NoFilmSchool » colorcorrection

DaVinci Resolve Now Available on Windows Thanks to Free Public Beta

Ryan Koo — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:14:22 +0000

Just because the popular color correction software DaVinci Resolve uses a Mac monitor for its press image (at left) doesn’t mean it’s Mac only — any more. Resolve, which has a free version known fittingly as Resolve Lite, now comes in a Windows version for the first time thanks a newly-released Public Beta. If you have already purchased Resolve for Mac, the Windows version comes included, so you now have a Windows license too. (more…)

New Version of DaVinci Resolve Lite Removes Key Restrictions, Plus Here's Some Free Training

Ryan Koo — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:46:17 +0000

In July DaVinci released a free version of their $1k color correction software, Resolve (also available with a $30k control panel). Now they’ve upgraded Resolve Lite, as the free version is known, to version 8.1, also removing the two node restriction and allowing for unlimited color correction nodes (nodes are similar to layers in After Effects, though they’re generally more flexible). There are a number of other updates as well (see the press release below), but to go along with the new release, there’s also a 15-minute video tutorial from Dan Kanes, who also did a recent free REDCINE-X Pro tutorial: (more…)

Magic Bullet Quick Looks Limited: 20 Color Correction Presets Free for NoFilmSchool Readers

Ryan Koo — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 19:00:06 +0000

Red Giant’s Magic Bullet Looks is an aggressive color correction tool. For a more subtle approach, I recommend Colorista, but for dramatic results very quickly, it’s hard to beat Looks. Quick Looks Limited is, as you can guess from the name, a limited set of twenty presets from Looks — free for NFS readers! Anyone can sign up using the link at the bottom of this post, but this bundle was only available with certain purchases previously. Now it’s gratis for anyone to experiment with: (more…)

The Foundry Axes Storm Post-production Software Because of REDCINE-X PRO

Ryan Koo — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:02:19 +0000

In a hypothetical future wherein I start shooting on a RED camera, one of the first things I was planning on doing was getting The Foundry’s Storm post-production (and on-set) software. The RED folks really seemed to love it, as they were quoted on the Storm product page, and at this year’s NAB I was impressed by The Foundry’s numerous demos (some of which took place in RED’s tent). But then RED released REDCINE-X PRO this week — their own version of Storm, in a lot of ways — and now The Foundry has officially killed Storm, at a nascent version 1.04. While Storm was priced very affordably, putting it well within the range of indie filmmakers — $375 — REDCINE-X is free, and you can’t beat that. Via fxguide, here’s the official word: (more…)

Curious About High-End DaVinci Resolve Color Correction? Free Live Webinar September 8th

Ryan Koo — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 13:57:04 +0000

Ever since DaVinci released a free version of their $29,995 high-end Resolve color grading suite — and, more importantly, premiered a $995 software-only version — the color grading application has seen a drastic increase in accessibility. If you’re interested in learning how to use the program, which conveniently comes at a time when Apple has discontinued Color (which was itself the $25k program FinalTouch before Apple bought and then axed it), there’s a free 90-minute live webinar this Thursday September 8, 2011 at 10AM PDT (1PM EDT). Here’s a preview: (more…)

Red Giant Releases Magic Bullet Mojo for Final Cut Pro X, Offers a 50% Discount for All Editors

Ryan Koo — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 22:22:31 +0000

When Apple released Final Cut Pro X, they did so without giving third-party plugin developers access ahead of time; thus there’s been a shortage of add-ons for the controversial app. Red Giant Software has just released their first plugin to be ported to FCPX, and it’s one of their simpler apps, Magic Bullet Mojo. FCPX’s current architecture doesn’t support some of the more complicated functionality included in Looks or Colorista, so X editors will have to make do with the simpler interface of Mojo for the time being. As a bonus, however, Red Giant has cut the price in half for this week only, bringing it down to $49 — and the coupon code works on all platforms, not just FCPX. Here’s the program in action: (more…)

DaVinci Resolve Lite is the Free Version of a $29,995 Color Grading Suite

Ryan Koo — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:53:20 +0000

Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve is a high-end color correction suite replete with an elaborate control surface designed for professional colorists. It costs $30,000. There’s also a $1,000 software-only version that runs on Mac and Linux. And now there’s a free Mac version that retains many of the key features of its paid brethren. Here’s a demo of the color correction and impressive tracking features of Resolve in action: (more…)

Free 15-part Training on Color Grading in Final Cut Pro X

Ryan Koo — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 19:00:47 +0000

Denver Riddle from Color Grading Central has released a free 15-part tutorial on color correction in Final Cut Pro X. Apple’s controversial NLE reboot introduces a number of new features and interface elements, chief of which is the Color Board, seen in the following tutorial. Hit the full link below for all 15 parts, which in addition to streaming for free are available as downloads for $49. (more…)

Exclusive Limited-time Deal: Magic Bullet Quick Looks at a Whopping 75% Off

Ryan Koo — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 19:41:49 +0000

Regular readers know I’m a fan of Red Giant Software’s post-production plugins, as they offer a lot of value for the money (and that’s when they’re at full price). Because their tools are such a good match for DIY and indie filmmakers, this week I’ve got a special deal from the Red Giant folks: the color grading plugin Magic Bullet Quick Looks, normally $99, for only $25. 75% off. No catch. Quick Looks is a great way to get really dramatic results with just a click of the mouse. I can show you better than I can tell you: (more…)

Gamma & Density Co. Bringing $400 On-Set Color-Correction App to iPhone/iPad

Ryan Koo — Tue, 10 May 2011 14:54:06 +0000

Gamma & Density make high-end tools for DIT (Digital Imaging Technicians) such as their complex 3cP data management system. However, as more and more productions go digital, it seems to me there will be a need for a more budget-friendly DIT solution. Utilizing the iPad seems like a perfect way to allow cinematographers and directors to communicate their aesthetic intentions on-set. However, G&D’s $400 pricing seems a bit high for the indie crowd; anyone know of any alternatives? Here’s the promo video: (more…)

What is a Look Up Table (LUT), Anyway?

