On 24 Mar 2018, at 13:02, Geoff Boyle < geoff.cml@...> wrote:

The idea is to have a level playing field.

All cameras are output to 16bit EXR in ACES AP0 using manufacturers software where possible.

Are you suggesting that the Venice outputs more data than ACES can handle?

All I am saying is that in Resolve, Lift/Gamma/Gain offset etc in ACES yield markedly different results to using the metadata sliders and I personally find I am able to pull more useable data out of the shadows and highlights using the metadata sliders than using the normal grading controls. I haven’t tested this with other cameras in depth so don’t know whether this is a Venice specific thing. I’m not surprised by this as there may be benefits or changes to the way the de-bayer algorithm operates depending on whether the exposure is being offset or not. I don’t know what secret sauce is, or is not happening inside the IDT.

Maybe this is because I’m not a colourist and am doing something wrong, maybe it’s down to some quirks in the way Resolve implements ACES or performs the IDT on the Venice material, I honestly don’t know. I do know that both Pablo and I have sen some very odd behaviour in Resolve colour managed and ACES workflow transforms that neither of us can explain.

I understand the level playing field approach, but I would urge caution as that is only a level playing field if every IDT for every camera is perfect and totally lossless. Myself, I would rather just see the original files as they come from the camera as this is an important part of understanding how easy it is going to be to work with that camera and how it is going to behave in a real world scenario. Not everyone is going to convert to EXR first. Others may disagree with this.

You are damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

Alister Chapman

DoP - Stereographer

alister1@...

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