• Composition & Color of Blade Runner - take a colorful trip down memory lane and into the work of DP Jordan Cronenweth. (floobynooby.blogspot.ca)
  

• [video] The Secrets To Alexis Cuarezma’s Success -  he's a sports photographer with a strong body of work, and a strong work ethic. (strobist.blogspot.com)
  

• [video] Color Breakdown - while the before/after reel embedded here is fine, this Newsletter doesn't normally link to Reels. What got our attention was the comments, specifically by cinematographer Geoff Boyle. When presenting before / after reels to clients, his concerns are not unwarranted.  (redsharknews.com)

• [video] Color and the Vectorscope - if you ever find yourself needing to teach somehow how to read a vectorscope to analyse Hue and Saturation then you'll want to watch this video. This is fourth and final episode on video scopes that covers the basics, presented exceedingly well. (vimeo.com)

• [video] Case Study: Quantel Rio - Senior Colorist Thomas Urbye does a short interview about Quantel's Rio 4K grading and finishing system, against the backdrop of the recently completed grading he did on the ITV drama series, Jericho. (vimeo.com)

• [video] Remote Rendering - got a massive render project but not enough muscle to get ‘er done? Montreal-based colorist Mathieu Marano shows you how to take advantage of DaVinci Resolve 12’s new feature that enables a colorist to use a secondary Resolve station to render timelines. (monstudioaucanada.com)

• Clean Up That LUT Folder - "yeah I sacrifice a little organization, but hey... I don't use those LUTs very often anyway, so, who cares?" One colorist’s solution to LUT folder excessiveness. (groundcontrolcolor.com)

• False Color Plugin - Tomasz Huczek is beta testing a new plugin he created.  It features an IRE levels scale next to the false color mapping. You can download the plugin free of charge. But Tom would appreciate a donation, and feedback.  (timeinpixels.com)

• [video] Removing Black Sun Spots - a pithy tutorial for beginners who want to remove black sun spots from their video. (premiumbeat.com)

• [PDF] A Comprehensive Case Study For The Revenant - but the PDF as formatting makes for tough reading.  (technicolor.com via Marc Wielage)

• To Visually Impaired And Beyond - the house that ‘Toy Story’ built has created an app to help blind and visually impaired people experience the movies. The iOS narration app, automatically syncs with films from Pixar and Disney. (pastemagazine.com)
  

• Calculating Your Freelance Hourly Rate - a step by step guide to working out your ideal rate. (yourguide.nab.com.au)
  

• What the Future of Virtual Reality Isn't (and Is) - "VR is here to stay – not as the next manifestation of documentary, or cinema, or both, but as its own platform with a nascent sensibility and an exciting road ahead." An interesting read. (displaydaily.com)
  

• Skylights Pioneering In-Flight VR - "VR typically offers a wide viewing angle with the intention that the user moves their head to look around. Such head movements are not that desirable on board an aircraft, especially in crowded economy class cabins." Heh. No kidding. Click through to learn how they see VR being used during air travel. (displaydaily.com)
  

• Google Updates Cardboard, Develops Standalone VR Headset - "new version will feature the smartphone as a screen and chips and sensors in the plastic viewer." Shipping in a few months, details at the link. (etcentric.org)

• [video] Premiere Pro: How To Prep Camera RAW Footage - when working with LUTs. (mixinglight.com)
  

• Big Shop To One Man Show: Workflows to Minimise Downtime - and earn back some personal downtime. (mixinglight.com)
  

• [video] Advanced Finishing Techniques: How to Set Up DaVinci Resolve For Non-HD Frame Sizes - "think: Large museum-style installations . . . Figuring out how to properly monitor this image is only half the problem. The other half is making sure all your crops, masks, windows and tracks work properly when exported at the full 6K image size of the final render."  (mixinglight.com)

Items in this special section of the Newsletter will recur until after NAB, which is April 16 - 21 in Las Vegas.

