COLOR  GRADING  –  ON  SET  AND  IN  POST  
 
 
 
 
B.S.  Motion  Picture  Science  –  Senior  Project  
May  22,  2014  
CHRISTOPHER  M.  BRANDS  
 
 
 
 
ADVISED  BY  DAVID  L.  LONG  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Submitted  in  partial  fulfillment  of  the  requirements    
for  the  B.S.  degree  in  the  School  of  Film  and  Animation  
Rochester  Institute  of  Technology,  Rochester,  NY  
©  2014,  Chris  Brands  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Introduction

One of the tools filmmakers use to achieve their vision is color

correction. Color correction can be an important tool that not
only makes images visually pleasing but also can change them to
affect the mood and message of a film. With the expanding world
of digital workflows, filmmakers are constantly trying to find new
ways to better develop their vision and to do it in a more effective
manor. This project will explore the aesthetic and technical sides
of color correction. Two student projects will be discussed in
detail including insight on workflow, color decisions, and the
motivation behind those decisions. The world of on set color
correction will also be explored to determine an onset workflow
for the School of Film and Animation at RIT and to determine its
usefulness in an on set environment.

I. History of Color in Cinema

 
Ever since the existence of cinema, filmmakers have been Figure  1  -­  A  still  from  "A  Trip  to  the  Moon."
working hard to explore different aesthetic options in order to
While tinting and coloring in post became somewhat popular,
better represent their vision for the screen. One tool that can
it was far from the solution in terms of creating color motion
be used by filmmakers is color. Color can be manipulated and
pictures. True, accurate, and realistic color needed to be
changed to affect mood, change perspective, and even provide
captured in camera and on set. Enter the 2 color additive
insight into the story and characters.
system, Kinemacolor. The Kinemacolor camera was actually
modified several times starting out as a three-color process
Color has actually been around since the beginning of cinema.
before downgrading to a two-color system due to fringing
It all started in the early 1900s when there were those
problems in projection. This two-color system used blue-
dedicated people who gave 110% to go in and paint their film
green and red-orange filters contained within the opening of
frame by frame. Some of those who were dedicated included
the shutter. The film was then exposed at 32 frames/s with
Thomas Edison and George Méliès. The were so dedicated
alternating exposures between the filters. The frames were
that they hired other people to do it for them, at least in the
then projected the same way essentially merging the two
case of Méliès who in 1902 had 21 women hand color his film
images (via visual integration) into what was perceived as a
“A Trip to the Moon” (Figure 1). This process got old fast
color picture (2). Besides
and it wasn’t long before tinting became the more popular way
Kinemacolor there were
to colorize your film (1). There were several different
many other systems that used
processes used to color or tint film including Pathecolor which
a 2D color space to render
Charles Pathe created in 1905. This process took different
color. These included
parts of frames that were tinted using a separate stencil to
Douglass Color, Gilmore
apply different colored dyes. This stencil was cut by an
Color, and Kesdacolor.
operator using a pantograph to trace the projected image. On
While many of these systems
the opposite end of the pantograph arm was a needle that
improved upon each other,
electronically vibrated and cut away the stencil. This was
none of them were able to
done frame-by-frame, scene-by-scene. Obviously this was not
eliminate the awful gamut
a quick or easy process either. However it became quite
created by a two-color
popular and by the early 1920s around 80-90% of films had at
system.
least some scenes tinted (2).
The reason for this awful Figure  2  –  Technicolor’s  three-­
Unfortunately for tinting enthusiasts, the introduction of sound strip  camera  (2)  
gamut is shown in Figure 3.
eliminated the use of this technique. The wavelengths of
The graph is a representation of every color that is visible by
radiation most sensitive to the sound reproducer cells were
the human eye. The black line in the center represents which
being absorbed by the dyes that were being used. This caused
colors a two-color system such as Kinemacolor can reproduce.
a loss in audio quality that was significant and unacceptable to
Since there are only two primaries the gamut is not able to
filmmakers and moviegoers alike. However, color had
cover an area beyond what this line portrays. This figure also
become important to several producers and audiences so
shows why the whites of many two colors systems appeared
companies scrambled for solutions. One substitute was
yellowish. It was determined that skin tones were the most
Kodak’s Sonochrome series released in 1929 providing 17
important color to portray accurately so this line was placed
differently colored film stocks that worked with sound and
such that skin tones would be represented correctly. However
silent films. However, by this time, color in film was moving
this usually resulted in the white point falling in a place with a
in a more advanced direction than just tinting or dying the film
yellow tint instead of being completely neutral. The reason a
(2).
three color system is such a vast improvement over a two

2    
color system is because with three primaries a triangle is able “Color is good when it is necessary. That means that
to be created which can cover a much larger gamut of colors. color [is] good where and when [it] can most fully
This larger triangle also allows for accurate skin tone express or explain what must be conveyed, said, or
reproduction while maintaining a neutral white point. elucidated at the given moment of the development of
action”(5).

