I'm not sure if one method works better for particular cameras, but I have to say that editing BMD raw files almost exclusively, since I've switched to using a linear gamma node to do my color balance and adding this to my power grade, not only are my results much better, but the time to achieve those results has been cut down significantly. I've even gone back to older projects just for the heck of it and used this technique and I'm like damn, I wish I knew this a couple years ago!!! Thank you Waqas for sharing the knowledge you learn to help make the rest of us better at our craft.
Feel free to share your thoughts on your workflow as i work with braw. I use color checkers and rarely mess up white balance. The times i did rushing event shots i could fix/set the white balance in resolve because of the 12 bit braw. So not with nodes.
@@Giovanni-Giorgio I guess it depends on what you are shooting. If I'm doing a corporate event or conference where I'm shooting in a controlled lighting situation all day, I still use my color checker to set white balance for the entire shoot. But more often than not, I'm shooting multiple scenes in rapidly changing light. The extra time to shoot a color checker for each scene is often not available, and frankly, using Wakas's technique has saved me hours of time. I can just set the camera to a rough color temp that represents well on the directors monitor and just as quickly as messing around with finding the color checker shot, make my color temp adjustments in post. And that doesn't even include the time saved when I rent my cameras to other production companies that have me do the editing, as I have zero control over the in camera shot setup. BRAW and using a single node set to linear makes those problems virtually vanish.
@JacobsLadderProductions Thank you for the reply. I was curious as many BMD shooters prefer the white balance option in the RAW panel to correct white balance. That is to correct the image accoring to the scene instead of creating a look i mean.
It took me a while to come around to the linear balance technique, but I'm glad I did. I had seen other colorists touting this method as well. I could get faster results using the standard offset. Also, the RGB balance ball seemed to move much more slowly in linear mode. But after a tweak of the speed in my prefs and also using the sat compression switch you showed here, I'm a fan. It really does get nice results. Thanks for taking the time to break this down and compare the different methods, Qazi. The detail you showed in the different colors and areas of the shots really sold me. Happy New Year bro.
This is an odd comment, but thank you for naturally swearing, and shutting down hype trains. Those may seem small, but almost no one swears on UA-cam anymore, and everyone jumps on hype trains. Experience can’t be beaten. You’re absolutely right.
First you said (10:22) that we should go to CST IN and CST OUT nodes and put it to "none", and at the end of the video (18:25) you said that you would leave the first node (CST IN) as saturation compression method, to balance the image with next node on linear gamma mode. I am confused now. CST IN and OUT nodes with none or the first one with saturation compression method?
@@theqazman I am sorry, I still do not understand. When we balance the image with the linear gamma like you do, we have to always change the cst in/out to none or saturation compression or it depends on the shot?
@@magmastudioscombr What i understand is that you start with none, if you see artefacts with saturation issues you enable saturation compression. You can add saturation compression by default in the CST Out if you like to be safe. The saturation compression in the CST In should be off unless you have an unusual situation like qazi this time. Hope i made it understandable.
Stupid question but when doing the linear method, do you have to be in a certain workflow like dwg or can you just turn the node into linear in any workflow?
13:24 - 18:00 Is it just me seeing almost no difference between the Amateur and the Linear solution and both look great. On my monitor to me they look the same, and all right. But then again I see no details, shadows tone problems and more, possibly due to YT compression. We should do a before - after - comparison blind test for each If people can even see some difference side by side what is more pro looking.
thanks for the knowledge. i keep learning so much. Ive been watching ur videos for a while now and have learned alot. there are a few things that i still dont understand and this is from watching multiple videos. 1) In what instance do u use the linear gamma setting and what instances do u not? Is it only for white balancing? 2) I saw that u put ur constrast parameter on .335. Is that for keeping the skin from getting messed up? 3) When working on skin, you mentioned the 18% grey point on the curve which is meant to keep the skin safe from getting damaged when changing other parameters. How can i find that 18% grey when grading a clip? 4) So, is this chromatic adaptation plugin thing just some new trendy shortcut that's best avoided if u really want to get the best white balance? 5) I've the videos on ur toolkit and all the stuff in it looks great. Since im a beginner i dont kno if i need to buy to buy the entire toolkit, plus its mad expensive for me. Which tools within the kit do u think would help a beginner the most? Thanks a lot for the valuable knowledge
Isn't the tone mapping method: DaVinci from the first CST squeezeng a little bit to much data into DaVinci Intermediate? turning this off might help with lights/candles.
Hey @Waqas Qazi, great video on this topic. I've been using the same method since I heard about it a few years ago. I shoot most my stuff on RED it this has been the way to go about it there too, but riddle me this: Since you're working with R3D footage here as well, what is your opinion on using the camera raw settings and adjusting the WB there. I've done tests myself and found that Linear works better in most cases, but sometimes I fell like the camera raw BW adjustment is better suited (for instance if I've been shooting in places with a lot of different lights, like events or concerts). What's your take on the Camera raw WB adjustment in comparison to this? :) //Best regards from Sweden! :D
I can definitely see what you're saying about the linear vs HDR as far as maintaining information, but I am curious: does it not affect the image differently that you adjusted the global curve for the HDR adjustment and only the gain for the Linear curve? I feel that this would certainly change the values of the shadows and midtones.
