🎨 Colorist Newsletter #574

Published: Sun, 12/17/23

Issue DLXXIV: The Warp Engine 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.
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Curated & Published
by
Patrick Inhofer
 
From The Publisher
Next week I'll be sending a non-Newsletter email with a full update on changes to this publication, effective January 1, 2024.

The next regular Newsletter will ship in two weeks.

Have a Merry Christmas.

Happy Grading!

Sincerely,

Pat Inhofer
Colorist & Publisher
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.

(video) Color Matters S2.E3: "Journey through the evolution of color from the cave paintings in Lascaux to early film tinting and 3-strip Technicolor to the future of digital production."

"While the movie is getting mixed reviews, the look of the film is amazing and well worth watching." (via Marc Weilage)

“Not every look is possible in every situation, for every project. But I think a good look is possible in every situation for every project. You’re going to have to find the right look for both the script and the resources you have.”

"Unfortunately, as far as I am aware, while there are color spaces that aim to be perceptually uniform, none are without significant drawbacks when used for image processing.

For this reason I have designed a new perceptual color space, designed to be simple to use, while doing a good job at predicting perceived lightness, chroma and hue. It is called the Oklab color space, because it is an OK Lab color space."

In case you missed it, this is a good year-end item. (via dirk meier)

(video) By the team at ShotDeck, "From the logistics of recreating realistic sunlight on soundstages to how an Old Spice commercial helped inspire a pivotal montage in the film, the duo break down important moments behind the scenes of production that helped bring the film (and Barbie) to life!"

(video) "This excellent video tutorial will show you four different nighttime lighting setups sure to add a lot intrigue to your shots."

Sponsor
ENDCRAWL.com is the only good way to make end credits.
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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. 

"In Baselight 6.0, colourists will also find the RIFE ML-based retimer, a reworked Curve Grade, integrated alpha for easy compositing, a new sophisticated Gallery for improved searching and sorting, plus a wealth of new and enhanced colour tools such as Sharpen Luma, a built-in Lens Flaretool, Bokeh for out-of-focus camera effects, Loupe magnifying for fast and accurate adjustments, an upgraded Hue Angle, and much more."

(forum) For additional thoughts and reactions.

(video) "The Object Removal tool in Resolve is very clever, but it's not perfect and it can be a little confusing to get to grips with. Hopefully this video helps to clear things up!" My favorite use for this is removing dirt/water spots from lenses.

"Upgrading macOS carries a risk of catastrophic professional workflow breakage. So how should pros approach macOS updates?" It takes a while for this blog post to get to answering the question which amounts to: If you don't why you're upgrading, then don't.

"If the program follows similar rules as the Win7 ESU, you will have to have bought the first year in order to be eligible to pay for year two and you must have bought the previous two to get year three coverage."

Sponsor
Flanders Scientific XMP550 Professional HDR Reference Display
The new Flanders Scientific XMP550 is a 55" QD-OLED monitor specifically designed for professional HDR grading applications.
Available now at ShopFSI.com
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 7-Day Test Drive.​​​ There's also color correction Practice Projects for purchase. 
(video) "Workflow specialist & developer Kaur Hendrikson is teaching coding for post production! A skill that may help you break into the business."
(video) "Season 1 of The Color Timer Podcast wraps: We chat with Paul Harrison, a colorist renowned for his award-winning short-form work and films."
(video) "Colorist Cullen Kelly teaches you to create a subtractive color balance tool for more pleasing color washes & looks in DaVinci Resolve."
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.

"Flanders Scientific is grateful to have been honored at last night’s HPA Awards with an Engineering Excellence Award for the 55" XMP550, the world’s first professional QD-OLED monitor. And today, Flanders Scientific is excited to officially announce the XMP650, a larger 65" version of this groundbreaking new technology."

If you're in the market for a high-end colorimeter but don't want to pay full retail, click on through.

(video) The embedded video shows a new app from Tangent allowing for user mapping of DaVinci Resolve, "What you've just seen is how quick and easy it is to map things in the new Warp Engine beta which is due out any day now. If you're not already signed up to our beta program, then sign up here."

Yesterday I spoke with a Tangent user on the Beta. It looks like this is powered by keyboard emulation, which means simultaneous inputs don't work. BUT the software allows for toggling between Resolve's native integration and user remapping. It's a neat idea and should be exciting for Tangent users who don't want to extend the usefulness of their hardware.

A roundup and review.

Are professional QD reference displays at this size far behind? Fingers crossed: "Samsung Display has today announced that mass-production of the 31.5-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor panel is starting. It expects to double shipments of QD-OLED monitor panels in 2024."

About recent certifications for LG and Samsung OLED panels.

"And as a bonus, enjoy this remedy to fix Avid Link’s inability to install Media Composer updates on MacOS."

"I’ll be sharing my thoughts on digital storage and applications from the past year based on my experience as well as on conversations and interviews with others working in this part of the market. I’m also including some data from my upcoming 2024 Digital Storage in Media and Entertainment report."

A roundup of the major facility-level storage solutions and their offerings. Plus, a post house or two detail the solutions they're using.

Sunday Fun(nies)
Random thoughts, tidbits, and fun stuff catching my attention this week. Maybe it's color grading related. Maybe not. Ya gotta read to the end of the Newsletter to find out.

From Colorist Hector Berrebi.

Fun. "Samsung's Odyssey G9 gaming monitor is a dream come true for gamers, especially with its best discount. Its 49-inch curved screen and smooth graphic motion will bring life to every video game."

Definitely fun. Just in time for Christmas. Although, I'm not sure True Lies warranted this treatment :-)

NOT funny: "This marks the first time that the Firefox maker has put the warning on Google devices, and it's a depressing sign that tech giants are getting even worse with their data collection and security practices, lead researcher Jen Caltrider told The Register."

 
Th- th- th- that's all folks! I'll see you in two Sundays.
 
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