The Offset Podcast EP043: Interpreting References

You hear a lot of talk about references when it comes to color grading - but what are references? How do you interpret them to get great results? And, how can references play a role in client communication?It's these topics and more we're discussing on this installment of The Offset PodcastSpecifics discussed int his episode include:What is a reference and what is it good for?References aren’t just good for color - good for all aspects of finishingReferences as a communication toolInterrogating the client about provided referencesInspirational references vs. practical referencesReference evaluation  - color, contrast, texture, mood and focusWorking with references in your color grading appThinking volumetrically with referencesIf you liked this episode, please subscribe, like and rate it wherever you found the show. We'd also love it if you'd consider supporting the show by 'buying us a cup of virtual coffee' https://buymeacoffee.com/theoffsetpodcast 

If you have a craving for the latest, fastest and most powerful hardware and software out there - you’re not alone!  Technology lust is real, and in this episode of The Offset Podcast we’re discussing managing it. Specific topics for this episode include:Staying at or near the technological curveMeasuring desire vs real impact of new gear and softwareThe benefits of being slightly behind the bleeding edge - improvement without breaking the bankHow small improvements can scratch that upgrade itch Monitor upgradesThe underrated value of storage upgradesThe danger of ‘build it, and they will comeThe financial part of upgrades - purchasing, finance, leasing If you liked this episode check out our growing library of other episodes, and we'd love it you could take a moment to like/subscribe where ever you find the show. Also, we'd be grateful if you'd consider supporting the show by buying us 'a cup of coffee' https://buymeacoffee.com/theoffsetpodcast

In this episode of The Offset Podcast, we’re talking about relationships and their importance in the post production industry (or any industry really).  You’ve likely heard the phrase ‘it’s a relationship business’. What that means and how do you go about working on your relationships is what we’re exploring in this show.  Specifics we discuss include:What do we mean by post is a ‘relationship business’?No one is perfect, but trying to always improve relationships should be the goalUsing the concept of the ‘golden rule’ and giving people the benefit of the doubtStages of relationshipsManaging client relationships and the importance of being ‘invested’ in their successThe importance of clear expectations with clientsStewardship and ‘checking in’ with clients between projectsHow project debriefs can be a valuable tool for client relationship growthWorking with other vendors and the delicate dance with client involvementDirect replies vs reply all when it comes to working with other vendors  Using relationships with other vendors as a sales and workflow assetsThe challenges of relationships with co workers & colleaguesPutting the project first with all colleagues - even ones you don’t get along withThe importance of modesty and a positive attitude with co-workersOwning your faults/mistakes and working to rectify themHow you talk about others dramatically impacts your relationships If you like this episode please like and subscribe to the podcast wherever you find it.  Also we'd be grateful if you'd consider supporting the show by buying us a cup of virtual coffee - https://buymeacoffee.com/theoffsetpodcastWe'll be back in another two weeks!

In this episode, we’re discussing something we do pretty regularly - look setting with a client.  If you’re not familiar with look setting, it can be a vital part of the grading process.  It helps ensure that you and the client are on the same page with the creative choices and the look of a project PRIOR to grading the entire project and potentially going down the wrong path.  Look setting can be an integral part of preproduction - building monitoring LUTs or in camera look files. Or it can happen after production has wrapped but prior to the main grade starting or combination of those approaches In this episode it’s that second scenario that we’re going to be discussing.  We’ll cover developing looks for production in a future episode.  Specific topics discussed in this show include:What is look setting and while is a vital part of the finishing process?How look setting is the first part of building client confidence and important to the communication process When does looking setting happen? Making the goals of a looking setting session clear to everyone involvedStrategies to avoid going too deep in the grade while also showing off capabilities & possibilities The importance of reviewing & discussing referencesHow to pick shots and scenes to work on Building 3 to 4 looks to share with the clientLeveraging comparative toolsPresenting shot challenges without offending clients In person, asynchronous and remote streaming look sessionsMoving from a look setting session into the main gradeIf you like this episode please consider supporting the podcast by buying us 'a cup of coffee': https://buymeacoffee.com/theoffsetpodcastBig thanks as always to our sponsor Flanders Scientific for helping make these shows possible.  See you in about two weeks! 

In this episode of The Offset Podcast we’re talking about something that’s been on our mind for while - virtualization.  Specifically how virtualization can help facilitate and color and postproduction workflow.If you’re new to the subject than this episode is a good primer on the essential components of virtualization, for those of you more experienced with virtualization, we believe strongly that virtualization will continue to play a large role in our industry and over the next few years become mainstream in many post and finishing workflows.Specific topics discussed include:What is virtualization and why is it important?Local hardware mentality vs virtualizationLocal hypervisors and VMsVirtualization servers (DIY local and or Cloud Based)Key vocabulary - bare metal, pass through etcThe role of Remote Desktop/streaming and local clients in a virtualized setupWhy and how we’re experimenting with fully virtualized workflowsThe trickle down effect of virtualization is gaining steamIf you like The Offset Podcast, we’d love it if you could do us a big favor. It’d help a lot if you could like and rate the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen/watch the show.Also if you liked this show consider support the podcast by buying us a cup of coffee. - https://buymeacoffee.com/theoffsetpodcast

In this episode of The Offset Podcast we’re continuing our conversation with Cullen Kelly on color eduction.  If you missed part 1, be sure to go back to and check it out.  In this episode some of the topics we explore include:Finding the right instruction and right instructor for how you learnThe role of 'robustness’ in color educationWhy concepts trump recipes Why some practitioners aren’t great teachers and some teachers aren’t great practitionersHow to get people to ‘launch’ post instruction From  tutorials on YouTube to a building a brandThe Pros/Cons of different instruction types - in person, asynchronous, audio only etcThe responsibility of a student and how to good student The challenges of teaching the ‘soft’ side of color  - room & client management What constitutes success as an educator?Dealing with trolls and criticism as an educatorA huge thanks to Cullen for joining us these past two episodes.  You can learn more about Cullen’s courses, tools and community by visiting his YouTube channel  - www.youtube.com/cullenkellyIf you liked this episode consider supporting the show by buying us a coffee - https://buymeacoffee.com/theoffsetpodcastThanks as always to our amazing sponsor Flanders Scientific and our editor Stella!

