Resolve Tutorials

[Warren Eagles]

Just uploaded Grading Arri Alexa PT 2
http://vimeo.com/channels/icolorist

Warren
@warreneagles

[M Most]

Just uploaded Grading Arri Alexa PT 2
http://vimeo.com/channels/icolorist

Warren
@warreneagles


Warren, while I certainly appreciate the effort you're putting into educating up and coming colorists, I have to say that as an experienced colorist, I really disagree with the approach you're advocating on this particular clip.

A log image is not an image, it is a container. It is designed simply to carry more relevant image data than a 10 bit image normally can by applying a non-linear gamma curve of a specific design that maximizes levels available to useful detail and minimizes the levels used by less noticeable detail. It is not designed to be graded by a video style color corrector directly because the values in the image you're starting with are not "normalized." They are skewed toward what I just described. If you use the grading approach you're advocating here, you will likely have a result in which the upper midrange is too high (leading to "flat" faces, for one thing) because you haven't yet normalized it. The only real way around that is to crush the blacks rather aggressively in order to create contrast in the upper midrange of the picture. Crushing the gamma is not a good way to do this because the gamma control is going to affect the middle of the overall image curve much more than the extremes. That's fine in a video gamma image, but it's not fine in a log image because the information you want to be affecting is not necessarily in the middle of the curve.

You demonstrated an approach that basically says "LUT or no LUT," but that's not the way most of the colorists I know - including myself - see it. A LUT essentially represents a curve that "normalizes" the values in the log container to display properly - in terms of grey scale - on a video or projection device. At that point, you can use video scaled controls to properly grade the image. But under most circumstances, LUTs are used in a DI style pipeline - in other words, they are put at the output of the base grade, not before. Putting them before defeats the entire purpose of recording in a log format in the first place. In most cases, what we do is apply a grading node, then the LUT, then additional grading nodes as needed. That way, if the LUT is a bit aggressive, we correct the image prior to it hitting the LUT so that what is coming through it is correct. At that point, we have a "normalized" video image that reacts properly to video grading controls and yields good isolations as well. In addition, in the case of Arri Alexa footage, it also implements a color matrix that yields proper saturation and more accurate colors, something you would have to simulate using extreme amounts of saturation in the grading system and some secondary manipulations if you don't incorporate it. Those techniques add noise and cause unnatural results. You can, of course, use a curve rather than a LUT for the normalization, but you won't get the benefit of the matrix (unless you're using Red footage, of course, where it's incorporated in the debayer process).

I know a number of colorists - both experienced and less experienced - who use the approach that you're advocating here. But that approach is based on what we did with video images for all of these years. That's just not appropriate or effective in a situation in which we're not dealing with video images anymore. Log formats are best used in a digital intermediate style pipeline, in which they're treated as the information containers they actually are, rather than as video images that they're not. That takes a bit of understanding as to what's being dealt with, and what a LUT (or a curve) is bringing to the table. I know you understand all of this, but you might want to think about presenting that alternative in future videos.

[Nick Shaw]

…under most circumstances, LUTs are used in a DI style pipeline - in other words, they are put at the output of the base grade, not before. Putting them before defeats the entire purpose of recording in a log format in the first place.

(bold mine not Mike's)

This point cannot be emphasised enough, and is one that so many people seem to miss.

[Marc Wielage]

But under most circumstances, LUTs are used in a DI style pipeline - in other words, they are put at the output of the base grade, not before. Putting them before defeats the entire purpose of recording in a log format in the first place.
Are you coming at this from a Resolve point of view or a Baselight point of view?

I know with Baselight, what we generally did was load in the source files, select the appropriate Truelight LUT for whatever color space we need, add a base correction layer, then do the final color-correction on an additional layer(s). Are you advocating using a LUT as a layer or node prior to all color correction, or as an overall preliminary set-up?

I'm curious how something like Truelight would fit into a Resolve workflow -- or if it would have to be done in a completely different way. All the Resolve stuff I've done so far has been Rec709 in & out. I haven't done a workflow test to see how input LUTs and output LUTs would apply in that situation, nor have I tried Cinespace LUTs yet. The section in the Resolve manual starting on page 72 goes into it in a superficial way, but there's a lot of steps left out from my perspective.

I think I see both your point and Warren's point. The question is whether you could engage all the parameters in a correction to precisely emulate a 3D LUT, and to me, it'd be difficult to get there 100%, so I agree with your general statement. But a simple LOG -> LIN LUT would get more than half the way there, just in terms of giving you more range and not having to slam the corrections (or build multiple nodes) to get an acceptable picture. In Warren's case, if he was only delivering Rec709 material, his method would work, but to me it wouldn't be ideal.

