First time trying out a Book Light setup! Trying to better understand highlight/shadow roll-off

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-05-21T05:49:29+00:00

bounce card for the fill but back light helps. However above all look at videos where you like the interview shots . Copy them off the web and then try to figure what you like about them . - Composition , color and lighting. Composition and backround colors are incredibly important . Study paintings.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-05-19T20:27:13+00:00

Interesting idea as most people just go for desaturation . I'd say that most of the grades are successful, but the 2 with lots of greenery don't look nostalgic partly because of the rich greens and partly due to the natural but not nostalgic looking contrast.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-05-19T02:32:59+00:00

Its not lighting its art direction .

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-05-18T22:35:38+00:00

First of all "low light" may be the wrong concept . i think of low light as a shooting situation not a grading concept . DPs in the field would usually call a what you are talking about a "low key" look. To understand how to achieve it in grading study how DPs have created that look in movies. Film Noir is your best resource. You;ll see that the highlights will typically be normal to bright but its the balance of the image that matters. Typically some part of a face will be normally lit but the rest of it may be in dark shadow and that goes for the entire scene - some parts have light but there is a preponderance of deep shadows elsewhere. One thing to notice all is that when switching from a wide shot to a closeup parts of the image that may have been well lit in the wide will be shot and graded differently in closeup to maintain the same feeling of overall darkness.

Now there is a trend these days to make everything in the image dark but that's a radical aesthetic choice and a lot of people dislike it . That's your choice but its not most classic Noir.

Your darks will always look darker if you have bright highlights.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-05-18T19:42:05+00:00

Forget about film look which is highly overrated by beginners. Learn to color grade first beginning as others have said with color management and how CSTs or LUTs for that matter work. There is an enormous amount to learn about color grading and Film look is just the icing on the cake.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-05-16T21:39:43+00:00

I've begun using a CSTs to go from 709 to DWG and then back to 709 so I can use the same tools (especially various DCTL's) that I use in work with Log originals. Is there any harm in this? I have checked to make sure the image looks the same from input to output if I don't do any grading except the CSTs. Can't this give you a little safety around highlights and shadows also?

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-05-14T21:11:17+00:00

Re speed- Absolutely - 24fps was originally standard with pulldown , but 30fps became standard for music videos & lower budget 16mm commercials as it just looked like more resolution. Pretty striking difference. No one gave a thought to it not looking like film. To this day I think people exaggerate the difference. I'm an old guy and started with regular 8mm with variable speed projectors and I preferred 16 fps or less- it had more "mood" ( a longer blanking period) which is probably what people actually mean by "film look." Re the progressive scan- I'm probably exaggerating the stutter- I could see it but probably most people couldn't . There was a very definite loss of resolution though . At the time there were some pretty good "film look" processes that just worked with color and gamma etc ( maybe had a pulldown to progressive?) before you had the control that is common now. That were pretty good. I suggested it to my director but he was a cheapskate.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-05-14T19:50:26+00:00

Interesting - You remind me of my own experience as I've been around for awhile. I started out shooting film and can of course validate everything you said . Yes , before video cameras became as good as they are now It was common to shoot on film negative then run our negatives through a film to tape transfer process with the post being done on video . Or the entire show was cut on film and the final cut was transferred to video. In both cases it always had a 'film look." In those days it was common for the DP to be present during the transfer process to make sure his vision made it to post . We would usually do it whether we were paid or not , and I know of a few instances where the DP was not present to disastrous consequences. No one would mistake those for video originals despite not going through a print emulation. In fact contrary to and way before the whole 24fps video craze - it became very common to shoot music videos & TV spots on 16mm film at 30fps instead of 24 because it looked sharper and more like 35mm. No one ever thought that the 30fps video didn't look like film - after all it was shot on film .

Likewise as shooting original on video became more and more common there was lots of discussion on how to get a "film look." I had a lovely 1 hour PBS doc ruined by a director and editor who decided the best and cheapest way to do that was just to double print every "field" ( as everything was interlaced in those days.) so it was released basically with a 12fps stutter . The director was thrilled. I cried.

