| Issue CDXXXVII: The WFH 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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It's been a long, busy week.
Mostly, I've spent my time on the Mixing Light side of my businesses where we'll be announcing a few new initiatives for our members and for EDUs (if you're a professor and are interested in getting Mixing Light to your students to help finish out the semester, hit reply and let me know - we've got something for you).
I almost didn't get this week's Newsletter published.
I could say the Tao Treasurer and I was too engrossed finishing watching the last three episodes of Amazon Prime's 'Hunters' (with some very nice period color grading).
In truth, I was procrastinating. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of sitting down and scrolling through the seven days of virus-related headlines.
But I'm glad I did. Our industry is resilient and seems to know how to pull together. There's not much in new software-related news this week. But still, a good lineup - including a few links contributed by readers.
I did get inspired by Newsletter sponsor Flanders Scientific.
They sent out a newsletter this week where they mentioned running the distributed computing Rosetta@Home protein folding app. After watching it run for two days, I saw about 40% of the work units were explicitly named as COVID-19 simulations. In researching, many of the other simulations are also COVID-19 related.
If you're looking to help with the global effort to fight this pandemic then contributing spare CPU cycles is a fantastic way to go. These simulations help predict protein structures that allow new treatments to block the ability of the virus to do its nasty.
If you install Rosetta@Home then join the team I created!
Hours ago I created a team named, "The Color Cartel". It's a place for all post pros (and their friends and family) to pool their efforts on this platform. Feel free to spread the word.
I'll see you next Sunday.
Stay busy. Stay healthy.
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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A sad day. For Newsletter readers, you know him mostly through his work in developing the Academy's ACES color management system.
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They are running a special for their online classes if you sign up soon.
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A look at the technology behind today's screens which seem to be causing problems: "Today even elementary school children spend hours with phones and tablets, so it’s no surprise that myopia rates have shot up in the last two decades."
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An update to an item from last week about a reduction in streaming quality in the EU. This article includes some gaming metrics that are eye-popping.
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An interesting feel-good story.
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There's some smart advice in here.
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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 tool chest with new techniques and approaches.
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Blackmagic's training book for Resolve 16 color grading, written by the talented Daria Fissoun, is finally released. It's available for download with project files. (via Vivian Pimenta)
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(video) A good demo of the powerful integration using an AFF roundtrip between Avid Editions and Baselight. (via Josh Petok)
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(video) Because knowing how to create custom lens flares is one key to not overusing them.
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Most of the items here are a little obvious. The one I find most interesting, and understand the least, for our uses, is virtualization. You can bet I'm keeping an eye out for more on that topic (and if you find anything interesting about post-production software virtualization, definitely email it to me for sharing).
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"Today we’re launching a new multi-part video series called “Workflow From Home” that’s specifically designed to help teams who’ve been working in brick-and-mortar facilities quickly transition to a remote workflow."
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"Explore product demos and announcements across keynotes. In addition, watch 100+ breakout sessions." This summary page has the registration link.
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Their benchmarking software is still in development. But they're releasing beta versions of these for each of the major Creative Cloud apps.
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Not surprisingly, most news this week is about remote collaboration tools. That's what Postlab does, by allowing for remote check-in/check-out of your Premiere or FCPx project files. There's a video embed showing you how this works.
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(podcast) Attorney Seth Polansky, Esq, discusses the rights of creative pros if clients start pulling your jobs (and you've turned away other work).
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This curated guide (through our library of hundreds of color grading tutorials) focuses on ideas for building editing or color grading suites.
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As we all scramble to outfit our home suites, check out this long-running series of articles from colorist Robbie Carman. He loves gear. He's addicted to gear. He shares his favorite gear.
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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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(video) The team at HDTV Test puts the Apple XDR through the paces, compares it to the BVM that Apple said their display replaces and offers an opinion on Apple's claim. The BVM bit starts at about 10 minutes. But if you don't know much about the Apple display, it's worth watching from the start (it's a good review).
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This article embeds the video from HDTV Test but also lists all the new reference modes that can be selected from a compatible Mac.
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For upgrades to the new New Mac Pro (for ProRes and ProRes RAW acceleration).
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The first two items are expected. The last two are good ideas for when you need to get out of the chair - and you probably hadn't thought about it.
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The only reason this item is here? The suggestion for a UPS. Personally I use the CyberPower 'Sinewave' series which avoids digital sine waves that can be a problem for high-end workstations and electronics.
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Honestly, last week was probably the first time I cleaned my cell phone since I bought it. This guide is pretty darn thorough. You can bet I've now changed my ways.
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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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(video) 100% funny. Even if you don't like cats. Watch with the kids.
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"The National Emergency Library makes it much easier for people to borrow eBooks". An interesting idea that's not without its critics. But this much is true: Reading is fun.
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| Th- th- th- that's all folks! See you next Sunday. |
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