[dino g]

i bought these lessons for resolve and they are great for DIT's that want to dig deeper into the colorist world as we are constantly being tasked to do more and more of this work on set, in real time. i do not claim to be a colorist and probably never will or want to be, but i like to make the images that come off my cameras look nice for me and for the client, with no illusion that what i am doing on set is even close to the final, but at least it is a step in that direction, and in 99% of the time it makes everyone on set very happy to see pretty picture that are not just on the camera monitor, but out in the world on other devices.

highly recommend watching these classes.

dino

[sander kamp]

I did the Resolve training with Warren in Singapore at Media Village. Highly recommended as well. Warren is a great guy and he knows what he is talking about.

M Most: That sounds interesting and seems to make sense. However, without a proper example why applying an output LUT is better it remains a bit theoretical. My experience in Resolve is that sometimes things just work fine when in theory they shouldn't. Any chance to show us what you are talking about? 'Flat faces' vs 'proper faces'?

[M Most]

Try it yourself with any LogC material you happen to have. The difference is obvious.

You might want to make a version of the Arri LUT that has a bit less green/yellow in the gain. You only need a small correction to make for a more accurate LUT for most photography. That's what we did, and have found that the resulting modified LUT works almost perfectly regardless of the show.

[M Most]

Are you coming at this from a Resolve point of view or a Baselight point of view?

I know with Baselight, what we generally did was load in the source files, select the appropriate Truelight LUT for whatever color space we need, add a base correction layer, then do the final color-correction on an additional layer(s). Are you advocating using a LUT as a layer or node prior to all color correction, or as an overall preliminary set-up?

I'm coming at it from a proper image processing point of view. It doesn't matter what grading system is involved. They all allow you to place a LUT before or after a grade, and in some cases - Resolve and Baselight included - allow you to place a LUT anywhere in the processing path.

If I'm reading what you're saying correctly, I don't know why you would do what you say you did. In Baselight, I would set it up exactly the way I described: the load strip, followed by a base grade layer (probably using a Film grade at that point), followed by the LUT, followed by anything else (usually a video grade at that point). Using the LUT at the beginning of the chain puts you in the same situation as tape to tape color correction. Do you really want that when you can have so much more flexibility?


I think I see both your point and Warren's point. The question is whether you could engage all the parameters in a correction to precisely emulate a 3D LUT, and to me, it'd be difficult to get there 100%, so I agree with your general statement. But a simple LOG -> LIN LUT would get more than half the way there, just in terms of giving you more range and not having to slam the corrections (or build multiple nodes) to get an acceptable picture. In Warren's case, if he was only delivering Rec709 material, his method would work, but to me it wouldn't be ideal.

It wouldn't work particularly well if he is using Alexa material without a matrix applied, which is what he seems to be doing. That would not only force more extreme corrections, it would likely also force a rather significant saturation boost. As I said, Red footage coded to RedlogFilm wouldn't have that problem.

[Warren Eagles]

Good points Mike,
It was more for the onset new Resolve guys, a sort of "How to get nicer looking pictures to your offline editor"

Warren

[Christopher Barrett]

Heh... after watching the Resolve tutorials... I now read Warren's posts with an Aussie accent.

[Peter Chamberlain]

Heh... after watching the Resolve tutorials... I now read Warren's posts with an Aussie accent.

Actually, while Warren has lived in Australia for +10 years he is from the UK, and most Aussies I know would say he has a London accent.
Either way the more guys and gals who offer their advice on grading, and using Resolve the better.

Peter

[jimhare]

Hey Warren, I loved the Resolve course, fantastic stuff!

You sometimes refer to Center-Click, which I haven't figured out how to do. I keep my mouse set to just left/right click and can't figure out what you are doing to Center Click.

Silly problem to have but there I am.

Thanks!

Jim Hare
Sydney

[M Most]

Hey Warren, I loved the Resolve course, fantastic stuff!

You sometimes refer to Center-Click, which I haven't figured out how to do. I keep my mouse set to just left/right click and can't figure out what you are doing to Center Click.

Silly problem to have but there I am.



You really need a three button mouse to run Resolve effectively if you're running it on a Mac.

[Christopher Barrett]

I use a Razer and can click on the scroll wheel in Resolve... "center click"

[Neil W. Smith]

Actually, while Warren has lived in Australia for +10 years he is from the UK, and most Aussies I know would say he has a London accent.
Either way the more guys and gals who offer their advice on grading, and using Resolve the better.

Peter

Agree wholeheartedly, Peter ..... I've been following Warrens's Resolve 8 tutorials on fxphd and they're damn good, no matter what accent he uses.

As an ex-Brit who lived in Sydney for a couple of years I too quickly sussed out that Warren was some kind of Wanstead bovver boy who learned to speak 'strine ... accents apart, if you're interested in understanding the power of DaVinci Resolve 8 you should definitely check out Warren's tutorials.

