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The Color Couch is a podcast hosted by Vincent Taylor, who works as a Senior Colorist and is based in Los Angeles. In this podcast Vincent chats with industry professionals including Colorists, Cinematographers, Directors and more. You will get a glimpse into their roles in the industry and how they got there. The conversations include some exclusive behind the scene stories and a few bad jokes from Vincent as well. Make sure to check back regularly for the latest episode. Enjoy the podcast!

ARRI have introduced a new Rec 709 LUT that seems to have gone unnoticed by some colorists because it’s not available inside of DaVinci Resolve. It gives a better representation of reality, and features several improvements over the classic ARRI K1S1 LUT that most colorists are familiar with. We have talked to Senior Colorist @Florian 'Utsi'Martin from ARRI and the designer of ARRI Look Library about the main differences. The difference The most obvious change with the new rendering is increased contrast in the shadows and midtones. Even though the contrast is stronger, the shadows are cleaner with less saturated colors which is more in line with how we perceive colors in reality. The main focus with the new LUT was to reproduce the strongest and most vivid colors in a more natural way. These colors are usually too bright and saturated because of the simple matrix often used in video rendering, and the new LUT is definitely superior compared to the classic one. Below we can see how different the concert light, the orange sweater and red strong color on the left side are reproduced with the two different rendering options. The colors are deeper and the color separation is better. The changes plays into all colors and it’s especially visible in the greens which sometimes can feel a bit artifical in video. With the new rendering, the greens appear more natural because of the cold desaturated tones that are pushed into it in combination with the decreased brightness levels. This gives the colorist a much nicer image to start working on. Skin tones also appears cleaner and more pleasant with the new video rendering. It's a very subtle change and is most noticeable in dark shots. Where to get access to the LUT? The old ARRI K1S1 LUT is now renamed to ALEXA Classic 709 and the new one is called ARRI 709 inside all ARRI cameras on the market. It can be downloaded here on Lowepost or be generated in ARRIs LUT generator. The new LUT is the default Rec709 choice in all the ARRI cameras available (AMIRA, SXT, Mini, LF and MiniLF) and colorists should have access to it to be able to recreate the exact same image that was displayed on set. Unfortunately, BlackMagic Design have not updated their LUT folder inside of Resolve so the LUT needs to be downloaded and placed in the folder manually or extracted from the metadata of a recent recorded clip. How to install the new LUT in DaVinci Resolve 1. Open DaVinci Resolve Project Settings 2. Click Color Management 3. Scroll down and click Open LUT Folder 4. Copy the LUT and click Update Lists The shots used in this post can be downloaded here.

I n this guide, world-renowned visual effects expert Lee Lanier from the learning platform Lowepost will walk you through the most common tracking types available in modern compositing applications. No single tracking type works with all shots, and as a compositor it’s important to learn which tracker works the best in each situation. 1. Transform Tracking Transform Tracking is the simples tracker available in most applications and occurs in 2D. It's able to track the X (left/right) and Y (up/down) motion of a pattern over time. This type of tracking is often called Matchmoving, as you can use it to impart motion to a new element as if it was shot with the original real-world camera. For example, if you want to add a moon to a sky of a shot where the camera has minimal movement (say a short pan, dolly, or handheld tilt), Transform Tracking is a good choice. In this shot from the Tracking Complex Surfaces in Nuke and Mocha Pro course, Transform Tracking is used to track reflections onto the visor of the helmet. Although it's often only necessary to use one track point to track one feature, you can use two track points to track two features and thus detect simple rotation and scale changes. The rotation must stay “flat” to the camera (a rotation along the camera's Z axis) and the scale changes are limited to those created when the camera zooms or changes its distance from the tracked feature. 