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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 :)

iPad Grading app soon..

G

Graham_C

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Apologies if this has been posted before or old news.Seems kinda interesting.Worth a coupla mo`s to watch the vid link and if you want to follow development further then the link for the developer is below to..


`Ever since Stu Maschwitz first published a mock-up of a virtual iPad-based trackball color correction interface, the net has been a buzz. I've received a ton of email, asking when something like this will be available. Well, it may be sooner than you think!`

http://vimeo.com/11038845

http://www.actfocused.com/gradiest/index.html
 
Very cool.

Says to send an email to info at actfocused dot com to be added to their mailing list and receive first news.

-michael zaletel
 
Not sure I'm getting the idea behind this - seems to me that the purpose of a control surface is to keep your eyes off the controller itself and on the footage on the screen.
And since the knobs on the iPad are virtual you have to look at it all the time to find the right button - this is doing the opposite :-)
Morten
 
One thing this *does* do is change multiple things at the same time, instead of changing Lift, Gamma, and Gain one at a time (for instance).

And I think, depending on layout, you might be able to "learn" where the controls are with some precision.
 
I thought the same thing. Maybe they can provide a stencil that you can print out, cut, and place on the surface, to guide you to the correct areas.

Something like that could help.

Morten Eriksen said:
Not sure I'm getting the idea behind this - seems to me that the purpose of a control surface is to keep your eyes off the controller itself and on the footage on the screen.
And since the knobs on the iPad are virtual you have to look at it all the time to find the right button - this is doing the opposite :-)
Morten
Click to expand...
 
The easiest way to do this, is to have the frame of the video on the iPad screen, with the CC controls being an overlay and semitransparent. Any movement of the control should make the overlay totally invisible. There is no need for the playback of the video, just a single frame will do. This way you can keep eyes on the image, while grading.
 
Then we need to calibrate an iPad screen as well. Not sure it will be up to the task, though I suppose you will get a rough idea of what's happening and can look up when needed.
 
Thanks for the links Graham_C!

Morten, you're exactly right about the importance of keeping your eyes on the monitor. The only thing that makes this a worthwhile pursuit is that your hands "learn" where they're positioned. The ipad is much bigger than an ipod touch, but is still surprisingly small for this kind of use. It's so small, that most of the time the edges of the screen serve as good enough registration points.

The soft-knobs are sadly a different story. You usually have to glance down at them. Studying how colorists work seems to indicate that even with hardware surfaces, people often glance down to grab the correct soft-knob. It's frustrating that there's no easy solution for this yet, but it also doesn't seem to interrupt the user's flow.

And jimhare, we've played some with silicone and even tape markers, but haven't stumbled on any great way to make interactions significantly better.
 
jimhare said:
Then we need to calibrate an iPad screen as well. Not sure it will be up to the task, though I suppose you will get a rough idea of what's happening and can look up when needed.
Click to expand...

Well, using anything like an iPad for an interface for anything approaching professional level isn't very serious proposition. So, in that case, screen calibration is not as critical as it may seem. Is it better, than the mouse or a tablet? Yes. Can it replace a true color control surface? I can't imagine, that it will, without real tactile feel. But I can see an iPad CC interface used for something like an iMovie, when and if it may become available for iPad.
 
This whole thing doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me... The iPad makes little sense as a control surface since you have to look at it while operating as there's no tactile anything. And it's a poor choice for a grading monitor as its 6bit LCD display, while very nice for a 10" IPS LED panel, is just not up to the task. Nor is the iPad itself up to the task of playback of anything serious. And who wants to grade on a 10" screen anyway? Even if it's just a reference to look at with overlaid controls, I still don't see the point as it's not going to show anything that meaningful compared to looking at a real monitor.

OK, that said, I have to admit I had an idea for a grading app of sorts for the iPad. Although, now that I have spent considerable time with the iPad, I don't see the point in developing my idea at this time. That and I would need R3D support on the iPad to do it anyway... Yeah, whatever.

I suppose the iPad screen could be calibrated alright and the app that needs the calibration can be made to load its own LUT for the screen. But plan on using another Mac or PC to aid in the calibration along with your colorimeter and to generate the LUT.

