robert Hart wrote:My guess on the baked-in looks is that for series TV/streaming productions, once a style is established, post work may become faster and less costly.
That's not how post works Robert, not even on series TV, for which I do a lot of grading/finishing. There are already 'baked in' looks, with the various camera luts. But a look is only one part of finishing - there is still a need to balance and grade shot to shot, for consistency and continuity, before the creative grade - then there is general onlining, where fixes, image restoration and FX, blurs, witness protection etc. etc. work is required - I doubt Broadcast and Drama post will get less costly or even faster, except through downward pressure of pay and prices or schedules.
Camera 'Colour science' is slightly meaningless, for a colourist, except insofar as the Director, DOP and colourist may co-ordinate an overall look, simply because the power and flexibility of grading allows virtually any camera to end up looking like another.
In fact, I should add, each new set of technologies make post even more costly, lengthy and involved. HDR, is a case in point, where grading is an order of magnitude more complex than standard Rec. 709 HD.