2. Corner Pin Tracking This tracking builds upon Transform Tracking by adding three more track points for a total of four. In other words, it tracks four separate patterns over time. It's ideal for tracking anything rectangular. For example, you might track a door, window, poster, billboard, or Ipad screen. Learn more about screen replacement with corner pins in these courses for DaVinci Resolve Fusion and After Effects & Mocha Pro. Although each track point operates in 2D (in the XY directions), having a total of four points allows the tracker to detect perspective or rotational changes to the rectangular object. In the example below from the Tracking Complex Surfaces in Nuke and Mocha Pro course, Corner-pin Tracking is used to replace a logo on a jacket that rotates. Instead of imparting the tracked motion to a new element, a corner-pin tracker distorts a new element to fit the tracked rectangular object. Each corner of the new element is moved to the matching corner of the tracked rectangular object. 3. Stabilization Stabilization uses Transform Tracking to analyze camera movement, and you can use the inverted motion to stabilize the original footage. For example, if you have a hand-held shot with some minor motion, you can use stabilization to make the shot appear static. The shot above is from a course about building replacement in DaVinci Resolve Fusion, and the stabilization is used to make the rotoscoping process of the building in the background easier because it stands still. When the rotoscoping is finished, the motion is added back in. This technique is called Reverse Stabilization. 4. 3D Camera Tracking 3D Camera Tracking is the most technically complex form of tracking, although it can be easy to apply. It's designed to detect camera motion within a shot and reconstruct the camera's basic properties in 3D space. This is a suited method for any shot where the real-world camera is moving along all three axes (X, Y, and Z). For example, if you have a hand-held shot where the cameraman is walking forward, you can use this tracking method to add a new element into the shot, so that the element picks up all the complex movement created by the original camera. The new element might be a piece of 3D geometry imported from a 3D program such as Maya or 3ds Max, or a “card,” which is a 2D layer placed within 3D space. In this example from the Introduction to Visual Effects in After Effects course on Lowepost, 3D camera tracking is used to track two arrows to a tree. 5. Planar Tracking Although Planar Tracking appears similar to Corner-pin Tracking, it's much more powerful and sometimes easier to use. Planar Tracking can be done in Nuke and Mocha Pro and tracks a planar feature through space over time. Because the tracker is not concerned with corners or edges, but instead tracks the entire established feature as if it were fixed to a plane, it can accurately detect perspective and parallax changes. In fact, the corners of the feature can leave the frame or become temporarily occluded and the tracker will continue to work. For example, you might use Planar Tracking to track the road as a camera drone moves by, and then use the tracking data to distort a new road marking as seen in the Tracking Complex Surfaces in Nuke and Mocha Pro course on Lowepost. Planar Tracking also allow you to define the tracked feature by drawing one or more closed spline shapes with an arbitrary number of spline vertices for detailed control. 6. Mesh Tracking Mesh Tracking is a new style of planar tracking available in Mocha Pro. It’s an advanced Planar Tracker able to track complex organic surfaces, and it works by sub-dividing the surface to detect small motions for much more detailed control as you can see in the image below. Mesh Tracking can for example be used to detect the surface deformation of undulating clothes or rippling skin and in this particluar example to add a lip-piercing and a tattoo that moves naturally with the face expressions. It can also be used to add a logo to a flapping flag, digital makeup, help out with rotoscoping or to add a matte painting of scars and bruises as in the example above from the Tracking Complex Surfaces in Nuke and Mocha Pro training on Lowepost.

