How do colorists extend the life of old computers? Becoming a Mixing Light Contributor?

July 18, 2022

This lively Office Hours answers questions on extending the life of an old computer, becoming a Contributor, and impressions of Resolve 18.

Tutorials  /  Office Hours  /  How do colorists extend the life of old computers? Becoming a Mixing Light Contributor?
Series

Office Hours – June 29

Mixing Light Contributors Joey D’Anna, Hector Berrebi, and Arthur Ditner join host Patrick Inhofer in leading a Mixing Light Office hours discussion. Today’s discussion included:

  • Are Resolve 18’s new Object Mask and Depth Matte tools a waste of time?
  • What can you do to extend the life of an old computer for color grading?
  • How do you become a Mixing Light Contributor?

Table of Contents

  • 00:00 – Introduction
  • 00:45 – Contributors discuss what they’ve recently learned that they didn’t know before
  • 01:57 – Arthur and MacOS Ventura
  • 02:57 – Hector is very disappointed with Resolve 18’s new Depth Map and Object Mask tools
  • 06:54 – Joey and Hector talk about expectations using ‘auto’ mask tools and how colorist’s expectations of those tools differ from motion graphics or VFX professionals
  • 09:33 – Hector zeros in on his criticism of the Object Mask tool
  • 11:47 – The difference between AI and Machine Learning
  • 11:19 – Discussion of the grade for Top Gun: Maverick
  • 15:45 – The colorist’s Holy Grail of machine learning tools!
  • 16:18 – Hector shares the story of a much more reliable alternative to timecode that no company was interested in implementing
  • 20:00 – Patrick shares his experience recording a demo using Blackmagic’s Cloud database, Lucidlink, and the Resolve Collaborative workflow
  • 21:49 – Member question: What can I do to extend the life of my mid-range 2013 MacPro (trashcan)?
  • 22:40 – Arthur: Manage your GPU load and display resolution
  • 25:00 – Hector uses MacVidStore.com to flash drivers for older Macs to keep them current.
  • 28:54 – Joey: Additional tips on reducing the load and increasing reliability for older CPUs using general best practices
  • 31:56 – Stefan: Should empty nodes impact performance? Does spreading three operations across three nodes reduce performance compared to doing them in one node?
  • 32:33 – Arthur: Great tips on using node caching for underpowered computers a large node trees
  • 34:45 – Hector: It’s not just GPU load you need to worry about, but CPU load as well
  • 36:45 – Joey: Creatively, is a larger node tree is often worth the slight performance hit?
  • 38:37 – Hector: Strong advice for working with Noise Reduction nodes
  • 39:28 – Stefan: As an on-set DIT with a primary concern of rendering out dailies quickly – does our advice change? Has anyone seen render caches disappearing even though no changes have been made to the footage?
  • 41:50 – The impact of your storage architecture on general system performance
  • 42:59 – Arthur: The importance of politely managing client expectations
  • 44:48 – Hector: Using an exported render at the top layer to ‘cheat’ around using the render cache
  • 46:21 – Patrick: How to troubleshoot your node tree as a source of your slow-downs
  • 47:01 – How do we help Mixing Light members become contributors?
  • 47:01 – 64:00 – Bouncing around ideas on how to help members create content for Mixing Light. Plus, how to reach out and become a member.
  • 64:18 – Conclusion

Resources mentioned in this Insight

  • MacVidStore.com – GPU and packages for flashing firmware to allow older machines to work with newer MacOS releases.
  • Speed-design.com – Cooling base for the ‘trash can’ MacPro

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Patrick Inhofer
Arthur Ditner
Hector Berrebi
Joey D'Anna
Insight # ML 1138
Type Video
Duration 64:56
Skill Level Intermediate
Skills DaVinci Resolve Hardware & Gear
Categories Depth Map Machine Learning / AI Masking and Keying
Series Office Hours

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