I originally stumbled upon this thanks to i09 back in 2012, and just had to share it. In the process of updating my web site, I checked up on the project again and saw that I need to make several updates, because of anything the information has become even more relevant. The Humanae Project, originally on Tumblr but now moved to a new home at angelicadass.com, is Brazilian artist Angelica Dass’ ongoing effort to sample the skin tone of as wide a variety of people as possible, matching an average sampled value from each to a corresponding Pantone swatch. It’s deceptively simple, brilliant ..read more

I’ve been thinking a lot about HDR in the last three years, not only as a colorist who’s also taken it upon myself to try and explain why this new development is so exciting to a wider audience, but as a director who’s done three projects intended for HDR mastering who’s keen to make sure that what’s done on set gives the most efficient starting point for the eventual HDR grade. As I’ve spoken to folks about HDR, I’ve always tried to make clear that one of the things I like about how this new display technology is rolling out is that there are no rules for how it’s used. There’s no one-size-fi ..read more

A LUT is like a music loop or sample within a song, it can contribute to a grade, but it shouldn’t BE the grade. Automatic correction is like autotune, it can solve problems, but it shouldn’t be the main flavor of your grade. Plugins are like audio effects, a bit can give music texture, but too much makes it look like you’re concealing problems. If you want to practice grading as an art, and I do mean practice, you have to really put your mind and your heart into each scene, making creative decisions that blend myriad techniques together in the service of a creative goal. You need to ..read more

Now that the new DaVinci Resolve panels are announced, I wanted to weigh in on a few of my own observations, as I’ve been hands-on with them for a little while. All the normal caveats, take what I say with the appropriate grain of salt since I work with DaVinci and I’m obviously biased. In a nutshell? I think they’re really nice. The DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel next to my “maxi” panel, comparing for size But here are some specifics. The layout is, in my opinion, well thought out. I especially like that the bottom half of the Mini Panel is exactly the same as the Micro Panel, so if y ..read more

Yes, it’s been MONTHS since I’ve posted an article. Partially I figured it’d take most people this long to get through the last gigantic article I wrote on HDR, and partially it’s been because I’ve been utterly slammed this year producing the pilot for a TV show I’ve been developing to shoot in China. I’d love to tell you more, (you have no idea how much), but there have been many twists and turns, “goes” and “stops,” and I’ve been waiting to see what’s going to happen with that before saying anything more specific (you know how these things go). However, it’s come to my attenti ..read more

I suspect you know what I’m going to say, but on the premise that it’s how you say it ..read more