Linear WB is goated, no argument against that. But with Chromatic Adaptation, I think all you had to do was make it a bit warmer to closely match it with the linear or HDR versions
Hello. Thanks. Your techniques are great, but your explanations are confusing. Your mouse move all over around all the time and you switch on and off without notice and as it's subtle changes, I never know which version you're on. So I always have to leave your videos at half way cause it gets me lost more than any thing. I will keep watching your next videos, expecting you talk a little bit less, and be a little bit clearer. Thank you for sharing anyway. 😊
I Have try the chromatic adaptation using fusion and read it using cube, chromatic adaptation is not that simple calculation like linear gain or global wheels, so much happen in chromatic adaptation in the cube, because this tool try to transform our image with some complex calculation
I understand and I mentioned that but that doesn't change the fact that it looks like shit and you shouldn't be using it for the reasons mentioned in this video.
that's why I can't watch any other video out there, they're just using it (especially this chromatic adaptation thing) and tell you this is a professional way and what is the science behind it but who cares?
I'm not sure if one method works better for particular cameras, but I have to say that editing BMD raw files almost exclusively, since I've switched to using a linear gamma node to do my color balance and adding this to my power grade, not only are my results much better, but the time to achieve those results has been cut down significantly. I've even gone back to older projects just for the heck of it and used this technique and I'm like damn, I wish I knew this a couple years ago!!! Thank you Waqas for sharing the knowledge you learn to help make the rest of us better at our craft.
Feel free to share your thoughts on your workflow as i work with braw. I use color checkers and rarely mess up white balance. The times i did rushing event shots i could fix/set the white balance in resolve because of the 12 bit braw. So not with nodes.
@@Giovanni-Giorgio I guess it depends on what you are shooting.
If I'm doing a corporate event or conference where I'm shooting in a controlled lighting situation all day, I still use my color checker to set white balance for the entire shoot.
But more often than not, I'm shooting multiple scenes in rapidly changing light. The extra time to shoot a color checker for each scene is often not available, and frankly, using Wakas's technique has saved me hours of time. I can just set the camera to a rough color temp that represents well on the directors monitor and just as quickly as messing around with finding the color checker shot, make my color temp adjustments in post.
And that doesn't even include the time saved when I rent my cameras to other production companies that have me do the editing, as I have zero control over the in camera shot setup. BRAW and using a single node set to linear makes those problems virtually vanish.
@JacobsLadderProductions Thank you for the reply. I was curious as many BMD shooters prefer the white balance option in the RAW panel to correct white balance. That is to correct the image accoring to the scene instead of creating a look i mean.
It took me a while to come around to the linear balance technique, but I'm glad I did. I had seen other colorists touting this method as well. I could get faster results using the standard offset. Also, the RGB balance ball seemed to move much more slowly in linear mode. But after a tweak of the speed in my prefs and also using the sat compression switch you showed here, I'm a fan. It really does get nice results. Thanks for taking the time to break this down and compare the different methods, Qazi. The detail you showed in the different colors and areas of the shots really sold me. Happy New Year bro.
WOW you helped me a LOT with this tutorial!!!!!!!! Color ( life) saver you are ! GREAT!
Respecting the environment
Chromatic adaptation
Saturation compression
Linear Gamma... MAN learned a lot, bro... You are the ONE...
Happy to help.
This is an odd comment, but thank you for naturally swearing, and shutting down hype trains. Those may seem small, but almost no one swears on UA-cam anymore, and everyone jumps on hype trains.
Experience can’t be beaten. You’re absolutely right.
Love the comment. Nothing odd about it. Ty bro. 🙏🏽
First you said (10:22) that we should go to CST IN and CST OUT nodes and put it to "none", and at the end of the video (18:25) you said that you would leave the first node (CST IN) as saturation compression method, to balance the image with next node on linear gamma mode. I am confused now. CST IN and OUT nodes with none or the first one with saturation compression method?
I am a bit confused too, hope he will respond to this message ! Because i always heard that you active saturation compression in the out node
It was an unusual situation and needed to be done in order to get a cleaner result as you witnessed.
@@theqazman I am sorry, I still do not understand. When we balance the image with the linear gamma like you do, we have to always change the cst in/out to none or saturation compression or it depends on the shot?
@@theqazman That was fast, thanks for the reply !
@@magmastudioscombr What i understand is that you start with none, if you see artefacts with saturation issues you enable saturation compression. You can add saturation compression by default in the CST Out if you like to be safe. The saturation compression in the CST In should be off unless you have an unusual situation like qazi this time. Hope i made it understandable.
