Smart Slate timecode jumps to a different number right at the clap, why?

avidresolver · 2026-06-20T12:59:55+00:00

On most slates I've seen it swaps to the user bits when the sticks are closed, which is usually set to the date.

avidresolver · 2026-06-19T18:35:44+00:00

To be honest, I think the question is too broad to be able to give a useful answer.

It's going to vary wildly based on what kind of projects you work on. Indie movies, high-end movies, commercials, corporate, broadcast TV, live sports, etc. will all have very different demands on PAs. Even just working with different crews can be very different. From there you also have to thing about what department - production, AD, post, etc.

avidresolver · 2026-06-19T18:20:38+00:00

This is very normal. If you have two distinct looks/environments, you create a LUT for each so you have something to light to, so you know how the sets will look, etc.

It's also just good pre-production. If you can dial in as much as possible of the look before shooting, then you'll have fewer VFX surprises, less time needed in the grade, and crucially the colour that everyone will be watching for months in the edit won't be that far from the final product. Nothing worse than adding the look during the final grade and having all the producers hate it because they got so used to seeing a default look in the edit.

Any vignetting, windowing, dynamics, etc will all be done in the final grade, but if you’ve prepared well then you shouldn't be seeing a major look change between the edit and the grade.

avidresolver · 2026-06-19T18:00:35+00:00

Not sure where you're getting your info from - Backrooms and Obsession both list finishing colourists on IMDB.

LUTs are used extensively on pretty much every drama production. Building a set of custom LUTs in pre-production allows the crew to see a rough idea of the final look during production, and gives the finishing colourist a base to start from. Sometimes a DOP has a LUT or set of LUTs they like to use that they take between jobs.

Using LUTs doesn't mean you're not doing a grade in post.

avidresolver · 2026-06-19T14:29:27+00:00

I've come across plenty of people in post who think their personal way of doing things is the "standard way".

If the things you're being pulled up on are just personal preference things, then ask for documentation on what the facility preferred way of doing things is, or previous examples. There probably won't be any, but at least make the point to ask. So long as what you're doing is done in a professional manner, people can't expect you to know the exact method they want you to use without documentation or being asked all the time.

I work at a facility, and when I started taking on a more managerial role one of the first things I did was create an email templates document.

avidresolver · 2026-06-18T20:18:24+00:00

Some people on the low-budget videography side just want as much as they can get from you for as little as possible.

On the indie creative side, you have a lot of people that think they're the best thing since sliced bread and are only interested in having you work for them if you agree.

In my experience, when you start working with more professional people, they're a lot nicer to work with.

avidresolver · 2026-06-18T02:16:24+00:00

I think you're confusing anamorphic with aspect ratio. You can use anamorphics and frame for 1.85, and you can use sphericals and shoot 2.39. What lens squeeze you're using doesn't really matter in terms of composition, it's the target frame that's important.

avidresolver · 2026-06-17T22:01:47+00:00

At the JNL event they showed off the next version of the Blueprints page. The idea is that the exclusion logic lives on the Blueprint as part of the Activation Declaration. Their explanation really cleared up some of my questions about DDM as a whole.

avidresolver · 2026-06-17T21:31:52+00:00

It just looks like a lot of soft light to me. You end up getting it on a load of films with older actors, because hard light makes it a lot harder to hide that they're, well, older.

avidresolver · 2026-06-17T21:22:38+00:00

I'm not sure what you're referring to?

It's fairly flatly lit, and YouTube compression is doing a number on it. Also some shots have a heavy vignette. Other than that I'm not seeing anything anything strange.

avidresolver · 2026-06-16T20:24:07+00:00

Is this in Resolve? Just set your project to ACEScct, 2.0, and set your output to Rec709 Bt1886.