Douglas Fairbanks, the director of The Black Pirate (1927)

created with a 2-color Technicolor system, stated that color
was

“always met with overwhelming objections. Not only

has the process of color motion picture photography
never been perfected, but there has been a grave
doubt whether, even if properly developed, it could
be applied, without detracting more than it added to
motion picture technic. The argument has been that
it would tire and distract the eye, take attention from
acting, and facial expression, blur, and confuse the
action. In short it has been felt that it would militate
against the simplicity and directness which motion
pictures derive from the unobtrusive black and
white.” (4)

The technology however moved forward and eventually color

  became more natural, with expanded color gamuts, more
Figure  3  -­  A  two  primary  color  gamut  is  outlined  by  the  black   accurate skin tones, and truer neutrals. However it was some
line. time before audiences adjusted to the different feel of color in
cinema. In the 30s and 40s color was used for things that were
Since the beginning of color in motion pictures, most people much more imaginative such as cartoons, musicals, and
knew that two-color systems would not produce the best color; fantasies while black and white was still used for things that
even the human visual system uses a tri-chromatic system. were deemed more realistic such as dramas, documentaries,
However it was the best they could do without sacrificing the
quality of the picture, especially in regard to sharpness. Many
three color and even four color systems were tried but it
wasn’t until 1932 that a three color system became functional
with Technicolor’s three strip camera (2).
The first feature shot with this technology (Figure 2) was
Becky Sharp released in 1935 and while there are many other
advances that happened within color, 3D color systems have
forever since been the most prominent (3).

While color has been around since the beginning of cinema,

and many technological advances have been made since, it
was not as widely used after its conception like other
developments such as sound and widescreen were. Color was
implemented slowly over time and in different ways. Many
filmmakers used color for different reasons especially due to
the psychological effects color would and does have on
audiences. In the early days of color, the color was not very Figure  4  –  The  final  scene  in  Greed  (1924)  
realistic and was therefore used for specific purposes. For
example, sometimes films would use color in just one or two and newsreels (4). Even now when we think about the time of
scenes for symbolic effect such as in Erich Von Stroheim’s black and white film we sometimes think of the world then as
film Greed (1924) where a yellow tone (Figure 4) was used in being in black and white. Edward Buscombe sums it up
the final sequence to symbolize gold (2). Others like Sergei nicely stating, “the colors we accept as real are therefore a
Eisenstein used it only for dramatic effect and were even compromise between what we are accustomed to and what
worried that color would just be another element that would used to be.” (4)
alienate film from artistic purposes. Eisenstein whose Ivan the
Terrible (1944) only had sequences in color, said, While color became more widely used as time went along, the
artistic choices on how to manipulate that color remained
limited. Colorists could change the settings on their printer

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 lights but otherwise were limited to the color reproduction that increase the creative possibilities and therefore paves the path
Kodak (or Fuji) chose to incorporate into their film stocks. for more creative and artistic films to be made. The following
That all changed in the late 1990s with the revolution of is a discussion of how some of these creative possibilities
Digital Intermediate. In 1993 Snow White and the Seven were utilized for two student projects at the Rochester Institute
Dwarfs became the first film that was entirely scanned to of Technology.
digital files, changed and manipulated (for restoration
purposes) and then recorded back out to film. In 2000 the II. James Nevada’s “From the Hard Coal”
What Digital Intermediate Was…
Coen Brothers released their film “O Brother Where Art
Thou?” It was the first full feature film to go through the SYNOPSIS: A miner named Jack
Digital Intermediate process. Essentially they scanned the and his breaker boy son Francis
film at a high resolution (2k), created data files in order to edit live and work in a small coal-
• Term originally used by Kodak in the early 90’s (CINEON)
and manipulate the color digitally, and then printed it back out mining town in the Coal Region of
• A delivery element
to film for AND aThe
distribution. process
color was adjusted with a Pennsylvania. In the wake of a
Pandora at
• Scanning MegaDef and a Kodak
the highest Lightningcreating
resolution, II recorderdata
was used murder by the town guards, the
files and
to print
output out to
to film forfilm (7). Andistribution
theatrical example of how the color
– Film was mining families rally together to
In, Digital
changed can be
Manipulation, seenOut
Film in Figure 5. decide how to respond. While most
of the miners are in favor of
violent action, Jack believes there
is another way. Conflicted between
the beliefs of his father and those
of the town, Francis must ensue on
a moral journey to realize what is
right and what is wrong. Figure  6    -­  Promotional  
poster  for  “From  the  
My involvement with “From the Hard  Coal”  
Hard Coal” (FTHC) actually started
Figure 5 – “O Brother Where Art Thou?”
O Brother, Where Art Thou – world’s first full DI feature before and after back in the spring of 2013. James Nevada, whom I had
grading.
• though the restoration of Disney’s Snow White which pre-dated it probably deserves the previously
title!
59 worked with on his film “Assumption of the Virgin
Manny,” approached me about being his colorist for his senior
Digital color correction continued to expand with the thesis. Having had a great experience working with him on
introduction of Digital Cinema cameras. George Lucas’ Star the previous project I immediately agreed.
Wars: Episode II (2002) was one of the first feature films shot
entirely on digital and helped pave the way for digital cinema In the beginning stages of pre-production I was thankful to be
cameras to be seen as legitimate options for filmmakers. able to be involved in many of the discussions and meetings
Today cameras such as the Arri Alexa, Sony F65, and Red involving the look of the film. The original plan was to shoot
Epic are commonly used for big budget features. Many of on 35mm film, which got pushed to 16mm film, which
these cameras have RAW modes, which capture images in an eventually got booted for the Sony F5. James wanted a dirty,
“unfinished” state in order to give the artist more freedom to gritty, and cool look for his film and felt that film offered the
reproduce the color as they choose. This however has created best aesthetic with which to achieve that look because of
a greater need for colorists both on set and in post who are film’s deep blacks and grittiness gained from film grain. Early
knowledgeable in the world of color science, color on the dream was to shoot on Fuji film since it had a cooler
management, and digital workflows. Much of what RAW is look to it than Kodak’s film. As pre-production went along it
and how it applies to this project will be discussed below. was determined Fuji film was impossible to get and that
Kodak would be the best option. We met with Kyle Alvut
Over time, color, which started out as a way to convey more (senior colorist at Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester,
imaginative things, evolved into something that was NY) in May 2013 to discuss the possibilities of obtaining a
considered more realistic. Now with the world of digital color good deal on film stocks, processing fees, and the possibility
correction it has come into a state where it can be manipulated of me doing the digital transfers over at Kodak Building 205.
and changed in so many ways it seems it can help convey Test shoots were also performed to determine the performance
almost anything the artist desires. Color is still evolving of Vision3 500T film specifically in low light situations. A
through different artistic techniques and through advances in still from these tests can be seen in Figure 7.
cameras and display devices. As we look forward into the
world of color correction, I think it is important to look behind As summer went along many fundraising endeavors fell short
and to note those that doubted in color and argued that it of expectations and by the time fall came the dream of
would take away from the artistic side of film. Many would shooting on film died. The decision was made to shoot on the
say the same about new advances in color correction as well as Sony F5. It was determined that its high dynamic range, low
the new technologies of digital cinema, high frame rates, 3D, noise output, and capabilities to shoot 4K gamma encoded
and special effects. However, I would argue that it is exactly slog2 would allow for enough freedom to create the desired
the opposite. Anytime a technology is developed that gives a look and feel for the film. Sony cameras also tend to have a
filmmaker more options while making a film, it can only more “cool” look to them, which matched our original desire

