Lightroom Grading, opinion please!

Started by Rob Curd, November 13, 2018, 07:27:28 PM

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Rob Curd

Hi guys,

Previously I have been grading my clips by using the mlv app, exporting to prores with a flat profile and using a lut and tweaking in premiere pro. For this one I went back to an old (and long) workflow grading my dng files in Lightroom. It is way longer but I feel I have way more control. I understand that resolve would be quicker but I just don't know my way around it.

I wanted to know if the extra effort was worth it. Could you give me your opinion on the grade? https://youtu.be/eY80kpHFOag 

Also anyone else using Lightroom? If so quickest workflow?

Thanks
Rob

ibrahim

Hi Rob,

I first used Lr when it took off with Magic Lantern. So it is a good quick start to become familiar with color grading but I would not recommend it since you will be dealing with several programs, exporting, in and out, etc...

If I were to choose to work with RAW then color grading and working with scopes would be my target. Scopes are included in davinci, After Effects and even Premiere.
If you intend to produce documentary, promo like videos then Premiere would be just fine. Davinci even faster but its editing features are not YET as sharpened as premiere's.
If you want to produce short film and therefore color grade and use LUT or/and filmconvert etc. then use either AE or davinci. Davinci is faster but AE has better image quality however AE is much slower to work with since it requires a lot of RAMs. Davinci requires a strong GPU.

Besides that nothing beats davinci in its color grading features and its export (render) time.

So to sum up this as soon as you know what highlights, black, etc. are doing exactly to your picture then leave Lr and move to either of these three programs. You will see the big difference.
If you want full control then use the scopes (RGB curves, luma lumetrie and vectorscopes) to color correct and grade. Use cinelogC or ARRi alexa logC as a starting point.
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masc

Have you thought about grading just in MLVApp? From the color side the result should be better than using Premiere for color correction... from workflow it should be faster than LR, the GUI elements are close to LR,... For relatively easy projects as the one you linked that should be a good option. For more complicated projects Resolve should be your friend.
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IDA_ML

In addition to what Masc said, I would say that MLVApp is perfect for handling DualISO files and your best option for that, especially considering the latest progress in 1x3 shooting.  Just apply the DualISO option in the RAW menu to your DualISO MLVs, and also correct the white level if necessary, then apply all basic adjustments and color grading that you need to your clips and finally export to ProRes.  MLVApp rendering is rather slow but you can do something else in that time.  And once you have your ProRes files, working with them in Resolve is lightning fast.  This is my workflow and I cannot be happier.

Rob Curd

Thanks for all your help guys!

I think I need to step outside of my comfort zone and jump into after effects or DaVinci. I will run some tests using all the methods including mlv app. I did try DaVinci before but as you mentioned it is gpu hungry which I lack on my MacBook.

Will post the next video and get your opinion again :).

Thanks again!