Explore the Creative Possibilities of Baselight’s New Chromogen Look Development Tool
Version 6 of Filmlight’s Baselight shipped with a new look development tool called Chromogen. It’s not a grading tool per se but rather a replacement for film emulation LUT tools.
In this Insight, I’ll guide you through the user interface controls, explore each of the presets and “stages” (look operators) that Chromogen ships, and deliver a mini demo of some of the stages in action.
This Insight is designed for Baselight colorists who are unfamiliar with Chromogen but want to gain more control and a deeper understanding of the look development tools they have available.
If you are working with the more limited Baselight LOOK version of the software, you won’t have access to the full functionality of the tool.
Key takeaways from this Insight
By the end of this Insight, you should understand how to:
Chromogen: Scene-Referred with a Perceptual Color Space
Chromogen is a scene-referred look development tool in Baselight that ships with 12 modifiable presets and 10 operators or “stages.”
Delve into the tool to add your own stages to the stage list to create a look that works for you. Chromogen operates in its own perceptual color space, EAB.
For a deep dive into perceptual color spaces, see the free Filmlight PDF book Color: Sense & Measurement and Daniele Siragusano’s seminar, which I’ve linked to at the bottom of this Insight.
Chromogen’s Presets Explained
Preset Name | Description |
C-001 Alternia | Basic look with a subtle saturation boost in the shadows and prominent skin tone bleaching |
C-102 Kulthea | Influenced by the C-102 Japanese look |
C-104 Vinea | Influenced by the C-104 Bipack look |
C-105 Opetera | Influenced by the C-105 Vision look |
C-401 Eternia | A novel version of a teal and orange look |
C-402 Vortis | A strong, filmic, and muted look with a minimal amount of complexity |
C-403 Ireta | An intense look with distinct color stylization |
C-404 Hydros | A colder cinematic look with intense skin tone bleaching |
C-405 Skaro | An alternative approach to a basic cinematic look |
C-406 Lithia | A look with strong color skews |
C-407 Motavia | A modern approach to a sepia look |
C-408 Botany | A strong dystopian look |
Stage Descriptions
The fundamental stages are foundational in look-building operations, while the advanced stages are only used for specific operations. Sector stages operate on only half of the color volume, centered at the sector with a roll-off.
Here is a brief description of what each stage does:
Stage Name 60320_f536b9-c2> |
Type 60320_e80c1c-18> |
Description 60320_e647fd-d3> |
Color Saturation 60320_f32fd0-8f> |
Fundamental 60320_0dd884-9e> |
This tool allows the saturation along the two-color opponent axis to be modified independently. It is influenced by the theory of color contrast adaptation. 60320_bb7990-56> |
Color Crosstalk 60320_2c3be5-07> |
Fundamental 60320_af6724-08> |
Introduces crosstalk between the red-green and blue-yellow color opponent channels. The tool is motivated by crosstalk effects in the visual cortex, like lateral inhibition. 60320_e9debf-dd> |
Highlight Bleach 60320_30b162-03> |
Fundamental 60320_3a70a2-ea> |
Applies a bleaching effect to the highlights. Most looks desaturate the highlights to give a non-uniform saturation tracking. The four ‘sides’ of the color space can be bleached independently of each other. 60320_f404b6-dc> |
Contrast Boost 60320_9d5eb8-61> |
Fundamental 60320_0b7158-a2> |
Used to apply contrast around mid-grey tones but slightly reduces the brightness of very bright colors. This gives a unique contrast boost found in many popular looks. 60320_c2ca29-ef> |
Brilliance Reduction 60320_cc15a3-3f> |
Advanced 60320_c4e253-f9> |
This tool allows a reduction of exposure of colors that are too bright for their saturations, according to reflected colors. See the CamerImage link below for more information on this topic. 60320_c1b28b-02> |
Neutral Tint 60320_2ccd06-d4> |
Advanced 60320_7c2f71-06> |
This tool allows you to tint the neutral axis. Many popular looks have a colored neutral axis, such as blue in the shadows and orange in the highlights. 60320_c9463a-39> |
Sector Brightness 60320_e71c5f-dd> |
Sector 60320_56e540-b3> |
Modifies the brightness of the selected sector. 60320_1a986f-7a> |
Sector Saturation 60320_cef0aa-4c> |
Sector 60320_f3226f-fe> |
Modifies the saturation of colors in the selected sector. 60320_cb052d-3a> |
Sector Skew 60320_e07907-4f> |
Sector 60320_6541ee-45> |
Skews or distorts the colors of the selected sector with the effect of moving them towards another color. 60320_cb08f8-2a> |
Sector Squash 60320_53e7c8-1e> |
Sector 60320_ab789e-1d> |
Squashing the sector reduces the range of colors around the central color. For example, a range of red colors would be compressed towards a single shade of red. This tool can also stretch or increase the range of colors within a sector. 60320_476b71-1c> |
Mentioned in this Insight
Related Mixing Light Insights
Questions or comments? Leave a comment!
I’m sure it’s so incredibly obvious…but if you know how to navigate back to the presets menu from the main Chromogen screen, do let me know! I hope you enjoyed it, and as always, I’m looking forward to reading your comments below.
— Luke
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