In this episode of The Offset Podcast we’re talking about a subject that’s near and dear to us - color education.  Over the past 25 years both Joey and Robbie have written books on postproduction, authored hundreds of hours of tutorial content and spoken on color and postproduction at conferences and events all around the world.  For this episode we thought it’d be fun to have one of our favorite color educators join the show as a special guest.  Who’s that special guest? None other than the incomparable Cullen Kelly.  As a colorist Cullen’s eye is sought after by some of the biggest brands and best film makers in the world, as an educator his knowledge and easy going manner have earned him the respect of thousands around the world and even gave brith to a thriving community he manages. As a developer - first with DCTL and now OFX, Cullen is combining his love of color science and workflow all to help colorists create compelling images.   Specific topics we cover in this episode include:Cullen’s background and how his journey began with a desire to know more about colorHow being a staff colorist drastically impacted his skills and learning the craft of color gradingHow the facility experience also drove his desire to learn more about what was happening behind the scenes with image creationRewarding the passion of others by sharing knowledge and building a communityColor and post have lots of ‘lanes’ of knowledge, no one ever regrets knowledge gainedHow knowledge is tiered - you can’t learn everything all at once.  The challenges of calibrating education to your audienceThe role of principles and how they outweigh any specific toolThe challenge of teaching when the quality of footage, projects, and skillsets varyIf you liked this show consider support the podcast by buying us a cup of coffee. - https://buymeacoffee.com/theoffsetpodcastAlso be sure to like and subscribe to the show where ever you find it!

Routers, switches, IPs, MAC addresses - if those and dozens of other IT terms sound like different language to you, you're not alone!In this episode of The Offset Podcast we’re discussing essential IT vocab, devices and workflows. Of course, in a single episode there is a ton that we can’t cover, but if as a creative, IT stuff is confusing to you, than this overview will certainly help. Being conversant with IT terms is a must in modern post production. Some of the specific topics we explore in this show include:Why IT knowledge is essential on lots of levels including communicating with other people in the industryUnderstanding the role of a router and WAN vs LAN connectionsThe role of a switchIP essentials - public IP vs internal IPDHCP vs Static/Fixed IPsVLANS and their role in more complicated network structuresThe value of an IT ecosystem/product integration and a ‘single pane of glass’ approachFirewalls and their importance in VLAN setups & incoming/outgoing connectionsExploring network speed and performance options - 1GbE, 10GbE etcUnderstanding jumbo frames/MTU sizeThe role of WIFI in the professional environment Remember, if you like this episode please do us a favor and like and subscribe where ever you find it!

It’s widely known that the Blackmagic Design development team for Resolve is one of the best in the business. - coming up with great new features and squashing bugs quickly.  But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement!In this episode we take a list of 50+ feature requests and cull that down to 10 (ish), touching on things like groups, potential interface improvements, and what AI could (should) be doing in Resolve.  Of course, anytime a list of 50+ things is paired down considerably there are good feature requests that get left behind so we might have to do a part 2 on this later in the year. In this episode some of the feature requests/improvements we take a look at include:Complete revision of groups in ResolveMore AI driven utility tools - auto conform, dead pixel analysis, auto grouping etcUI improvements - UI to dock/save presets, settings, DCTLS, favorite effects, momentary full screen panelsTracking & Stabilization workflow improvements including axis weighting, predictive tracking, depth based trackingGestural support for pen and trackpad usersColor management for saved/exported stills + contact sheet/webpage exportClosed caption, & Dolby Vision/Atmos support for DCPs. DCP validationInfo pallet improvements - shot stats, corrections list, more items available for smart filteringHow to make good feature requests and bug reportsBe sure to checkout offsetpodcast.com to check out our growing library of shows as well as to submit an idea for a future episode.  If you liked this or other episodes please consider buying us a cup of coffee to support the show: coff.ee/theoffsetpodcastThanks as always to our amazing sponsor @flandersscientific for the support!

In this episode of The Offset Podcast we’re asking & discussing the question - Is HDR really taking off?At first blush, the answer is yes, but the really, the answer is decidedly more nuanced.  Specifics discussed in this episode include:HDR seems to be everywhere - streaming platforms, consumer electronics, professional gear with billions made in investmentWhile wildly available, access to HDR content is still often based on  ‘level’ of plan. Disconnect for consumers between HDR capable hardware and plansThe role the iPhone has played in helping spread HDRAlthough available & accessible, HDR is still widely weighted to the ‘higher end’.  Mid and entry level productions aren’t utilizing HDR. Why? And how can that change?The language of HDR has become conservative and very similar to SDR versions making differentiation harderA safe approach to HDR may be tied to derived downstream HDR and SDR performance.   Investment in expensive gear (reference monitoring) for what many see as niche is also a contributing factorHow to sell and consistency in selling HDR content is importantMany feel that HDR is something that is being dictated to them…but for technical not creative reasonsImportant to remember HDR technology and workflows are still relatively newStunning HDR content does exist and shows what can be done (Ian Vertovec examples)Given artists space and time to work on HDR can produce amazing resultsIf you like the show be sure to like and subscribe where ever you find The Offset Podcast