Markers

Feature Grading: Using Markers To Keep Your Sanity Part 1

July 29, 2017

Managing the elements and components on a feature film is pretty much a full time job. Dan shares his tips for using markers to stay on top of his project


Feature Grading: Using Markers To Keep Your Sanity Part 1

My Second Feature Of The Year

I’m currently grading a feature documentary which is about 98 minutes long and I can honestly say using markers has changed my life.

I’m doing the full grade AND online edit in Resolve 12.5. I would have loved to do it in 14 but when you mix beta software and feature films it’s is a quick way to get fired from a project.

The film is a mix of every format imaginable.

We range from UHD re-scans of music videos shot by David Fincher that need to be graded to match the original to home movies shot on Hi8.

The edit has also been changed about 18 times. I wish I was joking!!!

The project has taken over my life and on a couple of occasions I even had nightmares about what had to be done the following day.

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Comments

Homepage Forums Feature Grading: Using Markers To Keep Your Sanity Part 1


  • Dylan Hopkin
    Member

    Dan,

    markers and Google-docs (huge spreadsheets sometimes) are a saviour. We use them all the time too. Not only on feature films, but also TV drama.
    Although we assign colours / tasks slightly different than you have. This evolves over time.

    I´m currently grading a big-drama-series (8x45min) for Viaplay (a large player in the Scandinavian streaming market), without colour coding the bejesus out of the project during post, it would have been nearly impossible to handle as a team effort.
    There are so many people involved that need status reports. It´s all about being more effective together!

    Look forward to reading part 2, and see how things pan out for you 8.)

    Cheers

    Dylan
    Colourist, Nordisk Film ShortCut Oslo
    dylanhopkin.com


  • Sam Weller
    Member

    Hi Dan,

    I’ve been trying to use markers in Resolve on a short but find that flags are more visible in the color page as it appears clearly on each thumbnail whereas the markers seem only to be visible on the timeline (tiny little clip rectangles the way I have it). Also flagging a clip assigns the flag to all clips sharing the source footage, which defeats the object. Maybe I haven’t set things up in the color page properly. Is there a way to assign markers so that they are more easily seen on the the color page?


  • rneil@rneilphotog.com
    Guest

    Timely piece … I’m getting more into markers for both editing & color myself. Didn’t want to “take the time” before. Seems to have become one of those issues, if you don’t have the time to do it right, where are you getting the time to do it over? Forcing myself to take the time to add markers takes SO much stress and wasted time out of coming back to a project after lunch, the next day or week, or at times, the next month. So I love to see how others use them.

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