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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

DIY Color Correction USB Panel

Okay so this thread isn't about how much the mark up is on film items. It's about a DIY console. That being said, http://www.orderedbytes.com/controllermate/screenshots/ this link is really informative, but I feel like Color SDK would be needed to fully intergrate the USB functions. I guess you could just set them to be similar to mouse functions. With an alt ROLL or control roll to adjust mids, highs, and lows. Anyone have a tangent wave? Did it come with software for system prefs?
 
ScottMcIntyre said:
I guess you could just set them to be similar to mouse functions. With an alt ROLL or control roll to adjust mids, highs, and lows. Anyone have a tangent wave? Did it come with software for system prefs?
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This trackball might be a place to start. Gang 3 together with the ControllerMate software

http://us.kensington.com/html/2200.html

So that's $200 on trackballs...

The unit should eliminate mouse usage if it's designed right.

At some point you just have to go "screw it" and buy the nicer stuff. Everyone's got a different pain threshold. $2k+ is too much for me since I'm not a pro colorist. But I really enjoy Color so I could almost justify $1500 for some added convenience in the app. $500 would be a no brainer....

Considering I've got an 8 Channel Mixer/Audio Recorder with Flying Faders and a ton of Buttons, Pots and LED readout and has to interact with a lot of software and it only cost me $1k... yeah, there's a premium on this movie stuff. LOL.
 
Is there any published specification of the Color USB or Ehernet control protocol? Or does one have to pay Apple a license for that?
I agree with Brandon, I think Apple gave Color "for free" to its fcp users and now with the lastest version the RED workflow is very interesting. With all the DIY hardware and software resources available, it should be possible to hack something into a workable state. I've thought about repurposing DJ/VJ hardware for this use and using a sofware translator. A few weeks ago I found these projects
http://ccv.nuigroup.com/
http://trackmate.sourceforge.net/
http://www.nuigroup.com/touchlib/

For example we can use a cube marker's rotation+position with trackmate and substitute a trackball with that. That spits out midi/osc so we only have to build the translator software. A little bit of thinking outside the box, and you could have a controller that's made out of paper =). The objective is to have something that works first, and then you can refine it.

One thing is sure, the first manufacturer to release a Color controller for less than 300€ is going to sell thousands. Of course pro colorists wont want anything to do with it, but for students, people on the go, editors who might just want to learn more about color... we can accept something that's made out of plastic and doesn't cost more than a film toothbrush...
 
Hrvoje Simic said:
I guess they could if they used cheap components, had superficial quality check, sold six figures of units, didn't care about profit and if you wouldn't mind waiting a couple of weeks for an email response from a customer service representative... :)

Logitech has sold over a billion mouse units so far. They make roughly 8 million units per month these days.

I agree about the usual additional film industry tax, but that also depends on multiple factors.
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This is a tired old excuse (not by you Hrvoje - by the manufacturers/thieves). If you work out the cost of R&D and then assume you'll sell 100 worldwide, then plan to recoup the R&D from 100 units you come up with a sell price so high that guess what, only 100 people worldwide can justify it. But if, like Apple, BMD, Red etc., you take the risk and lower the price, thousands, if not millions of people buy them and you make way more money. Just try and sell that to your shareholders though - "You want to do what with the price?!".

How many copies of Color are currently out in the wild? If someone released a panel for $200 or even $500, what percentage of those Color owners (not to mention hackers with illegal copies - you can't download hardware from Limewire) would buy one? If Logitech or Kingston got hold of this it would be great for them and for us.
 
Shane Betts said:
This is a tired old excuse (not by you Hrvoje - by the manufacturers/thieves). If you work out the cost of R&D and then assume you'll sell 100 worldwide, then plan to recoup the R&D from 100 units you come up with a sell price so high that guess what, only 100 people worldwide can justify it. But if, like Apple, BMD, Red etc., you take the risk and lower the price, thousands, if not millions of people buy them and you make way more money. Just try and sell that to your shareholders though - "You want to do what with the price?!".

How many copies of Color are currently out in the wild? If someone released a panel for $200 or even $500, what percentage of those Color owners (not to mention hackers with illegal copies - you can't download hardware from Limewire) would buy one? If Logitech or Kingston got hold of this it would be great for them and for us.
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exactly
 
By the time you cobble together some DIY solution, with all the troubleshooting, hacking and duct-tape, you've easily spent $1,500 and probably more of your time. Life is short - buy the tools and get on with it. And if you already own a RED, I'm sure you're not out there milling your own base plates, mounts, etc ...
 
Gunleik Groven said:
Anyone bought any "non-film" steel rods lately?
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A while ago I needed 2 short 15mm rods in a rush. So I went to the local plumber and got a metre for like nothing. A little metal saw and some sandpaper later, I had some working rods that saved me from driving 200 miles — and a fair amount of money.
 
DCC Erickson said:
By the time you cobble together some DIY solution, with all the troubleshooting, hacking and duct-tape, you've easily spent $1,500 and probably more of your time. Life is short - buy the tools and get on with it. And if you already own a RED, I'm sure you're not out there milling your own base plates, mounts, etc ...
Click to expand...

But futzing can be fun...
 
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