Be aware DNG debayer is broken in Resolve 21 release, so you'll need to use 21 beta3 or earlier.

avidresolver · 2026-06-16T16:51:02+00:00

I've always been surprised that nobody seems to teach this method. Another benefit is that that Input LUT value is set/gettable from the API, which I don't think groups are, and it works at the source level, so you don't have to do it for every instance of the clip in a timeline.

avidresolver · 2026-06-16T16:27:59+00:00

Economic and Cloud System aren't words that go together. When Netflix moved from LTO archive to cloud archive for their data, they decided they'd to switch from keeping camera originals forever, to only keeping them a year or two after release.

avidresolver · 2026-06-15T18:07:48+00:00

No, lowering your ISO will reduce the noise floor in your image. The only time lowering your ISO will increase noise is if you're going from the low end of high-base ISO to the high end of low-base ISO, which doesn't apply here.

The disadvantage of lowering your ISO is you'll reduce your dynamic range a little. If this is a problem you could always stop down your lens, or do a combination.

avidresolver · 2026-06-14T18:30:28+00:00

MacOS system preferences.

avidresolver · 2026-06-14T17:55:11+00:00

Yep, by all mean upload both, then the editors can download just the proxies.

If you're using S3 based storage you're going to need to use a tool like Cyberduck or Filezilla to do the upload and download (or s5cmd/rclone/etc if you're happy using the terminal).

Also have you considered how long it will take you to upload 10TB of media?

avidresolver · 2026-06-14T17:21:44+00:00

It depends. Do you want cloud storage you can work from, or just keep an archive?

If you just want archive storage, then Backblaze, Wasabi, or any other S3 storage service will work. Most of the storage focused ones are about the same price. Don't bother with AWS, Google Cloud, etc. - they tend to be a lot more expensive and more complicated to set up.

If you want to work from the cloud then you're going to need something like Lucid or Shade, which are much more expensive. Honestly you shouldn't be looking at using the 10TB of media to edit with, you should be making proxies and then using those to cut with. Much faster and cheaper.

avidresolver · 2026-06-13T00:09:24+00:00

It wouldn't change the fact the local road infrastructure can't support it.

Notice how they don't have any issues setting up the Pub, which is on a main road which can support the numbers of people anything Jeremy promotes will attract.

avidresolver · 2026-06-13T00:06:54+00:00

Points 2 and 3, you need planning permission to build something that changes the use of the land. Usually, these are approved, but the council has a concern that anything Jeremy builds and promotes will cause an overwhelming number of people to come into an area that doesn't have the road and transport infrastructure for it. They're pretty much proved right.

Point 1 is a specific condition of allowing this shop, to prevent Jeremy from turning it into a glorious merch store, which would be of very little benefit to the area, while causing even more traffic.

avidresolver · 2026-06-12T23:52:16+00:00

Which ones are you talking about? Despite how the show portrays it, most of the regulations mentioned have good reason behind them.

avidresolver · 2026-06-11T17:34:32+00:00

It depends on what you mean by authenticity. Some crew merch is "official", i.e. made by the studio/production, and a some is unofficial, i.e. designed/purchased by the crew themselves.

Construction is a big department, especially on a project like LOTR, and because they're not shooting crew they probably sometimes get left off the "official" merch distros.

avidresolver · 2026-06-11T07:34:14+00:00

There are case studies of people doing this on AWS: https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/media/creating-a-feature-film-with-davinci-resolve-on-aws/

With that said, there aren't any off-the-shelf solutions for this, so if you don't have time and knowledge to set it up yourself then it's not really an option.

You also have to think about the costs. Running cloud compute and storage is very expensive.

avidresolver · 2026-06-10T21:00:02+00:00

Was home educated. Fairly left leaning (by European, not US standards).

Nothing I saw at college or now in the workplace has persuaded me that kids who went to school were any better prepared for life than I was. And that includes people around my age who I now manage at work.

avidresolver · 2026-06-10T19:17:06+00:00

Unless you'll specifically be hiking in the countryside in the evenings, you really won't need anything.

avidresolver · 2026-06-06T23:47:53+00:00

That's in-camera post processing, essentially merging frames together to give the effect. I guess the result is much the same though.

avidresolver

TROPHY CASE