4    
to shoot on Fuji Film. It should be noted that while we enough dynamic range to allow us to shoot one stop over and
originally were hoping to incorporate the gritty look of film, it bring it down in post. This would enable us to get a cleaner
was decided that a noisy output from a dfigital camera did not image with less noise artifacts especially in low light
achieve the effect we wanted and therefore a camera with a situations. It was also determined that we would be shooting
low noise output was seen as ideal. in slog2 4K RAW for the Sony F5. The F5 records in a MXF
file wrapper.

Figure 7 – A still of test footage taken with Vision3 500T film

The setting of this film is in a dark, gray and dismal mining Figure 9 – Sherlock Holmes (2009) directed by Guy Ritchie, color
town. The citizens of this town are being oppressed by a by Adam Inglis
company and are therefore tired and depressed. The goal of
the look of this film was to bring the audience into this
environment and connect with the citizens of this town. As
stated above, this tone was accomplished by giving the film a
cool, gritty and dirty look. Colors such as gray, blacks,
browns, deep greens and blues were focused on. Most light
sources tried to match the color temperature of oil lamps that
many times were included in the scene. Contrast and
saturation have been adjusted accordingly to accomplish the
feel of grittiness and discouragement.

A couple stills from films that were used as inspiration for the
look of this film can be seen in Figures 8-10. Sherlock
Holmes (Figure 9) especially resonated with me as I liked how Figure 10 – October Sky (1999) directed by Joe Johnston, color
it added a bit of green into the shadows to help give it that by Mike Stanwick
dirty and gritty look.

Figure 8 – There Will Be Blood (2007) directed by Paul Thomas

Anderson, color by Gregg Garvin

For the first weekend of shooting, the F5 was rented out a

couple days in advance to ensure time to do a test shoot. The
 
Figure  11  -­  Sony F5 Test Shoot  
night of September 18, 2013 this test shoot commenced in
Studio A of SOFA (School of Film and Animation) at RIT.
Images from this test shoot can be seen in Figures 11-12.
Through testing it was determined that the camera provided

5    
  
Figure  12  -­  Sony F5 Test Shoot

The first weekend of principal photography took place from

September 20-22. I was able to have the opportunity to join
the crew on set for the first weekend of shooting and not only
was it a great experience, it proved to be useful as well. On Figure 14 – Chris Brands preparing to be an extra
set my role was primarily an advisor. Michael Harper handled
most of the DIT and Assistant Camera duties and I was able
spend most of my time giving my advice to James and his DP
Andreas Roalsvig. There were two specific situations where I
feel like I was especially helpful. One scene was being shot in
the coalmines with low light. Andreas was having trouble
getting enough light without having his aperture open too far
(which would cause to shallow of Depth of Field). I simply
suggested he move his lights closer and the problem was
solved giving him enough light for the scene (enough to shoot
1 stop over) and enough Depth of Field to grab his subject.
Another moment came when shooting in a Bed and Breakfast.
The scene was being lit very warmly with red gels. While the
light sources of the film’s time period would have come from
a flame, the look of the film had been discussed as cool and
desaturated. Before shooting commenced I brought it up and a
discussion was held and the shot was changed. Rather than
looking like it was on the fire, the room was lit much more Figure 15 – Director James Nevada on the set of FTHC
neutrally. Unrelated to color I also was given the opportunity
to be an extra in a couple scenes, which was a lot of fun for
someone who doesn’t usually get to be on set. See Figures 13-
17 for several stills from the production of FTHC.

Figure 16 – Shooting in the coal mines

Figure 13 – Shooting the gallows scene

6    
 viable option to help get my slog2 footage to a more “normal”
starting point. Another thing to consider is that the F5 does
not bake in exposure index or color temperature. All of these
things can be adjusted in Resolve after shooting by right
clicking on your footage in the media pool and clicking “Edit
Sony Codec Settings.” A box comes up with different settings
including color space, gamma, white balance, exposure, and
sharpness. For this project the chosen color space is Rec. 709
since that was the final output for screenings. Gamma was set
to slog2 and the Decode Using setting was set to clip. White
balance and exposure varies for each shot; however since most
shots were shot one stop overexposed most exposure values
will be set quite low. A screenshot of this settings box can be
seen in Figure 18.

