http://humanae.tumblr.com/

Can be useful with a pick up tool in NLE :p

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/david.hj.lindberg

twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidHJLindberg

What I envision as a workflow would be the following--use a preset from each cam, not a custom WB, so anyone could use these Look Up Tables, then shoot some scenes with the Macbeth Color chart, using the same chart and lighting for each cam, and then finally just put the numbers online. I suppose an even better solution would be to somehow convert these LUTs into Cineform values so we could bypass Speedgrade altogether.

The result would be that one could open a preset, say "incandescent" in the GH2 and 5D MK2, or pro camcorder, then just apply the LUT. And anyone could use the LUT because it uses the preset WB in the Cams, which presumably are the same for every user.

Anyone in the world could then use these LUTs.

This is a test I made today. Taking two scenes shot by my Panasonic GH2, and graded them as cool as I could in Smoke 2012. Pretty happy with the result! This is also a competition where you can download the ungraded files and make your own grade. Read more here about the competition here: http://davidhjlindberg.blogspot.se/2012/11/2-scenes-million-colors.html

Specs when shooting: 1080p, Apo. Boom (Smooth, -2-2-2-2) Zeiss 50mm 1.8

I'm editing my first indie documentary and I was planning to invest it an external card (matrox or blackmagic) and a good monitor (or a LG HDTV) to get a proper video signal that I can color correct with some accuracy, but unfortunely it seems that with my late 2009 imac, with no thunderbolt connection (it has a mini displayport / usb2 & firewire 800) it's not an easy task. I cut on FCP7 and color correct on Apple Color. Right now I'm on a Spyder calibrated imac screen but I doubt this is optimal :)

After a huge research, these are the options I think I have:

1) Get an old MXO, so I can connect it via a mini displayport to DVI adapter and then to the monitor. But it only works on FCP7 and AE. I think it doesn't work in Apple Color (it's what I use for color correction), and no way to get it working on Premiere CS6 / Resolve lite. So, it'll work but it's a limited option, with no future now that FCP7 is EOL, and that no other CC apps work.

2) Get an Blackmagic DVI extender (DVI to SDI converter) and an HD Link Pro (SDI to DVI/HDMI monitor). But I don't know if this will work. It seems that yes, it'll work but I can't find if this support FCP, Avid, Color, Resolve, etc...

http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/dviextender/ http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/hdlink/

3) On some forums I've read that getting a THX certified HDTV, calibrate it with a THX Blu-ray Disc and it'll come quite close to REC 709. But without the external card that convert the computer signal to a broadcast signal, I don't know how reliable is this solution.

4) Sell my imac and get a Mac Pro :) I can't right now.

The problem here is the lack of a thunderbolt port (or usb 3.0), there's a lot of cards from blackmagic & Matrox for new imac with TB, but the imac users with mini display port, we're left in the dark :)

I'll appretiate any feedback, ideas, etc...

Thanks!

I'm trying to calibrate my monitors to at the very least get uniformity between all my systems and know that what I'm seeing is the same on each machine. I'm also hoping to get all my monitors as close to rec.709 as I can (although I'm starting to question whether that is even a good idea)

I'm trying to use DispcalGUI with an i1pro to setup some monitors and I'm struggling a little with how best to do it.

My main editing PC is connected to a Dell 3007wfp and then outputting to a Dell 2407wfp via a Blackmagic card and HDLink box. I also have a Dell L702x laptop that I edit on location with. I was planning on running DispcalGUI on the pc and the laptop and then connect the 24 inch monitor to the pc, run DispcalGUI, convert the icm profile to a LUT, reconnect the 24 inch to the HDLink box and load the LUT.

My first real question is, is this the best way to balance the monitors I have, with the tools at my disposal?

Secondly, what is the best way to set up the software for as close to rec.709 as possible on each monitor?

Oh and then my colleague threw a spanner in the works by asking me a very sensible question; "If all our monitors are rec709, what will happen when we export files for web on those same machines? If they are full RGB will they look correct?"

I'm sorry, this is probably very basic stuff I've got myself confused with, but I'm scratching my head now and have no idea what to do next. We are camera ops and editors by trade and have no problems being creative but this technical and mathematical stuff just baffles us :(

So, I've always wondered which setting to use in Panasonic GH series so that to get such a look. As you can see, it's kind of dark picture, but at the same time it's soft and the shadows are bright - something that is almost impossible to get whatever I try with GH. Of course, it's a matter of the sensor and lenses at first, but if I try to achieve a similar look with GH, it's always much brighter as usually or if set to lower exposure, then the shadows are deeply dark even with grading in post.

So, anyone with such an experience, please share ideas and hints.

Is out there something like that? Midi mapping is a very nice solution used in music production that could be used for grading as well.

I've recently shot a short trying to mash all of the detail into a very narrow dynamic range to extrapolate it later in post which has worked for the look, but for the finer things it's kinda fallen apart.

