Creative Color Science Masterclass

Creative Color Science Masterclass

Instructor: Cullen Kelly

Special Guest: Dr. Mitch J Bogdanowicz 

Date: October 1-3 | 7:00 AM - 1:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time (all days)

Scope of Study PDF Download 

The aim of this course is to equip intermediate to advanced colorists with the knowledge, methodology, and tools to engage creatively with color science in order to create custom digital print stocks.

The course will consist primarily of hands-on exercises performed in DaVinci Resolve’s Fusion page, with intermittent lectures throughout covering the theory and history of motion image mastering for cinema. Students will leave the course with a deeper understanding of image science, image maths, and color management, as well as the ability to design and deploy a digital print stock for practical use in grading.

Day 1

Session 1 

Core Concepts

Introductions and overview of course

A brief history of image mastering and its key sub-disciplines

Confronting color grading’s modern myths

Understanding color management in theory and in practice

Looks vs. Grades: What’s the real difference?

Understanding traditional print stocks, and designing a modern-day equivalent

Session 2 

Setup and Basic Maths

Fusion 101: interface, nodes, input, output, and monitoring

Setting up a Fusion development environment

Evaluating traditional color correction operators in full context

Using custom expressions to re-create and alter color correctionoperators

Applying and evaluating LUTs and plugins

Learning to model processes rather than mimicking results

45 minute Q&A 

Day 2

Session 1

The Creative Contrast Curve

Differences and overlap between contrast and tone mapping

Creative vs. technical tone mapping

Emulating film prints without being bound to their limitations

Drawing and revising curves

Importing curves from a LUT

Session 2

The Creative Color Space

Differences and overlap between creative and technical gamuts

Defining our creative gamut using a 3x3 matrix

Order of operations and utilizing different tone curves

Saving and deploying our print stock for practical use

45 minute Q&A 

Day 3

Session 1

Expanding our toolset and refining our work

Utilizing DCTLs

Refining our creative curve using exposure charts, tone mapping, and maths

Refining our creative gamut 

Applying tetrahedral transformations

Selective hue sweetening 

Creating custom x vs y curves  

Thinking outside the box

Session 2 

Exploring other worlds

Understanding alternate color models and their utility 

LAB 

LCH  

HSL 

HSV

Exploring saturation behaviors in different models

Creating a saturation curve

Creating a saturation wrapper

45 minute Q&A

Dr. Mitch J Bogdanowicz

Dr. Mitch Bogdanowicz will be joining us as a special guest at the Creative Color Science Masterclass with Cullen on October 3, 11:45 AM Pacific Time (onwards)  

He will share his insights and practical experience with regard to techniques discussed in class, including film emulation, film stock design, and the creation of scene-referred transforms for modern color grading applications.

Dr. Bogdanowicz is a veteran color scientist in the field of motion imaging. During his 32 years tenure as a senior research fellow with Eastman Kodak’s Motion Picture division, his work centred on photographic simulation, color perception, color reproduction and basic photographic system problem solving. He played a key role in the development of improved motion picture film stocks.

His expertise in the design and analysis of filters and special lighting techniques led to two Technical Achievement Awards from the Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Besides creating systems for 3DLut genesis and applications for post-production, Dr. Bogdanowicz has developed algorithms for numerous digital camera applications. He designed the Kodak Look Management System (KLMS) for pre visualization in a motion picture system and the heart of the Kodak Display Manager (KDM) as well as the Kodak Preview System.

Dr. Bogdanowicz has contributed to most of the current film programs and other hybrid programs. Since retiring from Eastman Kodak in 2006, he has consulted and developed custom solutions for a number of laboratories and post facilities including Company 3, Light Iron, and Picture Shop.

Dr. Bogdanowicz has over 25 US patents and numerous other foreign patents in Color Science and Photographic processes with the vast majority related to the Motion Picture Industry. 

During his stellar career, Dr. Bogdanowicz has been recognized with honors including:

Two Technical Achievement Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

2000 Technicolor Kalmus Gold Medal Award.

Associate member of the American Society of Cinematographers.

Fellow of the SMPTE.