Figure 17 – Video village

When working with a digital cinema camera it is very

important to have an understanding of the workflow to ensure
your images are managed correctly. For this project almost all
scenes were shot on the F5 capturing through an AXS
Recorder that records 4K 16-bit gamma encoded slog2 in an
MXF container. This footage was then backed up onto a
master drive and a secondary backup drive for data protection
using a program called ShotPut Pro 5. The footage was then
imported into DaVinci Resolve and exported into 1920x1080
ProRes 422 HQ with a quick technical grade for editing in Figure 18 – DaVinci Resolve “Edit Sony Codec Settings”
Avid Media Composer. VFX worked with the low-resolution
files for preliminary design and then for the final export used Figures 19-24 show examples of two grades completed for this
the un-graded high-resolution MXF files to export for color project. One of the things I learned was helpful as a colorist
correction. I as the colorist received an ALE file of the final was to choose “hero” shots for each scene that I could base the
cut from Avid Media Composer and then re-conformed the look of the scene off of. I also chose a “hero” shot for the
timeline to the high-resolution MXF files. The final video was film. Figures 19-21 show the “hero” shot we chose for this
exported from resolve and then joined together with the final film of the two main characters walking down a road in the
sound mix in Adobe Premiere. A 1920x1080 version was mining town. Several things were done to this image.
exported for screenings. The possibility of creating a 4K DCP Obviously contrast was increased and saturation was
is still being discussed. decreased. More specifically magenta was added to the keyed
out green portions of the scene such as the grass and leaves.
It is also important to note a few pickup shots were shot on the This helped it appear more dead but not colorless altogether.
Arri D-21. These were shot at a resolution of 2880 x 2160 in The brightness of the sky was brought down as well. Lastly
ArriRAW LogC and were run through s2View and green was added to the shadows and a little to the mid-tones.
ArriRawConverter to create 16-bit DPX files. This workflow It should be noted that these stills have not been properly
can be read about in detail in the “Arriflex D21 Operation and color-managed to be viewed within this paper.
Production Guidelines” document written by Alexander
Pagliaro. Since the final output will be 1920x1080 the smaller The second shot showed here (Figures 22-24) is a shot of the
resolution will not be an issue. If the 4K DCP is to be created, gallows scene. Again contrast was increased and saturation
this conform issue will have to be addressed. decreased. The greens were once again keyed out and given a
golden hue. This was done by first adding magenta and then
As of December 2013 all principal photography was wrapped adding yellow to the keyed out area. Another thing that had to
for this film. In the winter I had the opportunity to play with happen with this shot is that the main characters white shirt
some of the footage and even work with James to develop a had blown out portions but also was very blue. I ended up
preliminary look that was used for the poster. One of the using a luma key to grab his shirt and completely desaturated
things that needed to be determined before grading was how to it to make it as neutral as possible.
take the slog2 footage and change it into something that is
presentable. Davinci Resolve, which is the chosen grading
program for this project has a 1D LUT called “Sony slog2 to
Rec 709.” I chose to not use this option as I felt it allowed me
more freedom in my grade to start with the flat look. However
if a time crunch were to have happened it would have been a

7    
Figure 19 – Sample still from FTHC before grading (slog2)
Figure 22 - Sample still from FTHC before grading (slog2)

 
Figure 20 – Sample still graded to a “normal” look
 
Figure 23 – Sample still graded to a “normal” look

Figure 21 – Sample still from FTHC after grading

“Hero” shots were graded for each scene. This not only
allowed us to establish a look for each scene but also allowed Figure 24 - Sample still from FTHC after grading
me as a colorist to have a head start before picture lock. Two
of the main corrections that we kept fairly consistent Upon finishing this film we had a couple issues. The main
throughout the movie was to add a touch of green to the issue we had was that when exporting from Resolve an
shadows and desaturating the shadows and highlights more so incredible amount of banding was being applied to the image.
than the midtones. We also did our best to keep the entire film In order to fix this a very light random noise/grain filter was
as dark as possible while maintaining a desired amount of applied to the entire film to confuse the compression
contrast. algorithms creating the banding effect. The other issue we had
was that when applying this filter, some of the framing got
Reflecting on grading this film, I really enjoyed grading slog2. resized, particular the D21 footage, which had a 4:3 aspect
After adding contrast back into the image, hardly any color ratio. These images got cropped and stretched and
had to be added and it gave out accurate color reproduction. unfortunately were not correct in the screening of the film here
This allowed for a lot of flexibility in color decisions. at SoFA. However this is an easy fix for future screenings.

8    
 III. Austin Williams’ “Preis" look. We wanted to give the forest scenes of the boys playing
almost a dream world type look. Therefore we made these a
golden hue. We kept the rest of the film warm to generally
match that style however it was scaled back a bit in order to
keep a distinction between the real world and the dream world.

Originally we actually wanted it to have a very subtle

cool/cyan look. Austin wanted to set a serious yet playful
mood. One of our inspirations for this look can be seen in
some stills from The Shins’ music video “It’s Only Life” in
Figures 25-27. The video can also be viewed at
https://vimeo.com/56004497. However once we got to post
production it was determined that this look was not going to
be possible. Since shooting took place in January, many of the
SYNOPSIS: For over a year Dean has been playing an shots had no color to pull from and much of the grass and
“imaginary friend” for his younger brother Scott. After plant life was dead. Therefore the golden look was opted for
realizing that his brother confides too much in the creature, instead. THE LOOK
Dean decides that he may have to break off the fantasy sooner “The Shins – It’s Only Life”  by  Hiro Murai
THE LOOK
than expected. “The Shins – It’s Only Life”  by  Hiro Murai

The process of Austin’s film has been very different from that
of James’ film. Back in the spring of 2013 Austin asked me to
be his colorist and I agreed. Having seen some of his past
films and enjoying them, I was excited to get to work with
him. His proposal was accepted in the spring. However he
decided to change his story and his script and resubmitted in
the fall. Unfortunately unlike James’ film I have not had
much of a chance to be involved with pre-production. Figure 25 – Still from “It’s Only Life” – The Shins

The choice of camera changed every time I talked to him.