Stupid question but when doing the linear method, do you have to be in a certain workflow like dwg or can you just turn the node into linear in any workflow?
13:24 - 18:00 Is it just me seeing almost no difference between the Amateur and the Linear solution and both look great. On my monitor to me they look the same, and all right. But then again I see no details, shadows tone problems and more, possibly due to YT compression. We should do a before - after - comparison blind test for each If people can even see some difference side by side what is more pro looking.
You saved my grades many times, this is another one!
Let's go!
That was really exciting!
Amazing! Qazi the best!
Ty
Thanks great Quaz
Of course
What happens if you set it to linear but use HDR Global wheel to adjust?
thanks for the knowledge. i keep learning so much. Ive been watching ur videos for a while now and have learned alot. there are a few things that i still dont understand and this is from watching multiple videos.
1) In what instance do u use the linear gamma setting and what instances do u not? Is it only for white balancing?
2) I saw that u put ur constrast parameter on .335. Is that for keeping the skin from getting messed up?
3) When working on skin, you mentioned the 18% grey point on the curve which is meant to keep the skin safe from getting damaged when changing other parameters. How can i find that 18% grey when grading a clip?
4) So, is this chromatic adaptation plugin thing just some new trendy shortcut that's best avoided if u really want to get the best white balance?
5) I've the videos on ur toolkit and all the stuff in it looks great. Since im a beginner i dont kno if i need to buy to buy the entire toolkit, plus its mad expensive for me. Which tools within the kit do u think would help a beginner the most?
Thanks a lot for the valuable knowledge
Isn't the tone mapping method: DaVinci from the first CST squeezeng a little bit to much data into DaVinci Intermediate? turning this off might help with lights/candles.
10:09 would you do the linear method for Canon C 70, C500 mark two and Ronin 4D when not filming in RAW?
Very stupid question here is there a reason why you would not change the color temperature in the red raw?
Muchas gracias
You got it bro.
Hey @Waqas Qazi, great video on this topic. I've been using the same method since I heard about it a few years ago. I shoot most my stuff on RED it this has been the way to go about it there too, but riddle me this:
Since you're working with R3D footage here as well, what is your opinion on using the camera raw settings and adjusting the WB there. I've done tests myself and found that Linear works better in most cases, but sometimes I fell like the camera raw BW adjustment is better suited (for instance if I've been shooting in places with a lot of different lights, like events or concerts).
What's your take on the Camera raw WB adjustment in comparison to this? :)
//Best regards from Sweden! :D
I can definitely see what you're saying about the linear vs HDR as far as maintaining information, but I am curious: does it not affect the image differently that you adjusted the global curve for the HDR adjustment and only the gain for the Linear curve? I feel that this would certainly change the values of the shadows and midtones.
I can only trust you if you show us colors grading process beginning to end step by step... by editing a short flim..
I am From Haiti I've Been watching your video since 2021 on every single videos i like what you doing thank you so much
Appreciate the love bro.
linear - one love!
Word
Linear WB is goated, no argument against that. But with Chromatic Adaptation, I think all you had to do was make it a bit warmer to closely match it with the linear or HDR versions
That wouldn't have fixed it. It's not that simple. That doesn't explain why the colors were getting choked.
THANK YOU!.... Seriously your videos are worth so much. Are you going to NAB Las Vegas 2025?
Nice. Thank you! All the best for 2025!!!
just one word M-A-S-T-E-R
I always have problems with the RGB led light.Thanx for everything.
Of course. 💪🏽
Hello. Thanks. Your techniques are great, but your explanations are confusing. Your mouse move all over around all the time and you switch on and off without notice and as it's subtle changes, I never know which version you're on. So I always have to leave your videos at half way cause it gets me lost more than any thing. I will keep watching your next videos, expecting you talk a little bit less, and be a little bit clearer. Thank you for sharing anyway. 😊
Lol xD
You're not crazy! 🙃
I Have try the chromatic adaptation using fusion and read it using cube, chromatic adaptation is not that simple calculation like linear gain or global wheels, so much happen in chromatic adaptation in the cube, because this tool try to transform our image with some complex calculation
I understand and I mentioned that but that doesn't change the fact that it looks like shit and you shouldn't be using it for the reasons mentioned in this video.
Could you please switch off, the IA Voice Translator from UA-cam, it is quite annoying, indeed. Tks.
You can simply switch the language / turn it off
So turn it off 😂 dafuq
I don't control that bro. And a lot of people find it helpful.
that's why I can't watch any other video out there, they're just using it (especially this chromatic adaptation thing) and tell you this is a professional way and what is the science behind it but who cares?
Bitte wieder den Deutschen Ton einstellen wie beim Red Video.
Big fan of your work ❤️ i color graded a footage for practice,its in my channel would love to hear your feedback can u review it.
🙏🏽
I learn everyday from you Qazi 🫡
My man. ✊🏼