| Issue CDXXIX: The Year of the Rat Edition |
| The Tao of Color Grading Newsletter |
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Curated links of news, reviews, thoughts, career advice, and humor
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Yesterday we entered the Year of the Rat in the traditional Lunar Calendar. So once again, Happy New Year!
I've got some CES news this week. Arri goes vertical video. We're working through Mixing Light's 24-day annual color grading marathon. I offer a radical new idea to Blackmagic's Grant Petty. At the end is some definite clickable fun.
All in all a good, but not overwhelming, week. Enjoy!
See you next Sunday.
Happy Grading!
(and remember - if you have a story that's a fit for this Newsletter, hit reply or email it to 'newsletter@taoofcolor.com'! Include a quick reason for the suggested link.)
- Patrick Inhofer
Colorist | Publisher | Coach
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Featuring the work of creative craftsmen, the theory of color, and industry news. Learn practical workflows, useful theories, and actionable insights from existing (and emerging) leaders and teachers in our industry.
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Announced at CES 2020, I call this Adaptive PQ: "Viewers watching video at home in brighter settings found the images were too dark. With Dolby Vision IQ, the Dolby Vision HDR system is automatically adjusted to the room’s brightness." Click through for the details. (via Joey D'Anna)
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The next time a DP screws you, keep this link handy and send it to them. But think carefully - they might not appreciate the education.
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What does it mean to “watch” a show on Netflix for it to count as a 'view'? They used to require watching 70%, which is very reasonable number. Now they've changed that metric, to something more akin to a YouTube view. Click through for the details.
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Our craft keeps changing. And growing. Learn about updates to your favorite software. Discover new tools to help you work faster or more creatively. Build your toolchest with new techniques and approaches.
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(video) This is a summary of an upcoming collaborative workflow allowing a master project to share lots of projects between teams of editors in a local share. Click through for details and an embedded walk-through.
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This review is a quick overview of the core use-case for FilmConvert Nitrate. If this plugin is new to you, or if you haven't used it in a while, check it out. Experienced colorists can use Nitrate for some interesting color space transforms - which I've been exploring and will talk about at some point on the near future.
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A pithy but effective overview of FCPx's native keying system.
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This is in here to suggest to Blackmagic Design's Grant Petty an innovative idea: A 'Pay What You Want For Resolve Studio Support' option - it's a way of supporting your most hard-core clients without the smarmy feel of support contracts.
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Like the title says, as a refresher.
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(video) For the Mac-heads out there, if you're looking for a robust backup utility this was always one of my favorites. Note: This link requires signing up for a 7-day free trial to watch past the first 4 minutes - but this has always been one of my favorite Mac-based video tutorial resources.
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(video) Part 1 of a free training series on pulling keys using Primatte Studio. It includes downloadable footage. Even if you don't have Primatte, if you're new to keying this looks very worthwhile.
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(video) Learn how to use Keyboard Maestro and Stream Deck to supercharge your workflow in DaVinci Resolve on Mac with powerful macros.
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(video) Do you struggle getting a good starting point while using Look-Up Tables (LUTs)? This idea may make things easier (in Davinci Resolve).
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Colorist Robbie Carman reflects on 2019 and shares some of his goals for 2020 to help run a stronger color correction business.
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(podcast) Trying to understand the value of pro video displays? Want to know the differences (and trade-offs) between the technologies? This one is free, in front of the paywall.
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Colorist Dan Moran kicks off January 2020 by looking back on 2019 and speaks about his personal favorite grades & experiences of the past year.
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Stay updated on the latest hardware that's shipping - because the craft of color grading isn't just about software. Plus, keep an eye on future equipment trends and hardware odds-and-ends.
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Is the 16-Core version of the 2019 Mac Pro worth the extra $1000 USD?
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Actually, two things in this article are interesting. The dual layer LCD for less than OLED plus, at the end of the article, spectacular specs on a 4K 2,000 nit short-throw projector at an affordable price (hopefully it's calibratable).
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This is clipped as a good conversation starter when in session with clients. Panasonic is calling it the 'Creator Rental Program' - presumably to help juice up demand.
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This item is another conversation starter with our clients. Although my response is simple... :-(
But yeah, I get the need for this deliverable.
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The operative word in this headline is 'could'. This article offers several reasons for a potential price spike. If you're already in the market then this report might get you to pull the trigger sooner. But if you're not ready to buy, keep in mind the price hike isn't here - even with the known 'potential' shortfall.
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This link is here for you to bookmark and come back to compare any two consumer TVs for your client display. What gets me is the extensiveness of the information. This comparison between the C9 and E9 LGs shows the latter has greater peak brightness while the former has a larger color volume.
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Random thoughts, tidbits, and fun stuff that caught my attention this week. Maybe it's color grading related. Maybe not. Ya got'ta read to the end of the Newsletter to find out.
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"Motion designer Christian Stang combined 400,000 images of comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko to produce this sci-fi-yet-real short film." Definitely worth the click-through.
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(video) While I tell people I live in Orlando, my address is actually Kissimmee, Florida. If you wonder what the appeal of this area is to this native New Yorker who lived there for 45+ years? This 28 minute docu-ad campaign is impressively well done, is being entered into film festivals, and captures why I'm in no rush to move back North. The video is embedded at the end.
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(video) Seriously, click through for the short YouTube video of this Mac booting off the floppy. Remember, it had 1Mb of RAM! For my generation, the sound of that floppy really time-shifts us back!
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| Th- th- th- that's all folks! See you next Sunday. |
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