Austin originally planned to shoot BlackMagic, then he was
going to shoot Canon C300; the Panasonic GH2 got brought
up, then he decided to go with the RED One MX Camera
before finally settling back on the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema
Camera. As far as I am aware this choice was made solely on
the basis of cost. I do not think this was the correct camera for
this production, at least not in the way it was shot. One issue
with it was that the dynamic range of the camera could not
Figure 26 – Still from “It’s Only Life” – The Shins
handle many of the outdoor scenes that it was used for. This
isn’t entirely on fault of the camera as they could have done a
better job of using flags on set to avoid clipping highlights.
Another issue was its color reproduction. BlackMagic
cameras are well known to have IR spill onto their sensors.
This was the case in many shots and resulted in inconsistent
and inaccurate color reproduction.

“Preis” was shot in the Atlanta, GA area from January 14-20th.

It was shot in 1920x1080 in the CinemaDNG RAW format.
Another issue that occurred was that the cold weather caused Figure 27 – Still from “It’s Only Life” – The Shins
the storage media to malfunction, which resulted in corrupted
frames. This issue was fixed in post by Michael Harper who Similar to James’ film, once shooting was completed I asked
was able to duplicate existing frames to fill in the gaps, but for “hero” shots from each scene. These “hero” shots became
because of this error I ended up grading ProRes files as the base look for each scene. The shot below (Figures 28-29)
opposed to the original CinemaDNG files. I do however was our “hero” shot for the film. Achieving the look for this
believe that all of these issues could have been avoided with film was much simpler than it was for James’ film. I basically
better pre-production planning and camera testing. graded the scene back to normal, which involved adding some
contrast and adding color back in by boosting the saturation,
The look of Austin’s film was much less stylized than that of and then I added some warmth to the scene mainly in the
James’. With “Preis” we went for a high contrast “golden” highlights and midtones.

9    
    
Figure  28  –  Still  from  Preis  before  grading  (RAW) Figure  31  –  Sample  still  graded  to  a  “normal”  look

 
Figure  29  –  Still  from  Preis  after  grading  
Figure  32  -­  Sample  still  with  green  added  to  the  grass  
The scene that gave me the most trouble was the scene of the
soccer game. As stated above the grass was very dead so it
took a bit of effort to add some green back into it. There was
also an issue with the IR spill. I couldn’t just add saturation to
the whole shot in order to get color into the grass because
doing so caused the jerseys the boys were wearing to glow this
weird orange color. These jerseys were actually a darker red
in real life but reproduced as a glowing orange in post-
production. Therefore not only did I have to key out the grass
but I had to key out the jerseys in every shot as well (Figures
30-33).

 
Figure  33  -­  Sample  still  with  the  final  grade

Despite not enjoying the feel of BlackMagic RAW and how it

graded, I did value the experience of working on this film.
While not everything went smoothly, I learned a lot about how
to handle different situations and shots. It was also my first
opportunity to work with BlackMagic footage, and while I
didn’t enjoy grading it like I did slog2, I did value the
experience of getting to work with it.

 
Figure  30  –  Still  from  Preis  before  grading  (RAW)

 
10  
 IV. Introduction to On Set Color Correction software to set looks. These looks are baked in for
deliverables like DVDs and QuickTimes for at home viewing.
Filmmakers have always desired to see their images as quickly They also save the ASC CDL (this is described below in the
as possible. Quickly identifying and fixing mistakes on set is section Saving the Grade) information of the grade in an Avid
a very important part of the movie making process. On the ALE, which along with the MXF media gets sent to the
other end of the workflow process, those in the industry are editorial team. An ALE is a list of metadata for each shot in
constantly trying to find ways to increase efficiency and speed the camera and it includes varies information such as the
in the post-production process. While dailies have typically camera roll and shoot date. Essentially Technicolor puts the
been the best way to identify mistakes during production, ASC CDL information into the Avid metadata. They are then
times are changing. With the switch to digital, images can be able to export an EDL (Edit Decision List), ALE, or XML
viewed not just through the viewfinder but also on monitors from Avid and then use a program such as Resolve or
and screens that the director, producer and even crewmembers Baselight to import that data.
can look at. These images, however, are not always that
accurate to the final look of the film. Those shooting on new Another system out there is FilmLight’s FLIP (Figure 34).
digital cinema cameras typically shoot in RAW formats that The FLIP is an on-set color visualization system. It uses a
are flat, desaturated and require color grading to create a system that can be battery powered and saves the color
satisfactory and pleasant image. While dailies are still a decisions in a Baselight Grade File (BLG) so these decisions
successful tactic, many are expanding on this by adding on set can be the foundation for the final grade.
color correction into their workflow. On set color correction
allows quick color adjustments to be made to the image by the “FLIP is a real-time image processor which applies lookup
cinematographer or colorist allowing them and others to see tables, grades and filter effects to the live output of your
the image in a way much closer to how it will actually look on camera while you are shooting on set. Inserted directly in the
the silver screen. Another advantage to on set color correction single or dual-link HD-SDI feed between camera and monitor,
is that the color decisions made on set are able to be saved and it utilises GPU accelerated hardware combined with Baselight
kept as a starting point for the colorist in post-production. grading and Truelight 3D LUT technology to apply looks to
While on set color correction brings great possibilities, many your raw footage so you can see exactly what the final grade
choose to avoid it. Adding another on set task can slow up is going to look like in post.” –FilmLight
production, especially when everyone can see the image and
wants to play colorist. In this project I will explore the world
of on set color correction by building an on set suite for the
Arri D21 Digital Cinema Camera. This suite will be built with
SOFA students and a SOFA workflow in mind with the hopes
of future students being able to utilize its features.