...I'm just rambling on now. I suppose some people will be interested in an app like this for the coolness factor or something. But as for real-world use as an extension of control, I don't see it happening. I don't look at my control panel, mouse, keyboard when working in Color or SpeedGrade. I can feel them, I know where my fingers are in relation to all the keys, knobs and buttons. I don't want to look at them. I don't want to look at an iPad to operate controls that take my eyes off of the grading monitor.
 
jake blackstone said:
The easiest way to do this, is to have the frame of the video on the iPad screen, with the CC controls being an overlay and semitransparent. Any movement of the control should make the overlay totally invisible. There is no need for the playback of the video, just a single frame will do. This way you can keep eyes on the image, while grading.
Click to expand...

Jake hit the nail on the head, that actually is the smartest thing to do.
 
Jeff Kilgroe said:
This whole thing doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me... The iPad makes little sense as a control surface since you have to look at it while operating as there's no tactile anything.
Click to expand...

Hi Jeff:

This in general is the problem with touch screen on the desktop. Touching a vertical monitor is an ergonomic nightmare plus your hands cover up what you are trying to control. The solution is two displays. One vertical as now and the other flat on the desk at surface level. The problem with that is as you point out the lack of visual feedback. The next-generation systems everyone is working on involve transparent circles that follow your fingers on the vertical screen as you touch the horizontal screen. They are also working on LCD display surfaces that act like braille tablets and tiny ridges pop-up and recede depending upon what's going on. That may be a few years away though...at least.

I just ordered this:

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...ys/M2256pw/?WT.mc_id=M2256PW_Availability_May

To be able to do some experimental development with this:

http://gestureworks.com/

Here's an example of the tactile touch technology many are working on (From Nokia):

http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/06/nokia-shows-off-haptikos-tactile-touch-screen-technology/


What's important to remember is that eventually iPads and other devices will incorporate this technology so now's the time to work out and design the software issues in anticipation of those hardware changes.


-michael zaletel
 
Could position a semi-decent quality webcam flipped facing the ipad and have it windowed on the side of the screen (like a small toolbar) You would eventually get used to hand-to-eye co-ordination.

Least you wouldnt look down!
 
A little touch controls for an occasional iMovie coloring fun on an iPad at $4.99, count me in.
IMHO, using an iPad to control any kind of professional color grading device for any extended period of time is a waste of time. Not everything should be controlled with iPhone or iPad. Novelty of grading with an iPad will quickly wear off, your carpal syndrome will last forever.
 
Well, I can still remember when the cell phones were kind of a back-pack. Now they are used to even have video conference (at least in Japan), and they can be concealed in a pocket.

What I am trying to say is, specially in this forum, technology evolves, and we must adjust to what now feel unnatural but in the future will be the rule.

For me, the biggest lesson that everyone that has participated one way or another on this Red revolution, is that tools progress. Put the Epic, or even the Red one, side by side with a 35mm or 16mm camera. Do they look alike? Do they "feel" alike? Can the old guy do better than the new guy in the block?

I assure you that if you ask these questions to yourself, and before responding to them with the first thought that comes out as an impulse, and take a moment to look back only 3 years since the "Scam" became a reality, the answer to all of them is simply NO.

I am not trying to defend this particular venture with the iPad, even though I really think it has the potential to get traction and become a regular tool for this activity, and I will give it a chance. What I am really trying to convey is that every one of us is a living witness to what the challenging to the status-quo, to the paradigm, to the universally accepted as the best, really feels like.

Without a doubt any person here that, after learning all what Jim's tenacity has brought to us thus far, and try to dismiss any ingenuity attempt to progress and get new, better tools, really has very limited space in this cyber-community.

Respectfully,
 
Have any of you tried the Jaadu software? It's a VNC client, so you can see your computer on the screen. If you have the colour wheels on screen, you don't have to look at the iPad screen, it basically turns the iPad into a giant laptop mouse pad. I can't imagine it being an alternative to a physical controller but maybe a step up from using a mouse pointer with on screen wheels. Any thoughts? I will post when I have tried it...
 
Oli Williams said:
Have any of you tried the Jaadu software? It's a VNC client, so you can see your computer on the screen. If you have the colour wheels on screen, you don't have to look at the iPad screen, it basically turns the iPad into a giant laptop mouse pad. I can't imagine it being an alternative to a physical controller but maybe a step up from using a mouse pointer with on screen wheels. Any thoughts? I will post when I have tried it...
Click to expand...

I've used Jaadu, and I can't imagine that being anything other than a colossal pain in the ass.
 
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