🎨 Colorist Newsletter #512

Published: Sun, 03/13/22

Issue DXII: The Joker LUT Edition
The Color Grading Newsletter
News, reviews, thoughts, career advice, and humor for professional Video / Film Colorists & Finishers. Delivered Sundays. Curated by a professional color grader.
From The Publisher
Just a quick note for those of you who may be interested in picking up a Mixing Light membership. We lowered our price last summer and offered an introductory discount for the first term of Premium memberships.

The first term discount offer ends on March 20th (bringing an Annual membership down to under $16/month).

Just in case you're interested.

I'll see you next Sunday. Happy Grading!

-
patrick inhofer
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.

A solid writeup by colorist Mark Todd Osborne about the thoughts of filmmaking professionals on the impact that machine learning and (eventually) artificial intelligence will have on our careers.

(video) "Recently DCI, an organization made of the major studios, released a video explaining what they see as the next level of peak and minimum brightness for theatrical presentation ... In this video I explain what this means to exhibitors and content producers. I discuss the likely roadmap and how long before these changes are likely to become important to you."

"The SXSW Film Festival is back as an in-person event although some of the programs can be followed online. Discover what’s new for the 2022 edition, both in Austin and online."

"The mails are convincingly branded, look realistic, and emulate the real thing in a way that may drift past people’s sense of caution. The research points out that the fake mails also piggyback on the back of other genuine brands to make themselves look even more convincing."

"AMC Theatres chief Adam Aron revealed during an investor call that the world’s largest circuit was going to employ surge pricing and charge more in North America for tickets to see The Batman." My question is: Will they do this in the other direction and charge less for off-surge showings?

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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. 

(video) "This week, we’ll be talking to Jill about the decision-making that’s made underneath the LUTs of projects like Joker. While there’s a lot of attention to the show’s LUT, what’s less talked about is the important decisions made underneath that look that lead to better or worse outcomes — an important discussion." Word.

This release includes a new output colorspace option for YRGB projects. The link takes you to the Read Me.

(video) "Prank your coworkers with a custom DaVinci Resolve error message. The simple script from www.hdhead.com/tools lets you load any popup message and set it to go off at a later time."

A good review of a useful tool: "MediaInfo is the industry standard for digging into media files. While I have used other tools for this in the past (Quicktime Player, VLC), MediaInfo is the best cross-platform, open-source tool."

you can now color correct and match footage in HDR using CineMatch. They have added two new Output Transform options in the plug-in to support Rec.2100 HLG & Rec.2100 PQ

"I’ll start with this very simple test and show you three different methods to turn a garish red into “film red”. I’ve tried to keep the other colors untouched, no matter if they are as garish as the red."

"Support for Adobe Premiere Pro color management. (color space and HDR nits); Rec.2100 HLG and PQ; added Color Space Transform option."

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Pushing Photons
These stories are from MixingLight.com's membership Library of color grading articles, tutorials, and podcasts (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 color correction Practice Projects for purchase. 
(video) "Welcome Arthur Ditner as a new Mixing Light Contributor! Learn about Fusion Connect with Avid Media Composer - its strengths and limitations."
(video) "Colorist Joey D’Anna explains why the new Output color space setting in DaVinci YRGB projects is a great tool for node-based color management."
(video) "Colorist Jason Bowdach teaches you his approach to developing and evaluating technical PowerGrades (and how it helps your creative grading)."
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Gear Heads
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.

"Welcome to the first SSD edition of the Backblaze Drive Stats report. This edition will focus exclusively on our SSDs as opposed to our quarterly and annual Drive Stats reports which, until last year, focused exclusively on HDDs."

Scroll down for this: "Even if you can get a graphics card for around 40% over recommended pricing, what do you have to look forward to this year if you’re willing to wait a while, at least if the rumours hold true?"

"Apple revealed the M1 Ultra, filling out the M1 chip lineup and dramatically altering our expectations for Apple’s roadmap. Here’s how the Apple silicon transition has gone so far—and where it’s going."

"There are a number of great USB-C/Thunderbolt 4K displays from third parties but the LG UltraFine 5K and 6K Pro Display XDR are ideal to compare to the 5K Studio Display when considering all the specs and features (just for fun, we’ve included the 4K LG UltraFine in the charts below)."

"Congratulations on making it to Thursday, your reward is apparently three critical vulnerabilities which make 10 Smart-UPS models a possible infiltration point into your network."

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.

By my thinking, these Baumgartner Restoration videos are the modern equivalent of Bob Ross. Just saying.

 
Th- th- th- that's all folks! I'll see you next Sunday.