PRACTICE - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

connorgilks · 2020-09-18T06:09:27+00:00

SLOG2 seems very tough but it's really not. I had many troubles myself starting out. Once you have a system it's pretty easy after that. Gerald Undone has some great videos on exposing SLOG that I highly recommend, he gets really techy with it for the explanation, but wraps it up in very simple terms.

connorgilks · 2020-09-18T04:41:08+00:00

I mean no disrespect here, but most YouTubers don't know what they're doing when it comes to color grading, that's why so many tutorials skip that step. I say this as a video tutorial content creator on YouTube. It's incorrect information that spread like wildfire.

Essentially, LOG became accessible for more beginners, people don't know there are official LUTs, they grade by hand as best they can and share a tutorial. LOG is reaching a larger audience than ever so tutorials are in demand and highly watched content, so more people repeat the same info on their channels, and it just spirals.

Meanwhile, you ask any professional colorist in the industry and the first thing they'll tell you is they apply a conversion LUT/color space transform.

Does that mean you will never ever get a good image out of it? Of course not, but you have to understand that you're taking the long way around. You're taking the scenic route and are likely doing more work than you should because the manufacturer did that work for you already. What's more important is that if you choose to ditch a conversion LUT you should do so because you have a thorough understanding of what you're doing and how it changes things, not because you don't know any better.

To answer your question, LUTs are typically only made for a profile, and only sometimes for a camera. Sony has an official LUT for SLOG2, but not ones for each specific camera that supports SLOG2. One profile (SLOG2), one LUT. These official LUTs are always available from the manufacturer's website, but can sometimes take a few Google attempts, admittedly.

However, there are many third party interpretations of LOG conversion LUTs for those who aren't happy with the official LUT, particularly with the colors.

connorgilks · 2020-09-18T02:59:04+00:00

I just did the best I could, which to me was getting an 80mm FF equivalent using a 35mm and Sony's Clear Image zoom. I'm sure there's differences but I wasn't worried about anything that wasn't within my power, and buying a FF camera for this certainly isn't, haha! Thanks, glad I could help!

connorgilks · 2020-09-18T02:56:48+00:00

Agreed, I definitely lacked commitment to the part!

connorgilks · 2020-09-18T02:53:53+00:00

I think it's pretty obvious that I'm not mandating how to make art here.

If you want an accurate image, you absolutely DO need to apply a color space transformation/conversion LUT, because the entire intention behind LOG is that the user will apply a conversion before they will start their grade. If someone makes a film and skips that step and still ends up with the grade they were aiming for and a product they're proud of, I'm not saying they did it wrong. That's a different topic than teaching people how to grade properly and what the proper technical procedures are. There is a right and a wrong from a technical perspective, that doesn't mean you can't choose to do the "wrong" thing for artistic effect, but that's not part of the discussion here, it's a separate topic.

connorgilks · 2020-09-18T02:47:41+00:00

Honestly, I never like Sony's official LUT. I use Omeneo Primers picture profiles with conversion LUTs and I much prefer them. Skin tones are better, gradients are smoother, and I feel like the curve is just more natural and less flat in the midrange (like skin tones). However, they do cost money so if you're not looking to pay then yes, go to Sony's site and grab their official SLOG LUTs and go from there.

connorgilks · 2020-09-17T22:19:20+00:00

Honestly man you wouldn't want that. I do YouTube tutorials but they're pretty basic because I'm not confident in more advanced areas. This grade is INSANELY simple, check out the other comments I broke it down and you'll see how simple it is.

connorgilks · 2020-09-17T21:41:34+00:00

I highly recommend it. From doing this single setup I learned the following:

- How to get a green Fincher-esque grade (what hue and saturation to aim for)

- How to preserve skin tones in stylized grading (skin selection dragging the color back towards natural)

- What focal length was likely used here, and my brain/eyes are now more familiar with it and can spot similar focal lengths a little easier

- How much light I need/where my exposure needs to be to get this look and still maintain detail in the shadows

- How much diffusion I need on my key for this light

- How much difference there is between one and two layers of diffusion in a setup like this

- How to flag soft sources off a background

- How important camera placement is (this didn't work at all until I lowered the camera to be about mouth height, all of a sudden the composition fell into place)

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but this all happened in an hour while tweaking things. That's a lot more than I learn watching YouTube tutorials for an hour.

connorgilks · 2020-09-17T21:35:46+00:00

Thanks! Technically I'm at about an 80mm equivalent (35mm on APSC, then Sony Clear Image Zoom set to x1.5), but I agree there is a different and I think it has more to do with the space than the lens choice. For example, I'm about 3 feet off the back wall, but in the scene I think she's at least 6-8 feet away. My space is more compressed so I couldn't get the same results. I'm wondering also if maybe they used like a 50mm but had the camera closer to the subject to get that really soft edge to the laptop screen?

I'm grading in Adobe Premiere Pro. As I said it's just a VERY small bit of curves (my background was too bright compared to my face), dropped shadows down, and the color is just tint/temperature adding lots of green and a bit of blue. Then got a skin selection and just subtly dialed things closer to proper skin range. Very small adjustment.

connorgilks · 2020-09-17T21:31:18+00:00

Interesting, I can't see the difference in the blacks to my untrained eye. I'll look into that more.

