🎨Colorist Newsletter #436

Published: Sun, 03/22/20

Issue CDXXXVI: The Floating Point Edition
The Tao of Color Grading Newsletter
Curated links of news, reviews, thoughts, career advice, and humor
for professional Video / Film Colorists & Finishers. Delivered Sundays.
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Crazy week.

I wasn't sure how this week's Newsletter would shape up. It turns out, there's lots to share. Why?

Because there's lots of sharing going on right now, offering something for everyone.

Are you looking for software offering free at-home trials? Or maybe node-locked licenses suddenly becoming floating licenses? Do you need ideas on effective collaboration? Or are you using your forced 'home time' to pick up a secondary skill?

This Newsletter has solutions for all that. Plus, teasers of upcoming software releases and some plain old software updates.

Personally, I've been doing Work From Home (WFH) for a decade. Whether grading, teaching, or writing - I haven't worked out of an office since the 21st century turned '10. Here's my tip to you:

Just because you're working from home doesn't mean you're working alone.

Connect with a small team of peers. People who you can chat color craft as easily as craft beer. Slack has worked great for me, especially if you get the option that allows for quick, impromptu group calls. This is how I keep sane, get quick answers, and brainstorm problems. I suggest you give it a whirl!

That's all for now.

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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The Craft
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.
"We have put together a list of resources that might help with remote editing & companies that are offering special services during this time."
"First, a little personal history to show that working at home in post-production (or writing) isn’t some incredible new thing that’s only possible using the latest technology, and to illustrate what I think has made each of my experiences successful. Then, the tips."
They list some good resources - both for when you're hunkered down doing work... and then when you need to step away and take a break.
This news isn't unexpected but it is official. Click through for more context and what's coming up for Team NAB.
(video) "I’ve put together a video to explain how latitude testing is done and how to get the most useful information out of the results."
A primer for those familiar with the term, but not the science. Includes a useful graph comparing the gamma function of sRGB and Rec. 709.
Interesting.
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The Tools
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.
From friend of the Tao, colorist, writer, and director Alexis Van Hurkman - he wants to know what topics you'd want covered to get you to participate?
(forum) This post has full release notes plus an embedded 'What's New' video from Assimilate.
'Live Looks' and 'Live Assist' are, "production tools that give pros speed and specialized features for on-set live grading, look creation, advanced video monitoring and recording."

While speaking with the good folks at SGO during NAB 2019, they mentioned they were deep into a full rework of their UI. They were very excited about it. It seems they're getting ready to unveil it next month. If you want to stay in the loop on this release, click through to submit your email for updates.

"To try to help those dealing with imposed Coronavirus restrictions, and have set up home based grading systems, we are offering free 3-Day LightSpace," to help you get your home display calibrated.

This news was from last month - but I don't remember sharing it. So here it is. Again (maybe). Plus, additional GPU support for the Mac Pro 2019, multi-GPU configs, and improvements with Premiere.

Through March 24, save on new licenses of this FCPx add-on. The article also details new features in v2.1, including inside/outside mask grading.

(forum) A recent Newsletter pointed out the new Baselight API. If you're interested in it, this thread on LGG has spawned with embedded video examples plus GitHub repositories for the example code.

(forum) A great question with lots of great advice.

This article may be interesting to you even if you don't use Creative Cloud. It lists many interesting solutions for remote collaboration - while detailing the various 'cloud' solutions that Adobe has to offer, with explanations of how they work.

This offer isn't just for existing customers. This is for anyone who wants to check out how they can edit revisions into an already rendered file, frame accurately. Remember, they also offer short-term licenses - so learn it this month and then license it on an as-needed basis going forward.

Another post production software company steps up for their customers: "The problem identified is for those who cannot create a VPN for their users to access the floating license server."

This post outlines the offer, "For qualified customers who are impacted by facility closures or need to temporarily enable remote workers, we’re providing free 90-day licenses of our creative tools (Media Composer, Pro Tools and Sibelius) to enable your creative team members to continue getting their work done remotely."

This offer is "for all qualifying Boris FX customers to replace their floating licenses locked in the office." That's pretty cool.

(forum) Off-the-shelf solutions for client collaboration are discussed, plus an interesting approach with Scratch.

Just email the team at a special email address and Frame.io will help you out. Click through for the details.

Adobe is doing this for schools that have licenses in their labs.

Pushing Photons
These stories are from MixingLight.com's membership Library. It's a color grading website (Tao Of Color is co-Owner). Do you want to read a story listed here but not a member? Sign up for a free 7-Day Test Drive.​​​ There's also a free Resolve 14 Course and color correction Practice Projects.
Do you find yourself in sudden need of building your home edit or color grading suite? Mixing Light has been covering this topic for many years, this is a curated list of related Insights to help you get started or refine your existing space.
You can't network together your on-set production gear if you don't understanding IP networking. Get started with the basics: The IP Address.

In this From The Mailbag we revisit some key aspects of a Resolve remote workflow as we try to answer questions from a member on the same subject.

Everyone wants to know how to create a cool (or dark or scary or happy or dreamy) Look. But there’s as many ways to approach Look creation as there are tools and plug-ins to help you do it. This Flight Path gets you started with some of our favorite Insights on the topic.

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The Gear
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.

Not only is this a great idea, it's a great interview written into a great article that goes way beyond the niche of editing on a touchscreen tablet.

An interesting article on a new EyeSafe certification standard. This article includes bits like, "since this waveband does not provide any benefits and is biologically quite damaging to the eye, it should not be present in the emission from a display." There's more at the click.

Sunday Fun(nies)
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.

(video) SpongeBob teaches kids how to wash their hands, only as he can. I will add: Turn this monochrome, throw some film scratches and dirt on it, and see if you don't agree that it sounds like a 1950s PSA. The more things change...

(video) This 1995 sketch is dark, funny, and reflective of the times, "Sometimes I like my humor pitch dark, and the rattling of our previously placid world got me thinking back to Saturday Night Live’s old 'Wake Up & Smile!' bit." Not safe for kids.

Because it's always nice to finish on an up note. Besides, you can never be reminded enough to settle in for another watching of 'The Princess Bride'.

 
Th- th- th- that's all folks! See you next Sunday.