Log Grading

[Luis Otero]

So, it is a no brainer that mapping the the missing trackball to the un-used 4th ball in the Element panels will solve this issue... Any particular issue why this cannot be done for V9.0.1? Take it as rhetorical/sarcastic or as naive question, but my question is valid anyway.


PS: Jake, thanks for you explanation. The best I have found and understand the best so far.

[jake blackstone]

So, it is a no brainer that mapping the the missing trackball to the un-used 4th ball in the Element panels will solve this issue... Any particular issue why this cannot be done for V9.0.1? Take it as rhetorical/sarcastic or as naive question, but my question is valid anyway.


PS: Jake, thanks for you explanation. The best I have found and understand the best so far.

Frankly, there is no reason, why Log grading couldn't be correctly mapped out on ANY panel. All other grading panels, including Lustre (CP-100), FilmMaster or Baselight all use three trackballs. There is no need to re-invent the wheel. They all use right trackball for Contrast, center for Brightness/ Exposure and the left is assignable to H/M/L.
It is clearly a marketing decision by BM and as such, I don't ever see the re-mapping thing happening...
Anyone, that had used Log grading on daily basis understands what a HUGE deal this feature is and what a HUGE disappointment this marketing decision by BM to, pretty much, rendering Log grading utterly useless.

[M Most]

Frankly, there is no reason, why Log grading couldn't be correctly mapped out on ANY panel. All other grading panels, including Lustre (CP-100), FilmMaster or Baselight all use three trackballs. There is no need to re-invent the wheel. They all use right trackball for Contrast, center for Brightness/ Exposure and the left is assignable to H/M/L.
It is clearly a marketing decision by BM and as such, I don't ever see the re-mapping thing happening...

On Baselight, those are the defaults, but anything can be mapped to anything. The first thing I did was change the trackball assignments for Film Grade to Exposure on the right trackball, Contrast on the middle one, and Shadows on the left. Also on Baselight, the film grade is simply a strip and can be combined in the same layer or the same shot with a Video Grade (lift, gamma, gain). On Lustre, the selection of log grading vs. video grading is project based, so you must decide on one set of controls for the entire project. Resolve's implementation is much more like Baselight than it is like Lustre (although the YRGB vs. ACES processing selection is much like Lustre's project setting for controls......).

[jake blackstone]

On Baselight, those are the defaults, but anything can be mapped to anything. The first thing I did was change the trackball assignments for Film Grade to Exposure on the right trackball, Contrast on the middle one, and Shadows on the left. Also on Baselight, the film grade is simply a strip and can be combined in the same layer or the same shot with a Video Grade (lift, gamma, gain). On Lustre, the selection of log grading vs. video grading is project based, so you must decide on one set of controls for the entire project. Resolve's implementation is much more like Baselight than it is like Lustre (although the YRGB vs. ACES processing selection is much like Lustre's project setting for controls......).

A couple of years ago, Log grading in Lustre weren't even exposed, if the project was set as a Linear type. It would only appear, when Log project wold be selected. It had been changed around 2008 or so. Now, Log grading is available regardless of the project type selected. Swapping Exposure with Contrast control is simply a reflection of a personal taste, which Baselight allows in spades. The button line, Resolve is the only software, that I had operated, that's using four trackballs for color grading.
Should BM take this extra trackballs philosophy to it's logical conclusion, then it begs the question, why isn't there 5 trackballs on a panel? It then would be an excellent opportunity to exclude even more features for non users of the BM panel:-)

[Luis Otero]

Edited since the discussion was picked up. My mistake...

[Elsie N]

Luis, good thread!

[Luis Otero]

Thanks, Elsie. I would love to have enough discussion about this topic so I will try to compile it in a pictorial way in order to share it with this community as a draft. So, whomever that wants to contribute can add/subtract information to modify it so everyone will benefit from it.

I am personally very visual (what a strange thing for a filmaker...), and frankly I do not like very much the limited graphs the Resolve User Manual has on this area, specially being a new area introduced. The manual substantially increased in volume from the last version, but it kind of assumes that any reader already knows and masters a lot of other subjects when presenting a topic. For me, a user manual should be presented in the less technical possible way. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words... (or something like that). English is not my native language.

Cheers!


PS: I really love the new Resolve GUI. I feel it was updated from the 80's to this millennium. I still hope BMD will consider to make it as moldeable as possible, and not limited to only 1 monitor.

[Luis Otero]

Anybody else may want to share their knowledge and experience in regards of this topic (LOG grading)?

Many thanks!

[DanMoran]

I love it! I use the BMD Control Panel so I find it gives you really precise control over the image.

For example using the Lift control on a certain shot was causing the black to clump together so swapping to LOG mode allowed me to tweek the low range to just darken down the very darkest areas and keep a cleaner picture. I think I need a little more practice with the new toolset but I'm loving it so far!

D

[Luis Otero]

Hmmm.... I am loving what I am seeing when I am using this feature...!!! V9, beta 3: can we get the Element's 4th trackball to control the "Offset", please Rohit and Peter?