Last week I told you how I wasn't holding items over for this week? That I was sharing everything I pulled?

Yeah - that's not happening again!

When I woke up and started scrolling through the email, my blood pressure started rising. Too much, too early!

This week we're back to normal curation (and yes, I deleted a few items and held back two items for next week). I'm already feeling more relaxed!

In this week's edition, we have an Open Beta of color grading software!

No - it's not DaVinci Resolve. Instead, it's the upstart that dares to implement a subscription model, expecting payment for software development (whaaa-?).

I'm being sarcastic, of course. But it's true, Mistika 10 is in Open Beta. If you're looking to try something new, I heartily endorse exploring Mistika 10. Besides, your money also buys you support from their team (which you'll probably need given the steep learning curve).

Let's get to it! 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

The Color Cartel Protein Folding Update - The Color Cartel team is rocking! We are a Top 5% team, with most members in the Top 25% of all 'protein folders'. Several are in the Top 1%. If you've got spare CPU cycles to donate to the cause of fighting COVID-19 and viruses/cancer in general then join Rosetta@home, set up an account, and connect to the team! This is a special shout out to Newsletter sponsor Flanders Scientific for joining us this week: Thanks Bram!

Hey! A Twitter thread that's readable and educational: “All my life I've seen pro painters talk about "values" by desaturating in Photoshop, and turns out it's one of the most widespread mistake: this is the wrong way to assume values, as the maths are wrong, and let me show you why” (via Steve Hullfish)

The pricing on this training - and the breadth of it - makes it a compelling purchase, "3 days of online training with over 100 cutting-edge, live training sessions in multiple tracks. Following the live event, paid attendees get access to streaming of the recordings of all sessions for 120 days." Starts in mid-May.

In this opinion piece about how cinemas will reopen, this article has a GREAT explanation of theatrical P&A costs (prints and advertising). Then it gets to the core, "People are only talking around the issue, but there is no doubt that there will be an industry cull the likes of which we have not seen in decades." Click through and give this its 5 minute read and decide: Do you agree?

If you're like me and are obsessed with websites and online services offering maximum privacy protections then you'll really like this blog post about Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.3. Yes, it's off-topic. But in this case, I'm playing my Newsletter Editor-in-Chief free pass.

(forum) "So this is the best Covid related offer I have seen from any company, Assimilate is offering free 6 month licenses for their entire lineup".

Last year this promotion was called the NAB (and, later, the IBC) Special offer. This year, it's the Mistika 10 Launch Promotion and if you start subscribing now you can lock in a 50% discount over the normal rate. There's also a free 30 day evaluation option.

"A 30-day license of DVO Tools for Mistika is currently available completely free of charge to all existing and new subscribers of Mistika Boutique." The free trial is also included on evaluation versions and the Mistika Boutique 10 Open Beta.

(video) The LA Colorist Meetup goes virtually live, this time with Team SGO talking about Mistika 10. Introductions begin at about 7:30.

This is not the software update that Resolve users were hoping for on what should have been the week of NAB 2020. Clicking on the link takes you to the Read Me with the full list of improvements and fixes. Notable items include improved support for: NVidia GPUs; Dolby Vision analysis; EXR performance. Plus an array of fixes.

The link is a direct download. Handy if your client comes at you with a new format you haven't used yet. It was posted to Blackmagic's website this week.

This post continues to be updated. Items of interest to you may include 30% off Scopebox, training discounts, FXFactory for FCP and Adobe, DCP Transfer, LUTs, and more.

"If you are a customer using either Magic Bullet Colorista or Universe, we are advising you not to update at this time." Bummer. You have a choice to make: Universe/Colorista or the new Production workflow?

(video) This webinar started with a demo of the upcoming ColourSpace calibration software from Light Illusion. Technical problems switched this into a general calibration discussion with Steve Shaw that in itself was interesting.

Using the underlying camera sensor analysis used in their FilmConvert product, CineMatch lets you target color spaces instead of film stock profiles. Click through to be alerted to their open beta. Initial rollout is for Premiere Pro.

Premiere Pro's new Productions workflow is a massive boost to Premiere's capabilities and reliability. Forged by Hollywood, see how it works. Free and in front of the paywall.

(video) Learn DaVinci Resolve's Stabilizer and its 'Classic Stabilizer'. This Insight is pulled from our legacy Courses with a new introduction.

(video) An introduction into building a Kodachrome inspired look on Arri Alexa footage using Basegrade, Looks, Grain and Color Crosstalk

"We were hoping that the encoding would go faster with the Afterburner installed and active. It is apparent that not every encoding scenario is accelerated by Apple's Afterburner Card." Right, that card is focused on real-time playback, especially of simultaneous streams. Reducing CPU load gets you that. I do hope that Apple opens up Afterburner's programming for more diverse uses.

Why on Blu-ray? Because, as my business partner (colorist Robbie Carman) discovered while researching this phenomenon, Atmos allows for simpler soundscapes when streaming to manage the bit rate. I've stopped demoing my Atmos system via streaming sources because the BluRays are *always* more impactful (it's actually a little disappointing, since I have zero desire to build/buy a big library of meat-space movies. I suppose that's why the universe provided Blu-ray on RedBox!)