• [edumacate] Post Production World : Overview - "In addition to the general sessions, P|PW offers multi-day, certification-prep and hands-on training that allows attendees to dive deeply into [software]. New this year, P|PW offers a track dedicated for graduating students to provide them a leg-up in navigating the industry."  Runs April 16 - 20th. Use this Discount Code to save $100: PPW06 (nabshow.com/attend)

• [edumacate] Team Mixing Light at P|PW - in addition to a full-day of color correction training, Tao Newsletter Publisher Patrick and his Mixing Light business partners are leading almost a dozen additional training sessions. Click through our names for session listings. (nab16.mapyourshow.com) 

• The Official ToolFarm Guide to NAB - from Exhibit hours to various social meetups to Exhibitor Booths you'll probably want to visit, a good collection of NAB information. (toolfarm.com)

• [event] 4th Annual Colorist Mixer - the colorist annual meetup is happening again, so make your travel plans accordingly. Registration is NOT open yet, so keep an eye out for an email invitation directly from the Tao Newsletter.  Sunday, April 16, 7:30 PM (coloristmixer.com)

• [event] Media Motion Ball 2016 - a sit-down dinner with stage presentations. A great place to meet your favorite industry notables. Monday, April 18,  5:30 PM (eventbrite.com)

• [event] SuperMeet 2016 - Watch stage presentations and then participate in NAB's biggest give-away of software and hardware. It's also a good place to launch a meet up with friends for late night festivities. Tuesday, April 19, 4:30PM (eventbrite.com)​

• NAB Show To Host Kaleidoscope Virtual Reality Showcase - "NAB Show attendees will have the opportunity to travel to virtual worlds and experience the most innovative narrative, environmental and interactive content." (displaydaily.com)

• 10 Ways To Have A Better Conversation - "the ingredients of a great conversation: Honesty, brevity, clarity and a healthy amount of listening. In this insightful talk, [learn] 10 useful rules for having better conversations" (ted.com)
  

• Going Bald? Wear Colors That Compliment Your Eyes and Skin Tone  - I guess it's green for me! (lifehacker.com)
  

• 5 Filters Go Head To Head In This Neutral Density Shootout - "Even though they're all designed to reduce the amount of light that hits your sensor, neutral density filters can vary quite a bit in terms of what effect they have on your final image, including color casting, vignetting, and exposure changes." (nofilmschool.com)​
  

• Review: Red Giant PluralEyes 4 - "Speed and syncing accuracy are highlights of PluralEyes 4. But a couple of features have gone missing." (provideocoalition.com)

• [Book] Learning DaVinci Resolve 12 - a new step-by-step book for those brand new to DaVinci Resolve. Its focus is heavy on Project setup and Editing. (learning-paths.com)

• [video] Shoe Comfort Hack - got an important client meet? New shoes pinching your feet? Learn the steps needed to get the perfect fit with just a thick pair of socks and a hair dryer. Skip to 2:30 for the good stuff. (youtube.com)
  

• Building An Etch A Sketch Coffee Table - cool. (makezine.com)
  

• [video] Kevin Spacey Reads ‘House Of Cards’ Scenes Written By Kids - cute. Fun. (moviefone.com)

• Flanders Scientific: BoxIO Color Management Device - "specifically designed to overcome some of the shortcomings of typical 3D LUT boxes by offering . . . key enhancements". Ship date not yet announced. Get the details. (flandersscientific.com)

• First Impressions: Lumaforge ‘JellyFish’ Affordable Shared Storage - optimized for FCPX workflows "although it will work quite happily with other NLEs such as Premiere, Resolve and Avid" (fcp.co)

• G-Tech Introduces Two New Portable Drives - in need of portable storage on location, or as backup in the studio? G-Tech introduces the G-Speed Shuttle in two flavors. Starting price: $3,299.95(US) for 18TB. (postperspective.com)

• HDD Reliability - "Cloud backup provider Backblaze has published more of its hard drive reliability data, giving a look at the company's experiences with its 56,224 hard disks in 2015." Surprisingly, one company is building both the most and least reliable drives. (arstechnica.com)

• What Is The Optimal RAID Configuration for You? - “picking the right configuration for your particular creative needs might be a serious challenge.”  (4kshooters.net)​

• Samsung Demos Gear 360 Camera For Virtual Reality Capture - "the camera is “optimized for capturing video while stationary,” and it comes with a mini-tripod to enable that." More details in the story. (etcentric.org)

• Mitsubishi Electric Develops ‘Aerial Display’ - "projects images measuring approximately 56 inches diagonally into midair". (displaydaily.com)

• Meet The Man Who Flies Around The World For Free - a well written story about the ultimate frequent flier... and the sub-culture that tries to beat the airlines at their own game. Fascinating.  (rollingstone.com)