In this episode I interview Menno Dreischor, a chemical engineer based in Amsterdam. His company TIPb offers engineering solutions for a wide range of industries. Menno’s interest in film led him to develop an algorithm to help with restoring the faded color on old film scans. It analyses the pixel distribution of a supplied source and target image and generates a matching LUT. It is currently in a beta testing phase and has many potential applications from restoration, shot matching and creative look design. He also has a second algorithm that tries to predict the aspects of an image that will induce visual cognition effects such as simultaneous contrast, assimilation and others effects. In the interview we discuss both projects and their potential applications.Menno’s Color matching examples:https://www.youtube.com/@colormatchinghubWe discuss:(00:00) - Intro.
(00:53) - Menno introduction.
(02:51) - Interview starts.
(04:08) - Background in chemistry.
(05:29) - Connection to film.
(06:09) - Unofficial Star Wars restoration.
(08:46) - Matlab.
(10:25) - Drug analyzer.
(13:49) - Color Matching Project.
(15:30) - The matching process.
(16:45) - Histogram matching.
(21:12) - Theoretical basis.
(27:38) - Link to look design parameters.
(31:15) - Does it use machine learning?
(32:52) - Parameterization.
(40:54) - Entropy.
(48:26) - Open-source vs closed source.
(56:29) - Integration into current workflows.
(01:07:01) - Will this tool help or hinder creativity?
(01:13:34) - Over emphasis on matching.
(01:15:14) - Need for test footage.
(01:19:51) - Matching examples.
(01:31:39) - Visual cognition introduction.
(01:32:25) - The significance of cognition.
(01:33:47) - Does it affect the matching project?
(01:37:10) - How was it implemented?
(01:38:50) - Kernel based approach.
(01:40:50) - Assimilation's relation to resolution.
(01:42:21) - Visual cognition as a summary.
(01:47:14) - Matching is always done in context.
(01:48:46) - Uses of the cognition algorithm.
(01:53:41) - Discussion about compression and noise.
(01:55:41) - Screwball ideas on streaming.
(01:57:29) - Wrap up.
(01:59:58) - Outro.
(02:00:25) - End.
Check out www.patreon.com/ColorMentor/ for colorist training and mentoring.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
--------
2:00:27
Interview with Akiyoshi Kitaoka
In this episode I relate a written interview I had with Dr. Akiyoshi Kitaoka, a Professor of Psychology based in Japan. He does research on visual perception and makes visual illusions. His work embodies a fascinating combination of creative and technical aspects. I’d recommend viewing this episode on YouTube rather than as an audio podcast as there are many visual demonstrations.Color Mentor is on YouTube or your favorite podcast provider.Dr. Kitaoka’s website:https://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/index-e.htmlWe discuss:(00:00) - Intro.
(00:53) - Introduction to Dr. Kitaoka.
(03:45) - His teachers.
(05:32) - His research.
(07:37) - Color space visualizations.
(10:33) - HCV Color model.
(15:51) - Chromostereopsis.
(16:59) - Reproducibility.
(17:34) - Ostwald color model.
(20:19) - Screen printing.
(22:10) - Color mixing.
(23:22) - Screen printing project.
(29:08) - Color constancy.
(30:55) - Monge.
(33:45) - Reduced gamuts.
(35:53) - Histogram manipulations.
(37:25) - Image creation.
(39:28) - Vection.
(41:17) - Illusory colors.
(44:31) - Translucency and transparency.
(46:18) - Maxwell's spot.
(48:17) - Additive and subtractive systems.
(01:00:18) - Pixel grids.
(01:04:39) - Faces.
(01:09:26) - Plans for the future.
(01:09:58) - Treasures on his website.
(01:12:17) - Outro.
(01:12:45) - End.
Check out www.patreon.com/ColorMentor/ for colorist training and mentoring.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
--------
1:12:46
Interview with Kevin Shaw - Part 2
In this second part of the interview with Kevin Shaw I talk to him about the Colorist Society, and around the drive for our industry to organize itself in general. We talk about local and global issues, trade unions, recognition and awards, development and training and much more. I’m keen to hear your experiences with industry organization attempts in the past, let me know in the comments.Here is the IMDB petition if you would like to add your comment:https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/data-issues-policy-discussions/could-we-please-have-a-separate-colorist-department/5f4a7a328815453dba9d9d1aWe discuss:(00:00) - Intro.