I feel like shooting ultra flat and compressing the dynamic range yields less artifacting but adds a more video like aesthetic after graded.

Is it, in all of your minds, feasible to create more of the look in camera with high contrast and risk some artifacting or is it better for you to shoot flat and correct later, for a film aesthetic?

I'm on the fence, I want to hear what you think.

# Better Living through Visualisation 0.2 by vicx
# An Avisynth script inspired by the discussions at http://personal-view.com  
# Visualise more plainly see the effects of quantisation and intra prediction at different luma levels using Avisynth
#
# Requires Avisynth or an Avisynth host - Tested with Avisynth 2.6 (x86).
# For tweaking scripts I use and reccommend AvsPmod Ver 2.3  http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=153248.
# It is easy to take screenshots inside AvsPmod.
# When I want to share noise in motion I open the avs file with AnotherGui http://www.stuudio.ee/anothergui/ and render to a 6mbps X264 preset 
# Presets available from here http://www.stuudio.ee/anothergui/Presets.html
#
# Brought to you by the number 4
# watch?v=7XefWDGHtNA 

# If your file won't open Google LAVfilters / If you want fullsize windows remove ReduceBy2()
source = DirectShowSource("F:\___Video\New folder\00129.MTS")
#source = Imagesource("F:\___Photo\image.png")
global clip = source.converttoYV12(matrix="Rec709").ReduceBy2()

function Render_Window(clip c, int min_luma, int max_luma,string label, int label_color, int label_halo)
{
Range = clip.Limiter(min_luma,max_luma,min_chroma=0, max_chroma=255, show="luma" )
Range_Luma = Range.histogram("luma")
Range_clip = overlay(Range_Luma,clip,0,0,clip,chroma_background,"blend")
Range_clip_labeled = Range_clip.Subtitle(label + " = " + string(min_luma) + "-" + string(max_luma), font="Tahoma", size=20, text_color=label_color, halo_color=label_halo, align=9)
return Range_clip_labeled
}

#chroma_background is 0.0-1.0 and is how bright the background appears behind the luma maps
global chroma_background = 1

#Set this lower than your source to slow things down if you want
framerate = 24

#White/Blacklimit you could make 16,235 but 0,255 makes sure you catch everything
black_limit = 0 
white_limit = 255 

#Set the luma limits for the four windows 
mud_limit = 32
coarse_limit = 128
fine_limit = 128

#Overlay Highlights in green
clip_limit = clip.Limiter(min_luma=0,max_luma=234,min_chroma=0, max_chroma=255, show="luma" )
clip_mask = clip_limit.ConverttoRGB32.ColorKeyMask($00FF00)
clip_mask = Mask(clip_limit.ConverttoRGB32(), clip_mask.ConverttoRGB32())

#Render Windows
Top_Left = clip.Subtitle( "Original", font="Tahoma", size=20, text_color=$FFFF00, halo_color=$000000, align=9).converttoRGB32.layer(clip_mask).ConvertToYV12
Top_Right = Render_Window(clip, fine_limit, white_limit, "Fine Mids and Highlights Luma ", $FFFFFF,$000000)
Bottom_Left = Render_Window(clip, black_limit, mud_limit, "Mud Luma ", $555555, $DDDDDD)
Bottom_Right = Render_Window(clip, mud_limit, fine_limit, "Coarse Mids Luma ", $BBBBBB, $000000)

#Arrange Windows
StackVertical(StackHorizontal(Top_Left,Top_Right) ,StackHorizontal(Bottom_Left,Bottom_Right) )

#EOF

I attach some images which are NOT commentary about the GH2 encoder. I just included them to demonstrate the script using a low luma image and a high luma image.

I also attach an image of kitchen re-visualised with a basic avisynth one liner.

 DirectShowSource("F:\___Video\New folder\kitchen.MTS").histogram("luma")

Here is the video:

But could you not do the same grade in after effects with something like the Color Finesse tool? Or perhaps in CS6's speedgrade program (I have not used this yet)? It would seem quite compelling to me that panasonic does not have an option like this for their camera's as it does make a pretty big difference, but perhaps it is only because their is another work around that the director of this video did not know about? I'm curious to hear if anyone knows a solution to this problem, as I'd love to keep my skin tones intact for future shoots as I really do like the color grade of this video.

Thanks for the input!

Here is a frame grab from my short film, shot on the GH2. It's a drama but at the moment the footage looks too "nice" so I want to give it a different look in resolve.

Can anyone give me some advice on how to get a drama look like similar to the images below from a BBC tv drama. I appreciate that the BBC thing would have been shot on something like an Alexa and lit by a pro but it also looks as if they have given it a look in post.

I've tried desaturating and cooling it down but it ends up looking wrong, maybe it's a limitation of the 8 bit gh2 footage.

