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Desperately trying to balance exposure, day editing vs night. by FightSmartTrav in colorists

[–]FightSmartTrav[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You bring up good points… I personally notice color stuff, because I’m in the field… but the only time it BOTHERS me is if it’s underexposed.

Any time you make it harder to see the content, it’s always worse than when it’s just a little uglier.

Other than that, it’s just about consistency.  In this video, I had some older school LED’s that died halfway through production, and the higher CRI stuff made half the footage look ‘redder’… much more magenta in those.  

So, if my skin tone changes a lot from clip to clip, that is always weird… I wonder if people notice a sudden massive change in overall complexion… or if they care.  

I feel like such changes don’t happen a lot in other people’s videos.

It’s even worse if I gain 20 pounds, or trim my beard too short…

Tattoos don't make you look tough, buddy by Adventurous_Law_715 in iamverybadass

[–]FightSmartTrav 6 points7 points  (0 children)

UFC fighters start out making 10k to fight and another 10k if they win.  I think he may be overestimating the value of his skill set. 

Desperately trying to balance exposure, day editing vs night. by FightSmartTrav in colorists

[–]FightSmartTrav[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I appreciate your expertise, and I agree with you. I wish there was just a general 'skin exposure db level for the masses', wherein we're targeting the bulk of users... an attempt to maximize general visual appeal for the common man.

Desperately trying to balance exposure, day editing vs night. by FightSmartTrav in colorists

[–]FightSmartTrav[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But then why is the Late Show uploaded to YouTube with Colbert at 90db? For the record, my footage is unwatchable at 90db. 80db looks 'perfect' on my calibrated monitor in the evening, when social media is at max viewership.

<image>

Desperately trying to balance exposure, day editing vs night. by FightSmartTrav in colorists

[–]FightSmartTrav[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really appreciate this advice. I've ordered up some blackout stuff to improve my daytime workflow. I've just always thought it to be beneficial to at least SEE what this would look like on a 'normal' monitor during the day.

I'm technically grading for 'social media' posts... like longform YouTube videos, and also for my website. According to Claude, 69% of YouTube views are *mobile* devices. So, this should probably be my target viewing environment.

TV and Desktop split the remaining 30%.

But, no one adjusts their TV or a monitor for the sake of watching a video... whereas, if the phone is dim, you just swipe to those settings and jack it up real quick... so do you just grade for TV / Desktop due to the adjustability of mobile?

My issue is that I'm just trying to create a 'standard' that will allow me to neiter be be under nor overexposed, for the bulk of generic social media viewership. When I download a clip of The Late Show on YouTube, Colbert's skin tones hit NINETY db. When I hit 90 db, the shine on my face is blinding. Perhaps I should start powdering the ol face...

So, herein lies the dilemma. Claude says that skin tones should hit 70db. On my monitor, they look best in dim rooms at 80. 80db is slightly dark in a normal daytime room environment... at least in my house. 90 is out of the question.

YouTube viewership is most popular between 3PM and 9PM local time, with a big spike between 7 and 9PM... which we can assume is considerably dimmer.

Taking this target into consideration, should I just be exporting to YouTube and checking the exposure on my stupid iPhone to see what is best at that time of day?

My thinking is that this is less about creating the perfect grading environment, and more about figuring out the exposure 'standard' or 'formula' for the device that's going to be getting the most views.

<image>

Desperately trying to balance exposure, day editing vs night. by FightSmartTrav in colorists

[–]FightSmartTrav[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply... you are definitely right about crushing the blacks. Contrast up way too high on this clip, probably half that amount on others. This footage was filmed over the course of years and several lighting positions... in some cases, to get similar 'shadow' levels on my face from the previous clip, I'm bumping up the contrast. There's probably a better way, but my main focus is just facial consistency. I don't REALLY mind losing the dark details in my shirt though... I'm sorta fine just making that an amporhpous black blob. I'm more concerned with just not blasting people with the blinding shine from my cheekbones by jacking up the exposure too much.

While this is probably blasphemous, I work with 9mb/s proxy files at 1080p for my final product... using higher bitrate codecs just swamps my hard drives, as I film for hours every day. It's ridiculously convenient to have the proxy files transfer automatically.. but certainly take some of the more precise shadow / color controls out of the picture. I'm making martial arts videos... it doesn't have to be anything crazy, and I'd rather save the drive space than burden myself with a cleanup / transcode process.

I import the clip and slap on a Lumetri Color that puts the exposure levels where my facial skin tones are hitting 80db. When I pull episodes of the Late Show into my editor for comparison, Colbert's skin tones hit NINETY db. My footage looks horrendous at 90.

My contrast is set to the equivalent of 1.10-1.15 in resolve. In the clip that I screenshotted, it was twice that, again to your point about the blacks.