A color grading monitor is the heart of any color grading suite, and there are many options on the market. A true reference monitor with precise color reproduction is a big investment, and we will guide you through the most common models used in post-production facilities around the world. Professional color grading monitors let you evaluate the image with extreme accuracy, which is required when you have to make guarantees about the delivery. They are reliable over time and ideally equipped with useful features that make your job easier, such as advanced real-time scopes, split-screen viewing, anamorphic de-squeeze, and pixel zoom functions. 1. Flanders Scientific DM240 (24") The most acclaimed color grading monitor in the professional range is the 24-inch DM240 ($4295) from Flanders Scientific, Inc. (FSI). FSI is trusted by the colorist community for the quality of their products and are known for their excellent service and support. The 1920x1200 (HD) resolution display comes with a specialized toolset tailored for colorists. It includes a variety of video and audio analysis tools like Real-Time Customizable Multi-Color Waveform, Parade, Vector, Histogram, and multi-channel audio. It also supports advanced features such as ScopeStream, Image Flip, Second Screen Output, and many other features that can’t be found in more affordable models. In addition, it has a ton of on-set features like LiveGrade integration, zero delay mode, and DIT Look LUT functionality, which makes it shine on set as well as in the suite. The DM240 comes pre-calibrated from the factory and FSI offers free lifetime re-calibration for customers that would like to send the units to one of their service departments. It also supports AutoCal, an internal auto-calibration solution that lets you perform a fast and accurate calibration. Simply plug a supported probe directly into the monitor and the calibration is performed in one simple, fast, and unified operation without the need of any software. The probes supported for this solution are the affordable x-Rite i1d3 OEM Probe, Colorimetry Research CR100, Klein Instruments K10A, and Minolta CA310. The more affordable x-Rite is accurate enough for professional use, but the others will provide extremely accurate results. This is definitely one of the most dependable, accurate, and trustworthy reference monitors available on the market for 1920x1080 delivery. 2. Eizo CG319X (31") An alternative to the DM240 is the 31-inch CG319X ($5739) from Eizo’s CG-professional line. This is a popular model that is widely used by professional colorists working in smaller studios, and the screen is a bit larger. It displays 4096x2160, which is ideal when delivering projects in 4K and provides superb color accuracy. Eizo is generally known to create great monitors, but you need to be aware of their limitations. The built-in calibration capabilities can offer users an affordable way to get you started, but a 3rd party calibration solution like, ColourSpace or Calman, would be needed for more accurate calibrations. The feature set is limited and popular analysis tools available on professional monitors from FSI and Sony are missing. It has basic functions, such as safe area and aspects markers for checking how text, graphics, and compositions of a scene will appear in other viewing environments, and a useful zoom function that lets you confirm small details and check focus accuracy. While most professional monitors have SDI connections, it's worth nothing that the Eizo monitors have HDMI only, so make sure your output device supports HDMI. The CG319X is a reliable color-accurate 4K monitor that is widely used in professional environments, but you need to be aware of the limitations and weigh up the pros and cons. 2. Sony BVM- E251 (24") Sony has always been a significant player in the color grading monitor market, and their only alternative in this segment is the 24-inch BVM- E251 ($10,595). They have always offered highly accurate displays, consistency, and for many facilities a certain amount of brand awareness that can make some clients more comfortable. The monitor comes with limited external calibration possibilities and claims that 3D calibration is not needed. This is a debated topic, but most reports show they rarely drift and small adjustments to white and back points are all that is required. Many of the high-end color grading facilities already own one of the top of the line mastering monitors from Sony, and it can make sense to add this to their arsenal as it will offer a better perceptional match to the other models. While it offers a very limited feature set, the viewing angle for picture evaluation is exceptionally good and allows several people to sit around the monitor and evaluate the image at the same time. PROFESSIONAL HDR MONITORS The color grading monitors mentioned above are all capable of displaying standard dynamic range images, which is the current standard for video and cinema monitors. If the plan is to deliver work in HDR, you are looking at a significantly higher price range. For real HDR, you will have to invest in a monitor, like FSI’s flagship XM310K ($25,000) with 3000 nits. Eizo’s CG3146 ($30,000), and Sony’s new BVM-X310 ($30,000) are limited to 1000 nits. The most popular model in the high-end facilities today is undoubtedly Sony’s discontinued model X300, however, the FSI XM310K is a strong candidate to become the new number one in those facilities. OTHER ALTERNATIVES? To be fair, there are other professional reference monitors and brands that could be on this list, but we have narrowed it down to the most common ones. There are definitely colorists successfully working on smaller 17-inch color grading monitors in the professional range and 8-bits production monitors, but we have deliberately excluded those from the list. Many have also great success working on Asus Pro Art, LG CX 55” and other consumer alternatives. Just bear in mind that the signal processing on those screens is not necessarily at the same level as on professional monitors, functions are missing and they often have underlying issues such as noise, banding, poor screen uniformity, etc. If you go this route, be prepared to participate in the panel lottery. As the budget and scale of distribution for a project go up, there could be financial risks involved and certain requirements for the delivery, so you need to rely on your reference monitor. Good luck with your choice! By Stig Olsen Thanks to @Jason Myres for contributing to this article This post might include affiliate agreements, for full information click here.

