The Super 8 Edition – The Color Grading Sunday Newsletter

I strongly encourage you to do this, if you haven't already. I'm not asking you to do anything that I haven't done already: "If you're wondering how much to get paid for a job, what post production pay rates are in your town, or how much to pay someone to work on your production, the information can be found here.

The survey covers everyone in our industry, from executives, facility owners and hollywood's top colorists, to content creators and PAs. This is for colorists, vfx artists, editors, sound designers and audio mixers, producers, post supervisors, assistants, trainees, interns, technicians and workflow supervisors, DITs and dailies operators, and everyone else working professionally across America."

"Dehancer Colourist Awards is a worldwide competition for colour enthusiasts, created by colour experts … We accept any project that uses the Dehancer plugin and at least one film profile. Participation is FREE, without extra fees." Submissions close, 14 December.

Click through to register, 6 December, "Whether you're seeking to forge new connections, reunite with old friends and colleagues, or unwind after a busy day, we’ll be happy to see you for an evening of refreshments and talks."

"Are you a DaVinci Resolve user looking for Black Friday deals? Here’s some options to help you save some cash during the 2023 Holiday Season!"

(video) "Recorded live at the September, 2023 lacpug Meet. Colorist Ryan McNeal, CEO of RKM Studios in LA, connects some traditional art with the greater topic of Image Design. He kept it fast and loose using still references from films and talked about how color underscores the emotional state of the characters/world."

As Mr. Spok would say, fascinating: "Through identifying the components that contribute to a successful artwork — one that leads a member to choose and watch it — we can give our creative team data-driven insights to incorporate into their creative strategy, and help in their selection of which artwork to feature."

"This exclusive discount is valid from 20 to 30 November 2023 and can be applied to all first payments of Mistika VR, Boutique and Workflows subscription plans and single-use licenses."

New – Get a sneak a peek at the discounts for Mixing Light Discover+ and Premium members on products and services – often exclusive to Mixing Light!

(video) "If you've never heard of colour grading before, you need to watch this introductory lecture from professional colourist and trainer Luke Ross."

If you're running 18.6 then you'll want to update. It fixes some substantial bugs.

(video) An explanation of a critical compositing concept.

"I’ve taken [my] tests a step further and released several chatbots. They rely on the latest product from OpenAI called GPT which allows developers to easily deploy chatbots and augment their knowledge with custom datasets." He's also created chatbots for Adobe products.

(video) Demo: "The ‘RGB Split Tone Hi Lo’ and ‘RGB Split Tone Hi Mid Lo’ DCTLs offer targeted control over the RGB channels in your footage, allowing for film-like tonality in highlights, shadows, and even mid-tones. With a built-in slope function, these tools enable fine-tuned adjustments to the curve’s steepness, making it easier to emulate classic film characteristics."

Colorist Marc Weilage writes in about this story, "I’m surprised that a financial publication like Forbes would cover a story on Sony Broadcast’s new BVM-X3110 HDR display, but here it is ,.,, Note they still aren’t talking about how many dimming zones the BVM-HX3110 is using and what its specific list price is."

I'll add to Marc's comments by saying: The lack of mention of QD-OLED is quite the oversight and helps this piece feel more promotional that an in-depth exploration of current technology related to the professional display market.

Marc Weilage shares, "Kodak just announced they’re finally getting back into the Super 8 camera business, for those who really and truly want “the film look.” Unfortunately, their first camera is $5500!"

I used an online calculator to estimate the equivalent of $5500 in 1965, the year that Super8 was introduced to the masses: $578. How much did an 8mm camera cost at the time, (priced for the masses)? According to the next story in the Newsletter, under $50. So yeah, not quite 'masses' pricing this go-around.

There are great details about the history Super 8 in this 2014 article, including, "Unlike super 8, which came in a cartridge, 8mm had to be threaded into the camera. Super 8 had smaller perforations on the edges, which led to better quality and larger image size. You could load the cartridge in direct sunlight without damaging the film (loading 8mm in daylight could damage about 20 percent of the roll).

Cameras designed for use with super 8 film had faster lenses, greater zoom capacity, wider shutter openings, and could shoot in lower light. Unlike regular 8mm, the exposure system in a super 8 camera was automatic, which meant you didn’t have to adjust the setting yourself."

"This series represents your correspondent’s shameless abuse of his position to complain about things which he’d like to exist, but which, for some reason, nobody wants to sell. The first among them is a piece of lighting equipment which used to exist, but which has fallen out of favour as power levels have grown."

(video) Another Baumgartner meditation: "Hiding beneath an old and heavily discolored natural resin varnish exists a stunning Elizabethan portrait of a woman telegraphing her wealth and status. But to truly see her as she wished to be seen, we must first transform her from Ruff to Refined."