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The Tao Colorist

Issue CV                                                           Brought to you by: Tao of Color.com

On The Tao...

Things are getting busy here. I'm finishing up old projects, revising (and reviving) current projects and launching new projects...

• [Video] How to grade a horror film (and learn DaVinci Resolve 9) - Get a preview of the latest training from the Tao of Color. You'll be able to grade a horror short film using the camera-original footage shot on an Arri Alexa, using LogC profile and recorded to the ProRes4444 codec. You'll see every step I took color grading this film... and you'll learn DaVinci Resolve 9 in the process.
  
  This preview has three videos: An overview of the 'Grade-Along'; a behind-the-scenes of the Resolve 9 project; and the finished horror film, Dead Man's Lake (which is the film we'll be grading). If you put your name on Announce email list, you'll be rewarded with a discount coupon when the training goes on sale. (training.TaoOfColor.com)

• DaVinci Resolve MasterClass - This Tao training is about to get updated with Resolve 9 videos (rolling out through the end of the year and a free update to all current members). I'm also wrapping up the final bits of the original training to round out this MasterClass series. (masterclass.TaoOfColor.com)

• Live, Small Group Training - New for 2013... I'm getting ready to do small group training throughout the United States on DaVinci Resolve 9. I'm interested in hitting the smaller markets outside New York / LA. If this type of training interests you (priced at around $1400 for three days), click on the link and let me know where you live (include zip code). I'm putting a list together. When I've got enough interest in your area we'll see if we can work things out! Think of this as the Live version of my Horror Film Grade-Along. (email Patrick)

• The Tao Podcast is BACK! - Yup. This project is being revived after a year-long hiatus. I almost forgot how much I enjoy doing these. First up, Part 1 of an interview with Ben Franklin and Anthony Melton - they're the filmmakers behind Tao of Color's newest training product, the Grade-Along of the horror short film, 'Dead Man's Lake' from the horror anthology site BloodyCuts.co.uk. (TaoOfColor.com)

The Craft

• HPA Announces Nominees for 2012 Outstanding Color Grading - (PostMagazine.com via @Davehussey)

• Greenscreen Keying / Compositing - The author of the Greenscreen Handbook takes his turn, blogging for a month on SpliceVine.com. Starting with some background on the history of matting all the way through tweaking and refining your keys... there's a ton of great tips in this blog series. Just don't expect to get through it in one sitting... Also, good stuff in the Q&A at the end. (SpliceVine.com)

• [PDF] Understanding Colors & Gamuts - The link is a direct download to this classic poster from Tektronix. (Tek.com via @IAmColorist)

• Art Is Hard - Great post about public perception of artists being lazy and care-free... since artistic ability is 'natural' and 'easy' - and how our public education system perpetuates this myth. It's a great read about how talent is nothing without hard work. (Underpaintings.blogspot.com)

• Color Grading Case Study - A nice detailed write-up of a color grading workflow, from client meeting through project prep, color grading and delivery. (NoFilmSchool.com)

• A Visual History of Color in Movie Posters - Long-time readers will remember we've covered this story before. It looks like that site has been updated with interactive tools. This link is to another blogger sharing his thoughts on this project. From there you can click through to the original website. (ColourLover.com)

• Women See More Color Than Men - An article as pithy as it's title that sums up the long article on Tetrachromacy from last week's newsletter. (IndianaPublicMedia.org via @JimWicks)

The Tools

• [Video] Beauty Retouching and Grading on Assimilate Scratch - Great tips in here, including the very first one... models everywhere will LOVE you for it! Plus a great demo of Scratch's Bicubic deformation tool. I also dig how layers can be grouped. (Vimeo.com)

• Scratch 7: More Than Conform and Grade - An article about the next release of Scratch and its focus on compositing tools. I love that they allow importing of tracking data from MochaPro. There's also new subscription models that allows licensing by the day, week or month. (PostMagazine.com)

• Useful Tools for Editors: Baselight for Avid is Ready - I feel like I missed this story in this newsletter. The news is a bit stale but Scott Simmons does a nice job featuring the major points in this new Avid plug-in. (StudioDaily.com)

• BaseLight for Avid - This is FilmLight's product page on the Avid plug-in. Download the free trial and check out the link for their tutorials. (FilmLight.ltd.uk)

• [Video] PIX240 Workflow: Creating Instant Dailies for the Alexa - Nifty outboard recorder that'll take the Rec. 709 SDI output from the Alexa, pull matching timecode and file names, record external sound, to provide you with editorial ready files, even as the Alexa itself is recording LogC. This is a nice demo. (blog.AbelCine.com)

• FCP X: Fixing Update Problems - Yes, this is an FCPx story that I've put this under Tools simply because the underlying problem affects any of us who buy production apps via the iTunes Store. Essentially, what do you do when you want to download an app that you bought, isn't installed on your machine, yet the App Store says you have installed? Here's the log line: "Apple allows three downloads of files in the App store without repurchasing." Wha-? That's like having an install DVD burn up after 3 re-installs. I'll be re-thinking my professional software App Store purchases very carefully. (LarryJordan.biz)

• [Video] Photoshop: How to Remove Lens Dust from Video Frames - In a few weeks I'll have an interview with James Wicks who's restoring 200+ films and we get into the subject of 'dust busting'. If you can't afford the workflow he's using (implementing DaVinci Revival), then check out this tutorial on how do dust bust video using Photoshop. (AngieTaylor.co.uk)

• [Video] Mocha Pro: How to Remove Smudges and Lens Marks - A tutorial on MochaPro. I really need to make the time to learn MochaPro. It seems like a great addition to any colorist's toolset. (Vimeo.com)

• Kicking the Tires on Avid Media Composer 6.5 - A nice overview of the new features in Avid 6.5, released at IBC. Is the $500 upgrade price worth it? Read and decide for yourself. (ProVideoCoalition.com)

• Anatomy of an iMac Suite - Is this the future of the MacPro? Thunderbolt everywhere. Looks like a very capable system. The Ethernet I/O problem is somewhat troubling. Heat issues are also a good point. (BiscardiCreative.com)

• AJA Reveals KUMO Compact SDI Routers - Includes HTTP control and monitoring via web browsers. (AJA.com)

• FSI Announces 12bit and XYZ Signal Support - "12 bit XYZ, RGB, and YCbCr signal formats will all be supported over any FSI monitor with 3Gbps SDI inputs, which includes all 9" and larger monitors currently offered by FSI." The release date for this free firmware update will be announced later this month. (FlandersScientific.com)

Color Grading MasterClass: DaVinci Resolve

Yes my @mophie juice packs can recharge @Blackmagic_News Cinema camera #bmcc instagr.am/p/PVuhx_zXO6/  (via @Filmbot)