avid Media Composer - Getting your Alexa prepped for DNxHD recording. Plus, understanding the MXF files and importing / viewing the files in Avid. Gotta say, two words to the creators of this video: Power Windows (YouTube.com)
  • NAB 2012: Color Grading Roundup - An overview of a slew of color grading systems. Systems highlighted: Baselight, DS, Symphony, Smoke, Resolve, Scratch. Comments are interesting... especially from users of systems that were 'overlooked'. (Magazine.CreativeCow.net) 
  • SpeedGrade CS6: First Look - A good overview of SpeedGrade. And why many colorists are choosing to sit this version out. (ColorGrader.net)
  • SpeedGrade CS6: FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions including how to get a free 30-day trial. (Adobe.com)
  • [Video] Adobe SpeedGrade Tutorial - A quick overview of the interface, grading a single shot. It should be enough to get you started. (Blog.VincentLaforet.com)
  • [Video] Smoke 2013: Meet the User Interface Designer - Via facebook, the first episode of 'Smoke Signals'... a series taking us behind the scenes of the team who are creating Smoke 2013. (Facebook.com)
  • Primatte V: New Pricing for Smoke - As the price of Smoke has been dramatically cut, we should expect to the see the same for its plug-ins. Primatte V is leading the way, immediately available for $300... from $2499. (LiftGammaGain.com)
  • [Forums] What Is CinemaDNG? - A great collection of links. We'll be hearing much more about this format once BlackMagic's new Digital Cinema Camera starts shipping. (LiftGammaGain.com)
  • Formats Explained: Raw, Log and Uncompressed - What's the difference between these three recording formats? (HDVideoPro.com)
  • OS X Lion: Where Did the User Library Go? - In Mac 10.7, the User Library is hidden. Here's how to find it again. (reviews.cnet.com via @NLE_Ninja)
  • [iApp] Airlock - Automatically lock your Mac every time you walk away (without doing a thing). (SpliceVine.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

 

Our Business

  • 2D -> 3D: The Art of Stereo Conversion - A fantastically detailed piece on the craft of creating 3D films from 2D masters. (fxGuide.com via NotesOnVideo.com)
  • [Forum] Closing the Circle: The 4K Workflow - Discussion thread about the 4K workflow from projection through distribution. (CreativeCow.net)
  • Are Software Subscriptions A Good Idea? - Not just the typical Lock-In vs Ownership debate but do Software Subscriptions reduce a company's incentive to innovate? (NotesOnVideo.blogspot.com)
  • Is Plasma TV Dead? - Sales of Panasonic Plasmas hit only 59% of their 2011 forecast. One reason? LCDs are brighter and show better in overly-lit electronics stores. (Stuff.co.nz via @zbutcher)
  • The Secret Science of Memorable Quotes - "Computer scientists have analysed thousands of memorable movie quotes to work out why we remember certain phrases and not others." You can click through to the abstract and test how well you identify memorable quotes. I got 10 out of 12. (TechnologyReview.com via NotesOnVideo.com)
  • Isreal Requires Advertisers to Disclose Photoshopping of Models - And when that doesn't end female self-image problems... Before / After photos? (ArsTechnica.com)

Being Value-able

  • [Sale Ends in 7 Days] Cinegrain: The Tao of Color Collection - In case you missed it, there's one week left in the special Freelancers deal that Cinegrain is offering Tao of Color readers. Links to the two different deals plus the link to last week's 'Value-able' newsletter outlining the deal can be found at LiftGammaGain.com. (LiftGammaGain.com)
  • [Review] Cinegrain: Giving Digital Video an Authentic Film Look - Studio Daily just took a look at the Cinegrain package. If you're on the fence about taking advantage of the Tao of Color Freelance Collection... here's another review of this clip collection. (StudioDaily.com)

Outside 'The Box'

  • The Sound of The Avengers - Step into someone else's box with a Behind The Scenes of the sound effects from the Avengers. Did you know that The Hulk's roar includes a generous mix of Lou Ferrigno? (Vimeo.com via Cub Reporter Jim Wicks)
  • How To See and Harness the Four Main Types of Light - Bright, Dark, Blue and Teal? Nope. Stop thinking like Michael Bay. We're talking the OTHER four types of light. (PetaPixel.com)

Edumacate Yer'self

  • Spend A Day with BlackMagic Design in NYC - This coming Thursday. Register now! I'll be there manning the Resolve station demoing the recently announced DaVinci Resolve 9. (invite.blackmagic-design.com)
  • Dolby Labs / THX Cinespace: Color Science Class - May 24th, Burbank California. "This class provide a working knowledge of color management for digital film and video production, digital intermediate (DI) and video post-production, VFX, HD and film print dailies, and digital projection." (ColorScience.EventBrite.com)
  • Adobe CS6 Roadshow - It starts June 5 in New York City and wraps in Los Angeles on June 30. Includes training sessions. I'll be sitting in on a few of these in NYC, including the SpeedGrade intro that'll hopefully get me up to speed. Register now. (AdobeCS6Roadshow.com)
  • RED Digital Cinema 16-week Course - If you live out in LA, this actually looks rather intriguing. It's not inexpensive, but at about $900 per week it is reasonable. (NoFilmSchool.com) 
 
 
Current Colorist Control Surface Drivers
 JL Cooper Eclipse Avid Artist Color Tangent

Software: v2.7b2

 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:
March 12

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

Sunday Morning Fun(nies)

