• I'm putting the final touches on my blog post for getting the SpectraCal Color Checker special offer working on a single Mac laptop. It's a bit complicated… but it's almost done!

• This week's newsletter starts with a special section, dedicated to a just-announced Horror film competition from the team at BloodyCuts.co.uk. Be sure to check out their great judges, prizes and the rules for entering!

BloodyCuts.co.uk has just launched a short horror film competition: Who's There? TaoOfColor.com and MixingLight.com are both offering prizes for the winners of this short film competition and we'll be judging the craft category: Best Grading. 

This special section in the Tao Newsletter is dedicated to anyone who wants to enter this competition. We've got some special stories just for you!

And a HUGE shout out to Tao Colorist Newsletter sponsor Flanders Scientific - they're offering the winner of the Best Grading category a CM-171 LCD panel (worth $3,300)! Awesome.

• 'Who's There': A Horror Short Film Challenge - We love Team BloodyCuts and are thrilled to be judging the color grading part of this challenge. Click through to see the truly Who's Who of judges in the main competition. And for full details on how to enter. (bchorrorchallenge.com)

• Why Do Things Sound Scary? - To help you with your soundtrack. (filmmakeriq.com)

• So You Want To Make A Horror Film? - On jump scares and the basics of fright. (filmmakermagazine.com )

• 'M is for Marmalade' - Later in this newsletter we feature the color grading breakdown of this short film. But the short itself? It definitely deserves to be in this special category this week, if for no reason than inspiration. (youtu.be)

• [video] Blood buddies - Writer/director Tom Holland talks about his 25 years with Chucky. Great stuff on the pitfalls of not making the doll hysterically funny. Plus other great insights for anyone making a horror (short) film. (part 1), (part 2), (part 3 )

• DCP roundup - Film editor and friend of the Tao, Jonny Elwyn, has a post that is a trove of info about Digital Cinema Packages. From free up to $999US, this post covers it all. Includes video embeds, links to pdf downloads, and more. This is one of those posts you'll love to get lost in. ( jonnyelwyn.co.uk)

• [video] What is a Colorist? - Aussie-based Colorist Warren Eagles has uploaded a short 3 minute video that, as he says, "tries to explain what a Colorist does and how he or she can add value to a project." Very nice. (vimeo.com via @warreneagles )

• [InfoGraphic] Quick Color Theory Tutorial: The Color Wheel - Various color wheels and color combinations in a pretty graphic. (pronouncedyou.deviantart.com via @SteveHullfish)

• 'Mid' - Grey, Why Not 50%? - Looking for the maths behind why our perception of 'middle gray' is at 18%'ish reflectance? Read on. Or at least click and bookmark for the day when you DO want to know this info. It'll happen. (blog.poynton.ca)

• From Chicago To The Moon: The Power Of 4K - Philip Bloom extends out his 800mm lens and sets his sights on a skyscraper 30 miles away. He records at 4k, crops in at 1080p to see what kind of detail he can hold. Good stuff. And the images of the moon are terrific. The first link is to the video he produced from the images. The second link is the supporting blog post. (vimeo.com | philipbloom.net)

• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D: Fast Turnaround Post - Colorist Larry Field goes in-depth about the workflow for Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The show is shot primarily on ARRI Alexa, with a mix of RED, DSLRs and GoPro. Read on for his dailies system and the rest of his fast-paced workflow. (studiodaily.com)

• [update] REDCINE-X Pro - RED has released a significant update. (red.com)

• SpeedGrade CC 7.1: Getting to Know Direct Link - Looking for truly seamless NLE / Color Grading timeline integration? Look no further. (blogs.adobe.com)

• [review] Pomfort LiveGrade - Montreal-based Colorist, Charles Etienne Pascal, has an insightful review of Pomfort LiveGrade. How he came to use it - and his thoughts afterwards - make for an interesting read. ( blog.iseehue.com)

• Silverstack 3.3 Update - Now with ARRIRAW and CinemaDNG RAW for real-time playback. (pomfort.com)

• [podcast] CalMAN RGB: Calibrating Apple and PC Displays - An interview covering why CalMAN RGB is not just another computer display calibration solution. (tomparish.com)

