ACADEMY COLOUR SCIENCE resolution and use a hardware calibrator with the matching software. The device sits against the screen, measures output and builds a corrected profile. It only takes a few minutes, and the before-and-after difference can be dramatic. One popular equipment option is the Calibrite Display Plus HL that is especially designed to cope with today’s bright
panels up to 10,000 nits. It supports mini- LED, OLED and Apple XDR displays, and covers standards including NTSC, PAL/ SECAM, Rec. 709 and BT. 1886, as well as Rec. 2020 workflows. It can also calibrate projectors and field monitors. Datacolor’s answer is the Spyder Pro, an advanced display calibrator supporting OLED, mini-LED and Apple Liquid Retina XDR screens. It adds support for video and cinema targets, high-brightness displays and unlimited calibration profiles, making it especially useful for editors switching between jobs and delivery standards. For filmmakers working with more than one display, the Spyder Pro’s Studio Match feature helps align all screens for visual consistency. It supports 3D LUT export, so calibrated looks can be loaded onto compatible displays such as Atomos monitors. That creates continuity from the field monitor on-set to the grading screen in the edit suite. The Spyder Pro also measures ambient room light and adapts screen calibration to suit the environment above, behind and “Too many filmmakers still rely on auto white- balance, which can shift between shots and create a grading nightmare”
SENSOR SENSITIVITY Use the Atomos Studio K-100 probe to keep your editing screen completely accurate
around your display. Moreover, it allows fine-tuning of white point, brightness and gamma for users who want more control. TAKE 2: GET IT RIGHT IN CAMERA The fastest way to save time in post is to prevent problems forming on set. That starts with white-balance. However good software is, correcting mismatched white- balance after the shoot is always slower and less precise than getting it right when you record. And yet, too many filmmakers still rely on auto white-balance, which can shift between shots and create a grading nightmare. Don’t fall into that trap. Set white-balance manually whenever you can. On cinema cameras, it is usually
quick and obvious. On mirrorless bodies, however, it may be buried in the menus, but it is worth digging around for and learning. Even if you are recording Raw and can adjust later, setting it correctly on the day helps monitoring look more natural and prevents you from making mistakes when recording to formats that bake the signal in, such as ProRes via an external recorder. The old-school strategy is to use a white sheet of paper or someone’s shirt to fill the frame while setting balance. This is better than nothing, but not an especially accurate method. Paper can contain optical brighteners or pigments, not to mention that pure white surfaces can clip, both of which affect the RGB values your camera uses for the measurement. A proper video white-balance target is a much better solution. These are designed to avoid highlight clipping, remain spectrally neutral and reduce reflections. Some also include colour patches, making them useful in post as well. The Calibrite Colorchecker Passport Video 2 is a compact option that combines a colour chart and a greyscale target in a pocket-sized folding case. After you record a reference shot, you can use it in post to align your footage more accurately. Datacolor’s Spyder Photo Video Kit takes the same principle further. Alongside the Spyder Pro calibrator, this includes the Spyder Cube for in-camera white-balance and contrast reference, plus the Spyder Checkr Video chart that helps standardise colour across different cameras and lenses. Charts and white-balance targets only go so far, however, if the actual lighting is inconsistent. Mixed sources are one of the biggest causes of difficult colour
THE RITE WAY Calibrite’s Video Photo Kit comes with the Display Plus HL screen calibrator and a portable colour chart
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