Look Development Advice

[Troy Sobotka]

There is no perfect CAM because one doesn't actually exist. It's similar to a metaphor for color. Perceptual models can be useful, but they are by no means perfect.

There isn’t even a CAM or UCS that is remotely loosely “close”. It’s pure nonsense. I have no idea why these ridiculous ideas ever came to fruition, but here we are.

The main issue in terms of picture making is that these piles of ridiculous nonsense actually break visual cognition because they deform the stimuli relationships so powerfully. Specifically additive air material-like demonstrations reveal their fundamental broken constructions almost immediately. They are all just problematic luminance mappers, and leveraging luminance is always going to break pictures.

I actually really like models in RGB-CMY

Plenty of good evidence to show that RGB, given it is carefully balanced wattages to a given centroid, are in fact “perceptual”; the additive nature of the stimuli is a key component. Hence the idea that basing other models on top of the basic RGB construct makes a good deal of sense. That would include “opponent” models such as HSV / HSL etc.

 

[Aaron Chieply]

Hey, just wanted to follow up on something I asked earlier about the Richness Slider in the Film Look Creator Plug-in. What would be the closest tool that could do a similar effect outside the plug-in?

Additionally, when it comes to using the film look creator, where do you typically place it in your node tree? I've been putting it at the beginning of my tree, then selecting the core look, then moving on to adjust other adjustments in separate nodes with the Film Look Creator acting as the core that is used to build everything off that.

 

[Firat Konuslu]

I prefer Look Creator plugins (whatever it is) most of the time on timeline level before ODT.

 

[Rajneesh Kassin]

I prefer Look Creator plugins (whatever it is) most of the time on timeline level before ODT.

The problem with putting any look on the Timeline level is it'll affect test signals, slates, titles, visible subtitles, and other kinds of graphics. There are good reasons to use looks in Pre-Clip Grades, Post-Clip Grades, actually built directly into the node tree, or using Node Stack Layers. That's assuming we're talking Resolve. There's also a school of thought that says the look should not be superimposed on top of transitions, which can happen with Timeline Grades and Adjustment Layers.

 

[Aaron Chieply]

Just wanted to follow up with something I asked earlier, does anyone know which of the (native) tools or effects gives a similar or the same effect as the Richness slider inside Davinci Film Look Creator?

 

[Silvan Schnelli]

From my little experience in look dev, I personally believe that some HSV like tools to warp the colour cube and a great tone curve to add split toning and bring it into display space, is all that’s needed.

I’ve made a couple of my own tools inside @Quinn Leiho and CalvinSilly’s Reuleaux colour space. The space allows for smooth and intuitive transforms.

Hue vs Hue/Sat/Lum
Sat vs Hue/Sat/Lum
Lum vs Hue/Sat/Lum

I mean cross talk is to my knowledge just Hue vs Lum (though I have an added another crosstalk node operating in oklab) and density is just (Lum vs Sat). This really lets you dial in film characteristics that people enjoy, like denser high sat colours, or lower sat bright colours, higher sat dark colours, all whilst keeping creative control and smoothness.

 

[Shebbe Klaasen]

There's also a school of thought that says the look should not be superimposed on top of transitions, which can happen with Timeline Grades and Adjustment Layers.

I'd be curious to know what principles or logic is behind this. Maybe this is also a bit dependent on how they're created?

 

[Firat Konuslu]

When I’m not using a film look emulation plugin—or if I’m only using it for texture—my look development process goes like this:

I use four custom-developed DCTLs that aren't exactly rocket science, and I usually do this inside Fusion. By using instance nodes connected to a 3D cube, I can keep an eye on the shape of the cube while simultaneously making adjustments on real reference images.

First, I capture a general tone using a 3x3 matrix. Next comes a Tetra-like tool, which allows me to tweak specific colors more precisely. Then comes a contrast curve. (Honestly, this could also be at the very beginning; I've just gotten used to doing it this way.) I don't usually do split-toning, though it’s certainly an option. After that, I have a sort of HSV/HSL tool that I use to make saturation decisions, including things like hue vs. luma.

AFAIK, what we call "look development" doesn't really involve much more than these fundamental tools anyway. Of course, there are tools and color spaces that make things easier and better, but the core logic always revolves around these basic operations, I guess. If there are any other techniques, let us know.

Naturally, texture is a crucial part of the look, so I’m putting that aside; beyond using existing tools, it’s not an area I dive into too deeply.

 

[Rajneesh Kassin]

Just wanted to follow up with something I asked earlier, does anyone know which of the (native) tools or effects gives a similar or the same effect as the Richness slider inside Davinci Film Look Creator?

I would put in a plug for the DCTLs made by PixelTools and also MonoNodes, both of which can create some convincing film looks (or even just "interesting looks" that aren't necessarily film). In particular, @Stefan Ringelschwandtner's "Reverse-Engineering the Grade" is a very interesting course that made me aware of some ideas and shortcuts I hadn't consdiered before. Very highly recommended.

I've been a big fan of Dehancer and Filmbox Pro for a long time, and each has pros and cons. I actually like them better than Genesis (which I also own), because I can just use certain aspects of their processes without committing to a full "film look." Richness and other terms are highly subjective. I'd argue that the usual trend is for less saturation these days, but there's always cases where a really punchy, colorful look can work well: the new Spider-Noir show on Amazon Prime (in color) is a good example.