[TaoColorist] Sunday Morning Reading (The Grading Fincher Edition)

Published: Sun, 12/16/12

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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 CXIV                                                           Brought to you by: Tao of Color.com
 
Editor's Note: This is the last full edition of the Tao Colorist Newsletter for 2012. We're taking next week off and then will be back with our Best Of edition. Thank you for your support of the Tao of Color and this Newsletter. Another year has seen another doubling of our readership! And it's all thanks to you and your spreading of the word about this resource.
 
The Tao Treasurer and I are deeply appreciative. We can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for us all (assuming we make it past the Mayan Apocalypse ;-)
 
Whatever your religion, have a great holiday season and a very Merry Christmas. 
 

The Craft

  • MixingLight.com: New Color Grading Website, Coming Soon - I mentioned this last week but here's the full 'inside scoop' on your faithful Tao Newsletter editor's new online venture... and if you're interested don't forget to sign up for MixingLight.com's Launch Newsletter. It'll have original content. (TaoOfColor.com)
  • Color Grading a Fincher Film - It's the original Grade-Along! A fantastic set of videos showing the color grading of Fincher's Se7en and Panic Room. Colorist Stephen Nakamura offers a rare glimpse into the world of grading A-List films. Great find by Jonny Elwyn. (JonnyElwyn.co.uk)
  • What Happens to Older Films? - What happens as old films get restored by colorists who have no idea what they're supposed to look like? It's the question posed in the 2nd half of this article. (p3update.com)
  • [Video] Steve Hullfish: Color Correction Tips - Steve does a great job teaching scopes, how to 'read' them and how to use them for creative purposes. (vimeo.com via @JimWicks)
  • [Video] How Your Grade Helps Tell The Story - Colorist Warren Eagles takes us through the 'color story' of a commercial, which helped support the overall narrative. (vimeo.com)
  • [Video] How Blind People Hear Colors - A fascinating and entertaining short snippet as a comedic blind person talks about his perceptions of how colors are used to describe the world. And how incongruous it all seems to him. (Vimeo.com)
  • Inside Cloud Atlas - Whenever I read something that gets to the core of filmmaking, it makes it up here under 'The Craft', even if color grading isn't mentioned. This is one of those articles. (DigitalFilms.wordpress.com)

The Tools

  • [Forum] SpeedGrade vs Media Composer - In case you're an Avid editor and wondering... this thread is a balanced discussion that veers a bit here and there. (community.avid.com)
  • After Effects CS6: VFX for Non-Specialists - Making VFX approachable for editor-types. This article is a pitch for an After Effects book and includes a section on color correction. I second the sentiment of this article / book. (adobepress.com)
  • FSI: 'Off the Shelf' Spectrally Flat Paint - For your color grading suite. Scroll to the bottom of this page to see the precise formula using Behr paint for neutral gray. And it looks like FSI has redesigned their website. (FlandersScientific.com)
  • [Forum] Applying Looks with DaVinci Resolve on Set? - A short but interesting discussion. (reduser.net)
  • Red Giant Sofware: FCP 10.0.7 - An update on some bugs affecting Magic Bullet Looks and Mojo. (RedGiantSoftware.com)
  • Workflow Update: iMac, Adobe and the 'X' Factor - Nice update on Biscardi Creative's adoption of Premiere Pro and how it's been working out for them. (BiscardiCreative.com)     
 

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

Tao of Color's Official LCD Reference Monitors

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

  • The Hobbit: Worldwide List of 48fps Projections - I'm not sure I'm ready for another Hobbit Trilogy. But I'll be checking out this film just for the 48fps experience. Here's a worldwide list of where to  watch it. (48fpsMovies.com)
  • Review: The Hobbit is Insanely Gorgeous at 48fps - "The movie looks nothing like you've ever seen before." (Wired.com via Notes On Video)
  • 4K: HDTV Redux? - A reality check on the state of 4K production... and the essential missing gear. (Display-Central.com)
  • Playstation 4: Sony's 4K Delivery Device? - Pure speculation in this article. But an interesting thought. (RedSharkNews.com)
  • R.I.P.: Rear-Projector TV - This week, the last of the Rear Projection TV manufacturers has exited the market. Here's a look back. (reviews.cnet.com)
  • [Video] Bitter Script Reader: "No one sets out to make a bad movie" - The case for green-lighting crappy remakes. (filmmakeriq.com)
  • How Netflix Wants to Change Television Forever -  Will the day come when ratings won't matter anymore? (gigaom.com)
  • Aereo CEO: Our Cheap TV Wouldn't Exist Without Cloud Computing - We've highlighted this mobile TV platform in this newsletter. Here's a follow up article on how these micro- mobile- cable television antennas came into existence. (gigaom.com)

Outside 'The Box'

