Do colorists need to know color science?
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- čas přidán 4. 07. 2023
- Color Science: Do you need to know color science? How much? When do you benefit from that knowledge?
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Cullen you've completely changed how I color. I had the hardest time learning to color when switching from Premiere to Resolve but your channel saved so much time after flubbing through so many other channels. Your explanations make so much sense and are simple. Not to mention your Voyager Pro LUT's are incredible and I use them everyday now to save me time since I know you set those LUT's up to look amazing. Thanks for all you do!
Great video. Not only informative, but also incredibly thought-provoking, sparking a curiosity to learn more.
First concept that should have been established in this conversation is color science itself.
What is color science?
If it is a specific scientific domain, which studies how color is produced and perceived, I do not see any connection between writing DCTLs and knowing color science. That is about level three.
The knowledge of Color Space Transform inner workings and what gamut actually is - this is closer to the color science. But in my eyes it is the same techincal level as knowing where to find techincal specs for Log to find its middle gray, luminance curve and gamut.
The next level of the color science for me is the deep understanding of the most simple concepts - hue, saturation, luminance. How were they invented by color scientists? How the scopes were created to represent them? What are the problems with this concepts, in which cases they do work and in which cases they don't and why?
This knoweldge can inform our grading decisions. For example, the image can feel saturated even if scopes doesn't show it. Why? How can I reproduce it? What tool should I use?
So, the next level of color science knowledge, in my eyes, is the freedom from tools and concepts implied by the program.
I was thinking about doing this question to you yesterday after watching the Toolkit live. Great timing and great content once again
is the Split Tone DCTL for sale anywhere please?
I’m interested as well!
I'm afraid that the scenario of giving a guy with a good eye a control panel and telling him to spin the knobs until it looks good- is leaving out the most important of all color science - which is the display in which you are looking at.
What color space and gamma is the correct choice?
Is it calibrated?
If it isn't calibrated, that guy with the great eye might see whites that are blue, and instinctively add yellow, because it's calibration could be off.
The monitor and calibrated display should be level one in my opinion-
and then, level 2 would be feeding the display the correct color space and hues on the input.
And not sure if making DCTLs is a colorists job at all. Seems to me it's just a bonus. Somethings like that can lead people down rabbit holes that might take time and effort from studying actual color theory and the mediums that have centuries of application. Make the story become the motivation, and not the science.
Hi Jim I think what Cullen meant by that statement was merely a rough simplification to illustrate a point ,him being someone who has constantly preached the importance of color management, I believe it’s quite clear he’s referring to how in-depth understanding of color science is not necessarily a prerequisite for being a colorist. Cheers
@@Emmanuelking Yes, I realize that. The opinion of mine is that the most important first step is knowing what coming in and what's going out. Anything done between those two things can then be determined.
@@JimRobinson-colors very apt 🦾
Cullen dropping knowledge bombs as usual! Love this channel!
very informative episode , thank you Cullen
I've a question, is there any difference in color science between films and commercials ?
Thank u so much sir♥
Hi Cullen. Quality content as always. Appreciate the work you do for free here on CZcams for us aspiring colorist.
I have a question related to the exposure chart and the middle gray cheat sheet you shared in one of your recent videos. Should I need to move middle gray of the DCTL configuration for DWG to 0.336 (like the cheat sheet says it must be on) or should I leave it on default 0.180 like I think you're doing in your videos??? Thanks in advance.
Must move to 0.336
Hello Cullen, how do you get the Split Tone DCTL like the one in the video? Is it one made by yourself?
Colour science definition. Trained as an anthropologist (the study of humans) a discipline which is neither a science nor a humanities art -but somehow both- I would define colour science thus.
The disciplined application of the observation of the way people respond to and use colour, and the professional rigorous application of tools as a creative craftsperson to make technical adjustments that achieve the aesthetic visions of the colorist and their clients to tell a story, and share the vision with an audience.
The science is embodied in the practiced ability to understand the why, as well as the how of using colour. Beyond the science is the creative craft of using colour as communicative art form, mindful of the fact that appreciation of colour is generative, and bounded by the diversity of human perception, and imagination.
Just recently, for the first time, I have been watching the tv series Mash in colour. Or should I say presented in colour. In the 1970s I watched it in colour on a black and white television. My mind generated the colour I was seeing. Not always as was intended, but surprisingly close. As best as I can figure, I had been translating luminance, and contextual and cultural queues to generate the colour I perceived in the grey scale image at that time. This hints that a key component colourists need to attend to is actually not colour or hue at all, but rather luminance. So colour science must needs also consider the negative space of the absence of colour or hue in the image, and also the idea of memory colours (culture), and contextual queues. I have seen purple bananas in real life, but most folk viewing a purple banana in a daylight scene in a cinema context would think and feel a yellow banana despite what their eyes tell them. Or they would perceive that purple banana as being a plastic or artificial toy.
Like anthropology, colour science has messy bounds. It is a disciplined craft approach, rather than a nice easily defined practice. You know it when you see it, but the definition is inherently slippery. Though one might simply describe colour science as the art of playing with light in a communicative context, with some degree of intellectual and practical rigor.
As Cullen once said, “it is the art and practice of making pretty pictures.” The science is in the understanding of what achieving that task requires.
Hey Cullen I've got a question that's not at all really related to this video but it's been on my mind for a little bit.
We have the pre and post clip, but where does timeline fit into the order of this? After post clip?
Great video, you've helped me develop my craft so much!
Yes it's correct. Group Pre-Clip, Clip, Group Post-Clip, and Timeline
Hi, Cullen
I have some questions. How can I measure my color grading level? And how should I charge for my color grading service? I hope you'll give me some sensible answer.
And thanks you.
How would one go about learning to build their own tools? Looks pretty awesome but it's hard to find anyone talking about it.
Sir are you willing to bring out your own level 1&w master class for Color science? In future
I think he has it on mixing light
So where exactly do we find out information on grade school streams?
- It's 10:00 am friday right now, and on Cullen's community part of his channel - the last post about grade school is 3 weeks old. I am not a youTuber but it seems to me that consistency on being able to find these types of things, might make it more successful.
Do you have any resources you would recommend for learning the nitty gritty technical details of color science? (besides your channel of course) I’ve found most CZcams tutorials don’t focus on this or if they do it’s on how get a specific look instead of teaching a more in depth understanding of the technical side that lets you build a look for yourself. I don’t currently have reliable access to a professional that already knows this unfortunately. But I’ve been searching for resources to move to be a more confident Level 1 and eventually Level 2 for awhile.
Iwould suggest to check demistify color by Nico Wiesender - he has a great resourse library. There are links to the books on color science, they can definetely help!
permission, for lack of a better word, to NOT know everything perfectly is valuable to a lot of people...me in particular. haha Great video as always!
you legend
I would love to start learning on how to build a DCTL for Resolve, but I don't know where to start. Do I need to learn programming language? If it's the case, which language it is ?
Kaur Hendrikson has started a video series "The Beginner's Guide to DCTL Development": czcams.com/video/1BtydnVhk14/video.html
@@BlackWinterProduction Too advanced for me...
i'm watching now
Cullen Goat
I have a analogy: You don't have to be a mechanic to be a good driver, but it's an advantage.