Nab 2016, Log Style Grading & sRGB/Web Deliverables

Episode 30: From The Mailbag

Mixing Light At NAB 2016, ‘FilmStyle’ Grading & sRGB Web Deliverables

Holy smokes!  Episode 30?

Yep, it’s a milestone for Team MixingLight and we want to take a moment to thank you – our loyal members – for asking some amazing questions and quizing on us topics that interest you. While we can’t get to every single MailBag suggestion, please keep your questions coming chances are it’ll make an episode!

Remember, if you have questions that you’d like to get an opinion on please use the contact form.

Your questions can be aesthetic, technical or even client related. We’d love to hear from you, and your question might make future episodes of From The MailBag.

In this MailBag episode, we first discuss what Team MixingLight is doing at NAB 2016. Next, we explore our interpretations of ‘FilmStyle’ grading, and we wrap up by exploring the sometimes messy/confusing topic of sRGB web deliverables.

Team MixingLight At NAB 2016

NAB is the SuperBowl of production & postproduction and we all have the feeling that this year at NAB is going to be special – for lots of reasons!

Once again this year Patrick, Robbie & Dan will be leading a color grading workshop as part of the Post | Production World Conference.

Now in our 5th year, this workshop continues to be one of the best attended and well-reviewed workshops of the conference.

We’ve reimagined the workshop this year, and are extremely excited to have keynote presenter Juan Salvo who will join us to discuss his role grading the VR Sundance hit ‘Giant’.

The workshop is setup so that you can come for the entire day or attend just the individual sessions that interest you most – regardless, it’s going to be a fun day!

Patrick & Robbie are also teaching many additional sessions at the conference exploring many additional color and workflow related topics.

If you are in Last Vegas for NAB please be sure to check out The Colorist Mixer.

The Colorist Mixer is an NAB event like no other.

Produced in partnership with our pals at the ICA, Tao Of Color, and CML we’re once again taking over the RockHouse Bar for a night of fun.

As a MixingLight.com or Tao Of Color member, you’ve already been notified of our pre-sale for the event, but Sunday, March 20th tickets go on sale for the general public.

Please note tickets are extremely limited.

No entry will be permitted to the event without a ticket – NO EXCEPTIONS.  If you’re going to be in Vegas and want to hang out with fellow colorists from around the world, order your ticket now!

What’s ‘FilmStyle’ Grading

Up next, we got a question from MixingLight member Pepo who asks:

I’ve been hearing a lot about so called LOG style or Filmstyle grading. Some colorists even prefer to work that way as they claim it produces cleaner images.  I’ve heard also it appeals to people that used to work with film. I’m kind of curious about this concept – what’s it all about?

Great question, Pepo!  This is a question we’ve got a couple times before but never tackled.

In Part 2 of this MailBag, we tackle this topic and how it sort of means different things to different people, and how ‘FilmStyle’ grading is just really a different approach (among many) for grading a shot.

How Do You Guys Handle sRGB Web Deliverables?

Finally, we combine two questions from members Jon & Earnest about sRGB web deliverables.

The gist of their questions is how do we handle sRGB web deliverables and how do LUTs, color management systems and monitors factor into this issue?

This is an interesting discussion and one to surely spark further discussion and debate.  We’d love to give a simple answer, but in reality, how you handle web deliverables is well…complicated depending on how much effort you want to put in and how much your client notices small differences.

As always, enjoy the MailBag and please use the comments below if you have more to add to the conversation or have other questions. 

-Team Mixing Light

Comments

Homepage › Forums › Nab 2016, Log Style Grading & sRGB/Web Deliverables

• Creator
  Discussion
• March 19, 2016 at 9:49 pm #33495
  
  Robbie Carman

  Participant

  This is the discussion thread for the Insight: Nab 2016, Log Style Grading & sRGB/Web Deliverables

• Creator
  Discussion

• 
  R.NeilHaugen

  Guest

  March 20, 2016 at 1:01 am

  “That path lies insanity … ” … oh yea. In my small shop, my clients are private end-users. Typically, the output is going to be viewed BOTH as a DVD on a TV somewhere between the pink one mentioned or a blue one … and which will be so out-of whack the entire concept of “gamma” seems irrelevant, and on that laptop with who-knows what settings. When I have to “fix” a deliverable, that adjustment layer is my friend. But … always … the start must be an accurate, properly graded file. Or there’s no hope, is there? It’s the only way to get to the “middle” of possible needs.
• 
  pepijnklijs

  Guest

  March 20, 2016 at 12:36 pm

  Hey Guys, thanks for answering my question about LOG/Filmstyle grading. Nice to hear your views.

  I think Dan’s story about Baselight is what my question was about, not so much the LOG tools in Resolve. Using exposure (offsets in Resolve) contrast, pivot and printerlights to grade a shot.

  I think what people claim when they say it’s a ”cleaner” way of working is that you don’t compress or stretch the signal when using offsets, in contrary to using lift gamma gain where you always crunch or stretch the signal.

  The thing I just find hard to understand is how to address differences in the tonal range of a shot using filmstyle grading. For example, how can you push blue into the shadows and warm up the highlights when you have no way of independently altering the shadows and highlights. I guess I’m still not fully understanding the filmstyle grading concept. (hint to Dan; show us 🙂

  Again, thanks
• 
  Jose Santos

  Guest

  March 30, 2016 at 2:15 pm

  Regarding the whole gamma shift for web derivables, can’t you just select sRGB as an output on the colormanagment tab in the project settings? The color spaces are basically the same it’s mostly a gamma shift so the reference grade monitor should have no issue representing it, right?
• 
  zemariaabreusantos

  Guest

  March 30, 2016 at 3:30 pm

  nevermind!
• 
  Robbie Carman

  Guest

  April 1, 2016 at 12:15 am

  sure if you’re in a RCM workflow. My issue currently with RCM is that you sorta have to assume what if any the implied gamma of a particular choice is if not explicitiy defined my the choice. I’m hoping that BMD will think about updading RCM to make that choice clear – this has been brought up in several other insights.
• 
  jonhowardgmx-com

  Member

  April 1, 2016 at 10:24 am

  Hi guys, sorry I have been away, so I missed this. Thanks for answering my question on sRGB. Like you guys I tend to lift the gamma on the timeline area which tends to fix things. Good to know I’m tackling this in the right way. I agree the iPad tends to be a good ref.
  Looking at your grade on different screens is the single most annoying thing about grading! You guys are amazing, I love mailbag chats.
• 
  Ross W

  Guest

  October 26, 2020 at 11:42 am

  Regarding the Log Style Grade podcast, I became familiar with this from the Colour Correction Handbook by Alexix Hurkman where he gives you a history about how it’s meant to work and why it’s there and the connection between log and actual film. He does even say they get their newbies to grade with just log controls as they’re really good for creating cinematic looks. Which I appreciate is to an extent subjective, but I think it as the controls mimic old colour timer controls that’s where it helps. But as you guys said in the podcast they were printing out to film stock. Now I use log under a film LUT, without that LUT they’re pretty challenging to use to get going. With the LUT they work really well.
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