(00:48) - List of Issues.
(02:04) - Facing your competitors.
(02:37) - Members benefits.
(03:18) - Formal or informal?
(03:49) - Running Costs.
(04:41) - Local and Global.
(05:25) - Production Optimization.
(06:22) - Development and Training.
(07:11) - Mentorships.
(07:30) - Silos in Production.
(08:34) - Recognition and awards.
(08:57) - Industry Personalities.
(09:26) - Transparency and governance.
(09:44) - Efficiency and decision making.
(10:05) - Become a trade union?
(11:00) - Standardizing rates.
(13:28) - Organization process.
(13:53) - Film Funding.
(15:43) - Copyright.
(15:59) - Legal Assistance.
(16:18) - SAFAITS case study.
(17:46) - Interview starts.
(18:02) - The need to organize.
(19:10) - Educating clients.
(19:44) - Not represented, not recognized.
(20:29) - Colorists on panels.
(22:29) - Choosing a name.
(25:10) - Who do you call?
(26:35) - Film credits.
(28:39) - Colorist mixer.
(29:38) - Filmlight Awards.
(30:43) - Colorists and Cinematographers.
(32:41) - Organize yourself.
(34:27) - Needs of different markets.
(36:52) - Stabilizing prices.
(39:45) - Many challenges.
(42:32) - Proving a platform.
(43:50) - Making connections.
(45:22) - How far have we come?
(48:34) - Sustainability.
(50:48) - IMDB Petition.
(55:36) - Color Department.
(58:13) - The last touch.
(01:01:35) - Need for more awareness.
(01:06:27) - Accreditation.
(01:13:25) - Colorist test.
(01:17:18) - Outro.
(01:17:45) - End.
Check out www.patreon.com/ColorMentor/ for colorist training.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
--------
1:17:46
Interview with Kevin Shaw - Part 1
In this episode I chat to Kevin Shaw. He is a well know colorist and educator in our industry. He has also been a key figure in setting up and promoting the Colorist Society, which is the topic of our following episode. In this episode however we discuss telecines. Kevin started grading 10 years before I did, at a time when color grading was either telecine or film lab based. We discuss various stages that the industry has gone through since then, all the way up to the present.We discuss:(00:00) - Intro.
(00:48) - Introduction to Kevin and telecines.
(02:39) - Interview starts.
(04:37) - Telecine engineers.
(06:30) - Music videos.
(07:34) - Study.
(11:11) - Telecine Limited.
(12:15) - Analog Davinci.
(13:13) - One new feature per year.
(13:43) - Davinci product demos.
(14:08) - No freelancers.
(14:53) - What is a telecine?
(17:24) - Blue Moon.
(17:45) - Tape playouts.
(18:44) - Facility life.
(21:00) - Abekus and frame store.
(23:12) - Long hours.
(24:21) - Tools.
(27:55) - Picture encoding.
(29:12) - God monitor.
(33:21) - Titles and finishing.
(35:01) - Low contrast prints.
(36:45) - Telecine as loss leader.
(42:55) - Show it on the wall.
(44:02) - Quality vs convenience tradeoff.
(48:21) - Taller gamut volumes.
(52:12) - Film restoration.
(57:07) - Software color correction systems.
(01:01:02) - Film lab profiles.
(01:05:01) - S curve and other tools.
(01:06:08) - Introduction of log spaces.
(01:10:38) - ACES archives.
(01:17:01) - Rocket science.
(01:20:45) - Art need limitations.
(01:23:10) - Bezier envy.
(01:23:38) - Tastes and trends.
(01:32:06) - User manuals.
(01:34:19) - Telecine calibration.
(01:40:16) - Scopes and visualization.
(01:45:21) - Technical vs creative transforms.
(01:49:43) - Skin and tone curves.
