which color space in Sony PVM OLED monitor, shooting for cinemas?

[Rob Wilton]

Hi there,

 

I'm just curious what color space one would recommend in a 17" Sony PVM OLED monitor, when prepping for a feature to be screened in cinemas?

 

The choice is EBU, SMPTE-C, ITU-709 and OFF.

 

OFF seems to strong to my eye, 709 is for television...

 

I guess a lot of it depends on what the colorist grades in, as well as what the delivery is, but did anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

thanks in advance,

 

Rob Wilton

Cinematographer

[Phil Rhodes]

Depends what you're shooting and how it's set up. What's the camera system, what mode will you have it in, and what sort of look are you after?

[Rob Wilton]

Hi Phil,

 

thanks for your reply.

 

We'll be shooting Alexa - 2K LogC ProRes 4444.

 

I'm not sure as to the look, I'm just camera operating!

 

best

 

Ro

[Phil Rhodes]

You can put an Arri look file into the Alexa from an SD card. The results come out of the monitor output.

 

How you set your display up will depend on what the LUT is set up to do, but almost invariably they'll assume you're in 709.

 

Bear in mind that anything you put into the Alexa will be embedded into the recorded files and may be seen as a suggestion by people down the road. Or ignored entirely. You know how it is...

 

If you want something just for your use, consider something like a SmallHD DP7.

 

P

[Bruce Greene]

Hi Phil,

 

thanks for your reply.

 

We'll be shooting Alexa - 2K LogC ProRes 4444.

 

I'm not sure as to the look, I'm just camera operating!

 

best

 

Ro

[Bruce Greene]

set the monitor to REC709 and the monitor out of the Alexa to REC709 also. Make sure not to record REC709 if you want LogC recording.

 

The "REC709" out of the Alexa is a bit low in contrast, I think to allow some grading of the image. But it's way better than viewing LogC on the director's monitor.

 

There is no easy way to to view in a more traditional REC709 mode (to look like a tv camera). There is an app called "Arri Look Creator" that you can download from Arri. But it can only modify the REC709 already in the camera, and with crude controls (lift, gamma, gain, saturation - no curves). You can't up-load a LUT to the Alexa, but I believe you can to the Amira.

 

The "Arri Look Creator" requires that you record a still frame from the Alexa to SD card, load it into your computer, modify the stock Look from the Alexa, and then upload it to the camera. It's not as simple as it should be, and if I remember correctly, may require re-booting the camera at some point to up-load the modified look.