An easier way to grade log footage - Tutorial

[polaroid22]

Is there a way to automate this process in resolve. So I can save time? Also does prores benefit fromt his method?

[Steven Abrams]

No problem guys, enjoy your cameras.

Too scared to pick which images from John are OBVIOUSLY from ursa mini with that clearly problematic color science.

What a joke.

[yoclay]

Too scared to pick which images from John are OBVIOUSLY from ursa mini with that clearly problematic color science.

What a joke.

Actually Steven, I have decided to give myself a break from the hostility and general nastiness of members like yourself.
Happy Holidays to you as well.

[Rotbart]

the greatest info for me was the pivet and contrast combo. Thats great for having footage that was shot using ETTR. How would you proceed when grading footage from say a shortfilm that has all the shots overexposed by exactly 1 or 2 stops to minimize noise (i.e. BMD Film from BMPCC)? Any super convenient ways to drop the footage by 1 stop? I know of LUTcalc but would like to see different approaches inside resolve

[dermot shane]

standard flim style gradeing, like Baselight and Nucoda default to

use offset (resolve speak for exposure) contrast, pivot and saturation

make sure "use legacy curves" is turned off

trim with log shadows/ highlights

[DPStewart]

the greatest info for me was the pivet and contrast combo. Thats great for having footage that was shot using ETTR. How would you proceed when grading footage from say a shortfilm that has all the shots overexposed by exactly 1 or 2 stops to minimize noise (i.e. BMD Film from BMPCC)? Any super convenient ways to drop the footage by 1 stop? I know of LUTcalc but would like to see different approaches inside resolve

I would like to ask why this exact exposure number is so important?
Exposure on the BMPCC and BMCC is not an "exact" thing done to any "0" reference point.
Your exposure in Resolve in post is fluid and can always be set wherever you think it looks best to you for the scene at hand.
The exposure control in the Clip tab on the left is quick and easy. There is almost no instance where I set the exposure to some arbitrary value in post. I set it where I like it for that scene.
Also, while I do employ ETTR on a regular basis, I also frequently bring the exposure down to achieve the mood I wanted - lighting your scene the way you want it but a tad brighter overall is always a great way to ensure a really clean image that you know you're going to darken down in post for the desired result.

[CaptainHook]

How would you proceed when grading footage from say a shortfilm that has all the shots overexposed by exactly 1 or 2 stops to minimize noise (i.e. BMD Film from BMPCC)? Any super convenient ways to drop the footage by 1 stop? I know of LUTcalc but would like to see different approaches inside resolve

Assuming you only have ProRes footage and not RAW (so can't adjust exposure from the RAW tab), one approach is to use 2 instances of the CST (Color Space Transform) plugin.
In the first node set it up to go from your source (eg. BMDFilm for color space and gamma) into Linear XYZ. Add a second node with CST and set it to go from Linear XYZ back to BMDFilm. If you use the bypass grade option you should see no difference at this point. Now in the first node, adjust GAIN from primaries to adjust exposure (the primaries will happen after the CST plugin based on Resolves processing flow). Set the gain to 0.5 for a 1 stop exposure reduction. Set it to 0.25 for two stops reduction. Set it to 2.0 for a 1 stop increase, or 4.0 for a 2 stop increase, etc etc. For workflow reasons you might want 3 nodes and to do only gain in the 2nd node so that you can easily bypass the node for a quick on/off to confirm you like the exposure change. You may also want several "gain nodes" for extra range or precision. Eg. do 0.5 in one node for 1 stop reduction, and duplicate that node for further stops of reduction which can be easier than trying to set 0.125 as 3 stops down for example.

Although I agree with "adjust to taste/eye", the advantage to adjusting exposure this way is that it is how it works for RAW as in it's a scaler in linear light which keeps the relative scene illumination the same as you adjust and can look more natural. I also tend to think in "stops".

