Where are you putting middle grey between 41-48 IRE?

[Ryan Emanuel]

This potentially is more of a stickler question, but where exactly do you all put middle grey, other manufacturers give a specific IRE value, but Red has a range that is at least from what I have seen is almost a stop difference between the the bottom and top of the range. Is there a specific ire value you guys calibrate your meters to. I know weapon is cleaner, but out of habit from the skin tone olpf on dragon, I just calibrate for 48% to be safe. What do you guys do?

 

[Blair S. Paulsen]

I typically use 43-45 IRE to match 18% grey. Keep in mind there are several variables involved, gamma curve in particular, that may impact a particular measured value of the reconstructed RGB image. My approach is to choose a value like 45 and stick to it, that way you have a consistent reference point. Even if it's not a "perfect" analog to 18% grey, it's predictable - and, to me at least, that's more useful. YMMV.

Cheers - #19

 

[Marc Wielage]

This potentially is more of a stickler question, but where exactly do you all put middle grey, other manufacturers give a specific IRE value, but Red has a range that is at least from what I have seen is almost a stop difference between the the bottom and top of the range. Is there a specific ire value you guys calibrate your meters to. I know weapon is cleaner, but out of habit from the skin tone olpf on dragon, I just calibrate for 48% to be safe. What do you guys do?

Not to be flippant, but I just turn the knobs until I like the picture. I think it's useless to try to cling to a precise mathematical number, because every shooting situation is different, lighting changes, lenses change, a second camera is added and it's different, and on and on and on. It was no different when film was the dominant medium: in the old days (pre-2008), I would frequently get A&B film camera material where one camera was easily 2/3 of a stop different and maybe 5 points bluer than the other camera, so you couldn't use identical settings due to lab variations. And I've had the same exact kind of thing happen with digital, sometimes even worse. I'm far more concerned about where true black and pure white are going than I am about gray in the middle, but everything matters to some extent.

I'm happier not with a just middle-gray card per se, but an actual gray stairstep ramp that I can see on a scope and judge how linear the values are going from black to white. Once I can see that and neutralize the color values, make blacks black and make whites white, the rest generally falls into place quickly. From there, we typically add a lot of style, keys, and windows and so on, so it's just a question of getting a good starting point before stomping on the image.

I would be there have been over 100,000 films & TV shows made where there were no charts shot at all, and the technicians just had to muddle through and make reasonably-good pictures as best they could. I would always rather have charts for my sessions if possible, but I'm not an absolute stickler about it.