SHOWLUT DESIGN
WITH CULLEN KELLY
CLASS START
March 14, 2022
TIME
Two Weeks
THIS CLASS IS FOR
All Levels
COST
$249
This course is a comprehensive hands-on workshop on the process of designing, testing, and delivering a creative Show LUT for digital motion picture productions.
With special guest
+
New Module 'Advanced LUT Editing'
About
Show LUTs allow for the communication of consistent creative intent throughout the production and post-production processes, and inform not only the starting point for the final creative color grade, but the photographic choices made on set. Participants will learn the strengths and limitations of LUTs, their defining technical characteristics, and their different applications in production and post-production environments. Most importantly, they will learn how to author and adapt LUTs which best serve their creative and technical needs as well as those of their collaborators. Instruction will be rooted in future-proofed best practices, ensuring optimal results regardless of camera or mastering color space(s).
What you will learn
At the conclusion of this two-week training, participants will have thorough knowledge of how LUTs work and how best to design, test, and deliver them for their specific use case. Participants will also learn proper methodology for adapting legacy show LUTs in order to use them in modern color-managed workflows. In addition, they will have completed the design and delivery of a custom-built show LUT which they can use in future projects and collaborations.
WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS COURSE
We recommend this course for anyone seeking a clear and concise understanding of LUT creation and adaptation. This includes:
- Colorists wishing to expand their role by creating and communicating consistent looks with their clients from pre-production through final delivery
- Cinematographers and filmmakers wishing to exercise greater control over their image, and communicate their creative intent to stakeholders throughout production and post-production
- Junior colorists, color assistants, editors, and other post-production professionals wishing to expand their skill set and increase their value
By completing this course participants will
Two Week Schedule
The course is a mixture of live and recorded material – Cullen Kelly will be doing a Monday Class, and you will have the rest of the week to watch the supplementary content online and submit your assignment by Friday. A certificate will be awarded after the course upon completion and submission of all assignments.
MODULE 1:
Fundamentals
MODULE 2:
Analyzing LUTs
MODULE 3:
Building Creative LUTs
MODULE 4:
Building Hybrid LUTs
MODULE 5:
Adapting Legacy LUTs
MODULE 6:
Assignments
MODULE 1
Fundamentals
In this module, we’ll cover the fundamental concepts critical to understanding and working with LUTs. We’ll also debunk and clarify the prevailing misconceptions about LUTs which persist within filmmaking and post-production communities. Finally, we’ll make a thorough survey of the strengths and limitations of a LUT.
- What is a LUT?
- What can LUTs do, and what can’t they do?
- Quick primer on tone curve, color gamut, and color space transformation
- Understanding sampling and interpolation
- Pros and cons of LUTs vs other color transformations
MODULE 2
Analyzing LUTs
In this module, we’ll build on the fundamentals and explore the three key types of LUTs, and technical properties all LUTs are defined by. We’ll conclude by exploring several means of analyzing the contents and behavior of a LUT inside Davinci Resolve and Lattice.
By completing this module, participants will learn:
- The three types of LUTs
- The key properties of LUTs
- Input color space
- Output color space
- Size (sample interval)
- Dimensions
- Understanding 1D LUTs
- Understanding 3D LUTs
- Analyzing LUTs in Lattice and Resolve
MODULE 3
Building Creative LUTs
In this module, we’ll focus hands-on creation of LUTs designed strictly to reproduce creative intent (creative LUTs). Emphasis will be on de-coupling our look from any technical transforms, selecting the proper grading tools and plugins, and using the right images to evaluate our work. Finally, we’ll focus on generating a .cube LUT file, adding metadata to it, and giving it a meaningful name which leaves room for revised versions in the future. Participants will be assigned their first of two homework assignments: building and submitting their creative LUT for instructor review.
By completing this module, participants will learn:
- Building creative LUTs in Resolve
- Selecting and setting up color management in order to “de-couple” our creative look from our technical transforms
- Which manipulations and plugins can and can’t be cooked into a LUT
- Evaluating our work on the right images
- Renaming and adding metadata to Resolve-generated LUTs
MODULE 4
Building Hybrid LUTs
In this module, we’ll explore how to add technical transforms to creative LUTs, allowing us to generate camera and display-specific viewing LUTs for production or editorial. We’ll also explore methods for stress-testing LUTs to ensure they can accommodate a wide range of imagery.
By completing this module, participants will learn:
- Incorporating a technical transform into our creative LUT to create a viewing LUT
- Using Lattice vs. Resolve for this task, pros and cons of each
- Understanding tone mapping and gamut mapping
- Stress testing our LUT
- Ensuring a tight match to the chosen color management solution
MODULE 5
Adapting Legacy LUTs
In this final module, we’ll explore concepts and methods for adapting legacy LUTs into modern workflows. This is critical for anyone wishing to use LUTs built on measured real-world data — e.g. a film print profile — which are necessarily confined to the limitations of the display/projector used in the profiling process. Participants will also be given their second assignment: creating their final show LUT, either from scratch or by adapting a legacy profile.
By completing this module, participants will learn:
- Why adapting a LUT is one part scientific and one part creative
- Using Lattice to adapt a LUT for a scene-referred workflow
- Using Resolve to exert more control over this process
- Isolating contrast and colorimetry, independently scaling these behaviors
- Checking our results and troubleshooting problems
- HOMEWORK: Create your final LUT — can be an on-set viewing LUT or pure creative LUT, either adapted for your workflow or built from scratch with proper technical transforms
Meet your instructor
Cullen Kelly
Cullen Kelly is a Los Angeles-based senior colorist with credits including the 2021 Oscar-nominated short film Feeling Through, multiple Netflix shows, and brand work for Microsoft, McDonald’s, Sephora, and others. He also teaches for Blackmagic Design, creates custom color grading tools, and hosts a growing YouTube channel. With a background in image science as well as the arts, he’s passionate about the intersection of the creative and technical, and its role in great visual storytelling.
Our Method of Teaching
CREATE ALONGSIDE EXPERTS AND RECEIVE FEEDBACK
As a part of your class, you will receive scheduled office hours with your instructor to share progress and receive personalized feedback
STAY ON TRACK WITH AN EFFECTIVE SCHEDULE
Class schedule is adapted to your busy schedule. Carefully designed training program that accelerates your growth through live stream instructions, video lessons, assignments, feedback sessions scheduled over a period of two weeks
CONNECT WITH AN INSPIRING GROUP OF PROFESSIONALS
You will join an intimate group of professionals that are passionate about their craft as much as you are. Share progress, tips and make friends from around the world.
EARN INDUSTRY-WIDE RECOGNISED CERTIFICATION
Upon successful completion, you will receive a certificate of completion, by one of the most regarded professional training companies in the world.
GET DISCOUNTS ON MOST IMPORTANT APPLICATIONS AND PLUGINS
We work alongside leading software manufacturers to give you access to some of the best applications and plugins. Save on tools that you need.
Ready to join the class?
- Create ready to use LUTs
- Drastically improve your LUT design skills
- Get personalized feedback
- Join exclusive colorist community
- Lifetime access