[TaoColorist] Sunday Morning Reading (Teranex: Now 78% Off)

Published: Sun, 12/18/11

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The Tao Colorist

Curated links of news, reviews, thoughts, career advice, and humor 
for professional Video / Film Colorists & Finishers. Delivered Sunday.
Issue LXXIV                                                           Brought to you by: Tao of Color.com

Editor's Note: This issue marks the first time we are delivering to over 1,000 subscribers! Thank you all for joining me week after week as we all stay on top of our industry, our craft, and our skills. What an amazing time to be a 'desktop colorist'!

Next Week: By decree of the lovely Tao Treasurer - the Tao Newsletter offices are closed. I therefore decree to you: Next Sunday, Christmas day, use our regularly scheduled time together to power down your iThing and Netbook and spend this time instead with your loved ones! You (and your family) deserve it. 

I'll see you again next year - on the first day of 2012! 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! 

The Craft

  • Photoshop Blending Modes: A Visual Guide - Blending Modes, Composite Modes, Layer Modes are all terms used by different software packages to describe the same thing: Using math operations to combine two images together. Common modes include: Subtract, Multiply, Difference, Hard Screen, Soft Scree, Color Burn, etc. This post is a visual guide to how those operations actually look - giving you an idea of what will happen with your images when you execute those modes. Nifty cheat sheet. (FudgeGraphics.com via Steve Hullfish)
  • How 'Hugo's' Looks Was Set in DI During Production - The most interesting bit from this article was why they decided to set the Look of the dailies before they were released to the editorial team... Hugo was graded on Baslight. (StudioDaily.com)
  • [Tutorial] After Effects: Performing a Motion Track - Yeah. After watching this I remembered how spoiled I've become with DaVinci Resolve's tracker. (ProVideoCoalition.com)
  • PsF's Missing Workflow: Part 1 - If you do finishing as part of your color grading duties then dealing with the different flavors of 23.98 frames per second can be a bit of a nightmare. Allan Teppur has (what's now) an 8- part series on this murky area of progressive frames and progressive segemented frames. This link starts you at Part 1. I couldn't find a page listing all eight of them. (ProVideoCoalition.com)

The Tools

  • DaVinci Resolve for Window Public Beta: Download Now - DaVinci Resolve has posted a free Public Beta of Resolve 8.2 for Windows, ahead of their originally stated delivery of 1Q2012. Here's the Press Release - which includes pricing (free to current paid Resolve for Mac OS X owners). The link takes you to the Windows download page. (BlackMagic-Design.com)
  • DaVinci Resolve Lite: Using It for On-Set Dailies - The one deal-breaker? Resolve does not render out files with embedded audio. (NegativeSpaces.com)
  • [Video] Introduction to Iridas Adobe SpeedGrade - Earlier this year Adobe acquired SpeedGrade for inclusion in the Creative Suite family of apps. Essentially, Adobe is picking up (adding a dedicate color grading app to it's Suite of apps) where Apple left off (which killed the Studio concept and Apple Color along with it). If you haven't seen SpeedGrade, Adobe.tv has a nice 20 minute introduction to Speed Grade. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it. (Adobe.tv via Steve Hullfish)
  • [Video] NucodaTV: YouTube Channel - This was just pointed out to me... Last month the makers of the 'FilmMaster' grading app started a YouTube channel where they're posting videos demo'ing their software. Bookmark it. (YouTube.com)
  • Magic Bullet Looks 2: Guru Preset "Master Artists" - Simon Walker - prolific writer, trainer, colorist and Friend of the Tao - has released a new batch of presets for Magic Bullet Looks 2 titled "Master Artists". From Renaissance to Post-Impressionist artists, it's 30 presets to help you find just the look you're searching for. Just remember people, presets are starting points - not ending points ;-) (RedGiantSoftware.com)
  • CineLook HDSLR Plug-in for FCPx - From ColorGradingCentral.com. It's a Motion-based preset for FCPx that includes Letterboxing, Vignette, Grain, Noise Reduction tools. (ColorGradingCentral.com)
  • Sony F65 Footage in DaVinci Resolve + SRFile Renders - An upcoming version of Resolve promises to natively support the F65's 16-bit Linear RAW footage. Plus, Resolve will be able to render out to Sony's SRFile format. The F65 is expected to ship January 2012. (ShootOnline.com)
  • [Review] BlackMagic UltraStudio 3D - A quick overview of the UltraStudio 3D and pairing it with a laptop. (TefBabra.com)
 
