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As NAB 2017 approaches I'm adding the NAB Section with links to essential show information. If you have an item you think should be in here, please reply and include a link for me to share.
The NAB 2017 Colorist Mixer Is Set
- Now in its fifth year(!), the Colorist Mixer is set for Sunday, April 23 at 7pm.
- We're moving the location to the 108th floor of the Stratosphere Tower, with an awesome view of the Las Vegas strip! And we all need to thank the awesome sponsors of this year's Mixer for their monetary donations that are making it happen.
- You can find out who the sponsors are by visiting the official website: ColoristMixer.com
- The Mixer is
organized and hosted by Mixing Light, International Colorist Academy and Tao of Color.
- The Hosting Committee members are all dedicated to building,
maintaining, enhancing and evangelizing the craft, skill and the perception of digital color grading of moving images (and its practitioners). The Mixer brings vendors together with the color grading community in a low-key social event to kick off NAB.
- Tickets go on sale next Sunday... so for now, clear your calendar and make sure you're in Las Vegas the day before the show floor opens.
- I'll remind you again next Sunday, when ticket sales go live.
Free NAB Exhibits-Only Code, Courtesy FSI
- If you want to walk the show floor, you need to register. This far out from NAB, you shouldn't have to pay a dime for your show floor pass... you just need an Exhibits-Only code.
- Here's the code from Tao Colorist Newsletter sponsor, Flanders Scientific
LV5757
- Registration Packages can be selected at the NAB Show website. Enter that discount code to get the free Exhibits-Only pass. Just, do it now. While you're reading this. Before you forget.
NAB arrived early: Blackmagic just released two new control surfaces for DaVinci
Resolve
- This is pretty big news in the Resolve world... as these are custom built by Blackmagic for Resolve. They are named 'Micro' and 'Mini'.
- Their price-points are clearly targeted for a wide audience at $995 and $2995. Their form factors ensure you won't lose your muscle memory as you move between the Micro and Mini panels.
- If you color exclusively in Resolve then these look like a compelling buy. If you color in several apps then you'll need to think carefully about getting rid of your 3rd party panels that are widely supported on other apps.
- Oh - and they are delivering immediately.
- In The Tools I have a few a few links for you to read more about the new Resolve control surfaces.
Enjoy this week's Newsletter! We'll see you next week.
Happy Grading!
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- 2017 Oscar-Nominated Colorists - "Yes, their credits are buried down at the bottom of the endcrawl, and no, they probably won’t get a mention in any of the acceptance speeches, but you know they (and often their team) watched every frame of these movies and made them better. So congratulations to all the colorists…" (icolorist.com)
- Grading Fire at Sea - Colorist Andrea Orsini talks about the craft of grading a documentary. “...the biggest secret to our workflow was actually not to treat Fire at Sea like a documentary at all.” (redsharknews.com)
- [video] Interview: Colourist Peter Dolye - he has colour-graded eight of the 30 highest-grossing films of all time. Don't miss the Supervising Colorist at Technicolor talk about the changing
craft and technology. He is brilliantly spot-on about modern challenges of our craft amid changing technology. But we're not a fan of the dis-embodied head interview thing, though. (vimeo.com via Lucía Blanco)
- Lighting Ratios & False Color - “Ratios are no good for color. You have to develop your project and
understand how the color temperature of lights impacts mood and feeling.” How lighting ratios help cinematographers become more efficient and more effective visual storytellers. Plus good info on using False Color for image evaluation. (wanderingdp.com)
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- Review: Brand New Control Surfaces for Resolve - the man who writes the Resolve manual shares his thoughts on the two new panels, "The layout is, in my opinion, well thought out. I especially like that the bottom half of the Mini Panel is exactly the same as the Micro Panel, so if you use one, the
muscle memory you develop applies to the other." (vanhurkman.com)
- Overview: DaVinci Resolve 'Micro' and 'Mini' Colorist Control Surfaces - Scott Simmons does a nice job of taking the close-up images from Blackmagic's website, integrates it with the Press Release and offers his own commentary. The full Grant Petty Press Event revealing these panels is embedded here as well. (provideocoalition.com)
- ScopeBox Setups: Patrick Inhofer - as part of their User Profiles, your Newsletter Editor shares his current setup using these very affordable,
mega-flexible software scopes. (divergentmedia.com)
- The False Color Plugin - “comes in 2 versions: Free and Pro. Here is what’s included in each…” Just like the title says, if that last item about False Color in The Craft piqued your
interest. (timeinpixels.com)
- [forum] FinalDCP: Questions and Answers - if you use this software for DCP creation, the developers started a thread on LiftGammaGain to answer your questions. It's an interesting thread even if you're not a user. (liftgammagain.com)