Douglas Delaney works as a senior colorist at Technicolor in Los Angeles, and has color graded many of the most known features and drama series in the world. In his masterclass you are invited into his color suite to watch how built his grades, discuss color grade techniques, workflows and strategies that will help you become a better colorist. The course is about the art and craft of color grading and is not designed to teach the operations of a specific software. About the instructor Douglas Delaney is a world-renowned senior colorist working at Technicolor in Los Angeles. He has crafted images for many top directors and worked on blockbusters and dramas such as Captain Marvel, The Equalizer, Jumanji, The Loudest Voice, and the The Hot Zone. Who is this course designed for? Colorists COURSE OVERVIEW LESSON 01: INTRO Meet Douglas LESSON 02: COLOR SPACE JOURNEY AND FAMILY DRT Douglas talks about the color space journey in his color corrector and about the family DRT used on this show. LESSON 03: THE GRADE OF THE SHOW In this lesson Douglas talks about how he approached the color grade on this show, and the order of grade operations. LESSON 04: TIME & RIPPLING In this lesson Douglas demonstrates an effective ripple function in Baselight and discuss time management. LESSON 05: LOOK CREATION & COLOR ROOM Now it’s time to be more creative, and Douglas discuss different look creation techniques. He also share some thoughts about how to prepare for color grading sessions and to deal with conflicting interests in the color room. LESSON 06: SCOPES Douglas discuss when and why he uses the scopes. LESSON 07: INSPIRATION Thoughts on how to get inspired and keep staying on top of your game

Learn the post-production workflow necessary to get the most out of your Red camera footage. Take advantage of the incredible dynamic range in the camera and achieve superior image quality only possible with the right post-production process. This training series is designed for beginners and no post-production experience is necessary. It’s perfect for everyone involved in production or post-production including DITs, Cinematographers, Editors and Colorists. You will also get acess to the Red footage used in this course, so that you can easily follow along. Download project files About the instructor Kevin P McAuliffe is an award winning editor and visual effects creator with over 20 years of teaching and training experience. Over the past years Kevin has delivered world-class work for clients such as Warner Bros, Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox, Universal and Elevation Pictures. Who is this course designed for? Editors Colorists DITs Cinematographers COURSE OVERVIEW LESSON 01: RED PLAYER AND METADATA In this first lesson, we'll analyze and read metadata from a Red shot in Red Player. LESSON 02: COLOR SPACE AND REDCINE-X BASICS We'll look at metadata in Redcine-X. LESSON 03: PROJECT CREATION AND DECODE OPTIONS In this lesson, we'll open a project in DaVinci Resolve and set the decode options. LESSON 04: IMPORTING, BIN VIEWS AND CLIP METADATA More metadata in DaVinci Resolve. LESSON 05: NON-COLOR MANAGED RED WORKFLOW We'll go though the IPP2 non-color managed workflow in DaVinci Resolve. LESSON 06: LUT MANAGEMENT In this lesson we'll create camera LUTs and LUTs for post production with the IPP2 LUT creator in Redcine-X and look at how to optimize it for a post workflow. LESSON 07: COLOR MANAGED RED WORKFLOW Now we'll look at a color managed Red workflow in DaVinci Resolve. LESSON 08: CONVERTING THE COLOR SPACE OF DIFFERENT CAMERAS In this lesson we'll look at how to match the color space of Alexa and Red footage which is required on projects shot on different cameras. LESSON 09: BASIC COLOR GRADING We'll look at basic primary color corrections and secondary corrections such as hue shifts of specific colors, vignetting and other useful techniques. LESSON 10: WORKING WITH DATA BURN-IN In this this, we'll add data burn-in and metadata to prepare the footage for exporting. LESSON 11: EXPORTING STRINGOUT SEQUENCES Now, we'll look at the best settings for exporting clips and sequences for directors or clients. LESSON 12: EXPORTING DAILIES We'll go through a dailies workflow in DaVinci Resolve.

