[Alexander Higgins]

Though I admire all the Kickstarter Entrepreneurs, I have never found laying over a layer of Grain no matter where it is from anywhere adequate for grain matching.. If you just want an effect, BLAM, grain, then this would work, but it will never help with the intricate grain matching techniques you need to employ for DI, and TV and Film Compositing.

[Alexander Higgins]

Here is a scenario.. “Hello Apple, I am a FCP 7 user, one of my plugins is crashing a lot and I wonder if you could help figure out why it isn’t working?”

Apple, “Whats Final Cut Pro 7?”

I really really love Filmlight, everything they make is both beautiful and amazingling powerful. I just don’t get this..

[Alexander Higgins]

I am not sure why Filmlight didn’t kill development right when FCP died. This Plugin will go nowhere. I usually have a hard time understanding marketing, but this one should get a big “D’oh!!”

[Alexander Higgins]

Thats what I thought at first, but we brought in files that didn’t have an Alpha. Just RGB. It might be on clips that Have an Alpha, but not sure yet.

[Alexander Higgins]

It works on both DPX and EXR.. But it has 4 outputs, which I thought was like LUMA R G B but its not.. Its like R R G B or something, I don’t know why, Im still playing with it.

I haven’t tried an EXR with a lot of Mattes, but I think it will still only see RGB..

[Alexander Higgins]

Hey Thanks for all the IMPUT, I figured out the multichanel in Resolve, so in whatever new version, when you add a MATTE it has multiple outputs on the side, each one is a chanel. IT WORKS!!

Problem is there is no way to go R or G or B or A to see the matte in a channel in that node.. but I am going to play with it some more and see what I can figure out.

[Alexander Higgins]

Hey Juan, I agree, but i am the middle man in this situation and in a lot of ways the sacrificial goat, I have to figure out why things are not fast and efficient, but make everyone happy with the price point. Right now my only option is to use less mattes.

Thanks Everyone for all your imput.

[Alexander Higgins]

Hey Nick, I totally Agree, only thing is workflows can be pushed that way, but it will always change, their are about 20 compositors currently and not every job produced can be done that way, but a lot can, It just depends, but once the Project is in Resolve, and the client wants to fix something after primary grade, we can only being using Resolve to correct that color. If it goes back to comp then any color grading will be destroyed by resolve.

Aside from that, not all the compositing stations can be upgraded to be color correctable, their is an issue with upgrading 20+ workstations to have color calibratable monitors and keeping track of calibration and profiling is a big issue, and a small nightmare. We have a hard enough time keeping our grading room calibrated, and keeping the lighting and environment consistant, then tossing 20+ compers doing their own thing with their monitors, its just too much to keep track of.

I have done two features in Resolve, and yes, I did not bring in One Matte, I did it all with color keys and windows, it went fine, had workflow issues, but the grading was a breeze…

Its the microscopic CG animated commercials that break the system.

[Alexander Higgins]

Hey Mike and Juan, I agree 100%. I have used both Baselight and Quantel. Yes they are amazing systems in their own way, but the reason I am on Resolve is the reason I am on Resolve. Quantel costs as much as an amazing nice house with a Depreciation greater than investing in “mortgage exchange swaps??” Not sure, I know Quantel in its current proprietary form, with QCare to keep it running, is only an option for maybe a Spielberg or a Cameron.

Baselight, I love it, my favorite Grading System, but again, the Baselight HD I tested for the price, was only a little better than Resolve.

I have pushed my current bosses to Baselight and Mistika and Nudcoda, whatever I could, once the price comes up they loose it and leave the room and slam the door and call me bad names. So price being an issue is not a joke. Now that Resolve is the price it is, those high end systems aren’t even in the conversation anymore.

Once Baselight and Mistika reduce their price, then maybe I can revisit it.

[Alexander Higgins]

Hey Juan, yes, I am a top end Nuke artist been using it since it was a D2 comp program, before that Shake. Nuke and DaVinci Resolve are like an Apples and Oranges comparison. All of the color sessions are watched by clients, producers and agencies and require realtime feedback.

PROBLEM with NUKE for Grading…
1. Broadcast Monitor Support is buggy and crashes a Lot.
2. Nuke does not support real time caching.
3. Nukes Color Grading Nodes are adequate but no where close to what Resolve can provide.
4. Grading in DaVinci resolve with panel is much faster and more responsive than in Nuke with a mouse.
5. Desktop LCD/LED do not provide the proper feedback required to officially approve broadcast material with our current workflow.

We do definitely do a very close color grade in NUKE before we go to resolve, but of course its a client driven industry, and if a client wants to change a color… ad it has to be viewed in a large suite with tons of people standing around, then it always to through resolve..

Ideally, I just want to figure out a way to add more MATTES into my sessions without the system going to a snails pace…