- Using Resolve for Editing, Grading, And Finishing - “This was an all out DIY production. From friends and family lending a hand to a crowd funding campaign this production looked to keep their costs down while giving them to tools they needed which is why we chose DaVinci Resolve Studio.” One app for the new Amazon series, Please Tell
Me I’m Adopted!’ (provideocoalition.com)
- FCPx-RED-Resolve Workflow - this final
installment in a larger series of articles is "all about collaboration with colour, VFX and audio departments. We finish with how to deliver your film for theatrical release & display." (fcp.co)
- [video] Color Grading for a Cinematic Look (in Premiere Pro CC) - this tutorial is a whirlwind tour offering one possible workflow for grading in Premiere Pro CC with the Lumetri toolset. (studiodaily.com)
- Frame.io updated with offline viewing - for their iPhone app. Click through for additional features just added and a preview of v2.0. (newsshooter.com)
- [forum] Thoughts on EditReady - "I'm about to buy a new Scopebox license and Divergent Media has a good bundle with EditReady. I have AME, Compressor
and Resolve. Any benefit to having EditReady?" Click through for the answers, which colorists might find useful. (liftgammagain.com)
- [video] Color Grading with the Orange and Teal Explained - for new Newsletter readers, learn what that look is, why it’s used, and, yes, how to apply it via LUTs in Premiere Pro. (youtube.com)
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- Extending the Cloud, Developing Delivery Specs, and the State of Light Field Imaging - from the HPA Tech Retreat, "Here are a few more details from the sold-out technology event that didn't quite fit into our previous coverage." (studiodaily.com)
- Time Warner's Secret Scheme - to fool the FCC’s
broadband speed measurement program, "Instead of investing adequately in network upgrades and node splits, a July 7, 2014 internal email . . . told senior colleagues the best way out of this dilemma was to cheat on the FCC broadband tests." So they did, according to a lawsuit. (stopthecap.com)
- The cost of movie Prints and Advertising - "the heart of this [false accounting] claim is a scepticism that it isn’t as expensive to put a movie into cinemas as distributors claim. So today I will quickly run through the types of costs involved in releasing a movie." (stephenfollows.com via celluloidjunkie.com)
- Apple: You Will See Us Do More in the Pro Area - CEO Tim Cook at the company’s shareholder’s meeting. "The pro area is very important to us. The creative area is very important to us in
particular." (macrumors.com)
- Number of TV’s in US Homes Declining - “younger households have been found to have a lower concentration of televisions per person and a higher concentration of portable devices, like
laptops or smartphones.” So, they ARE watching TV - just not on TV? (tvtechnology.com)
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The stories featured in this section are from MixingLight.com, 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] Lens Profiling: What Is It and Why Could It Be Useful? - "if you are on a long project that is shooting with the same lenses for weeks or months at a time is it worth shooting test charts and balancing the lens characteristics?" (mixinglight.com)
- [video] What Are The Elements Of A Professional Data Download Kit? - "in this Insight, Rich shows us his basic Data Download Kit. You learn what he brings on-set and why he doesn’t trust anyone else to ever provide him with the gear he
needs, including card readers and cables." (mixinglight.com)
- Color Correction Gear Head: Remote Sessions, Clean Gear, DIY Dropbox - from video chatting with remote clients to keeping your gear spotless to building your own Dropbox service—colorist Robbie Carman shares his favorites. (mixinglight.com)
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- What Causes Burnout and How to Overcome It - "But what exactly is burnout? Researchers say burnout can be broken down into three parts..." Click through for the rest. (lifehacker.com)
- How to Fly Your Drone in Sub-Zero and Rain'y Conditions - "to solve this problem DJI have unveiled the new Matrice 200 drone series . . . it offers DJI’s first upward-facing gimbal mount, which allows the drone to see
things such as the undersides of bridges, towers and other structures." (newsshooter.com)
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Current Colorist Control Surface Drivers |
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- [forum] What's the Name of 'Resolve Next'? - your Newsletter Publisher asks a fun question: Since Blackmagic avoided the name 'Resolve 13' last year, what do you think the new name of the next version of Resolve
will be called? Chime in with your guess. (liftgammagain.com)
- Animals That Look Like They’re About To Drop The Hottest Albums Ever - Seriously. They DO. It's a hoot. (sadanduseless.com)
- [video] PSA for ‘Incredible Car Device' - Commuting to the color suite is truly an adventure as motorists are increasingly distracted by mobile devices. One state trooper embraced the creative, and made a fun PSA to state his case.
