Helium 8K "The Underdog" Post Workflow

[Marc Wielage]

I think if you were honest with yourself, you'd admit your main problem is knowing how many filmmakers out there are actually perfectly happy with the results they get from using LUTs and tweaking.

And that to me is just sad. These are people who don't know what they don't know. I get that there are people who are ignorant, and I get there are people who are arrogant. But arrogant ignorance... there's no remedy for that.

In truth, 90% of it just boils down to getting a great calibrated monitor and trying out different things. There are lots of ways to cross the finish line in post. But LUTs won't get you power windows, they won't get you keys, they won't get you defocus, they won't get you masks, and there are huge limitations as to where you can go with them. And believe me, I use windows, keys, defocus, and masks on every single project I do... even if it's a little short that I knock off in half a day for a very low-ball client. The truth is, it might take an inexperienced person several days to come up with similar results... but given enough time, I bet they could get very similar results. Maybe even better it in some ways. Hiring a pro merely gives you to access to ideas beyond what you can imagine, and good results in much less time.

Sit in on a real color-correction session sometime -- go anywhere in the world -- and watch what they do. You'll see in one hour what can be done above and beyond a LUT. Don't assume the limitations you've set for yourself apply for everybody else. And again, if it's just a question of time and money, there's nothing to stop you from learing the software and doing it yourself. And again, that's true for sound, editing, and VFX, just as it is for color.

Again, my objection (stated before) is with the company promoting the LUTs. It's a high-profit business where you basically make $59.95 selling a 50MB download of smoke and mirrors. I have zero problem with Edward as a filmmaker or the 8K camera as a camera. But workflow and color are two things I know very well, and the bottom line is you're fooling yourself if you think there's a fast, easy way to get good results every time. I wish it were true, but it's no more true for color than it is for sound, editing, or VFX.

 

[Alex Sandman]

Hey Edward. Excellent work. Can I ask why you opted for the G-Speed Shuttle over the Studio? Seems like the same exact specs but different housing? And what other raid arrays did you consider? I'm underwhelmed by the performance of my Mac Pro 8-core trash can and hoping something like this will improve performance in Redcine-X and Premiere. Thanks!

 

[Marc Wielage]

Hey Edward. Excellent work. Can I ask why you opted for the G-Speed Shuttle over the Studio? Seems like the same exact specs but different housing? And what other raid arrays did you consider?

I'm currently using the G-Speed Studio XL and have been very happy with the speed. I believe we're getting about 900Mbps on the Blackmagic Speed Test, using a Trashcan Mac. I would've preferred the shuttle (portable handle on top), but the money savings made more sense for my setup.