• [After Effects] Coloring 'M Is For Marmalade' - Stu (do I even need to use his last name any more?) writes up a post on his color grade for a short film. His process for doing this in After Effects is, as usual, very interesting. And, from this colorist's perspective... contortionist. Still, great write-up. And a very sick short film. I like! (prolost.com)

• LUT Sync For Mac - Looks like a simple tool to apply and render a LUT to a batch of video files. ( digitalproductionbuzz.com)

• Super-easy EDL Workflow In Speedgrade - An updated blog post about moving between Premiere Pro CC and SpeedGrade CC using an EDL. (blogs.adobe.com )

• [video] CuteDCP for PremierePro - if you use Premiere Pro, CuteDCP has a very good introduction to the process of exporting your deliverables for a theatrical showing. (vimeo.com)

• Why Can't There Just Be One, Really Good Codec? - The answer to the question: Software patents. More interesting is this article's exploration of a few possible 'open source' video codecs. (redsharknews.com)

• How to use Amazon Glacier for Dirt Cheap Backups - A step-by-step guide. ( lifehacker.com)

• Background Rendering not working in Mac OS Mavericks? - Having trouble with background tasks? This article explains what's going on with a new feature in Mac OS Mavericks that may be defeating your favorite software. (nofilmschool.com)

• Film looks - If you shoot digital photography or work with digital photos, check out a new set of film presets and actions for Lightroom and Photoshop called, Replichrome. The company says for $99 (US) you'll get the most faithful film emulation available. (gettotallyrad.com)

• [Video] Kevin Spacey: Lessons from 'The House of Cards' - Every network passed on House of Cards because the producers of the show didn't think a single pilot episode could represent the narrative arc they wanted pursue. Every network wanted a pilot episode except, that is, Netflix. And so this hit series is only available on Netflix. Here's what Kevin Spacey learned about network television production... (youtu.be )

• The times they are a changin' - A very interesting article on why Marvel Studios reduced, or downright eliminated, on-set dailies color grading. The article explains the Studio's reasoning for developing a standard production pipeline for their tentpole movies. (hollywoodreporter.com)

• A tale of two worlds - Confessions of a DSLR shooter who freelances for the NY Times and does commercial work on the side. And how the two worlds meet and influence each other. (newsshooter.com)

• Ender's Game - How a really small post house supported a really big VFX movie. Nice info on workflow and data management. The film was shot on RED 5K, down converted and color graded using Quantel Pablo 4K. (studiodaily.com)

• [video] Know your lens - B&H has an 8 minute review of the Zeiss Distagon T* lenses. This is a fast lens for its focal length. (youtube.com)

• Free elements, as in beer - Film editor Vashi Nedomansky compiled a list of over 300 free tools and assets (from a dozen different sources) that can be used in creating your next project. (vashivisuals.com)

• Understanding Premiere Pro Transitions - Master editor, Tao friend, Oliver Peters goes in-depth about using transitions in Premiere Pro. For those moving to PrPro from FCP, this is a nice road map. (digitalfilms.wordpress.com)

• Cinematographer's Outlier: John Alton - This is part 3 which explores Alton's shooting style of the pilot episode of the 1960s series, Mission: Impossible. This Newsletter previously featured Parts 1 and 2 on this famed Cinematographer.( theASC.com).

• Brochures from our industry's storied past - Colorist.org has collected a series of product brochures from the early days of telecine. Click on the links and start smiling... oh, and some of these may teach you a thing or two about how our gear works - even today. (colorist.org )

• [video] The history of coffee culture in America - Sit down with some java and let the aroma from your cup of joe fill you up while this lovely short film from Boston University fills up your brain with some interesting info. Fun. (smithsonianmag.com)

• [video] Behind the scenes: Bad Grandpa - Fun. I hope the movie is funnier. (youtube.com)

• [video] Optical Illusions Make A Boring Desk Unexpectedly Amazing - (gizmodo.com via Craig Sommerer)

My alarm clock is an asshole. I don't need to be told I'll be only getting 5 hours and 8 minutes of sleep before getting up for work again