Guest Author — Sat, 07 May 2011 22:20:02 +0000

This is a guest post by producer/colorist Jay Friesen.

There are a lot of great tools out for grading and finishing. Cineform’s First Light has been out for a while now and Red Giant’s LUT Buddy was just released. Technicolor also released their CineStyle profile for Canon DSLRs and their documentation talks about using the included Look Up Table (LUT) in the post processing of your footage. The new Sony F3 will soon have a firmware upgrade that enables an uncompressed 4:4:4 S-LOG mode that utilizes LUTs. So, what exactly is a LUT? (more…)

Red Giant Software Releases Free Magic Bullet Colorista and LUT Buddy Plugins

Ryan Koo — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 14:03:12 +0000

Red Giant Software has released two free plugins that work in Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, and After Effects: a limited version of their great Colorista color-correction plugin, as well as a new plugin named LUT Buddy. (more…)

How to Use The Foundry's Storm to Color Correct RED Footage (Free This Week)

Ryan Koo — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:00:00 +0000

The Foundry is best known for high-end compositing tools like Nuke, but they’re set to release their latest application, Storm, on March 1st. Storm is a much-needed low-cost “RED Production Hub,” which will retail for the very reasonable price of $375 — reasonable considering it’s not only designed to help log and process the .R3D camera originals, but it’s also meant to be a post-production solution that will take RED-based edits all the way through final color correction to delivery. If you’re interested in the RAW workflow and want to play around with some .R3D files in Storm, here’s your chance — it’s in free public beta until March 1. And if you don’t have any .R3D files to work with, I’ve got you covered there as well: (more…)

Red Giant Releases ‘Rebel Epic’ Color Correction Presets for Looks

Ryan Koo — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 22:18:00 +0000

NoFilmSchool regulars know I’m a fan of Red Giant’s Magic Bullet Suite for color correction; the toolset is a great value, especially since they added Colorista II. Red Giant Creative Director Stu Maschwitz has just released a pack of looks for… well, Looks, which are focused on getting a Hollywood blockbuster look out of your footage: (more…)

Red Giant Releases Magic Bullet Suite 10; Now Includes Grinder, PhotoLooks, and Denoiser

Ryan Koo — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:13:53 +0000

Hot on the heels of releasing Colorista II, post-production plugin repository Red Giant Software has announced Magic Bullet Suite 10, which updates all previous Magic Bullet plugins to 64-bit and Adobe CS5 compatibility, now includes Colorista II, and throws in Grinder, PhotoLooks, and Denoiser. Grinder is their recent DSLR-specific transcoding application, PhotoLooks is their still version of Looks, and Denoiser is a brand new product that looks to be a valuable addition to the indie filmmaker’s toolkit. (more…)

Everything You Need to Know to Color Correct (in Colorista II)

Ryan Koo — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 17:22:53 +0000

Stu Maschwitz’s tutorial on color correction is one of the most-clicked links on this site, month after month. His very helpful tutorial was recorded for the cross-platform plugin Magic Bullet Colorista I, but the techniques he demonstrated applied to color correction in general. Now, however, Colorista II is available, and the amount of control the $299 plugin gives you is staggering. When it comes to software, however, a lot of people will sell you a product and then try to sell you training for that product — but here’s over an hour of free color correction tutorials from Stu. This is great stuff for an unbeatable price. (more…)

Magic Bullet Colorista II: the Top Cross-Platform Color Correction Tool for Indies?

Ryan Koo — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:45:32 +0000

Magic Bullet Colorista is one of the more indispensable post-production plugins in my toolbox, as it is a very high-quality primary color corrector. I like Colorista because it’s powerful, it’s easy to use, and it’s cross-platform, which means you can use the same plugin on Macs and PCs, and within Final Cut, Premiere Pro, and After Effects. However, to date Colorista hasn’t offered secondary color correction, which allows for more precise adjustments; with the release of Colorista II, Red Giant has added this missing feature — and many more.

Is 5DtoRGB the DSLR post-production solution we've been waiting for?

Ryan Koo — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:48:14 +0000

As part of today’s free Adobe workshop on HDSLR feature film workflows (I’ll update that post with a link to the archived presentation), one of the commenters brought to my attention a promising DSLR post-production plugin called 5DtoRGB.¹ I’ve called DSLR color-correction on a Mac a clustercuss, not just because of the 4:2:0 color space, but because of Quicktime gamma inconsistencies (often related to YUV to RGB conversion). Rarevision’s 5DtoRGB plugin, currently in beta, just might be the solution to these problems.

Color correcting DSLR footage on a Mac is a clustercuss

Ryan Koo — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:46:22 +0000

In Zacuto’s most recent DSLR/film comparison, one of the commenters noted that upconverting to ProRes gave much better results (than editing native h.264 footage) in post. While ProRes is definitely a better codec (in terms of color space and compression), the clip showed as a reference seemed to exhibit a perpetually-annoying gamma shift bug that applies to a lot of DSLR shooters — more specifically, anyone editing h.264 video on a Mac. When I shot some stuff on my 5D for Focus Features, I noticed that the clips looked desaturated and flat in Quicktime 7, and supersaturated and contrasty in Quicktime X (Quicktime X ships with Snow Leopard, and Quicktime 7 is an optional install). Jerome Stern at MotionLife corroborates this experience, decrying the lack of consistency when it comes to viewing and editing h.264 footage on a Mac: (more…)