The Offset Podcast

We've been Dolby Vision evangelists -speaking, presenting, and developing training on it almost since the very start including a 10-part series for the Dolby Institute a few years ago. So every time an opportunity presents itself to chat with our friends at Dolby we jump at the chance. Recently we caught up with Nate McFarlin who is a Senior Content Engineer at Dolby for an engaging two-part conversation.In this episode, we discuss:- Joey & Robbie's passion for Dolby Vision- Nate's engineering background and his time at RIT in the Motion Picture Science program (MPS)- Some of the origins and spread of HDR and Dolby Vision- Understanding Dolby Vision as translation technology (tone mapping)- The explosion of HDR and Dolby Vision content- And much more!In part 2, we'll dive into some more of the technical parts of the Dolby Vision ecosystem as we continue our chat with Nate.

Trade shows have always played a big role in the production and postproduction industries. Pre Internet, outside of going to visit a company or reseller directly, a trade show was the only way to get valuable information about products, workflows, and in general, where the industry was headed. In the 1980s through the early 2000s shows like the National Association Of Broadcasters (NAB) or the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) were hosts to hundreds of thousands. Equally as important as visiting the show floor were the plethora of networking events, parties, and hangouts - some of which are still whispered about in convention center hallways for how epic they were!In this episode of The Offset Podcast, we discuss what shows like NAB mean to us as colorists, educators, and technology-driving guys and why even post-pandemic where the crowds and investments from exhibitors are smaller, trade shows still play a vital role - even if that role is just networking and seeing colleagues you only know virtually or see at trade shows! While we're a bit heavy on NAB in this episode - as it's the show we know the best and the one we've gone to the most. The things we discuss in this episode apply to other big trade shows like IBC, BIRTV, Interbee, CabSat, Broadcast India, and othersIn this show some of the things we'll discuss including:Getting time in with software developers of your favorite tools to suggest features, workflows, and bugs.Face time with peers and colleagues that you might not see or speak to regularlyRubbing elbows with industry heroesLeveraging educational sub-conferences and presentationsSurvival tips & techniquesBuilding a contact database and following up post-trade showCost saving tipsEnjoy the episode!

In this installment of The Offset Podcast, we're diving into some common color grading myths that we've heard over the years. This is by no means a comprehensive collection of myths, but rather a few select ones that we hear often. We'll start by taking a look at the 'skin tone line' on a vectorscope and why its use is not as cut and dry as you think it might be. We'll then jump into why 'more' grading is usually not the best approach to your grades and the related issue of why teal & orange looks engineered in post can sometimes be a tell to 'over grading'. We'll explore why lots of LUTs are nothing more than snake oil and why the one-size-fits-all-all LUT doesn't exist. We'll also discuss why separate P3 grades for film festivals can be an over complication for most projects, why you don't have to normalize a log image first before keying, and where you place noise reduction depends on the shot & your needs. Remember, if you like The Offset Podcast please like and subscribe wherever you watch or listen!

As a postproduction professional, one of your primary jobs is to ensure the data integrity of the projects you are working on - essentially don't lose stuff! Over the years we've heard hundreds of horrifying stories of data loss and unfortunately, most of them were avoidable. In this episode of The Offset Podcast, we dive into backup and archiving strategies. We'll start out exploring the differences between a backup and an archive, why it's important to NEVER work off a client-supplied drive(s), understanding online, nearline, and offline data lifecycle states, redundancy at each state, and understanding the gear needed you'll need. We'll also dive into an overview of LTO and why it is the best option for long-term archiving. We'll discuss LTO generations, connectivity, using LTFS as a file system, tape redundancy, and why a stack of drives is NOT a suitable replacement for LTO. Finally, we'll discuss some business/billing implications of archiving. If you like the show please give us a like and subscribe to stay up to date on future episodes!

