I'm running a poll to see the relative adoption of different HDR standards among VTE viewers. Please select the highest option that applies to the device you use most often for watching videos.
ALSO - If you have a device which somehow supports BOTH HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, please join the discord and send me a message. I want to hear about it.
10 - 5
Over the past few weeks, I have been working on a video about DJI's D-log M picture profile, and their stubborn refusal to release the proper whitepaper to enable mathematically correct color transforms. The premise of the video was that recent consumer-oriented DJI cameras don't offer any way of capturing scene-referred images which enable proper color management and HDR production. The D-log M format was a proper scene-referred log format, but the exact gamma curve and color space that DJI was using were unknown and thus it was impossible to create DCTLs to convert the footage into any other format. All we had was a LUT that converted D-log M footage into Rec.709, which was not sufficient for HDR productions.
While it is true that D-log M lacks a proper whitepaper, and that DJI's refusal to release said whitepaper is frustrating, it is not true that their cameras have no way of capturing scene-referred data with a known transform. Going into the project, I discounted their included HLG picture profile as I had never really liked the way the images turned out. The shadows were noisy and the highlights were way too bright considering the cameras' limited dynamic range. I assumed that either DJI wasn't taking full advantage of the sensors' capabilities, or that they were doing some wonky remapping of the linear data to make the image unreasonably bright. But ultimately, neither of these ideas hold any weight. It's true that the HLG images are overly bright, and noisy in the shadows, but at the end of the day they do represent the full dynamic range of the sensor, with a known transform back to linear light.
HLG as a standard is a bit messy, and it's a matter of some debate whether it should qualify as a scene-referred or display-referred format. For practical purposes, though, it's close enough to a scene-referred format to make it usable for HDR productions and other color managed workflows. It's a viable alternative to D-log M for HDR capture, which makes the need for a D-log M whitepaper much less urgent. Much of the video's entertainment value came from the frustration I encountered when trying to integrate my DJI camera into an HDR workflow. But when it turns out that the failures were mostly my own lack of understanding, rather than a result of a company's mishandling of a product, much of that value disappears.
So I've decided not to release the video. It's a bit disheartening, since I've already filmed most of it and had started on editing, but I think it's for the best. If the film remastering video has taught me anything, it's that I don't want to be "technically correct" yet miss the crux of an issue. If anyone's interested in seeing the unfinished cut of the video, I might release it for patrons/members at some point.
ON THAT NOTE, however, there is one thing to come from this project that I am comfortable releasing. The finale of the video was meant to be my journey to fix DJI's problem for them, and reverse-engineer the D-log M format to create a mostly-accurate DCTL. I spent a lot of time on this, and I think I ultimately succeeded in creating a pair of DCTLs that will convert D-log M into linear light with reasonable accuracy. The original plan was to release these DCTLs for free alongside the video as a public service, but since I've discovered that HLG is a viable alternative to D-log M, I feel the public need for such transforms is less critical. As such, I'll be releasing these transforms for channel patrons and members alongside some of the other color transforms I've made such as my custom Rec.709 input transform for ACES. Keep a look out for that to be posted soon.
So yeah, there's no video coming soon. But I have another one in the works! It'll probably just take a while.
31 - 11
Hey everyone! Just wanted to give a brief shout-out to an indie horror film that I worked on with some friends recently. Check it out! watch video on watch page
11 - 1
Video Tech Explained is a show dedicated to explaining the technology, concepts, and standards that make the modern world of digital video production. From the smallest YouTuber up to big-budget Hollywood production, digital video has revolutionized the way we create and share content with the world.
Come along for the ride as I share what I've learned about this fascinating topic.
== My gear ==
Cameras:
- Sony a7SIII
- Sony a6400
- GoPro Hero 8 Black
Lenses:
- Sigma 24-70 F/2.8 DG DN Art
- Sigma 30mm F/1.4
- Sony 16-50mm F/3.5-5.6
- Sony 55-210mm F/4.5-6
Audio:
- Rode Smartlav+
- Tascam DR-05x
- Rode Videomic pro+
Lighting:
- Godox SL-60W
- Neewer 660 LED Panel (2x)
Software:
- Davinci Resolve
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe Premiere
- Blender