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From the Publisher |
Happy Holidays from the entire Tao of Color Newsletter Team!
Today's Newsletter is jam-packed: - Win a copy of
the Color Correction Handbook, 2nd Edition by playing along with our Treasure Hunt. We've got NINE copies of the book to give away to NINE winners.
- The 2013 Mac Pro has started to ship! Real users have gotten their hands on it. Scroll down to the 'New Kids on the Block' section for full coverage.
- My take on the 2013 Mac
Pro? After reading the full slate of write-ups and reviews… I'm calling it the iMac Pro. Why? Similar to the iMac - it's barely user upgradable… buy the machine you want and be prepared to live with it for a while. But it's a totally Pro rig - dual high-end graphics cards, fast internal drives, no keyboard, no mouse, no display. Hence, for now, I'm calling it the iMac
Pro.
- Finally, the Holiday Gift Guide is pretty good this week as well
No Newsletter next Sunday due to our holiday schedule. We'll be back in two weeks with our popular bi-annual wrap-up edition: Best of 2013, Part 2.
Have a great Holiday season. We'll see you in 2014.
Happy Grading!
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Newsletter Treasure Hunt! |
Welcome to a Special Holiday Edition to the Tao Colorist
Newsletter!
Today we've got a Treasure Hunt contest for you. Find an article in this Newsletter from the clue that I give you, then Tweet me the URL… you just might win a very special colorist-loving prize!
The details: - The Prize: The Color Correction Handbook, 2nd Edition by Alexis Van Hurkman
- The Winners: 9 winners will be selected via Twitter (the only way to enter is via a free Twitter response - for public time-stamping of the entries)
- The
Treasure Hunt Clue: 4 teraflops
How to enter: - Find any article linked to in this week's Newsletter that has the exact phrase '4 teraflops' in the text of the article (comments or ads don't count)
- Copy and paste that URL into
Twitter and Tweet it to: @patinhofer
- You may tweet a URL to @patinhofer once per hour
How to win: - One winner will be selected each hour
- The winner is the first correct answer, every hour - starting when this Newsletter is published (usually 3am GMT
-5)
- In the event of multiple correct answers each hour, the Twitter time-stamp will determine who Tweeted first
- In the event of simultaneous correct Tweets, the tie-breaker is the oldest 'account created' Twitter account as displayed on
Twitter.com
- Announced winners must then email 'patrick (at) tao of color (dot) com' with their First / Last Name, mailing address, telephone number for shipping purposes
Additional
Details: - Only one entry per Twitter handle each hour (additional entries in an hour will be ignored)
- Only one winner per mailing address
- Only one winner per Twitter handle
- The contest runs until 9 winners have been selected
- Winners will be named when the contest is over
- Winners will be announced - and the contest closed - on Twitter via @patinhofer and on my Google+ account (feel
free to add me to your Circles)
- Books will be shipped by USPS, UPS or FedEx at our discretion
- Entries by email, Facebook,
Google+ or any other method will not be accepted. Twitter is a free service and can be set up in minutes, should you wish to participate in this contest.
Good Luck!
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The Craft |
- 88 Cinematographers Offer Professional Advice - top DPs share the best professional advice they've ever received. (theblackandblue.com)
- Coloring Coyote - L.A.-based Colorist Tawan Bazemore talks about grading the film, 'Coyote.' (splicecommunity.com)
- How Long will that Grade Take? - aside from, 'how much should I charge,' the other question
any Colorist should be prepared to answer, 'how long will it take?' Aussie-based Colorist Warren Eagles offers his guidelines. (icolorist.com)
- The Simultaneous Colour Effect - the hardest thing for young colorists to accept? You can't trust your eyes. (redsharknews.com)
- Son of the Simultaneous Colour Effect - for more on this topic, are two oldie-but-goodies that I wrote a few years ago, 'The Complexity of Seeing' and 'The Mind's Eye'. (splicevine.com)
- Grading 'Culinary Travels To Parts Unknown' - profile of colorist Steve Beganyi. No real actionable color grading tips in here - but good insights on overall approach and thought processes. (studiodaily.com)
- What is a LUT? - I get what they're doing here... trying to make the math
