The Tao Colorist

The Craft

• Color Correction vs Color Enhancement - A pretty good definition. But I'd refine it by saying that color correction is a necessary first step toward color enhancement. (negativespaces.com)

• The Destructive Effect of ND Filters - This is a long post with lots of technical detail about the effect that ND filters have on the digital color correction process. And then morphs into showing how Color Decision Lists generated out of Scratch can be imported into Avid Media Composer. Lots of good info in here for both colorists and DPs. (negativespaces.com)

• Why A Full Screen Still-Store Is Better Than A Split Screen - This is a perceptive post by Aaron Williams on how best to use the Still Store / Gallery / Snapshot tool in color grading apps to compare a saved still to the current shot you're grading. In my experience, I agree completely. (premiumbeat.com via @videoaaron)

• Color Grading Quick TIp: Non-Absolute White And Black Points - Another quick tip from Aaron demonstrating the value of actually looking at your image to determine how bright is white and how dark is shadow? (premiumbeat.com via @videoaaron)

• Why Video Color Changes On Different Monitors - 2-part blog post that starts out by describing why different displays look different. It morphs into testing the built-in scopes of FCP 7, FCP X and Premiere Pro and finds them lacking. The answer to the problem is in the last paragraph... and I'm wondering if this is a problem at all. I think they're comparing oranges to turtles and crying foul. Or are they?  (blog.technicolorcinestyle.com via @Jorge_Soto_Vigo)

• [Video] Anatomy of a Grade: The Cyan Swing - Good grading breakdown. It's done in Resolve but the techniques can be applied anywhere. (vimeo.com)

• Throwing Shade: How Pixar Changed The Way Light Works - Interesting write up about how Pixar re-wrote their code for managing light, reflections and shadows to allow their animators to focus on their craft. (mobile.theverge.com)

The Tools

• [Video] ScopeLink by ScopeBox - Software scopes for Premiere Pro and After Effects. "No second computer. No capture hardware. No excuses." (vimeo.com)

• ScopeBox 3.3: Affordable And Customizable Video - A review.  (provideocoalition.com)

• [Video] ScopeBox 3.3: For Premiere, After Effects and Prelude - A video overview for MixingLight.com members (also includes a 20% discount). (MixingLight.com)

• [Video] Transferring Looks From Other Apps Into DaVinci Resolve - How to use Resolve's Trim_LUT to move a look out of After Effects into Resolve. It's long. (vimeo.com)

• How To Correct Colors In Final Cut Pro X - A beginners guide. (macworld.com)

• Lightspace DPS: The Free Version - Got a probe? Then Lightspace has a free version of their app that lets you check the accuracy of your display against a known standard. (lightillusion.com)

• [Podcast] Coloristos #12 'Round Trippin' - Yup. They geek out on moving projects between completely different apps. (coloristos.podomatic.com)

• The Adobe CC Apps Go Live:  Move on, People - Good friend of the Tao Scott Simmons has lost patience with the groaners. (provideocoalition.com via @AlphaDogsPost)

• Technicolor Color Assist Now Supports Apple's Final Cut X -  (blog.vincentlaforet.com)

• Everything I Know About Design I Learned Playing Starcraft - Why can't color grading app engineers get this notion into their heads? (quizlet.com)

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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 CM series is an affordable line of color critical reference monitors featuring 10bit panels, 12 bit signal processing, 3D LUT support,  3G/ Dual-Link/ HD/ SD-SDI Inputs, 12 onboard scopes on all inputs and world class support.  All standard and starting at only $3,295.

 

Learn More About the FSI CM Series Monitors

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The Business

Career

• The Key To Getting Motivated: Give Up - "Many of our most significant achievements get done despite the absence of enthusiasm"  (99u.com)

• How To Get Things Done - A list of ideas and apps. (creativemarket.com)

• 3 Ways To Tackle Your Procrastination Problem - (fastcompany.com)

• Why You Should Try Sketching (Even If You Can't Draw) - It's about communicating ideas, not replicating real-life objects. (lifehacker.com)

• The 7 Essential Mobile Apps For When You Have To Work On Your Phone - Some nifty apps in this list. (blog.hootsuite.com)

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