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How To Make A DCP Match The Look In Davinci Resolve
I am trying to make a DCP, but when I play it in easyDCP Player, the image looks washed out with a greenish tint. I turned on the “XYZ -> Linear RGB”-option, which made the image look better, but it is still way off how it looked in Davinci Resolve.
Here is the workflow I used:
1) Exported the movie from Davinci Resolve as 2k 16-bit XYZ TIFF image sequence. The images look washed out with a green tint.
2) Imported the image sequence into After Effects, overlayed the image with a 2k grain plate, and exported it as a 16-bit Tiff image sequence (using the ‘DCDM XYZ’ in color management for the output-module.
3) Imported everything into easyDCP Creator. I chose to bypass the color conversion, since the images should already be in XYZ. Then I generated the DCP.How do I make sure that the final DCP will look the same in the cinema as on my computer monitor (calibrated at gamma 2.2, WB 65D)?
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4 Replies
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I would think the AE step is messing you up. But you can’t trust a computer monitor to correctly display your image. Best to take your DCP to a theatre properly setup for DCP and check it projected.
As far as adding the grain, you’d probably be far better off just doing it all in Resolve and exporting the TIFF sequence with your grain already in the image.
Colorist | Online Editor | Post Super | VFX Artist | BD Author
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I’m with Juan on this one. All though I’m not sure AE is screwing it up (I’ll come to this point later), I don’t like the way AE handles “color profiles”.
Do as Juan says; add the grain in Resolve. Be done with it already, and render 16b TIFF XYZ.
What you explain in step 1) is exactly what I do when I deliver for DCP. Washed out with a green tint sounds correct to me! That’s how XYZ will look on a computer monitor. The only way to see it “properly” on a computer is loading a frame or a sequence of frames in Photoshop (if you have a DCDM P3 LUT installed), easyDCP or similar apps that can reverse XYZ to “normal colors” in RGB.
If I understand step 2) correct, you are actually applying XYZ on footage that is already XYZ. This means, you apply XYZ LUTs twice. Been there, done that, and learned by mistake. When you apply XYZ twice, you will have what you see on the computer screen, in the cinema too.
Anyway, I’d suggest you get a video monitor and grade in the proper gamma and color temperature settings. Preferably a monitor with D-cine mode.
My experience with my monitor vs. the cinema projector is almost terrifying. It’s so close, and the final touch in the cinema is a joy when you see all the work you’ve put down in the suite pays off and you don’t have to spend countless hours tweaking blacks and saturation.
My settings are Gamma 2.35 (tip from the manufacturer of the monitor that 2.6 would be a little too much compared to a cinema projector) and D-Cine 6503 Kelvin. I also grade and render “unscaled”, and monitor 4:4:4.
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Thank you for your replies.
I know that it’s not ideal to grade on a computer monitor, but it will have to do for now. I can probably convince the local cinema to allow me to run a quick test once the DCP is done.
I had planned to add the grain in Resolve, but read a lot of forum posts about people saying that it was not possible in Resolve and that you needed to use another editor to add the grain afterwards.
However, by adding the grain plates in the second video track, changing the composite-mode to overlay and rendering the movie in “target”-mode instead of “source”-mode, I was able to export the movie with grain directly from Resolve.
I used easyDCP Creator to make a DCP of my 16-bit Tiff-image sequence and played it back in EasyDCP Player with “XYZ -> RGB” color conversion enabled. Now it looked exactly like in Resolve.
After Effects seems to be the sinner. I probably applied the XYZ LUTs twice. Good to know for next time.
Ola, about your monitor, which one do you use and what card?
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I have a Decklink HD Extreme 3D for monitoring, hooked up via dual-link SDI 4:4:4 to an Autocue video monitor. It’s the one in their T-series if you go to their website.
Given your name, I assume you’re Norwegian too. Talk to Danmon about the monitor.
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