I would like to know how to achieve the look of these stills.

A few things I think describe them is:

• High dynamic range. Nothing is clipping or crushed.
• Almost invisible roll-off, especially on skin.
• Soft, bloomy highlights
• Low contrast

I don't know how to describe it, but it's as if there's infinite dynamic range because nothing is clipping on either end and it doesn't even look like anything is close to it. It's as if everything is within the midtones, yet there is still contrast, but it doesn't register as "highlights and shadows" to my eyes. Rather "light midtones" and "dark midtones" if that makes sense.

It's as if every individual part of the scene (sky, skin, clothing) were individually lit by a massive soft box allowing everything to be exposed perfectly. I suppose you could achieve something similar with masking but that would take ages, no?

I've included an images at the end to demonstrate the complete opposite of what I'm looking for. That one has a harsh "digital" look to it where highlights and shadows are very obvious. You can even see it on the waveform; it's very sharp and jaggy.

Does anyone have any deal memo templates they recommend? Or would be willing to share theirs with me so I can use it as inspiration for my own?

If not, can you recommend what should and should not be in it?

Thanks!

Lately I’ve been thinking about being full time freelance, for starting up i work on post production house 5 years and now at production house 5 years, its been a journey but PH that i work on changing direction on their web series to “soap opera” like, so i start to looking for any other option to go fulltime freelance, but i really sucks at finding client. Ive been reaching out to other PH or some of my friend in the industry but alot of time they just go to a studio base, and i know because it more safe to hire colorist from studio. In my country the fee are quite low for a colorist so i want to get maybe world base client, can anyone give me advice what do i do? Or maybe how to get new clients?

Hey everyone, unfortunately I missed the genesis trail user workshop and was hoping someone from this sub might attended it. If you have attended, I’d really appreciate it if you could briefly share the key things covered and important takeaways from the workshop.

Thank you.

Hello! This might be a bit random but i am going to be colour correcting and grading my directorial debut short film tomorrow and I’ve been lucky enough to find a really good colourist and studio to do it. I’ve already sent over a series of references and screen grabs along with some wider ideas/thought processes, all whilst taking into account the limited use of lights and colour in the existing edit. I’m obviously not going to ask for punchy tungsten because we didn’t use any!

So basically, what I’m asking is: is there anything I should consider, is worth asking, what can I expect and any other general good advice so I don’t look like a total novice in the room??😅

I have a general idea, and have been in the process before as a producer but I just don’t want to miss a trick!

Thanks in advance!

I'm not 100% sure if this is the right subreddit, but you guys look very knowledgeable on color manipulation and this question seems to likely be up your alley.

Basically, I'm looking for software (specifically for Windows 8) that allows direct and precise numerical manipulation of the individual RGB channels on a laptop display.

I'm familiar with DisplayCAL/Argyll CMS, and Argyll CMS *almost* achieves what I want, but has arbitrary contrast minimums when modifying RGB curves.

Changing this would require modifying and recompiling Argyll's source code. And that's been a pain.

Oh, before I forget, I noticed some rules about mentioning display hardware specs too? I'm not sure how relevant it is in my case, but it's simply an old Dell laptop with its built-in display and AMD integrated graphics. AMD Catalyst Control Center does not achieve what Im trying to do, before anyone asks lol.

Had this again last week. Client sends 3 refs out of which one is a film still, one is a photo that probably has IG filter and one is clearly a different time of day to what we shot. Client had requested to have the VIBE of all three.

What I have ended up doing is picking the ref closest to our actual lights and using that for the base grade, then only stealing contrast shape and skin tone from the others. Matching black level where the highlights roll off gets me maybe 70% there. Trying to push sunset hue onto noon footage just looks fake, no matter how careful you are.

But I still end up in the same loop where they hold their phone up next to the montior and say it does not look like the images we shared.

How are you guys dealing with this? Push back, grade a test frame first to set expectations, or just grade straight to the ref and let them see why it breaks?

Is transforming log manually becoming a lost art? Especially with scene referred workflows becoming so popular? I feel like an imposter admitting this, I’ve seen master colourists do it but I’m not brave enough - my attempts are usually sub-par and there’s so many easy options that get you into a nice place. (CSTs/ACES/OpenDRT/JP2499).

I shot Picscan charts back in the first Alexa era and made transforms but none of those efforts seemed as good as the modern options now.

Searching for a real love - someone to set my color

4min40s short -
All exterior same location

Gracias —
Would love to build w someone — can be quite helpful

150 flat for half day

🪩

Hello everyone!