V. Why RAW

Before continuing on it is important to take a minute to

understand what RAW really is and what are its benefits in
color correction. RAW in its truest definition means that no
image processing has been done to the image after it has been Figure 35 – FLIP Workflow
captured by the camera’s sensor. This results in an image file
that has a linear relationship of exposure to code value. The Gamma & Density also has an on set system they released at
benefits of this from a color correction stand point is that it NAB 2011. Their system is a product called Image Control.
allows the colorist to make many of the image processing The idea is similar to the FLIP system except it is entirely
decisions as opposed to the camera manufacturer doing it for integrated into an iPad app.
them. While this can be more work and is much more time
consuming, it allows for much more flexibility and creative
space in the color correction process. Many cameras offer
RAW modes (such as Sony’s slog2). These modes are not
true linear RAW but instead offer minimal image processing.
Usually this image processing is something determined by the
manufacture to allow the user a better starting point than full
RAW but still enough flexibility to be creative in the color
correction process.

VI. What Already Exists

There are currently several on set color correction systems

already out there. Technicolor’s On Location Services Figure  34  –  FilmLight  FLIP  System  
department has a system that uses Colorfont’s On Set Dailies

 
11  
 with the DMAG Recorder via an Ethernet network in order to
control the DMAGREMOTE GUI. This is a useful tool not
only to hit record on, but also to apply metadata to your shots.
While interfaced with the DMAGREMOTE a laptop can also
mount the drive via a Samba connection. More on each of
these can be read about in the “Arriflex D21 Operation and
Production Guidelines” document written by Alexander
Pagliaro. Being able to connect to both of these tools at once
allows for the quick transfer of a D21 file onto a laptop. After
shooting and applying metadata the mounted drive can be
accessed and one or more frames can be simply dragged off
the DMAG and into a folder of the user’s choice.

When shooting the D21 in its gamma-encoded logC ArriRAW

  format, the files do not come off the camera ready to go. If
Figure  36  -­  Image Control iPad Screenshot you shoot ARRIRAW on the D21 and record to an S.Two
DFR2K DMAG the files are wrapped in a proprietary S.Two
DPX file. Therefore these files must be converted its original
DPX wrapping using the S.TwoView utility. This results in
an .ari file, which must then be processed using a program
provided by Arri called ArriRawConverter (ARC). Much like
the previously discussed F5, decisions must be made about
exposure index, white balance, and color encoding when
processing these images. ARC gives you the option of
exporting your files as TIF, 10-bit or 16-bit DPX, or JPEG.
There are also two versions of ARC, the user-friendly program
with a built in interface as well as a command line program.
A visual representation of this workflow can be seen in Figure
38.

While this is the normal workflow for the D21, it is not very
efficient on set. Early tests showed that this took at minimum
Figure 37 – Image Control iPad Screenshot 5 minutes to run and to have a graded image. The goal
therefore was to find another way to have a gradable file that
“Image Control works by grading still frames of motion would replicate that which would be graded in post. This file
footage on the iPad in a calibrated screen environment, and however, needed to be created in a user friendly way as
then exporting those color corrections to post using our quickly as possible.
effective and industry accepted 3cP Reports. The Reports
include a file of the actual LUT or CDL that was created in
Image Control.” –Gamma & Density

VII. SOFA System – The Goal

The goal for my system was quite simple. I wanted to have a

working system that allowed SOFA students to color correct
on set using the Arri D21 and Sony FS700 cameras while
shooting in their RAW modes. I wanted to be able to give the
user basic color wheel functionality including lift, gamma,
gain, hue shift, and saturation controls. It needed to be able to
work fast enough to be useful on an on set situation and these
corrections needed to be able to be saved for later use in post-
production. While this goal was not reached for the Sony
FS700 (mostly due to a lack of equipment) the sections below
outlines how I was able to satisfy these goals for the Arri D21.
Figure 38 – D21 Traditional Workflow
VIII. The Arriflex D21

The first step in developing this system is understanding the

workflow for a digital cinema camera like the Arri D21.
Normally when shooting with the D21, a laptop will interface

 
12  
 IX. The Sony FS700 XI. The On Set Workflow

One of the more popular cameras in SOFA Cage right now is After much trial and error a workflow was developed for the
the Sony FS700. As stated above an on set workflow was not system. This workflow can be seen in Figure 42. The central
developed for this camera as part of this project. The Cage part of this finalized workflow is a program called
updated one of these cameras in January 2014 to be able to D21Convert. This is a program that has been created as a
shoot 4k RAW (slog). However a recorder is not available for substitute of both S2view and ARC. The ins and outs of this
it at the cage. If one wishes to develop an on set workflow for program are detailed in the next section. In essence the
this camera in the future, a recorder will have to be obtained. finalized workflow requires a frame to be extracted from the
Dmag, run through D21Convert, and then inputted into
Resolve. An ASC CDL can be exported from Resolve once
an on set session is complete to save corrections for later use.
This process is outlined in detail in the section titled Saving
the Grade. If the on set colorist is well organized and learned
in the system the time from capture to having a graded image
should be able to be kept to about two minutes.