  • [Video] Walt Disney's 'Taxi Driver' - Travis Bickle is obsessed with... Mickey Mouse. With appearances by... well... practically every Disney 'toon. (Kottke.org)
  • [Infographic] The 'Inception' Timeline Broken Down Visually - Fantastic. Scroll down and click for the full sized image. (FastCoDesign.com via @artguillotine)
  • [Video] Sony Releases New Stupid Box Thing - Warning: Extreme profanity. Not safe for work. Or children. (YouTube.com)
  • [Video] To Kill A Canon 7D - What happens if you 'accidentally' hit your 7D with a truck, drop it down 5 flights of stairs, set it on fire, soak it and freeze it? Besides calling that a really bad day... watch to find out. Warning: This is about 5 minutes too long. (FilmmakerIQ.com)
  • [Video] To Kill A Lamborghini - This is definitely accidental. Waaay too much car for this driver. Pick up the video at :45 seconds. (YouTube.com via @ShawnKing)
  • Spaceship Enterprise in 20 Years? Beam Me Up! - Building a Generation 1 Enterprise that can get to Mars in 90 days. Plus plans to build an additional ship every generation. (MSNBC.com @walterbiscardi)
  • The Rise and Fall of the Superhero - Are our Superhero films merely re-hashing tired old comic books tropes? Should Superman be solving the Middle East crisis rather than stopping bank robberies? (blog.suntimes.com)

Weekend Warriors

  • [Video] DIY Tilt Shift Adapter Using a 3D Printer - Yes. Correct. Sketch up the tilt shift adapter in 3D software. Send it off to your favorite 3D printing house. And get back the finished product for a fraction of the price you'd normally pay. This video takes you through the process. Awesome! (FilmmakerIQ.com)
  • How To Photograph A Solar Eclipse - Tonight, people on the West Coast of the US are in the zone to see a rare version of a solar eclipse. As usual, heed the warning of NOT looking directly at the sun with bare (or even sunglassed) eyes. This article tells you how to photograph this event. Here's to hoping for clear skies. (NikonUSA.com via @BHPhotoVideo)
  • When Is Streaming Video Better Than BluRay? - With two unskippable piracy warnings... BluRay is giving home theater enthusiasts even more reasons to bypass it. (reviews.cnet.com)
  • Samsung's OLED TV Will Retail for $9,000US - It's a 55" display and will be released in South Korea. No word on availability in other regions. (reviews.cnet.com)

Gear Heads

  • [Review] Matrox MXO2 Thunderbolt: Encoding & Broadcast Monitoring - Ken Stone delivers a seriously in-depth review of the MXO2. He benchmarks its encoding acceleration and its extensive calibration utility for consumer monitors. The MXO2 has some interesting features. (KenStone.net)
  • Neat Video Noise Reduction + Multiple GPUs - Neat Video - which is my favorite power-user Noise Reduction plug-in - can take forever to render. It has been multi-GPU aware since v3 was released last year. This week Colorist Robbie Carmen tweeted: "Just upgraded to neat video 3 which can use CUDA. Using 10 cores and all 3 GTX 580s I'm getting 24 fps render!!!!!!" Sweet. File this under: #GoodToKnow (NeatVideo.com)
  • [Video] How A CCD Works - The heart of modern digital cameras, how exactly do those CCDs do what they do? Sidenote: It looks like some excessive smoothing was used on the talent's face. Yikes. (FilmmakerIQ.com)
  • Hey Bud - How Much for that JL Cooper Eclipse? It looks like this one got away for a steal! (eBay.com)
  • The End of 'Moore's Law'? - Will our supercomputers fail to hit their next benchmark and bring an end to Moore's Law? (TechnologyReview.com via @bosfcpug)
  • Q&A: C-Stands - C-Stands have been on my mind recently. Here's a blog post about everything you ever wanted to know about C-Stands. (Strobist.blogspot.com)
  
Grade a short.          Go Beyond the Buttons.            Learn a Craft.

Color Grading MasterClass: DaVinci Resolve

Workflow + Technique + Interface Training

DaVinci Resolve, DaVinci Resolve Lite : Mac & Windows!
Also available: Colorista II | Apple Color | FCP 7

Your Career

  • How to Get Better At Estimating Your Time - A good overview on how to proactively learn how much it takes to *actually* do your work. With this knowledge you'll be able to much more accurately forecast (and quote) upcoming projects. This is a core skill for anyone who creates on a budget. This post comes to you from the team that creates Billings - an invoicing and time tracking app. (MarketCircle.com)
  • What Does 'Professional' Look Like - About the intersection of social media and business. I can't say I agree with everything here... but the point is well taken. (blogs.HBR.org)
  • An Introduction to Evernote as a Productivity Tool - A Lynda.com tutorial. Mostly here to remind me to take this course. I use Evernote but it still overwhelms me. (blog.Lynda.com)

The Next Step Is A Doozy

  • Run For Your Life: A 5K Zombie-Infested Obstacle Course - This is utterly ridiculous. And totally cool. "Runners will navigate a series of challenging obstacles throughout a 5K course in an attempt to reach the finish line -- all while avoiding zombies." Seriously. Includes an opportunity to win an all-expenses-paid funeral. (RunForYourLives.com)

A Step Too Far?

  • Walter: A New Way To Edit - A device named after legendary editor Walter Murch, it's a hacked PS3 eye camera plus an infrared detector that watches your eyes and adds an edit every time *the editor* blinks. Interesting. Except I think Walter Murch prefers to place his edits where the actors blink...  (FilmmakerMagazine.com)

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