You have probably heard about the newcomer in the world of high-end cameras, the Z CAM? The high-quality professional camera has quickly become a real competitor to the more expensive cameras because of its up-to-8K resolution, high frame rates, modular design, and cinematic look. In this guide, we will show you how to build the Ultimate Z CAM rig! THE STARTING POINT When you buy the camera, it comes with a square camera body only and you will have to rig it out to fit your needs. The modular camera system can be customized to fit the needs of small run-and-gun productions, gimbal and drone work, or large-scale-productions with tons of accessories. Let’s look at what you need to build this little square camera module into a production-ready high-end camera! CAGE AND Z-BACK The first thing to look for is a custom-fitted camera cage. There are many reasons to add a cage such as ergonomics and protection, but the main reason is to add mounting points to customize the camera to your needs. Tilta, Kondor Blue, Nitze, 8Sinn, and several others produce cages for Z CAM, but we went for the Smallrig cage because of its versatility, mounting options, and industrial look. Smallrig also have a dedicated back module called the “Z-back,” that can be attached to the back of the main camera cage to add even more mounting holes, and nato rails to attach accessories. In addition, it's an excellent module to protect and hide cables going into the back of the camera body. MONITOR All modular cameras need an external monitor, and most users go for a 5” or a 7” size. The most popular one for the Z CAM is the Ninja V 5.2” from Atomos because it can control the key functions of the camera from the touchscreen, and acts like a Prores RAW recorder for those who don’t want to deal with a ZRAW workflow in post. For this particular rig, we went for a cheaper alternative, the Shinobi from Atomos. It lacks support for camera control, but for our use we don't find it necessary because the camera body has programmable buttons easily accessible. There are some other alternatives on the market, and two of the most popular are the SmallHD Pro Focus and Portkeys BM series. The first one is the industry standard but lacks HDMI input, so you’ll need an HDMI to SDI converter on the back of the Z CAM to make it work. The latter comes with HDMI and can control the camera, but has a noisy fan like the Atomos. It’s also worth noting that the Z CAM community is a bit annoyed by Portkeys’ absent customer support. In the 7-inch monitor range, have a look at the Swit/Osee 7, and for an even larger screen, the 9” BM090 from Flanders Scientific (FSI) is definitely worth looking into. It’s a miniaturized version of FSI's high-quality large-format monitors and is packed with useful features. HANDLES There are many handles on the market that can be attached to the camera cage, and we went for Smallrigs top handle grip with locating point for Arri because of its ergonomic and industrial design. This top handle also has mounting holes for a tilt monitor mount in front, which is important for center aligning the monitor for better balance. You can even slide it in both directions or swap the handle 180 degrees for situations that require a different grip. For additional grip, the camera cage comes with an Arri Rosette mount that can be used to attach a side handle. BATTERY SYSTEM The Z CAM body can take a small Sony NP-F series battery, but for more power, consider adding a V-mount battery. For lightweight rigs, a Micro V-mount solution such as the IDX P-Vmicro, paired with micro-batteries, e.g., the Mini V-LOK batteries from reputable Hawk-Woods is a good choice. It looks good and adds weight to the back of the camera, which is good for balancing. Hawk-Woods also have Sony-compatible batteries that are just as good and cheaper than the originals if you prefer the original NP-F built-in battery mount. Additionally, all the monitors mentioned above come with NP-F mounts, so make sure to grab a lightweight but powerful battery for your monitor too. AUDIO Even though the internal audio can be good enough in some situations, it can’t beat external audio. Internal audio often comes with excessive amounts of hiss when gained up, and the only way to get a clean audio signal from the camera is to use an external audio adapter. We choose DXA-RED from Beachtek, which