Keep up the good work, matey .... and btw, Peter our three colorists are really enjoying the functionality and elegance of Resolve 8.1 ... thanks for getting us on the beta program.

Cheers,
Neil

[Maxi Claudio]

Thanks so much for your tutorial!!!

[jimhare]

You really need a three button mouse to run Resolve effectively if you're running it on a Mac.

So no command-key combination to simulate a center click? Either have it or you don't?

I would have thought center click would just be a shortcut for something else, like option-click, command-nose-on-tab-key etc.

I'm just looking to apply the tips from Warren's FXPHD course.

[Adam Eden]

I bought Warren's tutorials from FXPHD and as a colourist of 15 years or more of experience they really taught me the basics of resolve and what the buttons did. This course is the best $200 I have spent in a long time.

The course is great for beginners or experienced people like myself so if you buy Resolve, buy the course also.

And Warren didn't pay me to say this.

For the record my first proper job on Resolve has been colouring a feature film that I have almost finished, and I had 7 days to finish (1:30 feature).
His course brought me up to speed in no time and the director is happy as a pig in shit!

And.... I have only had my box/ resolve for 2 weeks.. So if that isn't a good rap about Warren's product and resolve I don't know what is!

[M Most]

So no command-key combination to simulate a center click? Either have it or you don't?

I would have thought center click would just be a shortcut for something else, like option-click, command-nose-on-tab-key etc.

I'm just looking to apply the tips from Warren's FXPHD course.

A three button mouse can be had for probably less than $10, which is a pretty paltry investment even if you only use it for one program.

[Adam Eden]

The centre click is on the apple mouse with the little ball. You press the little ball down to centre click, I don't think you can buy those mice anymore but as Mike is saying you can buy any 3 button mouse from a place like officeworks for not much.

[jimhare]

A three button mouse can be had for probably less than $10, which is a pretty paltry investment even if you only use it for one program.

Fair enough but I'll bet anything the mouse comes with a utility to specify what the center button controls and I still won't know what to set it to! :w00t:

I didn't think center-click was a standard and exclusive command on the Mac. I assumed it was a shortcut for option-click or something, similar to how right-click on a Mac is short for control-click.

Anyway, I'll pick one up and see if it magically works. But I'm still surprised Resolve would be written with some center-click only commands without keyboard/menu alternatives.

Thanks!

[jimhare]

Thanks Adam, I have the newer magic mouse but probably have one of the scroll wheel ones kicking around. I'll try it.


The centre click is on the apple mouse with the little ball. You press the little ball down to centre click, I don't think you can buy those mice anymore but as Mike is saying you can buy any 3 button mouse from a place like officeworks for not much.

[Warren Eagles]

We used some third party mice in Singapore a couple of weeks ago. They had the middle button, trying to get more details.

[Marc Wielage]

But I'm still surprised Resolve would be written with some center-click only commands without keyboard/menu alternatives.
I believe the Mac version is a port from the Linux version. Linux commonly uses 3-button mice for a lot of functions.

To me, it's a bloody miracle that the Mac version works as well as it does. It's an amazingly powerful program for this price range, assuming you have good monitoring and an experienced colorist.

[Douglas Learner]

Jim, I've got a Logitech M110 scroll wheel mouse I picked up for about $8 (US). I use it with Shake on a Mac and the center click works great, so I'm sure it will work fine with Resolve as well. I don't believe I had to install any special drivers. Good luck.

d

[Warren Eagles]

The mouse we had during the recent training at Media Village in Singapore was a Prolink model: PMO620U. The guys bought it locally and it was around $10. Worked well.

[Kacey Baker]

I have to say that as an experienced colorist,

Do you have an online service / subscription teaching color correction and grading? I'm looking to develop my skills and push my DSLR footage as far into feature film land as I possibly can.. for .. dslr.. foo....tage. :)

[Eric Santiago]

A three button mouse can be had for probably less than $10, which is a pretty paltry investment even if you only use it for one program.Coming from the old SGI days ( miss their mouse) lately its been the older MS Optical mouse (greyish ones). This of course serves Resolve, Maya and AE on OS X. Cheap too :)

[Warren Eagles]

Hi Kacey

I am the co founder of The International Colorist Academy.
We run both classroom and online training.
You can sign up for the quarterly newsletter when you visit the site

Warren
www.icolorist.com

[Michael Martinez]

Hi Warren, any upcoming classes in New York City?
Please let me know...
Thanks a lot for your tutorials!
michaelcinematography@live.com

[Christopher Barrett]

Hey Warren... is there a "Table of Contents" anywhere for the fxPHD Vids? I find myself wanting to go back for specific elements but having no recollection which lesson they were in.

