Support this Newsletter: Like, Tweet, Plus or... um... In =>
|
Two things from the staff of the Tao Colorist Newsletter this week.
First, Managing Editor Jim Wicks really enjoyed the color grade on the new Adele music video, Hello.
Jim recorded a short interview with Hello's colorist
The link to the interview is the first item in The Craft. And if you want to watch the music video first (which I recommend), then scroll down to Showcase for that link.
Second: In 15 years of my full-time color grading career I've never had a 'proper' Beauty reel
Why? I don't specialize in commercials. I've always loved narrative storytelling and
those are the clients I actively market to.
Narrative features, documentaries and shorts don't always look very 'Beauty'. In fact, I'm often hired specifically to degrade the image, mess it up and otherwise torture digital bits—just as frequently as I'm asking to make the images look
gorgeous.
Well - I've finally put together a 'proper' Demo Reel
Only it's not a
Beauty Reel. I'm calling it my 'Features, Docs and Shorts Sample Reel'. Sometime in the next month or so, over on Mixing Light, I'll do a behind-the-scenes video about the various iterations of the demo reel creation process—which is always an intense area of interest for those new to the craft.
And yes, MixingLight.com will make that video a free one—so it's not locked behind the membership paywall... just for you, my Newsletter readers.
Feel free to check
out my new Sample Reel by clicking on the Vimeo link above.
Next Week, for those of you new to this publication:
I'll share my philosophy of how you can avoid getting overwhelmed by the weekly content of this Newsletter
The basic concept is this: Don't feel compelled to click on every link and don't feel bad if you haven't read every story. This Newsletter is designed for you
to find 3 stories of interest.
Until next week... Happy Grading! |
|
- [podcast] Color Grading ‘Hello’ - Montreal-based colorist Jerome Cloutier talks with Tao Managing Editor Jim Wicks about grading Adele’s new music video, ‘Hello.’ Jerome talks about his workflow - and getting 2K film and 8K IMAX to play nice. (jimwicks.com)
- [videos] Color Serving Story - a blog post on how color helps service a film’s narrative, with a few embedded videos on the subject. (nofilmschool.com)
- Color Grading Is An Annoying Chore - this blog post uses the introduction of the AJA CION camera to try and make its point, which is: DPs should focus on recording images properly and make color correction a choice, not a necessity.
(redsharknews.com)
- The Colorist of BBC’s Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - a profile of colorist Nico Ilies. The
project was graded on Baselight but my favorite comment is about the advantages of working with RAW recorded material. (library.creativecow.net)
|
|
- Moving A Timeline From Premiere Pro To Davinci Resolve - "The following are specifications for prepping to handover your Premier Project. Material that does not meet these specifications will need to be reformatted at additional expense." I love that second line. And the rest that follows is a great example of how to
succinctly instruct your clients delivery for color grading (or anything else, really). (tobyheslop.com.au)
- [Tutorial] Free Look LUTS for a Rec709 Workflow -
this LightSpace CMS tutorial gives you great insight into the power of generating LUTs with LightSpace. At the bottom you can download the three LUTs for your own use... for the low low purchase price of your email address. (lightillusion.com)
- Pulling A Clean Green Screen Chroma Key - in
DaVinci Resolve. (premiumbeat.com)
- [Review] Fusion 8 - "Fusion is a difficult application to pigeon-hole as it is so capable in many areas. As a pure compositor it handles anything you
can throw at it, reading just about any file type you can think of, including 3D files, from OBJ to FBX." (3dtotal.com via toolfarm.com)
- [video] Premiere Pro CC: Using The Loudness Radar - if you deliver for broadcast and your client wants you to double-check audio levels... this is really nifty. Check it out. (youtube.com)
- What Larry Jordan Learned Upgrading To El Capitan - for
those of you lured to Shiny Things. (larryjordan.com)
- Mac OS X El Capitan Does NOT Support 10-bit... Oh Wait, It DOES! - a website long skeptical of Mac OS X development trends for digital video and photo professionals proclaims news about 10-bit
support in El Capitan is bunk. And then eats crow when Adobe confirms to them that 10-bit is finally here on the latest Mac OS. (macperformanceguide.com)
- Overview: Magic Bullet Suite 12 - "The suite
now includes Magic Bullet Looks 3.0, Magic Bullet Colorista III, Magic Bullet Film 1.0, Magic Bullet Mojo 2.0, Magic Bullet Cosmo 2.0, Denoiser II, and LUT Buddy. The new update adds OpenFX compatibility." Lots more details after you click. (digitalfilms.wordpress.com)