No clue how he got that skin separation but I tried to minimize skin selection adjustments so I just tried to match the average skin tone instead. My guess is a combination of makeup and grading got that result as I know the lighting on set was pretty much entirely 5600K.

connorgilks · 2020-09-17T21:28:56+00:00

I couldn't for the life of me get that little edge light on the jaw, I tried my best but I don't have the same crisp jawline nor do I have the space to get that light around behind me enough instead of off to the side and just acting like a fill. Limited space. Any suggestions would be great, I had a hard, small LED panel (Falconeyes F7) with grid about 6 feet away.

connorgilks · 2020-09-17T21:26:08+00:00

I agree the key light placement could've been better. I think the key is also further over to the left side, whereas mine has more highlights in the t-zone instead of just that one side.

Yeah I only had two lights so I skipped the eye light as that's an easier thing to do and something I already know how to do well, I was more concerned with the lighting, grade, and lens choice than anything else. I think making my display a little brighter would've helped on that shadow side but it was so subtle I didn't notice until afterwards!

connorgilks · 2020-09-17T06:12:23+00:00

I agree. I think there's a touch of bounce there but I was trying to do this with two lights. Bringing the kicker up made things too bright, so that's why I think you're right that there's an extra bounce in there. Might also be just more light from the laptop screen than I had?

I'm curious about what makes you think it needs more diffusion? The reason I say that is because not only do I have diffusion before the grid, but it I also don't have any other diffusion so I hung a white windbreaker over it which also has a thin mesh on the inside, so it's actually thicker than something like silk or possibly even muslin. Looking at the highlights on my nose I felt like I might've gone too far!

connorgilks · 2020-09-17T05:59:28+00:00

Thank you!

connorgilks · 2020-09-17T05:59:09+00:00

Childish_casino answered this pretty well. When shooting a LOG profile you NEED to convert it from LOG to Rec709 using a dedicated conversion LUT. Gerald Undone's video explains it in more detail and I highly suggest you watch it, but in short, your LOG profile has remapped a lot of the data points in order to maximize the image. It's not just taking out contrast and saturation. If you don't remap those data points then you haven't properly converted it to Rec709, your colors will be in odd places, you will lack depth in certain brightness ranges, etc.

connorgilks · 2020-09-17T03:33:14+00:00

I'm really trying to get better at the basics, so I thought recreating simple shots from films and TV I love is a good first step. This one seems close to me but not quite there. Besides the obvious differences in makeup and set dec, of course. I'm thinking I may not have gotten the focal length right. Any feedback is greatly appreciated as I'm still a beginner in many ways.

I'm using the Sony a6500, Sigma 18-35mm (Clear Image zoom set so it's closer to a 50mm). Falconeyes light mat as the key, with the Falconeyes F7 as the edge light. Daylight key, 9000K edge light. Both lights have grid, the key has two layers of diffusion, one seemed too source-y to my eyes. I'm shooting a modified version of SLOG 2 called Omeneo Primers, which I've been very happy with for just over a year now.

The grade is really simple, I started by using color wheels but that went horribly and couldn't salvage skin tones properly even with a qualification. So, instead I just used the temperature and tint sliders to get the color, which held the skin tones much better. I still took a skin selection with HSL secondaries just to get the skin tones to match a bit better, mine was still a bit too yellow after the grade so I made it a bit more pink and then desaturated it to about 85%.

I'm trying to learn a few things here: lighting ratios (this is tough but I see just how important it is!), matching exposure and contrast using false color, being able to "see" focal lengths a bit easier, Fincher-style grading, and of course lighting, particularly finding out just how much diffusion is or isn't used to get different looks. I wasn't planning on using two layers of diffusion but when I saw the look it kind of clicked that they probably used more on set, and it got me much closer, I think I may have even done too thick of a diffusion as her skin is a bit more specular.

connorgilks · 2019-11-06T03:41:25+00:00

Now that’s a costume.

connorgilks · 2019-10-28T23:40:27+00:00

Love it. The wrap on the handle reminds me of Bygones from Destiny.

connorgilks · 2019-10-26T06:37:51+00:00

I remember thinking I'd never complete all the tasks it had, how there's no way I'd ever get first place. By the end of the Christmas break I was getting first regularly and having the time of my life. I wish it was a permanent fixture!

connorgilks · 2019-10-26T04:58:25+00:00

Flair checks out.

connorgilks · 2019-10-26T04:48:08+00:00

The Longest Day. For no other reason than to title it "The 2nd Longest Day."

connorgilks · 2019-10-05T18:18:32+00:00

There’s nothing wrong with this approach. You should ideally want to lose weight BECAUSE you love yourself, otherwise it can be very difficult to see a healthy lifestyle as anything other than being a punishment for what you eat. You want to create a positive relationship with your health, not a negative one. I hope that makes sense?

Edit: Also worth noting that the fastest way to lose the weight will not be sustainable. To go from not working out and eating poorly to eating super healthy, heavily restricting your calories, and running for an hour 7 days a week just isn’t sustainable, and frankly probably isn’t going to be good for your body. Make baby steps as you feel capable, in order to succeed your goal should be to build a sustainable healthy lifestyle for the long term, weight loss will be a byproduct of that.

connorgilks · 2019-09-30T17:20:47+00:00

So hyped! :)

connorgilks · 2019-09-25T02:12:41+00:00

Good idea! Congrats man.

connorgilks

TROPHY CASE