behind 1D and 3D LUTs more accessible. Tweet me @patinhofer if you think they succeeded. Or not. (wolfcrow.com)
- Why Quality Matters in TV Production - I'd really like to see David Wood tackle explaining LUTs... just to see what he comes up with. Surely it wouldn't be any more hokey than in the previous item. (youtu.be)
- Typists Who Clear 70 wpm Can't Even
Say Where The Keys Are - because craftsman get to the point where they don't even know what they're doing any more. (arstechnica.com)
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The Tools |
- 2013 Mac Pro and DaVinci Resolve - So... what is the official Blackmagic / DaVinci response to which 2013 Mac Pro you should buy? Click to read Dwaine's response on the Blackmagic forum. (forum.blackmagicdesign.com)
- Son of DIT LUT Exchange - how precisely do you load up to an FSI display the LUTs you've downloaded from the DIT LUT Exchange? Click to watch. (youtu.be)
- [review] Rampant Design Tools - if you're looking for overlay effects, transition effects, grunge
effects, or text backgrounds this review makes the case for the offerings by Rampant Design. (postperspective.com via @BourkePR)
- [footage] Blackmagic 4K Camera Footage - Grant Petty has put a post up on Blackmagic's forums with an update about their 4K camera. This is of interest to colorists who want to play with some of the footage. He includes a download link for a 10GB file of assorted footage shot with this camera. I've got it downloading now, so I
haven't seen it yet. (forum.blackmagicdesign.com via @tparish)
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The Business |
- 3Net Eyes 4k Expansion in 2014 - a joint venture between Sony, IMAX and Discovery, 3Net is migrating it's production pipeline to 3D/4K - with the intent to produce all other deliverables from those original source materials. Interesting read. (multichannel.com)
- Deconstructing Time Warner - the face of television is changing, again. Time Warner's CEO is stripping down the company to make it a lean, mean TV machine. Here's the interesting clock on how Time Warner got here and what it plans next. (latimes.com)
- RIP Photography? - film has gone the way of the dodo bird, but could camera phones signal the death of photography as an art form? Editors and colorists have been facing this question. The second-to-last paragraph is the answer. (theguardian.com)
- Son of RIP Photography? - filmmaker Stu Maschwitz has
a 'just in time for the holiday gift-buying season' kind of photography post. After you read Step 1, you'll understand why this story follows the story above. He's got GREAT advice for capturing memories. (prolost.com)
- Inkjet Printing May Bring Era Of Cheaper and Flatter 4K OLED TV - Read the last paragraph to get a sense of how much
faster and how much cheaper production of OLEDs may get. (hdtvtest.co.uk)
- TV Is Dying, and Here Are The Stats That Prove It - This story on cable TV also shows that subscribership for high-speed internet is also down in 2013. People are cutting cords... literally. (businessinsider.com)
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Friends & Family |
MixingLight.com is a companion membership website to TaoOfColor.com. Want to read a story but not a member? A free 24-hour test drive is available.- [video] Setting Up ScopeBox - how one colorist (me) sets up ScopeBox for color grading. (mixinglight.com)
- [video] 'Dialing Out' the ARRI Film Matrix (Green) Look - Sometimes Arri Alexa footage takes on a distinct push into green. One cause: shooting with the camera's 'film matrix' mode turned on (designed to make it easier to match to
film scanned footage). Here's a video Insight into how to precisely remove that green cast in DaVinci Resolve if Film Matrix was mistakenly enabled. (mixinglight.com)
- [video] Basic VFX in DaVinci Resolve: Alpha Channels and Plug-ins - Dan Moran has finished his color grade on the Fake Film Trailer. Now he adds lower thirds, TIFF
graphics and some Sapphire Plug-in pizzaz. (mixinglight.com)
- [video] Adobe Speedgrade's Color Wheels and Curves - how SpeedGrade's 12-way color corrector are a lot like curves. And maybe better. (mixinglight.com)
- [video] Basic VFX in Davinci Resolve:
Compositing - the Fake Film Trailer gets 'sexed up' using multiple tracks of video, composite modes and node-resizing. (mixinglight.com)
- [video] Arri Alexa LUTs: Using 14 LUTs to 'Dial In' a Look - I know, it seems crazy... 14 LUTs?
