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How is your grading room / suite arranged?
I just re-arranged my office. Take a look at the attached drawings..
What does your room look like? What’s your experience with clients in that arrangement?
I’ve been sick and tired of having the monitor so close to me. And I often find the clients are watching the Resolve PC monitor instead of the video monitor that really counts. Some even say “why doesn’t it look like this on the PC monitor?” I rest my case..
After sitting with this for a few hours now, I love it. The distance to the monitor (about 1,5m) is just super. I feel my eyes are more relaxed.
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14 Replies
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I am about to rearrange to your new setup. Currently, I have the client sitting directly behind me.
I wonder how the communication will be when they are in front of me. Especially when we start discussing certain areas of a scene that needs to be addressed. I am so used to turning around and pointing to my computer monitors saying, “You mean right here?” or “I changed this”.
I assume the client will just point to the grading monitor (and probably put a lot of fingerprints on my Panansonic BT-LH2600W). Just wondering what others come across working this way.
Robert Due
Editor / Colorist
INDEPENDENT EDIT -
I’ve tried the client in front before and found it difficult to communicate. However for certain setups like projection its the only way to go.
Robbie Carman
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Colorist and Author
Check out my new Books:
Video Made on a Mac
Apple Pro Training Series DVDSP
From Still To Motion -
About 5 months ago I switched from a set-up like your first to a set-up like your second, except I keep the 24″ reference monitor on my desk and have an additional larger panasonic plasma mounted against the wall in front of the couch.
For material that is intended for TV and Web I’m a little more confident in having the client looking at the plasma, but I have a chair behind me as well if I notice that some shot isn’t rendering accurately on the plasma I can invite them back to look at it properly… some clients just want to sit back there anyway…
I haven’t had an issue with communication, except it’s easier for the clients to fall asleep when they’re in front… and once the room is set up with everybody facing that far wall, it’s tough to resist getting a projector…
KC
prehistoricdigital.com
hardworkingpixels.com -
laser pointer for client to show specific areas 🙂
this sleeping part is nice one 😉
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Margus
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Ola what is your lighting setup and how big is your room? We are just starting with setting up proper lighting in my room so I’m curious 🙂
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[Margus Voll] “laser pointer for client to show specific areas :)”
I can thoroughly endorse this idea. Most projectors (Christies in particular) have a laser built into the remote. I prefer sitting beside the client and there is only one (1) grade monitor, and the rest is scopes that they are absolutely not interested in.
But 90+% of the time, I’m working alone. Two approaches… after a discussion of a new project, I do a pass, we view the movie, make notes, and if not numerous, go back in and tweak on the spot, or alternatively grade key scenes together in a “spotting” session, then go do the whole movie, put it back together and view/review. Adjust seasoning to taste.jPo
You mean “Old Ben”? Ben Kenobi?
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At the moment I have a bulb emitting 6500 Kelvin behind the monitor, and that’s it. The room is small and painted in a very light grey, so I really don’t need more light than that.
Whether that’s good enough for anyone else, I can’t say. For whatever I’ve graded on the REC709 and brought on to a Christie projector or seen broadcasted, it looks very similar. So I’m very satisfied.
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Just read what Joseph said. And that’s what I do most of the time to. I grade a lot alone, and the client comes in to have a look, throw some ideas out there and we test the ideas a little.I’m sure most of my clients never even thought of color grading before I started doing it. I don’t know anyone else for hundreds of miles who does the same thing, thus they’re so super interested in this, what software I use, and they wanna see what I do on my computer monitor. I don’t like that. It can get a bit uncomfortable having them drooling over my hands as they stretch over me to get a better look at the super cool GUI.
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I much prefer to be behind the client as you have in your diagram, or next to.
It’s much more relaxing as the client isn’t staring over your shoulder, I don’t like the client to have anything other than the client monitor in front of them, it saves me the “No, my computer monitor is not perfectly calibrated, it’s a shitty LCD you shouldn’t look at.” Some clients can’t help but look at the
I also lay out magazines, so they have something to look at if I’m working on a complicated grade.
Joseph Mastantuono
Online Editor – Colorist – Post Consultant
917.969.1583 -
Ola Haldor Voll
” I don’t know anyone else for hundreds of miles who does the same thing, thus they’re so super interested in this, what software I use, and they wanna see what I do on my computer monitor. I don’t like that. It can get a bit uncomfortable having them drooling over my hands as they stretch over me to get a better look at the super cool GUI.”I have my computer monitor placed to the left of me and set to a very low brightness level. I hate being distracted by a bright monitor. It’s just enough for me to see what I’m doing but too dark for anyone to really see if they’re farther away. It seems people tend to be more interested in the control panel and scopes when you’re flying along.
twitter.com/illyalaney
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The laser pointer is a great idea (ok for LCD and Plasma?) My biggest thing with that setup is that clients always want to talk face to face and not talking to the screen. Undoubtedly they always get up and come over to my work area anyway.
To each their own I suppose no right or wrong way
Robbie Carman
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Colorist and Author
Check out my new Books:
Video Made on a Mac
Apple Pro Training Series DVDSP
From Still To Motion
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