| Issue CDLIV: The Ai Edition |
| The Tao of Color Grading Newsletter |
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There were lots of interesting news and articles while I was on my short hiatus. Let's get to it...
Enjoy this week's Newsletter!
Reminder: I'm on an every-other-Sunday publishing schedule through the end of September. I'll be back in your inbox on September 27 (the last Sunday of the month).
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 to the scientific fight against coronaviruses and cancers! The Tao Newsletter's Color Cartel is a Top 5% team and climbing. Join Rosetta@home, set up an account, start
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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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9 months ago this announcement would have shocked me. Today, I shrugged my shoulders in understanding. What am I talking about? Click through for the dates of the next NAB show in Las Vegas.
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(video) Luke Ross is an unlikely (think: Doogie Howser) but highly effective Baselight colorist and teacher. Now, you can get one-on-one time with him, online.
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After laughing my ass off by the initial 30-second intro (what colorist isn't familiar with clients who just want more saturation, Saturation, SATURATION) and then settling in to watch a highly produced recap of the human visual system, I was blown away by the simple and effective messaging on the Waveform and Vectorscope.Â
I've been teaching this stuff for 15 years and this explanation is as good as it gets (as does the final bit of color grading advice). And... in under a month, it has 1.1 million views. Captain D. deserves every one of those. (via Arthur Ditner)
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"We’ve worked hard over the last year to leapfrog to our most advanced encoding innovations — shot-optimized encoding and 4K VMAF model — and applied those to the premium bitstreams." Netflix's encoding advances for their premium UHD HDR streams makes for a good read if you're into this sort of thing.
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"Warner insiders say they reached the decision amid the ongoing uncertainty as to when cinemas in such major markets such as New York City and Los Angeles will reopen." I'm sure the tepid $20million opening weekend domestic take on Tenet had nothing to do with it!
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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.Â
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(videos) Light Illusion's next-generation calibration/LUT/profiling tool is currently in beta (if you've got a license of LightSpace then you're eligible for the beta). This page is your video sneak-peek into what ColourSpace is looking like and what it can do for you.
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A few of their events have already passed. But a few remain that may interest you.
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"Using advanced AI models trained for cinematic content, Colourlab Ai makes it simple to automatically color match footage from a graded clip or reference image. Instantly matching scenes across an edited timeline or matching hours of dailies, the time-savings Colourlab Ai offers is revolutionary."
Except for the fact that Ai doesn't exist - this is Machine Learning - we all need to keep an eye on these types of solutions. It will revolutionize our niche. As for the hyperbolic marketing? Well, that's been around since forever.
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At the bottom of their sales page are a series of demo videos showing how the Machine Learning software works.
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(video) "Learn how to quickly build a sky replacement comp with a Day-for-Night look." Even though I understand these techniques, it's fun for this Resolve-based colorist to watch how it's done in Baselight.
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(video) It's one thing to show how the Lum Mix control works. It's another thing to show how it impacts the colorist while making realtime decisions and why some colorists may choose to run with Lum Mix off. Colorist Darren Mostyn pulls it off with ease.
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"Learn how to quickly build a sky replacement comp using the edit and colour tab." If you're new to this concept, the best is at the end where Luke Ross shows you how to add some finishing touches to sell the composite.
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If you need to stay abreast of FCPx news for your clients: "The recent 10.4.9 update to Final Cut Pro X was long-awaited news. However, there were a few things that it broke and a few things that were incompatible. Some good news for Canon, some bad news for Sony."
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"The curve nodes in Livegrade and Silverstack Lab are powerful grading controls for applying creative looks and secondary color corrections . . . This article explains third-party compatible export formats and shines a light on the benefits of staying within the Pomfort ecosystem."
Â
Their solution for passing on Curve data in an ASC-CDL compliant manner is so simple and effective I just nodded my head and said, "Of course".
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(webinar replay) "MPEG just added VVC and EVC to the mix with LCEVC expected to join them soon. But how do the newcomers fit in with the already deployed MPEG standards AVC and HEVC? And how do they fit in with VP8, VP9, and AV1 launched by Google and AOMedia? This webcast will break down the unique capabilities and tools each video codec possesses." Presented by AJA.
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| Learn more at MacSales.com |
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(video) See the MochaPro OpenFX plugin in action to track and remove a logo on a car door - and finish/refine the composite in Fusion.
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(video) Learn how to accelerate your color grading in DaVinci Resolve's Color Page by using multiple Playheads to quickly navigate the timeline. If you're aware of playheads but never quite figured out how to make use of them then this Insight will give you some new ideas.
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(video) "In Part 2 of this advanced workflow series, learn how you can use Shared Nodes inside Group Grades for quick & easy revisions down the road." It's a trippy concept - but once you wrap your mind around it, it's powerful and fast.
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"In July I started the process of moving to Baselight full time for my grading. As a 10-year Resolve veteran, I needed to let go of the past." Learn how colorist Dan Moran started moving to a new future.
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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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"At this time of the year, Flanders Scientific normally offers its European customers great discounts on floor models used at the IBC Show." This year is no different. Click through for details.
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I don't remember if I've shared this in a previous Newsletter or not? But since they are a Sponsor and since it's actually very useful - you can now rent an FSI HDR display short-term. FYI.
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A nice overview for NVidia-installed editors and colorists.
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Are you looking for a small color grading desk task light? That's dimmable? And balanced to 6500K with a CRI of 98? They were kind enough to send one of these to me before I bought it - and the gooseneck with the light-directing hood work terrifically. I highly recommend this for any grading or editing suite.
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"The recent refresh includes changes to the 21.5-inch iMac model, as well as the iMac Pro line. But I’m going focus on the 27-inch 5K iMac, since that model will most interest video professionals." Find out what friend-of-the-Tao Oliver Peters thinks.
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To test if the new glass upgrade option on the iMac is worth it, the folks at OWC, "decided to take it one step further to pull the screen off and show what it looks like directly on top of an iMac without the new technology." Talk about taking one for the team.
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"Samsung’s new 4K Ultra Short Throw Laser Projector, The Premiere, is the world’s first HDR10+ certified projector with triple laser technology, designed to offer a true home cinema experience." No pricing or calibration specs in this article - which normally keeps me from sharing this item. But it made me smile just imagining it - and I figure we can all use a little bit more smiling.
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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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"macOS 10.15.4 brought an alternative control method to the Mac – using your head and facial gestures. Open your mouth, stick out your tongue, and have some fun!" The only kink in this for pro colorists/editors - unintentional commands after your client offers suggestions you don't like... it won't be long before they catch on.
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Definitely fun: "Deploying a UAV on Mars is quite different than doing so here at home, from figuring out how to safely store it for the launch, six-month journey and a landing to designing it to fly in a significantly thinner atmosphere." This article is a summary of a more in-depth look at how NASA is executing this project.
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Real-time ray-tracing of hundreds of lights: "NVIDIA Marbles at Night RTX is a fully playable physics-based game. It is entirely ray traced with NVIDIA DLSS integrated." Beautiful. (via Robbie Carman)
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| Th- th- th- that's all folks! See you in three Sundays. |
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