But hey, that's how many the ARRI LUT Generator will produce. See how I used these 14 LUTs a few weeks ago when grading an Indie feature shot with the Alexa to ProRes444 LogC. It's not as crazy as it sounds. (mixinglight.com)
- [video] Splitter / Combiner: Noise Reducing per Channel - comparing applying Noise Reduction to the entire image or
just applying it to a specific color channel in DaVinci Resolve 10. (mixinglight.com)
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sure your monitors tell you the truth. Whether you're
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Outside 'The Box' |
- [video] How to spend a $25K Marketing Budget
(and do good) - that's the budget 20th Century Fox gave NY filmmaker Casey Neistat to help promote "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty." He spent it all on the Philippines Hurricane Relief effort. Awesome! (youtube.com via @CaseyNeistat)
- The Wolf of Wall Street - VFX Supervisor Rob Legato goes in-depth about creating the visual look of Martin Scorsese's latest film. Workflow information includes using
Colorfront for On-Set Dailies. (fxguide.com)
- Inside Llewyn Davis - DP Bruno Delbonnel goes in-depth on the craft of shooting the Coen Brothers latest film. He discusses shooting style, lighting, and why he chose the visual look for this film. (icgmagazine.com)
- Son of Inside Llewyn
Davis - master editor Oliver Peters discusses the workflow used on the Coen Brothers' film. (digitalfilms.wordpress.com)
- [video] BTS of Thor - Blur Studio has a VFx breakdown from some of the epic scenes in 'Thor: The Dark
World' (vimeo.com)
- [video] Exposing to the right - veteran users of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera recommend exposing to the right (ETTR) when using the camera. Why do so many recommend it? What does this mean, exactly? Watch, and you'll know why in less than 4 minutes. (vimeo.com)
- Doc The World: My Personal Manifesto and Credo - Interesting. Worth passing on to your documentary clients. Some good actionable advice in here but suffers from being in love with its own 'poetry' and jargon. (povmagazine.com via @moomoobull)
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Edumacate Yer'self |
- Color Correction Handbook, Updated - Alexis
Van Hurkman has updated his Color Correction Handbook, which has set the standard for learning all things color correction. (amazon.com)
- FCPX 10.1 Training - Apple's latest update for FCPX includes support for 4K. Lots of improvements under the hood. Ripple
Training covers it all with a new tutorial series called, 'Final Cut Pro 10.1 In-Depth.' 16 lessons in 4 hours. $29.99 iTunes download. (rippletraining.com)
- FCPx 10.1: Ten Free Movies - ten tutorials to get you upgraded and working in FCPx 10.1. (rippletraining.com)
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Current Colorist Control Surface Drivers |
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Sunday Morning Fun(nies) |
- [video] Bullitt then and now - this is a fun 15 minute trip down memory lane. Shot for shot comparison of scenes from the 1968 classic Steve McQueen movie, Bullitt. San Francisco as it looked in the movie, and location shots as they appear now. (youtube.com)
- [video] Trailer: Yule Log - the original Yule log TV
broadcast dates back to 1966. Netflix gives it a modern must-see-TV face lift with a faux-epic trailer. (youtube.com)
- [video] BTS: Father of Yule Log - the Director's commentary video (see item, above) is hilarious, particularly when the Director goes looking for the right logs on a farm. (youtube.com)
- How Many People Has Arnold
Schwarzenegger Killed (On FIlm)? - watch. Every. Single. One. (nofilmschool.com)
- Honest Trailers 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' - this film is almost too easy to spoof. (filmmakeriq.com)
- Read the Customer Reviews: Canned Unicorn Meat - A fake Amazon product with hysterical reviews. I almost named this week's Newsletter, 'The Rainbow Runs Edition'! (amazon.com via @Pogue)
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Weekend Warriors |
- GoPro Hack - increase the intervals in creating timelapses. As with all hacks remember that you do this at your
own risk. Hacks generally void your warranty. (fstoppers.com)
- Xbox One's UK TV 50Hz Judder - not fixed by their first system update. The article includes a workaround. (hdtvtest.co.uk)
- Troubleshoot Apple's Touch ID Fingerprint Reader - good solid advice in here if you've been having
problem with the iPhone's fingerprint reader. (macworld.com)
- Five Steps To Capturing Len Flares - so you don't have to 'fix it in post'. (filmmakeriq.com)
- GMail iOS App Updated With iOS 7 Design Tweaks - and more. (9to5google.com)
- All About Tagging In MacOS 10.9 Mavericks Finder - Interesting. I think I'll try this and see how well it works for me. (tidbits.com)
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Gear Heads |
- Is 4K Resolution Visible From 9' Viewing Distance? - The conclusion to a blind test of home theater aficionados
in London earlier this month. The results are interesting. (hdtvtest.co.uk)
- New Pioneer LED TV Is Rebadged Thomson - Pioneer is re-entering the TV market... but as a reseller. (hdtvtest.co.uk)
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New Kids on the Block |
- [Review] Adobe Premiere Pro CC - Scott Simmons covers the Premiere Pro CC update to help - even those previously unexposed to Premiere Pro - understand where Adobe is going with this app. He's got tons of screenshots and lets you know what is working and what's not. It's a good read for anyone not happy with their NLE and looking to see where the 'grass might be greener'. (provideocoalition.com)