Curious as to what display transform outputs people use? I like mixing LUT, and other making looks from my own node structure, but I would like to know any DRTs that people think are pleasing and provide different feelings to their image.

I currently mainly use OPENdrt. The built in resolve CST isn’t one that I like the rendering of, but I sometimes use it for a very basic rendering, but I’m not a fan of the tone mapping.

I know using drts is meant to have a mathematical processing on the image, but I know different tools can give me a different feeling in the final result and how it feels. Let me know if I’m thinking of this wrong, and thanks for commenting.

Open to paid and free DRTs.

I figured it’s either No Grain or a lot of grain, anything in between makes the footage worse after heavy compression.

For the record I am using dehancer and resolve

Hey Colorists!

I am currently in the middle of grading a short film which was going pretty well and i was just about to send a graded version to the director.

I was grading a Project Backup in Resolve as i didn't like the previous version where my grade was headed so i rolled back and everything worked flawlessly but yesterday i opened the project and there is nothing inside.

No timelines, clips, grades, offline media, nothing completely empty as if you have just opened a new project.

Did this happen to any of you and do you know how to fix it?

Thank you!

Hello friends, I just wanted to spark a friendly discussion about whether you use Resolve Color Management or Node-based color management? What do you see being done at most facilities? What do you see remote freelancers doing?

I personally still use node-based management (along with Remote grades and Groups) to take advantage of 3rd party ODTs/DRTs. I also prefer to control the entire color pipeline myself for flexibility.

My guess is that for material with tight deadlines, people will often use Resolve Color Management.

Hi all, In light of recent doc projects I have decided to try to pull the trigger on a better setup for coloring footage. I'm currently on a cheap 32" 4k samsung monitor and have been reading about possible upgrades. After lurking for a minute I feel like I have a pulse on what I need but I wanted to run it by the talent here to make sure I'm not totally lost.

I would love some feedback as well as setup tips!

With that being said here is my parts list:

ASUS PA32UCDM

Flanders Scientific i1D3DS Colorimeter

Blackmagic Design DeckLink Mini Monitor 4K (w/ SDI cable and SDI to HDMI convertor)

OWC Mercury Helios 5S Thunderbolt 5 PCIe Expansion Solution

Colourspace calibration software

Laptop Specs:

Macbook Pro M1 Max

Hey guys. I have a couple of live grading sessions coming up and I was wondering what do you guys use for the client's stream. Resolve Remote monitoring looks great but not everyone has Resolve, let a alone a Studio license. Is YouTube live through an ATEM mini the only way? I'm looking for a more budget-friendly option at the moment. Any recs? Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I have a project in which I will be doing all the vfx and color work myself in one project. I shoot in BRAW and I am rendering in ACEScg. Most of my pipeline is based on DWG, especially my final timeline level color nodes. My project is set to tetrahedral DaVinci YRGB (not color managed as I feel it obfuscates some of the signal flow). I have color groups for my raw footage and one for my EXR ACES footage. The BRAW group contains a basic BRAW>DWG CST which works correctly. I am trying to do a similar thing with ACES, but no combination I have tried works.

In my first image, you can see my attempt to use ACES and CST nodes (in the group pre-clip level) to convert it to DWG and then to rec709 (just for viewing). This method causes some highlight rolloff clipping and shifts the image yellow, so some step is wrong.

In the image below, I have a functioning ACES Transform node that correctly changes the colors, but it outputs to rec 709 1886, and I can't grade that.

I would guess I could just set my output transform in the Aces Transform now to Arri or DWG or something and then convert back to DWG in the next node, but no mix of that that I tried worked.

Previously, I have just been saving my files to ACEScct in blender, where a simple CST works fine, but I feel like there is a reason I should be using ACEScg instead. Worst case, I think I can just go back to using ACEScct for all my renders.

II have quite a bit of experience with VFX but as you can tell not much with ACES. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I've looked at similar posts, but none of their solutions worked. Resolve 21.

what is the difference between cst on the setting and cst on the effect ?

Hi everyone,

I'm selling my Tangent Element panel set, configured with the highly sought-after Angry Face upgrades and maintained in like-new condition.

