#fujifilm #fuji #xt4 #flog #davinciresolve #davinci #resolve #colorgrade #aces #acescct #coloristfactory
Download the powergrade here!
I have heard a lot about Aces but never explored it much until recently. I am still learning about it but I think I have a decent grasp of how it works, and that is what I want to share with you today.
Since finding out about F-Log's color space, I have started playing with intermediates in
Resolve. It may not be the best work flow but I have found that it works really well. I use a project that uses Davinci color managed in the color settings. I have Rec.709-A(I use a MacBook Pro) for the timeline and output color and gamma spaces. With that, as long as Resolve knows what a clip's color and gamma are, you get a Rec.709 image ready for editing. The real trick is that because it is using Resolves color management none of the color or dynamic range information is lost in the conversion.
One thing to keep in mind, the following powergrade will work with any camera, in any color or gamma space because of how we set the input color and gamma at the beginning. I just happen to shoot and specialize in Fujifilm cameras, but you could use this with you Canon, Sony, RED, or even Arri footage if you wanted to.
Once in the editor I use an Aces transform node to convert it from the timeline Rec.709 to Acescct, then I have a few premade nodes for grading, and on the other end another Aces transform node to convert it back to Rec.709 for output.
In between I have a basic contrast/gamma node, a saturation node(which is special), and a white balance node, then three others just there if I need them.
Here are the Aces transform settings I use for the input side.
The reason you use Rec.709 instead of F-Log is because the node is referencing the timeline color and gamma, not the footage's originals.
I use Acescct because in all of my research everyone said that cct is the right option for the most up to date.
This transforms the gamma and color. I have found it is AP1 color if that comes up in your edits.
In the in between nodes I have edited the HDR wheels to already be set to the Aces color and gamma so that they are ready to go when I apply the power grade. Except on the saturation node. On that one I have used a technique that I found on a Colorist Factory blog post where you change the color space to HSV(Hue, Saturation, Value) and turn off channels 1(H) and 3(V) so that you are only effecting the S in HSV. I completely agree with Colorist Factory on the quality of the color when you use this technique instead of simply using the saturation dial.
You may have also noticed a node after the Aces output node called "Color Shift".
That node was made to adjust the Fujifilm colors to look a little more Arri like. I shot a series of test shots a few months ago using my Fujifilm X-T4, an Arri Alexa 35, Sony Venice, and RED Komodo. After looking at all of those I found that all of the cameras had pretty similar color responses on the color chart except the Fujifilm. It was a little oddly shifted. So I used a node to mimic the color response from the Alexa which I think adds so much to the image even though it is just a very simple adjustment.
I have made the powergrade available for download. Edit it to your liking.
I hope this has helped someone. Thank you for reading. Next time I will talk about a 2383 conversion using this method.
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