 

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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The Business

  • BlackMagic Acquires Teranex, Drops Price by $50,000 - Grant & Co. were at it again this month. In the two weeks since this newsletter was last published, BlackMagic bought Teranex (known for its high-quality real-time cross-, down-, and up- conversion hardware). A week later they announced they were getting rid of the dozens of SKUs with all the different option packages and are now going to sell the entire kit, all options included, at one price. The full Teranex VC100 dual channel processor is now available for $19,995... down from  $89,995. Existing owners can upgrade for $3,000.

    Now I just need Grant & Co. to buy Harris so we can get the DL-860 Legalizer built into a DeckLink card. (BlackMagic-Design.com)
  • [Forum] Teranex's Scaler No Longer Licensed to Them? - According to this Avid-L post, earlier this year Teranex lost it's rights to the hardware chips used in their scaling and reformatting products. It's left to us to speculate what this will mean for future products. FYI - the rest of the thread does just that: Speculates, not much else.  (movies.groups.yahoo.com)
  • Hollywood Studios Outed as Torrent-Loving Dens of Piracy - Do what I say, not what I do. Plus - an anti-piracy ad caught using pirated music... (PhilipHodgetts.com)

Edumacate Yer'self

  • [Review] Training: Avid Media Composer for Final Cut Pro Editors - A long long time ago I was a Creative Cow Forum Leader for the original Kona card. One of my co-Leaders was Marco Solorio. He runs a very successful shop in California and has posted a good review of this Class on Demand training title FCP editors migrating to Avid. He also lets you know if you should order the DVD or go with the Streaming version. (ProVideoCoalition.com via @bosfcpug)
  • [Podcast] Interview with Denver Riddle of Color Grading Central - Hey, I'm not above acknowledging the competition! In fact, I'd be worried if no one else showed up in the color grading website niche... here's an interview with the founder of ColorGradingCentral.com on the Learning DSLR Video podcast. (LearningDSLRVideo.com)

  • A QuickStart Guide to Teaching Yourself Creative Software - Mostly a list of free or subscription-based training websites. (the99percent.com)

Post Porn

Outside 'The Box'

  • 6,000 Scripts and 600 Test Movies Later, How's Amazon Studios Doing? (NoFilmSchool.com)
  • Backseat Drivers - One Editor's rant against uneducated clients in the room as he sorts through creating the initial rough cut. Spot on. (LFHD.net)
  • Photographing Liquids in Motion - Great blog post on a still photographer who captures liquids in motion to amazing effect. (strobist.blogspot.com)
 
  
Current Colorist Control Surface Drivers
 JL Cooper Eclipse Avid Artist Color Tangent Wave

Software: v2.6b4

Mac: v2.6.2

Software: v3.8

Color Plug-in: v 1.0.5
PC: v2.6.2
Firmware: v1.9

Updated:
Nov 21

Updated: October 20 Updated: Jan. 28(ish)
 

Sunday Morning Fun(nies)

  • The Art of Destruction - Even if you skip the article, watch the embedded Vimeo video on the break down of the CG explosion of three blocks of concrete. The finished product is simply amazing. And yes, Disney does have a 'Bullet Physics Project'. (fxGuide.com)
  • [Study] 87% of Movies Would Be Better With Michael Keaton In Them - It almost goes without saying, doesn't it? (theOnion.com)
  • Capturing Light at 1 Trillion Frames per Second - Of course, you need a trillion of these cameras to capture the image of entire scene. I guess if you're a photon-hunter (different than a photon wrangler, which is my moniker) this camera is perfect for you. (FilmmakerIQ.com)
  • The Manhattan Street Grid Extended to Every Point on Earth - My parents live at East 912 Avenue & South 21,294th Street. Of course, more useful would be extending the grid in Manhattan itself - where the intersection of Hudson St & Leroy St would be South 1st Street & 8th Avenue. (kottke.org)
  • [Video] The Technology of Storytelling - Cute. (Ted.com)
  • Stanley Kubrick's Photographs of New York - Some great photos taken by Kubrick from 1945 - 1950 for Look Magazine. (FeatureShoot.com via @Company3)