- Kicking the Tires of FCP
10.1 - It looks like FCPx is finally getting to where it needed to be when Apple abruptly End of Life'd v7. Scott Simmons has a great writeup on the upgrade to this latest version. Scott sure does get around on his NLEs, doesn't he? (provideocoalition.com via @iamKanen)
- A Critical Look At The New Mac Pro - Probably the best
overview of the internals of the iMac Pro that I've rad so far. As this article says, the initial cost of the iMac Pro is NOT the final price of making it color grading ready. (arstechnica.com)
- New Mac Pro: First Impressions - MacWorld does their initial write-up. (macworld.com)
- Mac Pro 2013: Hands On With The Fastest Mac Ever - CNet's ever-evolving review. Here's the first line: "Apple's new Mac Pro is a stunningly fresh take on the desktop computer. But it's probably not for you." Unless you read this
newsletter. (reviews.cnet.com)
- First 24 Hours: New Mac Pro and Final Cut Pro 10.1 - great write-up. If you're wondering, the configuration they're testing is nearly the top-of-the-line, costing $8,300 (including AppleCare) as a Build to Order. But if their results
hold up, this is a machine that could last you many many years. Scroll halfway down the article for an editing report. Impressive. (fcp.co)
- [video] Son of New Mac Pro and FCPx (featuring RED 4K) - how many effects can FCPx play back at once without dropping frames on RED 4K (and no RED Rocket card)? Watch
to the end. Trust me. It's worth it. note: this is the same video embedded in the fcp.co item above (youtu.be)
- Is the new Mac Pro Over-Priced? - using off-the-shelf components to match the specs of the entry-level iMac Pro - how much would you save building it yourself? (dylanreeve.com)
- You Can Spend $9,599 On A Mac Pro, But Should You? - ars breaks down the various custom configurations on the new iMac Pro and offers advice on where value can be found. (arstechnica.com)
- The Mac Pro: So What's A D300, D550 and D700 Anyway? - What's the deal on the new GPU's for the iMac Pro? Is
Apple making gobs of extra cash hard-wiring these GPUs and not making them user-upgradable? (architosh.com via @robbiecarman)
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Getting Ahead |
- Outsourcing - Steve Jobs once famously said, "Do not try to do everything. Do one thing well." That's the
nugget that lies at the heart of this advice to help you focus on what you do best. For everything else, there's outsourcing. (fstoppers.com)
- Talent Is Persistence: What It Takes To be An Independent Creative - "I wish the earlier me understood work and practice more. Just the repeated concerted effort to get better at things. I wish I didn't have the notions of talent and genius I
had back then." (99u.com)
- The Five Beats Of Successful Storytelling - and how they can help you land your next job. (99u.com)
- Fix Your Posture With This Animated Guide To Sitting Right - Some of the stats on the
health costs to extended sitting are... not encouraging. (lifehacker.com)
- Study: Direct Eye Contact Is Not An Effective Way To Persuade - Context is everything. (forbes.com)
- Roger Deakins On Becoming a Cinematographer - A quick quote that I think is true for any creative. (filmmakeriq.com)
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'Tis the Season |
- Last Minute Gifts and Stocking Stuffers For Filmmakers - If you know someone who thinks places like Abel
Cine are heaven, then you'll like this gift guide - conveniently segmented by price. (about.abelcine.com)
- Christmas Gifts Ideas For The Editor - Be careful, some of these will break the bank! Editors are a needy lot :-) (provideocoalition.com)
- Westeros 4D Puzzle Map - For the Game of Thrones fan on your holiday list. (mashable.com)
- SMPTE Wallcharts - What post-production pro wouldn't want one of these hanging over the fireplace mantle? (smpte.org)
- High Tech Holiday Gifts - from David Pogue. One word: Hue! Note: I'm not impressed by Yahoo Screen if these embeds are any indication... there's no way to expand the video to full screen! (news.yahoo.com)
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Showcase |
- [video] The World Outside My Window - tis the season to wish for Peace on Earth and Goodwill
to all. What better way to celebrate it in video than with time-lapses of earth from the ISS. In an wicked twist of irony, the music is provided by 'Two Steps from Hell.' (vimeo.com)
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The Next Step is a Doozy |
- Cats - no, not
the musical. Have you ever stared at a cat (when they'll let you), and wondered how did that species ever get domesticated? Read on, the idea originated in China. (io9.com)
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A Step Too Far? |
- 5 in 5 - IBM reveals it's top five innovation predictions for the next five years. Not one has anything to do with film,
post, or color. If these predictions come true, we'll all live better lives, according to IBM. (venturebeat.com)
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Th- Th- That's ALL Folks! See you in 2014. Have a safe New Years. Happy Grading!
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Published by:
Patrick Inhofer: Photon-Wrangler, Fini.tv | TaoOfColor.com | MixingLight.com
patrick@taoofcolor.com
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