Back in May, when we tried racking focus with Imaging Edge, the app seemed sluggish and unresponsive. We thought we'd revisit the app again, and just as before, tap-to-focus wouldn't respond when tapping on the curtains behind us. The aperture was f/1.8, transition speed set to 1. https://youtu.be/EZSMZ0ElaHY If you notice something different about the... Continue Reading →
Sony 35mm GM Breathing: A Dealbreaker?
Graded with Colloid 2.0. https://youtu.be/3YTXYGYEL6o
The Future of HDR
"Technical details aside, the most important thing to understand about HDR is that it doesn’t represent an enhancement as much as the removal of an artificial limitation. In the realm of human vision and physical light, high dynamic range is a default condition, not an added gimmick". - Cullen Kelly In his article entitled 'Three Predictions... Continue Reading →
Grading Tools: Final Cut Pro vs. DaVinci Resolve
In his video Color Grading vs. Color Correction, Cullen Kelly's articulation of the difference between Log and gamma sounds uncannily similar to our experience grading HDR footage in Final Cut Pro vs. DaVinci Resolve. "Images can be encoded in a Log or a gamma state. Gamma encoding was devised for preparing an image for viewing... Continue Reading →
Comic Book Superheroes and Villains Overtake YT
If you thought that florid travel and nature clips and garish demos for showroom floors dominated the list of the top ten HDR videos on YouTube, think again! Movie clips featuring popular comic book characters like the Joker, Batman and Shazam and pop culture icon Godzilla are killing it. Scenes from Joker (64M), Justice League... Continue Reading →
Poker
David Silberhorn is doing some rad stuff on YouTube. Maybe you should follow him. https://youtu.be/hDrvZy6i9Bw
Jeromy Young: Wrong Place, Wrong Time
A news.com.au report dated July 13th with the headline 'Millionaire fined after allegedly fleeing covid-ravaged NSW on superyacht' reads: A Melbourne millionaire and his crew have been fined more than $16,000 by police after they used a superyacht to escape to the Gold Coast from covid-ravaged Sydney. Jeromy Young, 44, the founder and director of... Continue Reading →
CineD Hit Piece on Sony Provokes Community
CineD recently published an article in which the author disputes Sony's claim that the FX9, FX6 and FX3 shoot 16-bit RAW video but brings no facts to the table, only unfounded speculation. The very first paragraph proclaims, "In fact, a true 16-Bit sensor readout only belongs to high-end cinema cameras. Yes, that’s one of the... Continue Reading →
Consumer Displays: When Your Client is David Fincher
Part I: The iPhone 12 Pro Max as a Consumer Reference Monitor Part II: iPhone 12 Pro as a Consumer Reference Display (cont’d) Part III: iOS Devices as Client Reference Monitors Part IV: Consumer Displays: When Your Client is David Fincher Dolby Vision calls for calibrated consumer displays in the grading suite but what is one to do... Continue Reading →
A Reminder: Avoid Log
For HDR projects, steer clear of recording XAVC S-I 4:2:2 internal if at all possible. Art Adams explains: "The Y’CbCr encoding model is popular because it conceals subsampling artifacts vastly better than does RGB encoding. Sadly, while Y’CbCr works well in Rec 709, it doesn’t work very well for HDR. Because the Y’CbCr values are created... Continue Reading →
DaVinci Resolve Studio 17 HDR Grading Breakdown
Node tree Excessive saturation in the shadows can be unflattering to the talent and clothing and objects in the surroundings can be distracting if left untreated. Reducing saturation is often the preferred method for eliminating unwanted color artifacts in the shadows resulting from extreme color corrections. However, you don't want to desaturate colors all the way to... Continue Reading →
Motion Picture Industry Defers HDR Aesthetic – Indefinitely?
"To date, most HDR content has been an emulation of the existing SDR experience. This is a new aesthetic and I'm intrigued when filmmakers will embrace that aesthetic rather than try to just reproduce the existing low-con films onto the HDR format." - Peter Doyle, Supervising Colorist at Technicolor (2016) Little has changed in over... Continue Reading →
Just Because
This short filmed with the Red Monstro 8K is just so damn beautiful. https://youtu.be/u4NP8ozjpLw
The HDR Effect
"One of the things I've noticed over the years with HDR is once the DP sees the look with the added range they think they may have wanted to adjust the framing. The added levels on highlights and added saturation to highlights pulls the eye around in different ways than when we have a small... Continue Reading →
Light the Talent Last!
https://youtu.be/VasxLZl4YyU While we didn't end up using the boom arm after all, the photos show how easy it is to set up with lights as compact and lightweight as the Nanlite Forzas. For counterweights, we just used a couple of Lacie Rugged RAIDs and two NPF batteries. hehe
Manual SDR Grade vs. Dolby Vision Derived SDR Version
Can industry professionals distinguish between the 'hand graded' SDR version of a Hollywood film and a Dolby Vision derived SDR version? That's the question Dolby Vision set about to answer when they went on a worldwide tour of nine cities to do an 'SDR Survey'. The cities they visited were Los Angeles, Tokyo, London, New... Continue Reading →
ProRes RAW HQ Grade Reveal
Lighting setup - window light, two reflectors https://youtu.be/sp_msCFEUmI
Why HDR Production Monitors Matter, Part IV
Why HDR Production Monitors Matter, Part I Why HDR Production Monitors Matter, Part II Why HDR Production Monitors Matter, Part III Why HDR Production Monitors Matter, Part IV Atomos: Outlook The forecast for Atomos, which designs, manufactures and distributes monitor/recorders which range in price from USD $299 - $6,499, with a gross margin of around... Continue Reading →
The Daejeon Chronicles 