Color Grading on iMac (Streaming, Youtube, Film Festivals)

Hey everyone,

I have a question regarding color accuracy and the iMac Monitor.
My main monitor I use for editing and color correction and grading is an iMac 27inch retina display.

I have a calibration tool from Color Munki that I use for calibrating the Monitor.
My first question is, what settings do you recommend for calibrating the iMac?

Second: Are there any colorists here? What is your opinion on a calibrated iMac compared to a calibrated LG 27UL650 Monitor?

The main Output is Youtube and for an indy feature film that we just finished shooting (Komodo 6k) will be Cinemas, Film Festivals and Streaming Services.

What are your recommendations? I have knowledge on color-grading, but I am definitely not a colorist, so getting a professional and honest answer would be extremely helpful.

Looking forward for your replies!
Cheers
Greg

It's simple:
For YT, use whatever you like. All others will see different colors on their smartphone or tablet anyway.

For festivals: get an I/O device and any good monitor that can be set close to Rec. 709 or sRGB in it's menu. Then use your ColorMunki with DisplayCAL and Resolve to calibrate, details here: tinyurl.com/y9omm8dm

I use a cheap LG 27" UHD monitor, set to "Cinema" and I was surprised how close it is to proper Rec. 709. If you want P3, you may need to spend a bit more, there is an LG 5K monitor with the same panel as your iMac (which one is it, BTW?).

Hey Uli,

Thanks for your message.
For understanding: Why is the iMac regarding colors worse then ah LG? What makes the big difference?

And by I/O Device what do you mean? Are you talking about the Ultra Studio mini Recorder adapter?
Can you recommend a tutorial that goes deeper in to the whole color spaces G3 / sRGB ?

Thanks

It's simple:
For YT, use whatever you like. All others will see different colors on their smartphone or tablet anyway.

For festivals: get an I/O device and any good monitor that can be set close to Rec. 709 or sRGB in it's menu. Then use your ColorMunki with DisplayCAL and Resolve to calibrate, details here: tinyurl.com/y9omm8dm

I use a cheap LG 27" UHD monitor, set to "Cinema" and I was surprised how close it is to proper Rec. 709. If you want P3, you may need to spend a bit more, there is an LG 5K monitor with the same panel as your iMac (which one is it, BTW?).

I already posted but somehow it's not showing up.
So first things first, the iMac I have is a: iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2019)

What's the big difference then between a LG and an iMac regarding color space?
And can you recommend a good tutorial to get a better understanding with the different color spaces, P3, etc?

Thanks a lot!
Cheers
Greg

What are your recommendations?

To do it correctly, you have to remove from the signal path variables that can (and often do) alter the image.

There are two ways to do that.

1. https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/decklink and a calibrated display.

2. Export and watch from a hardware player on a calibrated display.

In other words, you have to get it off the computer.

As Jim says. The iMac display is excellent (actually, it's by LG), but you can't be sure that the OS is not messing with your colors and contrast (actually, it is).
So, yes, get a Thunderbolt I/O device to see your true colors. A HD version would be sufficient, who says you can judge colors in 4K only? And to get your head around the whole issue, I can highly recommend the new tutorial by Rippletraining. Other than the title implies, it will explain the whole concept to you even if you're still working with 16. BTW, still on sale:
https://www.rippletraining.com/products ... esolve-17/