Marc Wielage wrote:Vladimir LaFortune wrote:No one is doing feature films from their home so there is absolutely no need to overcomplicate your workflow.
Oh, trust me, there are people doing feature films from their homes. Not A-list $100 million films, but there are very definitely small indie films in the $100K-$500K area being done out of home offices and studios.
I have no doubt that there are many people doing this and with lower budgets to truly No Budget.
The problem with the 'pro' advice, is... well... if I had the money to buy high end equipment, I probably would have enough money for the projects to actually hire a colorist who has the high end equipment...
Since I don't have any money... the alternative is to make do with what I have... or if I really need to acquire a piece of equipment, given limited resources, what is available.
In my personal case, there are two general categories of 'distribution' or 'presentation' that I have in mind. The most obvious is Internet distribution. The second is various film fests.
In the latter case, I would probably strongly consider monochrome, aka B&W. Which significantly reduces the 'color' problem.
By the same reasoning, I may produce mono-audio as well, and not worry about not having a $$ sound stage to produce 5.1 or 7.1... or even stereo for that matter.
Do I want to produce material that has a high likelihood of 'looking ok'... sure, but do I have to spend big bux, for some value of that phrase... no.
So, my solution is to use some sort of calibration device on the displays I have, which also happen to be for the most part, my 'gui' display. Due to various reasons, I have a number of generations of Sypder devices... so, that's what I use. I also use the Sypdercheckr for determining what my cameras 'capture'. Which may not be as good as the DCS charts... but that's what I can afford.
Am I aware that this may not measure up to broadcast standards... you bet... do I truly worry about that... not really. I do look at my material on a number of devices that I do have, such as the 'work' Windows box which has a really crappy display... but I did get an upgrade from a Windows 2000 box a year ago... my set of 'mobile' devices, etc. to see if what I have produce looks reasonably 'good'.
And... that damn dress is Gold and White... at least the image that has been passed en mass around the web...
(Who the hell knows what the Real(tm) dress actually was...).
In that regard some of the 'hints' about how to achieve more consistent color, given that one does not have the budget for higher end equipment, are better.