Thanks,
Chris

[Warren Eagles]

Hi Chris

Rundown below

Warren

CLASS 1 VARIOUS
Getting started with Resolve

CLASS 2
How to get images in.
Working with Avid and FCP.
The Browser page, find your material and see how it was shot in the Bowser window.
The new V8 Conform page.
Manual Load of images or use an EDL to add to the Media Pool
Create a small “Looks” timeline while you are waiting for editorial to supply an EDL or XML
See the Final Cut Pro timeline before exporting an XML. Importing that XML into Resolve, grading the multi level timeline, rendering then exporting a new XML, we go back to FCP with graded pictures.
Exporting an Avid timeline as an AAF. Opening that AAF brings the media and transitions into Resolve. Grade then render the shots in a structured way so that the shots will re-link into Resolve. Grade, render then re-link back in the Avid.
New V8 Multi level timeline
Editing features/controls
Transitions and grading 2 layers
How to force conform a shot that will not re-link with material in the Media Pool
Scene cut detector

CLASS 3
NODES/PRIMARIES
Basic node operation.
The serial node, how it works /connects etc
Waveform, Vector scope and Histogram.
How to use the primary controls.
Auto Color
RGB mixer
Offsets and Pot control
Lumance controls the YUV corrector
Curves / YSFX
Soft white clip
Copying corrections.

CLASS 4 Secondary Corrections.
How to make them and why we need them to compliment your primary grade
Fixed 6 vector secondary’s, Just click on a green and change it.
Chroma light and dark
How to key using the HSL option
What the Picker + - keys do
The new V8 Secondary hue curves

Class 5
Power Windows.
Circle and Linear Power Windows.
Poly and Power Curve Windows.
Tracking
How to mix both Auto and Manual tracking.
Tracking a window off the screen.
Tracking cars and people.
How to fix broken tracks with manual interpolation.
How to animate a shape that has been tracked.
Image stabilization

Class 6
Advanced Node operation.
The Parallel node
The Layer node
Bringing colors through a wash
You want that exact original pck shot color coming through your de-saturated cool wash.
The Layer node priority explained.
Layer v Parallel nodeswhat is the difference?
Key Mixer node
See how to quickly grow a complicated node tree with the Key mixer
Combining keys to make grading faster
Breaking and joining links
PTZR repositioning in the timeline.
ALL/COL/PTZR why this is important to correctly mark our timelines when doing dynamic changes

CLASS 7
Conforming a RED film, grading then outputting.
The render page.
What formats can we render to?
Batch request and the render que.
Real time Proxies and the render cache modes.
Show wipes and key green screen
Exporting and importing stills to your session so you can compare grades and also get access to your node tree history.
Powergrades. Make your own effects library of looks that stays with you in every session.
Grouping shots to make grading easier
Playheads lets you see 4 shots on the screen together. Grade your hero shot then see how it looks and plays on the other 3 selected shots.
Versions is the easiest way of making alternative grades

CLASS 08
STEREO 3D GRADING

CLASS 09
Grading Film Digital Material.

CLASS 10
Control surfaces

[Artur Orzel]

Hi
I just finished the course fastfroward dav1001
I lerned a lot! It was easy way to switch from other software
Thanks Warren greate job!
Now I can start working with Davinci and I'm waiting for the next dav 201 or davinci in production course;)

[Christopher Barrett]

Awesome, thanks for that, Warren!

[Rob Ruffo]

Well worth $200 in the time it saved us by learning quickly - plus you're a great host/teacher Warren. THANKS!

[Gunleik Groven]

A log image is not an image, it is a container. It is designed simply to carry more relevant image data than a 10 bit image normally can by applying a non-linear gamma curve of a specific design that maximizes levels available to useful detail and minimizes the levels used by less noticeable detail.

...

But under most circumstances, LUTs are used in a DI style pipeline - in other words, they are put at the output of the base grade, not before. Putting them before defeats the entire purpose of recording in a log format in the first place.

Unsurprisingly, I guess - I wholeheartedly agree with Mike on this...

LOL

Cheers!

Gunleik

[Maxi Claudio]

Hi Warren!

Great work. I'm watching your fast forward. Just the beginning at the moment. So you may cover this in your course. Working on a long form feature, is there any technique for instance keeping a female leads facial skin tone consistent, crossing different lighting conditions? I mean other than just by eye comparison. Example, you grade a nice scene and some redness in the skin is neutralized. Maybe a bit of brightness to the skin, and a slightly lower saturation. Perfect. Now you have 70 other scenes with her and you want those facial tones to be similar. Any tips? Other than just by experience?

I can see this being important in say a "car" movie. Like the Yellow car in Transformers, or some nice red Ferrari. Different lighting conditions, different scenes, but its important for those yellows or reds to be consistent.

Thanks

Max