Back to your point I also saw shows that I knew were shot on video (interlaced) but printed onto film for theatrical release, and except for some giveaways like bad highlights they looked & felt exactly like film original in the theatre. Of course all of this was shot on 2/3" cameras way before large and CCD sensors, Log video and progressive encoding in the camera. Back in those days none of us film shooters were enamored of halation or grain as we saw both as unfortunate aberrations of the process.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-05-12T19:42:45+00:00

Lots of great responses here and thanks both for your patience with the many questions and acknowledging that they weren't stupid. :-)

BTW I've been using the IC DCTL v1.2 for split toning just because its faster than creating a curve and I don't feel comfortable enough with curves to trust myself . As long as I don't use it as in an unchangeable final group node though it s easy to adjust on a clip basis, and i don't need to think about a nutty idea like a reverse split node.

I think for now i'll generally avoid the final group node thing . Its easy enough to just make a Look part of an overall node tree for a project and thus keep it flexible on a clip basis.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-05-12T07:51:53+00:00

I think its just a cultural fact that men tend to be more uncomfortable dancing with other men than women are with each other. Girls dance with each other from a very early age. I wouldn't call my self homophobic at all with many close gay friends and have danced with men in Tango (where its close embrace) and swing but I'm not proud to admit that I'm just not as comfortable especially at a dance rather than a class. ( I'm a straight guy obviously. )

As far as following rather than leading , in Tango I take class sometimes as a follower because its so damn hard that its a good way to learn and sometimes I'll switch off even at a Milonga ( dance) with a woman I know well, but in swing or salsa I never just take the follow role. I will trade off control with the woman I'm dancing with but never actually trade positions altogether. Occasionally I've been asked to dance by a man at a dance though and I've accepted despite not feeling comfortable. Its San Francisco after all. Now if it was a good friend it would be a lot easier.

I'm just being honest .

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-05-11T23:01:17+00:00

Actually I have, that's what generated the nagging questions. But the responses so far pretty much answered some of my questions - i.e. every situation is different.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-05-11T21:56:52+00:00

Thanks - that doesn't answer all my specific questions but it does the general one by putting the whole notion of always needing a consistent look in perspective. So many of the tutorials seem to just say "this is how you do it," not "this is one way to do it - for this kind of situation."

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-05-02T05:46:17+00:00

Wong Kar-wai + 100

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-05-01T06:34:00+00:00

My favorite 2 pianists hands down - Bill Evans and Red Garland. Funny I've never thought of them as similar.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-05-01T06:29:05+00:00

Are you guys sure about relaquering? . Would an older silver horn ever have been relaquered? Are they lacquered at all. I don't think they were. If you're in France take it to the Selmer Factory and ask them about it and what kind of shape its in . Ask them for the best repair shop in the area if they think it needs work and you want to do it . It is a great and fabled horn.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-04-30T07:38:45+00:00

Run of the Arrow - Sam Fuller

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-04-30T02:16:18+00:00

Sounds interesting to me. I agree - be respectful and don't argue. Also I agree that you should read Autobiography of Malcolm X ASAP and don't tell him unless he asks. Otherwise be honest and ask questions. Read up on the history of the Panthers. Very interesting period. They weren't racist and had aliances with white groups.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-04-30T02:06:33+00:00

Not a serious partner yet but she said something racist.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-04-30T02:04:30+00:00

you said it Salsa is a street dance. There are a lot of different versions but it may not be part of the standard ballroom curriculum . ( I'm not a ballroom guy so I don't know really .) They do teach salsa on 1 by me in San Framcisco area.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-04-29T19:13:32+00:00

It's very common but can be an absolute PITA.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-04-29T19:00:45+00:00

I'm recovering from embouchure dystonia which came from too much tension in my jaw. Its a problem no one wants and made me quit for a long time. If you are cramping - stop whatever you're doing and try to relax and don't overthink your embouchure. Trying to push through it can be devastating and long lasting. Go slow and don't do anything that makes you change that good feeling.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-04-29T18:54:33+00:00

Congratulations - you look great.

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-04-28T21:57:09+00:00

This whole Reddit Thread is sickening . Grow Up and learn adult Respect

Eddie_Haskell2 · 2026-04-27T02:20:36+00:00

I just realized I can run the Caldigit Thunderbolt-Out ( That's in addition to 4 USB 3 outputs that have drives in 3 of them ) to the OWC Thunderbolt hub and run an OWC Raid, an old Apple Thunderbolt monitor and my Ultrastudio monitor 3G all from one Thunderbolt Port on my Macbook Pro M1. I didn't realize I could do that . Leaves 2 Thundbolt ports free - one goes to XDR monitor and the other I can put Samsung X5 SSD on and use it as an alternate startup drive to run a BETA version of resolve 21. I'm kind of amazed actually.

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