It's our 10th Episode! Thanks to everyone who has supported the show especially our sponsor Flanders Scientific! If you enjoy this show, or any of our episodes, please subscribe and like!In this installment of The Offset Podcast we're talking about something that's important to all of us - mental health. The pressures, deadlines, and sometimes difficult interpersonal things in post can be crippling - leading to bouts with anxiety, depression and general unhappiness. We'll explore why talking about mental health is so important to talk about, battling imposter syndrome and uncomfortable situations, how projects shouldn't equate to self worth, how social media contributes to 'keeping up with the Jones', perfectionism/OCD, managing general business anxiety, the dangers of self medicating to manage anxiety, how bad habits contribute to stress, why exercise is so important, finding health hobbies, and much more.

Continuing our discussion on suite design, in this installment of The Offset Podcast Joey & Robbie get into more detail about gear you might want to consider having in a color/postproduction suite including: input devices, control surfaces, Streamdecks, foot pedals, aux monitors, 3D printing your own stuff, the amazing usefulness of VHB tape and a whole lot more! Looking for a deep dive on reference & client monitors? We'll cover that deep topic in a future episode.

Designing a suite thats both comfortable (for you and clients) as well as functional for color work is more complicated than you might think! Having built dozens of suites from scratch over the years, in part one of two episodes on the subject, Robbie & Joey share their lessons learned about room design including executing proper planning, if you should consider having a machine room, considerations for cable runs & connecting equipment in a suite from a machine room, common room layouts, and lots more.

One of the biggest questions in any color grading pipeline is how a project will be moved from editorial to a grading system (assuming it's not edited in the same application!) In this episode of The Offset Podcast, Robbie & Joey discuss the pros & cons of three different workflows for moving projects to color: conform, bake (also called flat file), or a hybrid of the two. No two projects are the same, and learning to figure out the best workflow to move a project from editorial to color is an essential skill to have.

After 20+ years of using CRT, LCD/LED, Plasma, RGB OLED, W-RGB OLED, LMCL, and probably a few other display technologies we're forgetting about - Is QD OLED (Quantum Dot OLED) the display technology we've all been waiting for? In this installment of The Offset Podcast, Robbie & Joey sit down with our good friend, display technology guru, and CEO of Flanders Scientific, Bram Desmet to discuss if quantum physics actually has anything to do with this display technology, the massive improvements that QD OLED provides over other display tech and some key features of QD OLED that you'll want to consider before your next reference monitor purchase.

Film print emulation (FPE for short) is an often discussed, but often confusing topic of discussion for DPs, colorists, and others working in postproduction. In this episode of The Offset Podcast, Robbie & Joey discuss what film print emulation can mean these days and how there are things to like about pursuing a filmic look, things to avoid, and how different people mean different things when discussing FPE.

****** A gigantic thanks to our good friends & new sponsor Flanders Scientific! Visit www.flandersscientific.com to learn more about all their professional monitoring solutions ****** Unless you've been living under a rock, you've likely heard the countless ongoing discussions about 'Artificial intelligence' and machine learning. In this episode of The Offset Prodcast, Robbie & Joey share their thoughts on how AI/ML is currently affecting the postproduction industry and the possible future of AI/ML in post - both good and bad.

A postproduction finishing workflow can be complicated especially when you factor in the need to manage multiple sites and work locations. In this installment of The Offset Podcast, Robbie & Joey share the main points of the workflows they use daily in their boutique post & finishing company DC Color

The role of an assistant in postproduction has changed a lot over the past couple of decades. In this episode of the Offset Podcast Robbie & Joey share their thoughts on the evolution of the postproduction assistant, what skills assistants should learn, and what employers should look out for.

In our first episode, Robbie & Joey look at client communication best practices for postproduction professionals and share some hard-won advice on do's and don'ts when it comes to communicating with clients.

For 25 years, DC Color principals Robbie Carman & Joey D’Anna have been coloring, editing, writing books, recording tutorials, and traveling the world speaking about color, postproduction, technology, business, and creative approaches.Robbie & Joey are both known for their warm, open, and conversational approach to even the most technical topics. Using their broad experience to inform engaging conversations from online forums, social media platforms, and in-person hangouts with industry friends and peers people have always said ‘You guys should record this and make a podcast!’So, that’s exactly what we decided to do: Introducing The Offset PodcastThe Offset Podcast is a semi-monthly (twice a month) podcast available on all major podcast platforms and The Offset Podcast YouTube Channel (video version).Check out the trailer for the podcast as well as the first two episodes – all available now!