Weekend Warrior

  • JVC Ships THX-Certified 3D Projector - These continue the extremely well-regarded RS 'Pro' line of JVC projectors. The RS65 is the high-end model ($12,000) and the RS55 is the 'lower-end' model ($8000). (THX.com via @hurkman)
  • Toshiba 55" 4k Glasses Free HDTV - With a face-tracking camera to deliver optimal parallax to multiple viewers. K-razy. (NegativeSpaces.com)
  • Nest: The Story Behind the Worlds Most Beautiful Thermostat - ! ! ! (mashable.com)
  • DIY Indie Air Cannons - Great breakdown of an entirely in-camera explosion effect that can be created with $60 of hardware. No visual effects required. You can buy the actual How-To video as part of their Kickstarter campaign for their next project. (Vimeo.com via @5tu)

Gear Heads

  • Where Is Thunderbolt? - We all know it's coming... but when? And what the frack is the hold up? (LarryJordan.biz)
  • New Tool Patches Security Hole in DNS - The Domain Name System changes the plain-English name of a website into the numeric number that your computer uses. If someone manages to spoof the DNS service you use - everything you do on the Internet becomes transparent to them. This link explains a new tool that vastly increases the security of your computer when working on the Internet. (MacWorld.com)

Your Career

  • Imitate, Then Innovate - The road to mastery starts with imitation. Just ask Pablo Picasso. (Strobist.blogspot.com)
  • The Magic and Mystery of Smiling - A quick Q&A with the author of a new TED book on the power of smiling. (blog.ted.com)
  • Don't Send That Email. Pick Up the Phone! - Agreed. (blogs.hbr.com)
  • Mary Jo Bang: On Learning, Self-Discipline, and Taking the Road Less Travelled - From garment worker to geneticist to poet, an interesting interview with someone who has definitely taken the road less travelled. (the99percent.com)

Your Sanity

  • [Video] Stop the Overwhelm, From Within - A really great concept about how you can get more done, in less time, at higher quality - and it's all about what's going on inside you. Stick through the first few minutes... (the99percent.com)
  • Reduce Foot Pain with Alternate Shoe Lacing Methods - Yes Virginia, there is a different way to lace your shoes. 4 ways, in fact - depending on the type of foot pain. (Lifehacker.com)
  

Resolve 8: Twenty+ hours of video                   Grade a 16-Minute Short

MasterClass: DaVinci Resolve 8

Workflow + Technique + Interface Training

DaVinci Resolve, DaVinci Resolve Lite : Mac & Windows!
Colorista II | Apple Color | FCP 7

Last Minute Shopping

On Santa . . .

  • Here's My 60 Top Requests for FCPx - Some of these make you shake your head in wonder that Apple thought NAB 2011's SuperMeet was the appropriate venue for the launch of FCPx 1.0 (FCPx.tv)
  • How to Get Out of Town Painlessly this Holiday - For anyone who doesn't have a sleigh powered by fairy dust snorting reindeer. (shankman.com)
  • [iApp] Insta-Santa: Photograph Santa In Your House - You can buy the Good Santa or Bad Santa picture set... with Santa posed doing a variety of things inside your own house. (Mashable.com)
  • The Economics of Christmas Lights - No one gets paid to put up Christmas lights. So why the heck are entire towns lit up year after year? And what does that have to do with the Internet? (SethGodin.typepad.com)

The Next Step Is A Doozy

  • [Video] Rendering Synthetic Objectics Into Legacy Photographs - Great video from a Siggraph paper on analyzing the light sources in a photograph and then placing a moving object into the photograph, which casts shadows and interacts with the scene lighting. Terrific stuff. (Vimeo.com via @jimwicks)
 

Th- Th- That's ALL Folks! See you next year. Happy Holidays! Happy Grading!
  
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