comes with two phantom-powered XLR-inputs, and we connected it to our MKH 8060 Sennheiser condenser microphone. By using an adapter, the preamps in the camera can stay on low gain for best performance while the adapter does all the heavy lifting. That way we can push the gain and get high-quality audio. The DXA-RED also integrates nicely because of its industrial design, and can be mounted directly on the rods with rail blocks or installed on the side with the click-release plate it’s delivered with. The MKH 8060 from Sennheiser is the state-of-the-art shotgun microphone for cinema cameras and is an improved version of the legendary MKH 416. Even though they are quite similar in sound and reach, the MKH 8060 is a modular and shorter shotgun microphone, and therefore ideal for small camera systems like this. Its off-axis sound is not affected by any coloring and it has a lower end, which is often required by filmmakers. It can be mounted directly on the cage with a 1/4”-20 screws microphone holder or a cold shoe microphone mount. LENS AND LENS EQUIPMENT The Z CAM models come with various sensor sizes, and we have mounted an Olympus 12-40 zoom lens on the E2-M4 Micro Four Third (MFT) mount. That’s an affordable lens with incredible image quality that’s difficult to match in the same price range. The mounting system is interchangeable so that EF, M, and PL-mount lenses can be used. The lens is also equipped with a Tiltaing Mini Follow Focus attached to 15mm carbon rods from Smallrig. Remember, most non-cine lenses do not have built-in 0.8 module gearing for use with follow focus systems, so follow focus gear rings will be required. We went for cinema gears from Outlast, provided by Couto Camera for both the focus and aperture barrels, and they sit nicely on the lens without any sign of wiggle. Couto build cinema gears for every lens available at any size and ships very quickly worldwide. It’s important to know that alternative ultra-rigid gears, like aluminum, can make noise during pulls, but these are near-silent against the focus find, which is important when we have a shotgun microphone mounted on the camera. MATTE BOX AND STEP-UP-RINGS We wanted a lightweight matte box to help prevent light flares, and thus, went for Tiltas. It’s probably the smallest solution on the market and designed to be mounted directly onto the lens. However, the problem we encountered was that the matte box didn’t fit our lens because the kit only contains a small set of adapter rings (82mm, 77mm, 67mm, 72mm). Luckily, Couto came to our rescue once again and supplied us with filter threads step-up-rings that worked well with our matte box. MEDIA MANAGEMENT CFast 2.0 cards are the most common recording media for high-end cinema cameras, but unfortunately, not all of them are qualified by Z CAM. Loading unqualified media can result in dropped frames and a lack of ability to recording in certain compression ratios. Exascend and Angelbird offer qualified CFast 2.0 cards built for Z CAM, and they are known to be the most reliable high-speed cards available on the market. Additionally, you have the option to record directly to Angelbirds portable up-to-2TB SSD disks. These are super small, rugged, and fast portable devices built to fight dust, moisture, high temperatures, magnetic and x-rays, and can be connected with USB-C. CABLE MANAGEMENT Good cable management is a must, but it can be complicated to navigate through the different options. Alvin Cables is a reputable company that makes customizable cables for cinema cameras that you can consult with and buy from. We have used a 2 Pin Lomo to D-Tap to power the IDX mount, and a cable with a 2 Pin right-angled Lomo in both ends to power the DXA RED. To carry the audio signal between the DXA RED and Z CAM, we have used a 5 Pin Lemo to 3.5mm TRS mini plug, and the microphone is connected with a 3 Pin XLR male to female shielded cable. To connect the Shinobi Monitor, we have used a 0.6m straight to right-angled HDMI cable from Cerrxian. For the finishing touch, we have used a nice little camera management device called 'Sprig.' It helps organize your cables along the surfaces of the cage. We choose black 1/4-20 Sprigs, but they are also available in various colors and sizes 3/8-16. Good luck building your camera! This post might include affiliate agreements, for full information click here.