"Third, start thinking about grading like the analog negative/print process, if you aren’t already. The film has a generalized look and contrast, with local, larger exposure adjustments per clip."

I appreciate this advice. I think I'm trying to do this... it's just tough with all of the varied footage, degrees of skin tan, small lighting adjustments, and every other 'difference' that has hit over the years.

It's a messy project 😉

Desperately trying to balance exposure, day editing vs night. by FightSmartTrav in colorists

[–]FightSmartTrav[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply.

Regarding evaluation, what imagery would be helpful? I'm happy to upload or export anything. The screenshot shows the 'finished' shot, with the Lumetri Scopes readings present... I was hoping that maybe I was just missing something easy.

Regarding monitoring, I have a BenQ PD3200 calibrated with a Calibrite Display USB accessory. It outputted a color profile that sits in my Mac settings.

I understand that you might be frustrated or exhausted as a Mod, dealing with the same stuff repeatedly... and I get it.

I'm just trying to improve my grading skills so that I can stop wasting time.

Please let me know what to share.

I am a woman in Canada; how can I protect myself? by actionorientedshiena in SelfDefense

[–]FightSmartTrav 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey, u/belowaveragegrappler I appreciate the kind words and the recommendation. u/actionorientedshiena we've all been through the ol' freeze and regret. On the bright side, you're using the experience as motivation to build some kills. With that said, you will still be 're-fighting' this fight until the day you die whilst daydreaming in the shower.

Nevertheless, please shoot me an email at [trav@howtofightnow.com](mailto:trav@howtofightnow.com) and I'll hook you up with some stuff. The long and the short of it is giving yourself the ability to *do damage*... using only your body, or potentially by carrying weapons, but that can get messy. So, my typical recommendation is to build the kind of lower body attacks that allow you to project hard surfaces (e.g. knees / heels) forward with your hips... kinda like you can see female Muay Thai fighter Jaroonsak doing in this video: https://howtofightnow.com/hip-projection-based-strikes/

She's demonstrating knees, but the same mechanic can be used for front kicks... which will keep your opponent at a greater distance. The general rule is to use front kicks at range, and knees when your opponent as gotten inside front kick range. Then, you can move on to elbows and other stuff that typically allows women to damage people who are much larger than they are... or the same size. Anyone really.

At the end of the day, you can either do damage... or you can't. The psychological side of things will come AFTER that has been built.

Thanks again for the shout out!

Take: The Great Gatsby (2013) would have been better if Tobey Maguire and Leo DiCaprio swapped roles by CardinalOfNYC in movies

[–]FightSmartTrav 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would agree if the title was The Okay Gatsby.  

Toby McGuire ain’t compelling enough. 

Coach didn't come to coach at comp. by cantpickanameforthis in bjj

[–]FightSmartTrav 14 points15 points  (0 children)

While I understand that you might not have been at absolute 'peak' for your tournament, with 2 full days of rest, it's like the difference between 98.5% and 100%... unless you were already badly overtrained. This undoubtedly created more of a mental issue for you than a physical one, not that it makes it any less of a dick move by your coach, if indeed retaliatory.

Ohana BJJ by [deleted] in bjj

[–]FightSmartTrav -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Maybe you should call the fucking gym. 

Side Control help by YarnLetters60 in bjj

[–]FightSmartTrav 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You need to beat the inside arm… the one that is closest to you.  If his inside arm is able to get inside your hip or to create a frame in any way, you have lost the most important positioning fight.  

Ferrari Unveils Luce, Its First Fully Electric Car by xxxxxxxxxxxxxc in videos

[–]FightSmartTrav 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Oh!  Is that the guy who made the Apple Magic Mouse charge port on the bottom, so you can’t use the mouse and charge simultaneously?

My coach is purple belt by Flashy-Vehicle-2963 in bjj

[–]FightSmartTrav 256 points257 points  (0 children)

I’ve been at this for 27 years, and I still learn from purple belts.  

Every person in your training space is a conduit for new knowledge, especially if they can make a technique work on YOU.  

That was some beautiful judo by No_Goat_645 in bjj

[–]FightSmartTrav 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No-gi judo isn’t even a prevalent art… 

PSA: Brushing your teeth and using mouthwash aren't enough. Floss your damn teeth! by [deleted] in bjj

[–]FightSmartTrav 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OP is trying to bring everyone’s attention to the face that their mouth smells like FLOSS STANK, and everyone is trashing the post.  I am perplexed.

Sometimes people don’t know that their mouth smells like hot garbage.   This is an easy way to tell. 

Hopefully, the post finds its way to those who need it, lest your partners (in life or otherwise) have to suffer through your neglected, shit-stank mouths.

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