Figure 39 – Sony FS700

X. Early Attempts and Failed Possibilities

One possible solution that was explored early on in the project

was the option of using DaVinci Resolve 10’s live grade
feature. This is a great option because it allows the user to
connect the camera to the computer via a decklink or video  
Figure  42  –  On  Set  Color  Correction  Workflow
interface. Then within Resolve you can see the live feed of
the camera, make corrections, and even save these corrections
XII. D21Convert
to an ASC CDL. Unfortunately the Decklink or Video
interface required to make this work costs upwards of $500
As stated above a solution was needed to be able to have a
and is not a reasonable solution for students in SOFA.
gradable file that will replicate that which will be graded in
post. This file however, needed to be created as quickly and
in the most user friendly way possible. D21Convert is a
combination of several different steps combined into one user-
friendly software that solves this problem. The overall
workflow of the program can be seen in Figure 43.

The first step in D21Convert is to run a program called DPX

Convert created by former RIT student Glenn Sweeney. DPX
Convert is a command line program that writes a TIFF from
  the original DPX encoded logC file. The TIFF that it writes
Figure  40 – Blackmagic design video interface
out contains the raw data off of the camera sensor. Even
though the D21 shoots in RAW, the camera still contains some
onboard processing that affects the image after it is captured
by the sensor. This includes noise correction and white
balance that is baked into the digital counts. More specifically
Arri adds a floor of 16 to help with its noise statistics. These
images are also created much like those on any camera, in a
mosaic pattern. Each pixel represents a red, green, or blue
Bayer filtered pixel. These are then white balanced to be
equal for a white point. For the D21 the resulting digital
Figure 41 – Decklink counts are directly proportional to the sensor’s response to the

 
13  
photons multiplied by the white balance coefficients. Since and compared to the images being spit out by DPX Convert.
the D21 contains a CMOS sensor these are linear responses. It was at this point in the process that it became clear that the
In other words what DPX Convert is spitting out is a mosaiced newest and only available version of ARC has a flaw when
12-bit linear image with a black level offset included. This is working with D21 footage. While the D21 footage bakes in
a 12-bit image that is upper packed into a 16-bit image. its color temperature, Arri’s newer camera the Alexa does not.
ARC has been built for the Alexa and therefore gives no
Once this image is calculated, the logC curve is then applied option to not apply a color temperature change. A series of
to the image. This curve varies based on exposure index, guess and check tests were run to determine the color
which is one of the reasons D21Convert asks the user for an temperature and tint setting that would yield the least amount
input of EI. These LUT’s are available for public use and can of additional image processing done by ARC. These tests
be found on Arri’s website. showed that the color temperature must be set to 5675k with a
tint of +5.5 (along with the same EI as selected for
D21Convert) to ensure minimal white balance effects in ARC
and to match the look of the file run through D21Convert. It
should be noted it does not matter whether TIFF or DPX files
(10 or 16 bit) are outputted from ARC. With these settings the
differences in the images did not disappear altogether but did
result in a dE00 average value of .65 as seen in Table 1.
These dE00 values were taken from an average of dE00 values
from a standard 24 patch Macbeth color checker. Each section
of each patch was selected and averaged. These average
values were then compared to the average values from the
patches from the other image and compared to result in a dE00
value for each patch. These were then averaged to obtain a
  dE00 value for each image listed in the table below.
Figure  43  –  D21Convert  Workflow
Table 1 – dE00 values comparing ARC Macbeth Patches to DPX
Convert (with logC but without white balance scalars) Macbeth
Patches
100 200 320 400 500
3200 0.572064127 0.628686269 0.634395849 0.713041741 0.706937942
4300 0.580063506 0.624598452 0.634502277 0.716364829 0.726720307
5600 0.569550726 0.616498859 0.611535588 0.715260353 0.739222149
7000 0.557873478 0.610583332 0.626001459 0.725278319 0.732885851
Max 0.74 Min 0.56 Average 0.65

In order to lower these values even further, white balance

scalars were applied. As stated above an optimization was run
  in Matlab to determine red, green, and blue scalar values that
Figure  44  –  D21  LogC  Curve
would best match each image. This was tested by optimizing
The next step was to interpolate the image. This was done a set of images together according to color temperature and
using a method based on what is outlined by Dan Su and according to EI. It was determined that optimizing according
Philip Willis in their paper “Demosaicing of Colour Images to EI yielded the best results. The following tables outline the
Using Pixel Level Data-Dependent Triangulation.” More can optimized values for each EI and the resulting dE00 values.
be read about it in their paper or in the paper “Demosaicing of
Colour Images Using Pixel Level Data- Dependent Table 2
Triangulation (September 2012)” by Chris Brands and EI 100
Michael Richos. R G B
0.999851772 1.008964364 1.017267834
The last step before outputting the final image was to apply
white balance scalars. These white balance scalars were Produces dE00 0.116470307
determined using an optimization step in order to match the
output of ARC as closely as possible. In order to do this Table 3
Macbeth Charts were shot on the D21 at every color
EI 200
temperature and every exposure index. It should be noted here
that the D21 bakes in color temperature but does not bake in R G B
exposure index. However each Macbeth chart was properly 0.999841734 1.009149355 1.017551685
exposed depending on which EI was to be applied later on in
post-production. These images were then run through ARC Produces dE00 0.148919642

 
14  
Table 4
EI 320
R G B
0.999983434 1.008105098 1.015805128

Produces dE00 0.174878639

Table 5
EI 400
R G B
0.999858961 1.009420449 1.019137822

Produces dE00 0.2382

 
Table 6 Figure   47   –   This   image   combines   the   outputted   images   of  
EI 500 ARC   and   D21Convert.     The   right   side   of   each   patch   is   from  
the   outputted   D21Convert   image   while   the   left   side   of   each  
R G B
patch   is   from   the   outputted   ARC   image.     This   particalar  
0.999914791 1.008820254 1.018377323 Macbeth  chart  was  shot  at  3200k  and  EI  of  100.