  • Screenwriting: Adapting Comic Books - Director Sridhar S. Reddy discusses the challenges and opportunities of adapting a comic book to moving images. (lilithfilm.tumblr.com)
  • The Force Is With Netflix in Deal for Disney movies - The deal begins in 2016. Netflix could build a few AT-TAs for the price they're paying annually. (nbcnews.com via AlphaDogsPost)
  • [Podcast] Who should use which NLE?- Good discussion about the state of NLEs. I especially liked the discussion comparing the performance of Premiere Pro to Smoke. (TheTerenceAndPhilipshow.com)
  • A Dying Breed: The Movie Projectionist - This is a great portfolio of images by photographer Joe Holmes. (streetnine.com via @JimWicks)
  • [Video] What Is A Matte Box? - Geared toward DSLR filmmakers. It features MixingLight.com's very own Robbie Carman. (RichardHarringtonBlog.com)
  • [Video] How Sampling Rate and Bit Depth Affect Sound Quality - An explanation I can understand. (FilmmakerIQ.com)
  • FCP 10.0.6: Sharing Made Simpler - This latest update has added some core features that solve problems that drove me nuts in FCPx. (MacProVideo.com via Notes On Video)
  • [Video] FCP 10.0.6: Flexible Connections - Another earlier limitation that has finally been removed (and also drove me crazy when trying to migrate from FCP 7). (ProVideoCoalition.com)

Edumacate Yer'self

 

Current Colorist Control Surface Drivers
 JL Cooper Eclipse Avid Artist Color Tangent

Software: v2.9.2

 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:
Dec. 5

 Updated: October 20, 2011 Updated: Feb. 7(ish)
 

Sunday Morning Fun(nies)

  • [Video] Google's Zeitgeist Video: 2012 Search Year in Review - As told through video. Is Google trying to tell us to move away from List blog posts? (reelseo.com)
  • [Video] VFX Breakdown of Battleship - Fun breakdown by ILM. (YouTube.com)
  • [Video] Tempo: A New Film From Red Giant - Of course, graded with their tools. (Vimeo.com)
  • [Video] What do Santa and Wrestling Have In Common? - Shuttle the kiddies out of the room before playing this. Somewhat fun. I found it interesting. (FilmmakerIQ.com)

Weekend Warriors

  • Most popular DIY projects of 2012 - On LifeHacker's website. (lifehacker.com)

Gear Heads

  • Avoiding RAM Starvation: Getting Optimum Performance from Premiere Pro - Good tips for figuring out how much RAM to buy. (blogs.adobe.com via @JimWicks)
  • Beware Counterfeit Memory Cards being shipped from Amazon Warehouses - A tip for you shooters out there. (petapixel.com)
  • For Sale: Tangent CP200 bundle for Adobe Speedgrade, Scratch - $2900 for the Trackball panel plus the shuttle panel. It's a steal if you're a Speedgrade User. By the time this Newsletter gets sent you'll only have a few hours to bid on Ebay. As always on EBay, buyer beware. (reduser.net)

New Kid on the Block

  • [Podcast] Talking Post: Episode 1 - One of the people whose Tweets I always read, Dylan Reeve, has just launched a new podcast. No color grading here in this opening episode. But lots of post geek talk. (TalkingPostPod.com)
  • Final Cut Pro 10.0.7 - Bug fixes. No new features. (tidbits.com)
  • [Video] Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera at LAPUG Meeting - Presented by friend of the Tao, Marco Solario. (youtube.com)
  • Kessler Cine Drive - For low cost miniature work. Very cool. (splicevine.com)
 
Grade a short film, get personal feedback!

Click to Learn About:

Dead Man's Lake: The Grade-Along

Featuring:
ARRI Alexa ProRes444 Log-C
Roundtrip Workflows
Creating Looks
Working with Film Grain

Beyond Software Training: Color Correction Training!

 Career

  • 8 Talks on Listening: And Getting Better At It - Because one of the most important jobs of an editor or colorist... learning to listen to your client. (blog.ted.com)
  • Practice Good Posture when working from bed - For the stay-at-home colorist! (lifehacker.com)
  • Kill the Password: It Can No Longer Protect You - Depressing. (Wired.com)

Holiday Ideas

  • Red Giant Software: Harry Frank's Holidays for Particular - Over 90 presets for animated holiday motion graphics. (redgiantsoftware.com)
  • Ultra Cool Clock - If you remember magnetic tape and floppy discs. (techygadget.com)

Holiday Spirit Tweet of the Week

"Happiness isn't getting whatever you want. It's enjoying whatever you have." @RickWarren
 

The Next Step is a Doozy . . .

  • Is the pixel about to die? - Remember the difference between raster art and vector art? How about moving from pixel TV to vector TV? (phys.org via David E. Bell)
  • Student Builds and Flies 3D-Printed Plane - It's a Remote Control plane. And yes, my fascination with 3D printing is (apparently) boundless. (mashable.com)

A Step Too Far?

  • Reuters Exposes 'Apple Tax' for 'Enslaved' iOwners - Okay... I've been known to slam Apple over the past two or three years. But this Reuters story is ridiculous. This blog post does a fine job covering the story... don't click to the original - it's not worth the time you'll lose. (macobserver.com via @Shawnking)

Th- Th- That's ALL Folks! See you in two weeks. Happy Grading!
  
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