Should I Learn Assimilate Scratch or Davinci Resolve?

[Desmond Ford]

So I finally found two courses on color grading. One is for Davinci and the other is for Assimilate Scratch.

Which program should I learn? or both? Which one is more practical and approachable for on set color grading and creating dailies.

Yes, I already understand the price difference... Ouch!

Basically, I'm interested in eventually becoming a DIT. I already do media mgmt work on set for mostly commercials. However, I want to take my career to the next level by improving my skill set since I would ultimately like to work on features or tv.

Do many people use both?

Any thoughts or experiences are welcome...

[M Most]

So I finally found two courses on color grading. One is for Davinci and the other is for Assimilate Scratch.

Which program should I learn? or both? Which one is more practical and approachable for on set color grading and creating dailies.

Yes, I already understand the price difference... Ouch!

Basically, I'm interested in eventually becoming a DIT. I already do media mgmt work on set for mostly commercials. However, I want to take my career to the next level by improving my skill set since I would ultimately like to work on features or tv.

Do many people use both?
.

Improving your skill set has very little to do with learning where the buttons are on a specific piece of software. It has to do with learning the craft behind what the job requires. If you're looking for advice, I would say that since Resolve is free (at least in its Lite version) it represents the easiest way of beginning to learn the craft. Then, if someone wants to hire you and wants you to use something else, you can transfer those skills.

If you want to be a good technician who knows how to run a number of programs, that's one skill. If you want to be a colorist and/or understand the craft of color grading, that's a different skill.

[Patrick Tresch]

Learn Resolve. Get hired in a studio with Swatch ;)

Pat

Ps: Color science/art will be the same.

[Dermot]

Maybe kick it old skool... some thoughts from someone with a backround in art school & broadcast engineering;

get to a great art school and audit the color theory classes
read Itten's book untill your eye's cross
start by painting a 18 step grey scale, then once you have that - go on to paint a color wheel
take a marketing class focused on human responce to color
take a DP to an Art gallery with an master work, buy the tickets and coffee, get him/her talking, and sit and listen...
take a broadcast engeinering basic's course
learn all the software you can, but get one down so well it's completly invisable to you

[Desmond Ford]

Improving your skill set has very little to do with learning where the buttons are on a specific piece of software. It has to do with learning the craft behind what the job requires. If you're looking for advice, I would say that since Resolve is free (at least in its Lite version) it represents the easiest way of beginning to learn the craft. Then, if someone wants to hire you and wants you to use something else, you can transfer those skills.

If you want to be a good technician who knows how to run a number of programs, that's one skill. If you want to be a colorist and/or understand the craft of color grading, that's a different skill.

Well said and thanks for your input.

Ultimately, I do want to be a god technician as that is what so much of the DIT position demands. I am career driven. I want practical skills that I can use on a day to day basis. From what I've seen, most of the color grading done by the DITs on set is just a preliminary sketch. It's the colorist in the post production house that do the final grade or finishing. The DITs set work is usually just to give the post house something to work with...

Again, this has been my experience which is mainly in commercial work.

My goal is to be an exceptional DIT. I don't like doing anything half way. However, I do realize that a DIT is not a colorist. A DIT is a technician that does coloring among many other things. A lot of DIT jobs involve no coloring at all, just creating dailies, camera tech, media mgmt, etc...

[Desmond Ford]

Maybe kick it old skool... some thoughts from someone with a backround in art school & broadcast engineering;

get to a great art school and audit the color theory classes
read Itten's book untill your eye's cross
start by painting a 18 step grey scale, then once you have that - go on to paint a color wheel
take a marketing class focused on human responce to color
take a DP to an Art gallery with an master work, buy the tickets and coffee, get him/her talking, and sit and listen...
take a broadcast engeinering basic's course
learn all the software you can, but get one down so well it's completly invisable to you

That sounds amazing! I love your response!

However, in all honesty, I have yet to encounter on set one of these God-Like DITs. Your description, as well as others I come across on Reduser, is very different from the countless DITs that I have personally met on set in a working /professional environment. It seems like what you're referring to is the ideal DIT, which I think is awesome and something to aspire to. However, I have to keep myself grounded on what is actually possible for me to accomplish right now, as well as get me work to support myself.

Maybe I come off poorly in writing, but although I'm young, I consider myself to have a good understanding of color, beauty and art... it's the damn technology that intimidates me so much! I simply don't know where to start!

That and the fact that all the DITs I meet on set are always so secretive about what they do and, no offense, tend to be the least sociable crew on set. Maybe they're just trying to protect their job, I can understand that. Or maybe they just see me as too young or inexperienced, which I can understand too. I'm not trying to bash on DITs, it's just been one heck of a task trying to learn what they do and how they learned it.

Thanks for replying though. I promise that your comments are well taken. I will definitely look into everything you mentioned...

[Jonathon Lee]

Learn both. I use both regularly. Resolve systems range from low to very high end. Some detractors will disparage the low cost of entry for Resolve, however, to build a capable system for post finishing a Resolve system can cost 100k+ depending on what you have on your system. And... many high end post facilities still use Resolve despite what some people may think. At the very high end more facilites use Linux Resolve then Scratch... and if you can run the Mac or Windows version the linux is basically the same.

Like I said, I use and love both apps. I actually learned Scratch first. Assimilate has top notch support and the the UI is great. Both have a lot to offer. Scratch was the first app to have native R3d support so their integration is slightly better then everyone else as they have been doing it a bit longer.

- JL

[Cristian Nicolescu]

What courses did you found on Scratch? Tx

[roryhinds]

www.fxphd.com
they are the bomb!

[Desmond Ford]

What courses did you found on Scratch? Tx

I found one in February at The Edit Workshop in NYC. The instructor is Jerome Thelia. I'm going to enroll. I'll be taking a Resolve course this month instructed by Warren Eagle.