Any help and advice would be much appreciated

Thanks

Tony

Thanks

However, I'm kinda lost when it comes to color grading. Here's what I shot the other day to kill time:

Not terrible. I always try to shoot it as close to how I want it to look in Premiere. But, this time around, I experimented with some color grading. I can get into the details if need be. But, really, I'm just looking for opinions. Does this look bad? What would you change? Etc.

Thanks in advance!

What should i use to transcode the footage to something that will work with da vinci like quicktime or prores without losing quality?

Thanks

But, I've always wondered about the following “reverse grade procedure”: if we know the ways in which Rec 709 differs from the RGB color space of a properly calibrated computer monitor, then how come the following isn't possible as a cheap solution for those who want accurate grades both for web and dvd / video / hd-cam distribution?

• Step 1. Color grade movie on an RGB color accurate (IPS) computer monitor.
• Step 2. Apply the universal adjustments to contrast and color necessary to make the movie played in rec 709 grade look very close to (exactly?) like the grade on the RGB monitor.

Of course, we'd need to know what are the proper adjustments. But once you know what they are, you can just apply them to any future grade.

I'm sure I'm missing something, but I'd like to be illuminated on this issue!

How to improve on this situation? Some thoughts:

My first thought was sharpening. I tried to find out if there are professional ways to sharpen horizontally only, but couldn't find any really good info on the subject. If anyone has done this successfully, I'd love to hear about it.

Then today, though I was not initially thinking about improving resolution, I was looking into film grain effect solutions. The most realistic film grain effects are done by overlaying real scanned film footage (usually static footage of a grey card) overtop of your digital footage in overlay composite mode (or something similar). There are (I think) a few free 1080p clips if you hunt around, but nothing higher res. Since I maintain 1080p vertically but exceed it horizontally, I would need a higher res film grain file so as to not compromise quality.

This is the point in my logic where the lightbulb went on . . . use 4K film grain overlay to "add" resolution (or the appearance of extra resolution) to 1920x1080 clips! Sure, the footage is still 1080p, I know. But the film grain dancing around at 4K will say otherwise to your eyes. It won't look sharper, or like it is resolving more detail . . . but it will be higher res, and it will LOOK it . . . rather than just looking like upscaled 1080p.

Is my logic sound? It makes sense to me. Has anyone tried anything like this before?

I do my color grading (color correction) in the same place where I do my montage - Adobe Premiere Pro CS4. The effects I use are Three-way Color Corrector (for color grading) and ProcAmp (for Brightness, Contrast, Saturation), in order to achieve more "cinematic" look. But I have noticed that the video that comes out looses sharpness and quality, when compared to the original footage. Has anyone noticed this with Premiere Pro?

Am I missing something? Is Premiere Pro a bad tool for color grading? If so, what would you recommend?

(I'm using GH13, usually shooting in NOSTALGIC (Contrast -2, Sharpness -2, Saturation +2, Noise Reduction -2) and sometimes in SMOOTH (Contrast -2, Sharpness -2, Saturation +-0, Noise Reduction -2).)

Cake 2.3, 14-140 lens. First 3 seconds are source footage.

For those on mobile devices, video url is http://vimeo. com/45787332 (remove the gap in the URL)

I wanted to share this film with you to get some real critics from you. I'm active on a Swedish forum already and usually put my films over there to get some feedback but I wanted to hear your opinions as well.

The film is a school project I had, and I wanted to make a short film where I could really show my color grading. So even though I directed, edited and made the vfx in this video, I did it almost only to show my grading skills to then have something to show post companies as a portfolio after my graduation, which was a few weeks ago.

What do you think is good, what can I've been doing better?

I was using GH2, Orion v4b, Nostalgic (-2-2-2-2). Lens was Samyang 35mm 1.4.

Software used was After Effects CS5.5, Premiere Pro CS5.5, Twixtor, DaVinci Resolve. Converted all my files to Cineform .MOV before editing.

http://www.redgiantsoftware.com/products/all/magic-bullet-photo-looks/

I have a nice Panasonic Plasma hooked up to my workstation. I am in the process of grading my short film (with AE and Colorista) and I was thinking to do all the color directly on my plasma. Since blu-ray will be the medium for delivery and I do not own a pro grade balanced monitor. In After Effects all my grading projects are in rec709 color space.

Any thoughts on that? Are there any pitfalls to look out for? Thanks!

Product page: http://www.avid.com/US/products/artist-color

Price: about $1500

Available at:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Avid-Artist-Color-Euphonix-MC-Color-Correction-Grading-Panel-DaVinci-Resolve-/270969650466

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Avid-Artist-Color-Color-Grading-Controller-Surface-/370599479922

Tangent Devices CP200

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Price: about $1800, used

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Tangent Devices Wave

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Price: about $1500

Available at:

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http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/571637-REG/Tangent_Devices_WAVE_Wave_Panel.html

Tangent Element

Product page: http://www.tangentdevices.co.uk/products_element.asp

Price: about $1200

Available at:

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