This course is designed for industry professionals, assistant colorists, and new colorists. It covers colorist theory and a detailed look at color tools. It also suggests grading strategies, session management techniques, and good workflow management. The course content is not system-specific and is useful for using and comparing all grading systems. Resolve is used for demonstration purposes. Participants are encouraged to bring media to discuss during the class.
The first day covers colorist theories and explains the physical, psychological, and cultural aspects of seeing. This leads to an understanding of how influential visual clues are in audience reaction and emotion. The course then examines the film, video and graphics, and camera raw color tools that are available and how, when, and why they might be used. We then cover best practices for color-managed workflows and session management. You will learn about scene-referred workflows, ACES, and UHD.
This is an excellent first-class and can be followed by CT201: Looks and Matching, and CT213: An Introduction to HDR.
Course Outlines
You Will Learn
How we perceive and react to color
The truth about resolution, bit depth and dynamic range
Ways to work with log and linear grades
How colorists make an image look great
Why primary tools are actually different on every system
Which techniques are most effective for secondary grading