[Rotbart]

I would like to ask why this exact exposure number is so important?
Exposure on the BMPCC and BMCC is not an "exact" thing done to any "0" reference point.
Your exposure in Resolve in post is fluid and can always be set wherever you think it looks best to you for the scene at hand.
The exposure control in the Clip tab on the left is quick and easy. There is almost no instance where I set the exposure to some arbitrary value in post. I set it where I like it for that scene.
Also, while I do employ ETTR on a regular basis, I also frequently bring the exposure down to achieve the mood I wanted - lighting your scene the way you want it but a tad brighter overall is always a great way to ensure a really clean image that you know you're going to darken down in post for the desired result.

I asked this in preparation for a short we shot yesterday.
Now that I graded it I can totally see where you are coming from. It is not that hard to do adjust everything on a shot to shot basis.
When I lit everything on set I had the levels where I wanted them and then opened the aperture by 2 stops - so far so normal. I like to think about what I was asking for as more of an addition to a Rec709 conversion. So boom output lut boom minus 2 stops - evrything is where it's supposed to be and my editor/director has something to work with that represents my ideas from set very well.

Assuming you only have ProRes footage and not RAW (so can't adjust exposure from the RAW tab), one approach is to use 2 instances of the CST (Color Space Transform) plugin.
In the first node set it up to go from your source (eg. BMDFilm for color space and gamma) into Linear XYZ. Add a second node with CST and set it to go from Linear XYZ back to BMDFilm. If you use the bypass grade option you should see no difference at this point. Now in the first node, adjust GAIN from primaries to adjust exposure (the primaries will happen after the CST plugin based on Resolves processing flow). Set the gain to 0.5 for a 1 stop exposure reduction. Set it to 0.25 for two stops reduction. Set it to 2.0 for a 1 stop increase, or 4.0 for a 2 stop increase, etc etc. For workflow reasons you might want 3 nodes and to do only gain in the 2nd node so that you can easily bypass the node for a quick on/off to confirm you like the exposure change. You may also want several "gain nodes" for extra range or precision. Eg. do 0.5 in one node for 1 stop reduction, and duplicate that node for further stops of reduction which can be easier than trying to set 0.125 as 3 stops down for example.

Although I agree with "adjust to taste/eye", the advantage to adjusting exposure this way is that it is how it works for RAW as in it's a scaler in linear light which keeps the relative scene illumination the same as you adjust and can look more natural. I also tend to think in "stops".

I read this one day too late but thank you very very much. Much appreciated Mr Davinci wizard. Will try it asap.

[Howie Roll]

Assuming you only have ProRes footage and not RAW (so can't adjust exposure from the RAW tab), one approach is to use 2 instances of the CST (Color Space Transform) plugin.
In the first node set it up to go from your source (eg. BMDFilm for color space and gamma) into Linear XYZ. Add a second node with CST and set it to go from Linear XYZ back to BMDFilm. If you use the bypass grade option you should see no difference at this point. Now in the first node, adjust GAIN from primaries to adjust exposure (the primaries will happen after the CST plugin based on Resolves processing flow). Set the gain to 0.5 for a 1 stop exposure reduction. Set it to 0.25 for two stops reduction. Set it to 2.0 for a 1 stop increase, or 4.0 for a 2 stop increase, etc etc. For workflow reasons you might want 3 nodes and to do only gain in the 2nd node so that you can easily bypass the node for a quick on/off to confirm you like the exposure change. You may also want several "gain nodes" for extra range or precision. Eg. do 0.5 in one node for 1 stop reduction, and duplicate that node for further stops of reduction which can be easier than trying to set 0.125 as 3 stops down for example.

Although I agree with "adjust to taste/eye", the advantage to adjusting exposure this way is that it is how it works for RAW as in it's a scaler in linear light which keeps the relative scene illumination the same as you adjust and can look more natural. I also tend to think in "stops".

.....and the golden rays did shine down from the heavens. This is a great technique, thanks for sharing. Being able to push or pull non-raw footage around evenly without trying to balance the primaries or curves is huge.

[panaceabeachbum]

Incredibly concise, I like the straight to the point step by step style. I have never hit the pause button so many times in one video. best tutorials Ive watched. Thank You Please continue to post to your Youtube channel