Y ou can achieve excellent results using just the software controls, but the fastest and most accurate way to color grade is with a color control surface. It’s the heart of any professional color grading suite, and here is why. CREATIVE ADVANTAGE Every aspect of the image can be adjusted with a control surface, including exposure, hue, saturation and secondaries. It has wheels, knobs, dials and buttons for everything and you can accurately fine tune any parameter. One of the most important benefits is that you can use both hands to adjust several controls simultaneously, instead of making individual adjustments on single controls, one at a time, with a mouse. This allows for creative play and exploration of hue combinations that will be extremely hard to achieve with the mouse alone. It encourages you to come up with different looks faster, and it’s a much more reliable way to get to a good result. Keeping your eyes on the image instead of clicking around on the various controls inside the software UI is also a much better way to grade. PRECISE ADJUSTMENTS The slightest exposure or hue change will have a great impact on the image and you can gain much more precise results using wheels, knobs and buttons with resistance. It’s nearly impossible to do fine-grained adjustments with the mouse. SPEED When working with a control surface over time, you will develop what is called “muscle memory”. Your hands will start to intuitively reach for the dedicated knobs, dials, buttons and wheels while your eyes stay on the image. It saves a lot of time and makes color grading a breeze. In addition, the panel layouts are editable and you can customize any physical control to your own preferences. You have every tool at your fingertips, and that’s a big time saver! THE CLIENT LOVES THE PANEL Don’t underestimate the value of an impressed client. A panel is a great looking piece of hardware, and owning one shows that you are serious about your craft. Who isn’t impressed by the look of the Tangent’s Element Panels made from precision laser-cut solid aluminum with handcrafted black metal rings from Angry Face? FIND A PANEL THAT WORKS FOR YOU There are several alternatives on the market, and the first you will probably look at is Blackmagic Design’s own panels. The big advanced panel ($30,000) will be out of reach for most colorists, and the same goes for FilmLight’s Blackboard panel. Blackmagic Design does offer low cost alternatives such as the Mini ($3000) and Micro panel ($1000), which are more affordable. These are both well-built and have the most necessary controls included, but you need to be aware that there are some limitations. The most important one is that they only work with DaVinci Resolve. If you work with a variety of applications, there are good reasons to look at Tangent’s Element panels. It’s a far more versatile and future proof control surface from the reputable company Tangent, which consists of four units: Element Tk (Triple trackerball unit), Element Bt (Button panel), Element Kb (Knobs panel) and Element Mf (Multi-function panel incl. jog wheel). It is compatible with a wide range of professional applications and plugins including all the major ones used in post-production and on-set. Recently Tangent even added support for Lightroom, Audition and are now working on support for Unreal Engine. Another good reason to consider the Element panels is that the ergonomics are excellent and your keyboard can be positioned nicely in front of the panels. That isn’t necessarily the case with the Mini panel, because it is much deeper. Also, the build quality is excellent with high-quality optical encoders, dials and buttons, which give the perfect amount of resistance. Thanks to the smart modular design of the panels, you don’t necessarily have to buy all four units. The Tk is a good choice if you want the color wheels only, and if you want a smaller board to only control some specific features such as the printer lights and keyers, the Bt and Kb might be a combination that works for you. The full set with all the four units currently sells for $3300 and some colorists even prefer to put together multiple parts of each unit and expand their set of Elements beyond just the standard four. For those who are looking for a budget alternative, Tangent also offers the smaller Wave2 that is available for only $950. The plastic chassis might turn you off, but it’s actually quite sturdy, includes all the necessary controls, and features 3 displays and a jog wheel. The big benefit with this board is that it’s highly portable and can easily be carried around to different facilities and brought on location for on-set coloring. It’s by far the best all-in-one panel on the market. Tangent also offer a very popular entry level panel called Ripple for $350 with 3 trackerballs, dials and 2x customizable buttons. One last option is the Avid Artist Color Panel ($1195), but it’s discontinued. You can still find used ones on eBay, but for now the best advice is to stay away. It requires an Ethernet port to work, which your laptop of choice might not offer. Also, many of our members have reported connectivity issues with DaVinci Resolve and the panel SDK is not updated for Apple M1 compatibility. Stig Olsen