(01:51:24) - Hue vs Lum.
(01:53:41) - Unorthodox telecine techniques.
(02:00:45) - Psychology and resetting.
(02:05:17) - Grading suite dynamics.
(02:15:05) - Evolution of new tools.
(02:16:39) - Linking pre and post.
(02:20:06) - HDR monitors on set.
(02:21:07) - Recent work.
(02:26:00) - QD OLED and HDR.
(02:29:34) - Future of HDR.
(02:35:03) - HDR in cinema.
(02:39:04) - Hole punches and punch tape.
(02:42:45) - Outro.
(02:43:12) - End.
Check out www.patreon.com/ColorMentor/ for colorist training.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
--------
2:43:13
Interview with Troy Sobotka - Part 2
This episode is the second part of my conversation with Troy Sobotka who is a Vancouver based lighting, rendering and all-round image creation person. You may know him as the designer of the Agx render transform. We dive further into the mechanisms of visual cognition and picture formation. He shares a vast knowledge and collection of reference material on this topic. See download link below for additional material. In past years he has written an online blog called the Hitchhikers Guide to Digital Color. I would highly recommend people to read it.We discuss:(00:00) - Intro.
(01:11) - Episode summary.
(01:43) - Visual examples of phenomena.
(01:59) - Light and shade.
(03:57) - Gilchrest’s gamut compression.
(05:51) - Simultaneous contrast.
(06:21) - Shimmer / luster.
(07:26) - Induced contrast.
(08:06) - Glare halo.
(08:31) - Hermann grid.
(08:57) - Watercolor effect.
(10:31) - “Chevreul Effect”.
(10:57) - Crispening.
(11:46) - Neon Color Spreading.
(12:18) - Chromatic induction.
(12:46) - Gamut Compression/Expansion.
(13:18) - Chromostereopsis.
(14:11) - Face vase, Rabbit duck, Necker Cube.
(15:39) - Kanizsa triangle.
(15:57) - Dr. Tse cognition examples.
(17:54) - Not the pixel you thought you saw.
(18:45) - Pictorial exposure.
(20:37) - Gain and offset dimensions.
(21:47) - Image examples.
(24:47) - Decomposition framework.
(26:54) - Newtonian physics metaphor.
(29:20) - Interview starts, stimuli are not color.
(34:43) - It’s all constructed. Dr. Hoffman interface.
(36:56) - What is pictorial exposure?
(42:12) - Correlated signals “luminance” and “chrominance”.
(47:28) - Colorimetry’s limitations.
(56:38) - The domain of Metrics.
(01:05:22) - The domain of Stimuli.
(01:07:21) - The domain of Cognition.
(01:08:32) - Three broad Mechanisms of cognition.
(01:09:28) - Current predicament of image makers.
(01:18:31) - Increment and decrement signals.
(01:23:48) - Gain regulation.
(01:27:46) - SDR vs HDR.
(01:32:19) - Field propagation.
(01:34:47) - Can output transforms be dynamic?
(01:37:36) - Three Cognitive processes.
(01:38:53) - Form decomposition.
(01:44:47) - Why is the canvas flat?
(01:46:47) - Form computation.
(01:48:26) - Form assignment.
(01:52:59) - Towards practical examples.
(01:57:12) - Gain and offset dimensions.
(02:05:03) - Cognition limits.
(02:07:43) - Leading the eye.
(02:08:54) - Brand colors, vanta red.
(02:10:41) - Example of gain and offset.
(02:13:05) - Why not just desat to white?
(02:15:25) - Some history of picture formation.
(02:16:31) - Versioning.
(02:22:17) - Look creation and display transforms.
(02:27:48) - Ergonomics.
(02:35:35) - Bigger, better, faster.
(02:42:00) - Outro.
(02:41:33) - End.
Download link for additional images and pre interview discussions: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2o8hwqfyx9lc42dobysjg/EP0006_TROY-SOBOKTA_PART_2.zip?rlkey=jpi8ol0tnivqyugv3p6varx02&dl=0Check out www.patreon.com/ColorMentor/ for colorist training.
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Österreich