Sarcastically. (youtube.com)
- [video] A Modern Trailer for The Empire Strikes Back - this trailer modernizes The Empire Strikes Back. (youtube.com) To see how things have changed,
watch one of the originals. (youtube.com)
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- What You Need To Know About Ryzen - "Seeing the tiny AMD sticker on a good laptop is an oddity, not a regularity. AMD desperately wants that to change and the Ryzen CPU is the first step." (gizmodo.com)
- Sony Professional Launches Tech Tip Video Series - "Helping production people know and navigate the features on their Sony LMD Monitors". Episode 1 is embedded in this post. (provideocoalition.com)
- [review] Epson HC 5040UB Projector Makes Good Case For Near 4K - "The disadvantage that this projector doesn’t
deliver actual 4K resolution is reduced by the fact that the eye perceives color and brightness much more readily than it does resolution. That’s true even when viewing images on the up to 120-inch screen size this model can display." Good review. (hdguru.com)
- [review] Philips 55POS901F 4K OLED TV Review - "if you accept the premise that OLED is superior to plasma thanks to true blacks, brighter light output, higher resolution and no PWM noise, then an argument could even be made for
the 55POS901 to be right up there with the best TVs ever produced." (hdtvtest.co.uk)
- [review] LG 2017 OLED Hands-On Review - "At CES 2017, LG made a big deal out of the fact that the new OLEDs, free of ABL in SDR mode at 150 nits or less, were good enough to be used as reference monitors by Technicolor. Having seen one and measured it, I can say this is the case." (referencehometheater.com)
- Premiere Pro CC 2017 & AMD Ryzen 7 1700X Performance - "this isn't to say that a Ryzen workstation might not be the right fit for you, but there are a couple of reasons that (right now) it just barely misses the mark for us . . . " (pugetsystems.com)
- Razer Core Thunderbolt 3 eGPU Works With ‘Late 2016’ MacBook Pro - "With one exception, both the Razer Core and AKiTiO Node eGPUs lift the 'late 2016' MacBook Pro to desktop graphics performance." But setup is not for the faint-hearted. (barefeats.com)
- [forum] Nvidia 1080Ti: $699 - the discussion begins, "Will it ever work with hackintoshes? Seeing that the 1080 still have no support...it seems like Nvidia support for hackintosh has reached the end of the road maybe?" (liftgammagain.com)
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- [video] ARRI Lighting Showreel - a TVC from ARRI Lighting showing off the creativity that can be achieved using their LED product line. Nice grade. (vimeo.com) Be sure to check out the BTS making of. (vimeo.com)
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- 5th Annual Colorist Mixer 2017 - tickets go on sale Sunday, March 12. The event is Sunday April 24 at 7p. It's being held on Level 108 of the Stratosphere Tower, above the Vegas strip. (coloristmixer.com)
- The Official Toolfarm Guide to NAB - updated for 2017, lists most events and vendors of interest to readers of this Newsletter. (toolfarm.com)
- 16th Annual Las Vegas SuperMeet - a classic staple of NAB attendees in the digital post-production space. Catch demos from vendors big and small and win in the mega-big raffle. Tuesday, April 25, 7pm. (supermeet.com)
- 20th Annual Media Motion Ball - "Attendees will enjoy a fine multi-course sit down dinner & dessert,
mingling with their industry friends & peers and also participate in the drawing for our huge prize pool." You're likely to find the Tao Newsletter staff here. (mediamotionball.com)
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- First Commercially Available Flying Car Goes On Sale For $399,000 - "Buyers should have a license for both driving and flying". Sorry. This doesn't qualify as a 'car' in my book. Nice try. (motortrend.com)
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- Save Yourself—With A Phone Call from Google Chrome - "The idea here is that when you have to pick up the phone to answer it, whoever’s talking to you will politely walk away. " (lifehacker.com)
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Th- Th- That's ALL Folks! We'll see you next week. Happy Grading! 11,600'ish Stories 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)
- Color Grading with Avid and Symphony - Written for version 6. Fully applicable to version 7. I was a contributor. (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.
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Managing Editor:
jim@jimwicks.com
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Published by:
Patrick Inhofer, CSI
Colorist, Coach: TaoOfColor.com | MixingLight.com patrick@taoofcolor.com
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