Learn the techniques that makes you master screen replacements, regardless of the difficulty level of the shot. Lee Lanier will walk you through different approaches on a several scree shots with different challenges such as, hidden corners, screens that are our of focus, motion blur issues, hands that are obscuring the screens, missing reflections in the screen and much more. Learn to solve the most complex shots inside of DaVinci Resolve Fusion. The footage and assets used in this course is available for download. Download project files About the instructor Lee Lanier has created visual effects on numerous features films for Walt Disney Studios and PDI/DreamWorks. Lee is a world-renowned expert in the video effects field, and has written several popular high-end software books, and taught at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Hollywood. Who is this course designed for? Visual Effects Artists Compositors DaVinci Resolve Users Lessons overview L01: Introduction L02: Optimization L03: Tablet corner pin tracking L04: Chroma keying L05: Tablet - Animating new screen L06: Tablet - Merging new screen L07: Tablet - Intergrating new screen L08: Tablet - Final adjustments L09: Phone A - Chroma keying L10: Phone A - Planar tracking L11: Phone A - Merging a new screen L12: Phone A - Intergrating the screen L13: Phone A - Rotoscoping masks 1 L14: Phone B - Rotoscoping masks 2 L15: Phone A - Final screen adjustments L16: Phone A - Paint fixing L17: Phone B - Phone stabilizing L18: Phone B - Building the screen L19: Phone B - Merging the screen L20: Phone B - Making a luma mask L21: Phone B - Adding a reflection L22: Phone B - Final Adjustments Bonus 1: Monitor A - Matchmoving Bonus 2: Monitor A - Applying Data Bonus 3: Monitor A - Chroma keying Bonus 4: Monitor A - Screen integration Bonus 5: Monitor B - Planar tracking

W alter Volpatto is one of Hollywood's most successful colorist and some of his movies include Green Book, Dunkirk, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and The Hateful Eight. He primarily works in DaVinci Resolve and uses a fixed node structure that he has developed over the years. Lowepost visited Walter at Company 3 LA with our camera team to learn in detail about how he builds his grades. Download his node tree (*.drx) here.

Adobe After Effects is the industry standard for visual effects and used by millions of users all over the world. This course will teach you how to create subtle realistic effects that are needed on every production, and no prior knowledge of After Effects is required. With 37 easy-to-follow video lessons by master trainer Lee Lanier, you will learn about everything you need to get started with a career as a visual effects artist. The footage and projects files are available for download so that you can easily follow along. Download project files About the instructor Lee Lanier has created visual effects on numerous features films for Walt Disney Studios and PDI/DreamWorks. Lee is a world-renowned expert in the video effects field, and has written several popular high-end software books, and taught at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Hollywood. Who is this course designed for? After Effects beginners Compositors Finishing artists

The course is about the art and craft of Multiplaning. Multiplaning lets you to take a 2D image or video, cut it apart and arrange it in 3D space. This creates a sense of parallex, perspective change and life when combining it with a 3D camera that moves through the scene. Multiplane is sometimes called 2.5D because you have 2D card arranged in 3D space. The footage used in this course is available for download. Download project files About the instructor Lee Lanier has created visual effects on numerous features films for Walt Disney Studios and PDI/DreamWorks. Lee is a world-renowned expert in the video effects field, and has written several popular high-end software books, and taught at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Hollywood. Who is this course designed for? DaVinci Resolve users Compositors Finishing artists Lessons overview 01: Introduction 02: Setting up a project 03: Creating basic 3D scene 04: Splitting images with masks 05: Creating 3D cards 06: Arranging 3D cards 07: Adjusting the cards 08: Paint fixing the cards 09: Paint fixing in Photoshop 10: Delivery 11: Building a second 3D scene 12: Painting a mask 13: Adding a nonplanar card 14: More paint fixing in Photoshop 15: Adjusting the final card 16: Updating the camera animation 17: Merging the 3D renders 18: Adding a new phone screen 19: Final adjustments 20: Depth of field and final render