Color.io - Review and Tutorial

in this video we're taking a look at color IO a powerful new film emulation and photo editing tool for photographers and filmmakers so what actually is color iio and what makes it different from other film emulation tools color iio is a web- based app which allows you to use it on all of your devices including desktop mobile and tablet you can edit Raw photos as well as create looks for your video footage to use with other thirdparty applications such as D Vinci resolve and Premier Pro it works in such a way that makes it easy to keep looks consistent no matter what input color space or picture profile you used in camera how do you use it the actual process for using color iio is incredibly simple in its most basic form you import an image choose a preset edit as needed and then export but of course we'll go over the process in a bit more detail splitting up the photo and video workflow so to start with here's the photography workflow it's worth me pointing out that you can use use color IO directly in your browser but because it's a progressive web application you also have the option to install it on your desktop or other devices for quick full screen access there is a full guide on how to do this in the getting started section I'll be using the desktop version on a Mac in most of these examples in color IO you work within scenes you can think of these as groups or different projects depending on your workflow you can input and Export multiple images into the same scene and copy grades between separate ones if needed to add a new scene you just click on the plus icon the other tools you have along the top bar are your undo and redo along with a full history of your edits which you can scroll back through you have the option to turn on or off the histogram overlay this will also update depending on what part of the image you are zoomed in on you can toggle on the 3D l view as well as the split screen allowing you to quickly swipe between a before and after of your look your you will find the full screen control here as well along with your account information and support tools when you first start a new scene you'll be greeted with the import dialogue box this is where you can add all of the images you want to grade for this particular scene you can either drag and drop them or just click open images the first thing to do is choose your input and output color space if you are editing raw images one of the recommended input options is Vision log RW if you just shot in jpeg mode you can use srgb for the output I just used srgb but this will depend on your individual needs if you want to use it for print or web for example I won't go into full details on how color management works within color IO as the user guide will do a much better job than I ever will but essentially it uses an input display transform to convert whatever format you've used into an as's workflow and then it will use an output display transform to convert it into your desired output whether that be Rec 709 for video or srgb for photos as an example once you've chosen your input and output this is where the fun begins you'll see you have a whole range of presets to choose from including if you have a pro license the ability to generate a look from scratch with the Spectra AI this can even be adapted to suit your taste each of these presets can be completely customized to the look you want to achieve so once you find something you like you can move on to dialing it in even further within the color engine you have a range of tools some you may already be familiar with to start you have the spectral volume and spectral balance spectral volume controls the color density and luminance of your image think of color density the saturation or Vibrance dragging up and down will control the brightness and left and right will control the saturation spectral balance controls the temperature and tint left and right is warmer and colder and up and down is green and magenta you can adjust the mix of any of these tools with the percentage slider next up you have the color scattering Wheels this is where you will have finer control of the colors within your shadows and highlights as R all the tools within color I/O they've been designed in a way to give you natural film light color processing following on from these two we have the color refraction wheels these allow you to have further control of your red yellow green cyan blue and magenta Hue vectors you have the option to unlink the shadows and highlights as well as toggle the separation mask for more control the film density tools allow for full control over the Hue and saturation of your image the density versus Hue curve lets you manipulate the individual colors density versus chroma adjust the density of the colors in your image by adjusting the chrominance values these basically control how colorful a pixel is similarly the density versus Luma curve ad just the colors of your image depending on their luminance values an example in a user guide suggests you can use this curve desaturate only the Shadows or highlights of an image while leaving the midtones untouched moving on you have a traditional contrast curve which you are probably already familiar with the Luma versus Hue c will brighten or darken your desired colors you also have the option to use the black and white Point sliders these are linked as standard but can be unlined as needed for more control finally in this part we have the color mask and tone compression section the color range mask and tone compression tool allows you to exclude a specific specific color range from the grade and compress those tones inside of that range anything that is white will be isolated from the grade everything that is black will be left unaffected next up we move on to the film effects section this is where you can add Hali grain and vignettes each of these has their own custom controls it's easy to go overboard with these sometimes but just remember a little goes a long way once you are happy with the look you've created now it's time to export you can export IM images individually or as a batch just select all of the ones you want in the export dialogue box for images you have the option to choose your resolution and quality you'll need to have color IO Pro for lossless and full resolution exports that pretty much sums up everything for editing still images Now we move on to video and generating 3D LS the video workflow is slightly different and there are a few key points to keep in mind at this stage you can't directly import video clips into color iio scenes instead you will need to export ungraded steel frames from your timeline for each look you require these still frames can be imported into color IO the same way photos can you will then need to select the correct color space for the footage you shot in whether that be in Rec 709 or in my case slog 2 you can also adjust the output color space for me I use Rex 709 you can then edit your Stills to get the look you're going for the main difference from Stills and videos however is that you won't be able to include film grain or halation as this information cannot be stored in the 3D LS that will be exported when you finished if you are looking to add these in your final grade they can be introduced in your third party editing software once you have finished designing your look you can export it as a 3D L as mentioned you have a range of options to choose from and if you are not completely sure there are some common use cases and workflows in the user guide design UI and us effect I found a design and general UI of color iio to be straightforward and intuitive everything is laid out in a clear and logical way making the transition through the grading process incredibly smooth if you're unsure what a certain tool does you can always hover over it or click the question mark this brings me on to my next Point help and support one of the main things that I've really appreciated about color iio is the help and support provided there is an extensive user guide and if you don't find out what you need to know there you can always ask a question directly there is also a clear way to report any bugs or other issues you might come across as well as the option to submit ideas and see what will be added in the future there definitely feels like there is more openness and transparency to color IO than with similar tools I've used previously price so when it comes to price color IO is as straightforward as it gets you have the free option or the pro option the pro option allows you to have your own custom preset Library full resolution and uncompressed exports free LX Sports you can also generate dcts plus you will have access to all future updates colio Pro is available for $15 a month or $49 for the annual subscription saving you over 70% probably the best option though you can get lifetime access no subscription required for $129 but it gets better Jonathan the creator of colio has actually given me a discount code saving you a further 25% off a lifetime access license this is an affiliate code for my channel so if you do decide to upgrade your account you'll be helping to support me and these videos saving yourself money at the same time final thoughts so I've been having a lot of fun editing still photos and designing looks for videos with color iio if you'd like to give color iio a try yourself it's free to get started with no sign up required if you have any questions let me know in the comments if you want to see more videos on lowbudget cinematography or film making in general you can subscribe below or carry on watching one of these videos I look forward to seeing you next time take care

Channel: Daniel Grindrod

Views: 10,640

Keywords: color.io review, color.io tutorial, film emulation, film look, cinematic, color grading, colour grading, color correction, davinci resolve, premiere pro, filmic, mobilie editing, mobile color grading app, color io, app review, blackmagic design, cinematic look, cinematic color grading, how to color grade, color correction tutorial, color correction premiere pro, haltion, grain, film grain, 35mm, 16mm, film convert, film nitrate, dehancer, dehancer pro, color.io, colorio

Id: -423w_hv4So

Length: 9min 34sec (574 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 04 2023