- [video] Adobe and High Dynamic Range - the good people at one of my favorite training sites, FXPhd, have shared a conversation with "Lars Borg from Adobe about the benefits and challenges of HDR video and the new, more artist friendly ACEScg color space." (fxphd.com)
- Default Title Safe Guides Are A Sham - "if you’re using a 20% default title safe as your guide, you’re continuing to use standards that were around from before we landed on the moon". Click
through to see what this filmmaker thinks you should be doing—and why. (premiumbeat.com)
- [video] Finding Libraries in Final Cut Pro X - "Ever lose an FCPX library somewhere on your hard drive? This week's MacBreak Studio will show you a
trick to get them all organised." It's a nifty tip. (fcp.co)
- Color Cone: New FCPX Filter - "relies on the HCL color model,
which is displayed in the shape of a bicone in the software . . . the HCL color model only allows for saturations in highlights and shadows that actually exist . . . even if other color models allow it." (fcp.co)
|
S P O N S O R E D M E S S A G E Tao of Color's Official LCD Reference Monitors Flanders Scientific CM250 OLED Reference Monitor The CM250 color critical
reference OLED monitor features a 10 bit panel, 12 bit signal processing , 4:4:4 and XYZ signal format support, 3D Calibration LUTs and 3D DIT LUTs, 3G/ Dual-Link/ HD/ SD-SDI Inputs, plus 18 onboard scopes and meters on all inputs and flexible calibration solutions. FSI CM250
OLED only $6,495 Learn More About the FSI CM250
|
- SMPTE: The High Dynamic Range Ecosystem - "The report . . . addresses key questions that will arise for industry members as they move forward in
taking advantage of HDR technology. The report also offers recommendations for further HDR standardization efforts by SMPTE and other organizations." Requires your email address. (smpte.org)
- Sony 4K YouTube Channel - Sony launches the Sony 4K YouTube channel. Like the name implies, it’s for all things
Sony and 4K. (youtube.com)
- How to Make a Creative Marriage Work - the creative landscape is littered with partnerships that made it and those that didn’t. Find inspiration from 10 creative partners who endured and thrived without killing each other. (adweek.com)
- Paramount To Test Shorter Release Window For Home Video - "“most of the country’s major exhibitors shunned the deal.” More details at the
link. (etcentric.org)
- Video Ads Win Budgets Away From TV - a survey finds "that TV budget growth is stagnating, with a sizable portion of those dollars being reallocated to video advertising". The salt served with
this survey? Published by AOL, which I forgot was still in business. (reelseo.com)
- 6 Reasons HDR Isn't a Done Deal - a good summary of the current challenges for this display technology. (studiodaily.com)
|
|
The stories featured in this section are from MixingLight.com, a
companion color correction membership website to TaoOfColor.com and paid sponsor of this Newsletter. Want to read a story listed here but not a member? Sign up for a free 24-hour Test Drive. - [video] Look Inspiration: Hyperreal Look - "As a commercial colorist I do find myself grading a lot of my work in this bright advertising hyperreal space. I decided to throw my normal methods out the window and try and create a sci-fi inspired hyperreal look." (mixinglight.com)
- Colorist Inspiration: Finding Your Opportunities - how to generate ideas with the footage in front of you, even when you're not feeling inspired. (mixinglight.com)
|
|
- Cutting The Martian - friend of the Tao, Steve Hullfish, follows up his interview on the editors behind Ridley Scott’s ‘The Martian’ with a profile of Cheryl Potter on the job of the 'Additional Editor'. (provideocoalition.com)
- [video] SMPTE Centennial - the trailer for a documentary about the creation of SMPTE and why it's relevant today. (vimeo.com)
- Letting Audiences Make Structural Choices In Films - "As part of their ‘Elastic News’ project, BBC R&D have been testing ideas that allow audiences to determine levels of detail and even the order that news stories are told." (alex4d.com via Joe Stern)
- [app] Color Elements - "assists interior designers, architects, paint contractors and material specifiers to streamline the color selection process." Think Adobe Hue - but for 'colorists' working with analog materials. (variableinc.com)
- [video] Remaking the Color Chart - the company that makes ColorChecker tries to update the industry standard Macbeth color chart. First presented at IBC. (redsharknews.com)
- Spectral Transmission of Digital Sensors - "The blocking of blue/uv light has dramatic implications when taking pictures of blueish-purple or reddish-purple flowers [that] reflect strongly in this almost-UV-part of the spectrum (because many pollinating insects can perfectly see UV) . . . Now I'm learning that the camera manufacturers intentionally block that visible part of the spectrum with the cover glass."