Produces dE00 0.248 I want to end this section with a thank you to Glenn Sweeney
and Jacob DeBoer. Glenn gave me a great starting point with
All the results together resulted in a dE00 average value of DPX Convert while Jake was able to take everything I have
0.185, which is virtually indistinguishable to the human eye. described in this section and combine it into one user-friendly
Once the white balance scalars are applied to an image, program with an interface. Without both of them this program
D21Convert writes out a TIFF file with the final image. An would not have been possible.
example of an outputted image compared to an outputted
image from ARC can be seen in Figures 45-47. XIII. Grading the File

Color correction can be done with a variety of different

software and tools. For the purpose of this workflow DaVinci
Resolve was chosen. It is the most commonly color correction
software used in SoFA and the Lite version is free to
download online which makes it accessible to all students.
For those unfamiliar with how to use DaVinci Resolve a user
manual can be found on the DaVinci website. For the
purposes of this workflow only basic knowledge is needed to
work the system. To gain a better understanding of how to
import a file into Resolve and grade it on set, check out the
“On Set Color Correction Guidelines” document.

  XIV. Saving the Grade

Figure  45  –  Outputted  ARC  Image  –  3200k  EI  100
Once the grade has been added on set it needs to be saved in
such a way that it can be accessed in post-production. One
such tool that has been developed specifically for this purpose
is the American Society of Cinematographer’s Color Decision
List (ASC CDL). The ASC came up with the CDL in order
to have a tool to allow “basic color correction data to be
interchangeable between color correction systems made by
different manufacturers.” It was created to be able to be
communicated via ALE, FLEx, CMX EDL, and XML files.

It is important to understand the ASC CDL was not created

with complex color decisions in mind but only those necessary
  for basic corrections that are able to be understood by all
Figure  46  –  Outputted  D21Convert  Image  –  3200k  EI  100
systems. The main functions of an ASC CDL are Offset,
Slope, and Power. Saturation has also recently been added.

 
15  
Offset, Slope, and Power have been named such in order to XVI. User Manual
differentiate from the traditional Lift, Gamma, and Gain
operations. The mathematical equations for Offset, Slope, and A detailed user manual has been written for this system. It is
Power can be seen in Figure 48. These can be applied to each in a separate document titled “On Set Color Correction
color channel red, green, and blue separately. Saturation uses Guidelines.” It includes things such as how to set up and
common Rec. 709 weightings and is applied after Offset, operate the on set color correction unit as well as a description
Slope, and Power and is applied to all three color channels in of the workflow on set and in post.
combination.
XVII. Next Steps

There are many things that can yet be improved on this

system. One of the main things I would have liked to see is to
have D21Convert be able to batch import frames. Tests could
then be done to see if this program is a viable option not just
on set but also in post-production. I would also have liked to
develop a workflow for more cameras in SoFA beyond the
Arri D21. Lastly, it would be useful to conduct experiments in
which Directors, DPs, DIT’s, and colorists can test out the
system and provide feedback as to its usefulness on set.

XVIII. Conclusion
  Color correction has and will continue to be a useful tool in
Figure   48   –   Mathematical   equations   for   slope,   offset,   and  
power the arsenal of any filmmaker. If utilized in the right way a
film can be complimented and improved in such a way that is
As outlined in the “On Set Color Correction Guidelines” impossible to achieve with camera and lighting alone. This
document DaVinci Resolve is able to save grades to an ASC tool can also be utilized on set. As shown here, quick and
CDL and to read them back in. efficient workflows can be developed in order to provide
graded images that can be shown as references on set.
XV. The Physical System Specifically, the on set color correction workflow developed
here is fast, efficient, and gets the job done for users of the
The system itself can be consolidated to run on a single laptop. Arri D21. For an experienced user the time between shooting
This could be the same laptop that is used for DIT work with and having a grade shouldn’t be much longer than a couple
the D21, or it could be a separate laptop set up at a different minutes, which can be largely owed to D21Convert’s fast
station specifically for the colorist. Originally the thought was average running time of about 10 seconds. While
to have a calibrated monitor to be able to connect to the improvements can always be made, the steps outlined here are
system, however if this is not available to the user a x-rite a great start to having an on set color correction workflow here
calibration device on rent from the cage could be used for the at the RIT School of Film and Animation.
on set colorist to calibrate their laptop screen. This would not
be a perfect grading set up but would be sufficient enough for XIX. Sources
the quick and dirty grading that would be performed on set.
The laptop of course will need the required software in order 1. Cook, David A. A History of Narrative Film. New York:
to run correctly. Everything needed for the system to run Norton, 1990. Print.
properly has been put onto a flash drive and can be inserted 2. Ryan, Roderick T. "Color in the Motion-Picture Industry."
SMPTE Journal 504th ser. 85.496 (1976): n. pag. Print.
into any laptop running a Mac OS to copy the needed files.
3. Oran, Andrew, and Vince Roth. "Color Space Basics." AMIA
This flash drive is obtainable from David Long. Tech Review 4 (2012): n. pag. Print.
4. Buscombe, Edward. "Sound and Color." Jump Cut 17.4 (1978):
23-25. Print.
5. Salmi, Hannu. ""HISTORY IN COLOR"" "History in Color"
University of Bologna, 1995. Web. 11 Sept. 2012.
<http://users.utu.fi/hansalmi/color.html>.
6. Miller, Scott, Scott Daly, and Craig Todd. "Update on Color
Representation for Television and Cinema." SMPTE Motion
Imaging Journal 121.6 (2012): 83-89. Print.
7. Bob Fisher (October 2000). "Escaping from chains". American
Cinematographer.
8. ASC CDL Release 1.2 written by Joshua Pines and David
Resiner
 
Figure  49 – DIT Station for the D21  

 
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