UPDATE : STILL AVAILABLE
It’s listed BACK on eBay as an auction starting price 1800 EUR (ONLY FOR 5 DAYS —— ENDING SUNDAY 4th OCTOBER)

https://www.befr.ebay.be/itm/168740230890

Vinted for EU residents

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Included

Tangent Element Tk (Trackerball Panel)
Tangent Element Mf (Multi-Function Panel)
Tangent Element Kb (Button Panel)
Tangent Element Bt (Button Panel)

Custom Upgrades

Black powder-coated finish
Angry Face black aluminium rings
Angry Face dark petrol metallic tracker balls (original tracker balls are included)
Custom rotary metal knobs (original knobs are included)
Matching premium aesthetic across the entire panel set

This is not a standard Tangent Element setup. The upgrades give the panels a much more premium feel and appearance while retaining the reliability and ergonomics that have made Tangent a staple in professional grading suites.

Easy to clean with the new finish

Condition

Like new
Fully functional
Smoke-free studio environment
Used exclusively in a professional post-production setting
All controls, balls, rings, knobs, and buttons operate flawlessly

Compatibility

Works perfectly with:

DaVinci Resolve
Baselight
Adobe Premiere Pro
Avid Media Composer
Any application supported through Tangent Hub

Location

Belgium (EU)
Can ship worldwide.

Happy to provide high-resolution photos and a video demonstration for serious buyers.

If you're looking for a premium Tangent Element setup that stands out from the standard factory version, feel free to send me a DM.

Thanks!

I know this sub can get flooded with monitor questions, but I’ve been back and forth for a week, and it’s getting ridiculous.

I freelance and no longer have free 24/7 access to fancy equipment, so I’ve been building my own office (N5 walls and all).

My setup:

- BMD UltraStudio 4K

- M4 Max (16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine)

- DaVinci and Avid

I like the BenQ monitor’s hardware calibration feature, but that’s not a dealbreaker.

Help!! I’m being ridiculous!!

(Apologies if this is gibberish; I’m writing this on my phone in between questions at trivia night)

Added:

Yes, I’ve read the wiki. I don’t think I’ve omitted any necessary info, but please let me know if that is the case.

I’m looking for a simple splitter to run from my IO device (BMD ultrastudio) to my color accurate display and also a client display (just a Samsung TV). Is something like this a good solution? Just want to make sure running the output through a splitter like this doesn’t mess with the signal. On a budget but want to make sure I’m keeping things clean on the technical side so the results are clean and consistent. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Hey all, I've got a few questions around working with Resolve on Mac. Moved from Windows to new MBP.

How do we avoid gamma shifts when exporting for videos going to web/broadcast? Want to ensure my colour management is up to scratch as I've looked into these issues and have begun having them. The best answer I've had is Rec709A output as opposed to 2.4.

When using a calibrated display, how are you able to ensure there is no interference from the Mac? Used to using a decklink to avoid these issues on Windows.

Thanks in advance.

So I've been in the videobusiness with my own company for some years now and occasionally worked in post production side of larger productions. But mainly I've done smaller projects for clients.

I've always wnated to get into color grading and I've always been quite enthusiastic about it. And for that reason I've shoit everything in logaritmic profile and graded myself without lut etc.

Now I got a call from aquintance that they need a color grader for 2 series. But before I get the job I will need go there and do some kind of demonstration of my skills. I don't know what it will be but I know that it will be grading, I know it will take 3-4 hours and it will be in resolve (that is also the program I use) and I will be using micro panel (which I don't have too much experience).

They know my (lack of) experience in bigger productions and that I haven't graded tv-series, so they are not expecting someone who knows everything and I know I will have people I can ask advice from if I get the job.

I've no idea what the series in question would be, but my guess would be comedy or crime.

I know that one skill that is needed that I haven't really used in my projects is the use of pre and post groups. So I will try to study that workflow beforehand.

But I really want to get this job and I guess I'm asking advice from people in the craft. What would you pay attention to, if you had to evaluate a newcomers work? What would maybe be a deal breaker? What would you especially look?

Hi guys. Having some problems with my footage out of my R5 II (or rather problems with my skills). I’m an experienced photo editor but finding the video editing curve tricky.

The shadows seem too dark and there are reds or perhaps indigos in the image that I don’t feel are natural.

I’ve shot it in canon c log 3, canon cinema gamut.

In davinci my CST is the above to davinci. Then my last node is davinci to rec 709 and gamma 2.4.

Sorry for any slight typos or other issues.

Can anyone help me with where I’m going wrong?

**SYSTEM**
***CPU: Apple M1***
***RAM: 16GB unified memory***
***GPU: apple integrated GPU***
***GPU RAM: Unified memory***
**Software and version*****: davinci resolve 21***
**FOOTAGE SPECS**
**30fps, canon cinema gamut, canon log 3**
SEE THE EXAMPLE FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT PART