Interesting discussion, even if I don't know the veracity of the facts. (diglloyd.com)
|
|
- TV Shootout: Panasonic CZ950, LG EF950V OLED, ZT Plasma - if you live in the UK and Leeds is just a day-trip for you, then you might be interested in this November 7 shoot-out of leading consumer displays. Attendance is free but limited to 35 people, so sign up now. (hdtvtest.co.uk)
- Premiere Pro World 2015 - including several color correction presentations from your humble Tao Newsletter Publisher. November 17 - 20. San Jose, CA. (adobevideoworld.com)
- New York Post | Production Conference CCW - November 11 to 12, New York, NY (magnetmail.net)
|
Current Colorist Control Surface Drivers |
|
|
|
- [video] The Beat(les) Goes On - a magical mystery tour of the Beatles discography is a bit of a whirlwind. Drummer Kye Smith does a good job. 71 Beatles songs in a 5 minute drum chronology. (youtube.com)
- [video] How People Actually Fought With Swords - the Historical European Martial Arts group is dedicated to study the 15th century skill of sword-fighter. Like, for real. Embedded is an 90 minute documentary on the people who study this. Fun. (kotaku.com via Alexis Van Hurkman)
- Transforming Cities With Paper Cutouts - one of those great studies of forced perspective. (kottke.org)
- Criterion’s 12 Goriest Movie Moments - for those with a post-Halloween hangover. (criterion.com)
- On Assignment: Studio In The Wild - the story of a natural-scientist-turned-photographer who "aimed his problem-solving skills towards designing a speedlight-based portable studio that can lay
in wait for his fickle subjects for many days at a time." Great images captured in the dead of night. (strobist.blogspot.com)
|
|
- ‘Late 2015’ iMac 5K versus Two Competing Macs - how does the new iMac compare to the 2-year-old Mac Pro? Includes benchtests on FCPX and DaVinci Resolve. (barefeats.com)
- Straight Talk: Affordable, Easy LTO Archiving - navigating the LTO landscape isn't as easy as it sounds. But Bob Zelin knows his stuff and this article provides tons of context before making a recommendation. (library.creativecow.net)
- Apple Kills Off RAID Support In OS X El Capitan - "While Apple RAID volumes still mount, DiskUtility no longer recognizes them and there is no easy way to configure an Apple RAID volume or determine if it is working correctly." Click through for full details and a free solution to regain what
Apple has taken away. (macperformanceguide.com)
|
|
On why trying to use an OS managed screen to view color critical images, is a no good, very bad thing: liftgammagain.com @j_salvo
|
Are you looking for a steady diet of pro-level color correction education? TaoOfColor.com Presents: MixingLight.com => Learn from a team of professional colorists => New articles and videos presented every week
(like YouTube, but reliable) Click for more details
|
- [video] Hello - Montreal-based colorist Jerome Cloutier drew inspiration from a photographic style made famous in the early 1900s to grade Adele’s new music video. It was shot on film and IMAX. In fact, we think it's the first time IMAX technology was used for a music video. (youtube.com)
|
|
- Run Mac OS System 7: In Your Browser - includes the classic Oregon Trail game. I remember those days fondly. (jamesfriend.com.au via Glenn Rempe)
|
|
- Live Bacteria Spray Will Keep You Clean - "You’ve heard of taking probiotics for a healthy gut, but what about literally spraying live bacteria on your skin?" While this idea has tons of merit, reading that the inventor had not taken a shower in 12 years... yeah... kinda kills it for me. (boston.cbslocal.com)
|
Th- Th- That's ALL Folks! See you next week. Happy Grading! 8,850'ish Stories Now Shared
Support this Newsletter: Like, Tweet or Plus =>
The Book Shelf- 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)
- Color Correction Look Book - This
is the second part of the Color Correction Handbook, exploring the creative techniques for over 200 different visual looks. A sort-of recipe book for colorists. (amazon.com)
- The Art and Technique of Digital Color Correction - Read how a dozen different colorists grade the same footage with the same gear, differently. A fantastic approach to learning the craft of color grading by Steve Hullfish. (amazon.com)
- Autodesk Smoke Essentials - Walk through grading a short sci-fi film (with downloadable
ProRes4444 source material) while learning the ultimate online finishing app... Autodesk Smoke. (amazon.com)
- Color Grading with Avid and Symphony - Written for version 6. Fully applicable to version 7. I was a contributor. (amazon.com)
- Adobe Speedgrade CC: Classroom in a Book - A solid book for a solid grading app. (amazon.com)
- Digital Cinematography: Fundamentals, Tools, Techniques and Workflows - Don't let the title fool you. I'm only a third way through this book and its explanations of how digital images are recorded, sampled and viewed is
essential knowledge for anyone who's craft intersects with digital images. Not light reading. But not filled with math either. I highly recommend this book. (amazon.com)
Have a book you
think should be in this list? Reply to this email and let me know!
FCC Disclaimer: Links in this email to Amazon.com, B&H Photo, or ToolFarm are Affiliate links that help support the TaoOfColor.com. FSI is a paid sponsor. Tao of Color, Inc. is part owner of MixingLight.com—which is a
sponsor. BlackMagic Design is sometimes a client.
We thank you for your support.
|
Managing Editor:
jim@jimwicks.com
|
|
Published by:
Patrick Inhofer: Photon-Wrangler, Fini.tv | TaoOfColor.com | MixingLight.com
patrick@taoofcolor.com
|
Follow:
|
|
|
|
|
