| Issue CDXLV: The Iron Maiden 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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As long time readers know, there are moments when I've considered putting this Newsletter out to pasture. Mostly, because it adds about an extra 25 hours of work every month, most of which happens on Saturdays.
About 8 years ago, Flanders Scientific came on board as a Sponsor - and has stayed with you and me ever since! Their financial support helped me understand early on that a sustained effort like this can't be fueled simply by passion.
Some Saturdays, there is no passion. That's where the Sponsors come in. Their financial support provides the necessary motivation (and positive reinforcement) for those times when my energy lags.
EndCrawl has also been with the Newsletter for several years. They are a quality niche service that exists for a very good reason! If you've ever had to build end titles for an indie film then you know what I'm talking about!
(If you're not familiar with EndCrawl but do need to do the tedious work they specialize in then definitely click through on their ad and take it for a test drive - there's nothing to lose and you will end up with a sense of which projects are right for it.)
Last week I welcomed OWC to the Tao Newsletter. But an unsolicited email came from the UK's Johnny Burke. He's been a Tao supporter for a decade. He's also a filmmaker who travels with Iron Maiden for even longer than I've known him. Here's what he wrote after reading last week's Newsletter:
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"Hey Patrick, I thought you might find interesting that we have used Akitio Thunderbolt raids on set and at concerts for 5 years.
"They are superbly fast and “Rock” steady …. see what I did there ;-)
". . . the AKITIO with its easily interchangeable system for drives and its superb heavy-duty chassis and carry handle is perfect for dumping down dailies and different camera cards for backup.
"I didn’t know OWC had bought Akitio but it doesn't surprise me. Well, that was it really, we know of them in Europe and have used them for 5 years. Onwards. Keep up the good work and keep safe."
Thank you Johnny for confirming that OWC (and its brands) is a good fit for this Newsletter.
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
Join the 'Color Cartel' Protein Folding Team - Rosetta@home allows you to donate the spare CPU cycles of your rig in the scientific fight against corona viruses and cancers! The Tao Newsletter's Color Cartel is a Top 5% team and climbing. Join Rosetta@home, set up an account, start
'folding', and connect to The Color Cartel team!
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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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This is another in FilmLight's '@Home' series with Baselight colorists. If you've never seen Baselight in action, Andrea gives you a terrific look at its 'color journey' feature when setting up a project for ACES vs. a LUT-based workflow. Plus other tips and tricks useful on any software. (via Twain Richardson)
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(video) FilmLight starts by asking Roslyn some questions and then she digs into Baselight by showing you how she solves typical client requests, like doing a sky replacement. It's good, both if you've never been exposed to Baselight or if you want to see how an experienced colorist solves common challenges. (via Twain Richardson)
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(webinar) This SMPTE webinar shares, "strategies for color correction in both SDR and HDR, and ideas for focusing on color decisions that will hold up across multiple color targets and viewing conditions, using case examples from the author’s experience with over 100 HDR titles." No mention is made of who the author is, but it does look interesting. Thursday, July 9. Requires registration.
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(webinar) Hosted by the Optical Society's (OSA) Color Technical Group and presented by the University of Neveda's Professor Mike Webster. The professor shares his research on individual color variability in cone receptors and then their varying perceptions. If you're into the biological foundations of color vision then this video is for you. (via Bram Desmet)
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Editor and Orlando compatriot Oliver Peters offers a very reasoned look at the long term impact of 'work from home' on post-production professionals. What are the chances of turning this into a long-term revision to our work habits/requirements?
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Planning ahead: Well known colorist and trainer Warren Eagles expects to step out of his Down Under lair and head to NY and LA for some multi-day training sessions. Dates are around the end of October and November.
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(webinar) Colorist Kevin Shaw is hosting a series of webinars for colorists. The topic this go-around centers around getting started, if you are new to grading, or trying something new if you are more experienced. Monday, June 8, Noon, London time.
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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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One of the machine learning tools introduced with DaVinci Resolve 16 is the 'super scale' option in the Clip Attributes panel. It offers both upscaling (up to 4x) but also differing levels of sharpness and noise reduction. This article dives into how this machine learning technique works, generally.
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(video) Check out this latest update from Digital Anarchy. The 2.0 Beta includes a downloadable benchmarking Project (Premiere) with sample footage. This video gives you the details - but on Mac the plugin is currently OpenCL-only.
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This review includes an overview of new features plus embeds of video demos.
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"The folks at Knights of the Editing Table have created an online tool that will convert your Premiere .kys keyboard layout from one OS format to another." Nifty trick.
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Are you editing in Resolve and want to take advantage of its toolset for audio? This roundup of plugins and reviews is a great place to start.
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Dang! I've really been off the Mac for a while. Since I re-started driving it with the 2019 Mac Pro, LaunchPad has seemed like a wasted opportunity. I had no idea I could create folders of apps, iOS style! A small thing, but nice.
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"In this episode, we look at asynchronous collaboration tools that eliminate technical barriers, smooth remote communication, and keep your team creative."
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An eGPU setup can offer a dramatic performance increase to your workflow. Learn about eGPUs, the AKiTio Node Titan & workflows that smartly leverage an eGPU. This is free, in front of the paywall.
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(video) If you want to master DaVinci Resolve's Color Page then you need to master its Cloud and Point trackers. This Insight sets you on that path.
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(video) Creative decision-making on a stuttering timeline is no fun. Learn what you need to know about playback performance within DaVinci Resolve.
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| OWC (Other World Computing) is excited to sponsor the Tao of Color |
We built OWC to empower editors, colorists, and VFX artists all over the world. Founded in 1988, OWC is dedicated to helping video professionals do more, faster.
No matter your workflow, OWC creates and delivers the best storage, connectivity, software and expansion solutions to enhance, accelerate, and extend your capabilities.
From the home office to the enterprise rack, from the studio to the editing bay and beyond, there should be no compromise, and that is why OWC is here for you.
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| Learn more at MacSales.com |
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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) Yup! Flanders Scientific will ship you a freshly calibrated HDR Reference display for rental. They have two models. Which should you choose? The video embedded in the announcement tweet explains.
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Give your Elements an amazing facelift. But beware, you could end up damaging the LCD displays.
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...for various Mac configurations. I'm not sure how comparable these various tests are? There are multiple architectures often with mixed GPUs (which can be problematic). But if you're interested, click through for the results (or to check your system against their various builds).
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"In the new 14.2 version, Adobe has added GPU-based hardware encoding that supports most modern GPUs from both NVIDIA and AMD." How much faster are these export times? The full story is just a click away.
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I'm linking to the 'Final Words and Conclusion' of this 18-page review. I'm personally running four of the PCIe 3 version of this SSD and am really happy with it.
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(video) The embedded video is Sony's explanation. It seems to work similar to Arri's implementation, "The Dual Gain Output simultaneously provides two separate read-out paths from each pixel with different amplification . . . This method is said to enhance low light performance and prevent the highlights from being clipped, thereby significantly extending the dynamic range of the image." Click through for details so you can talk intelligently about it to your
clients.
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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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With the news of the first manned commercial flight this past week, you might find it fun to try and catch the ISS with your naked eye. Or try and capture it in a timelapse. This blog post takes you through the process, including how to figure out your best viewing times.
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| Th- th- th- that's all folks! See you next Sunday. |
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