Since the CDL does not communicate any other vital details, clear communication and precise look management are essential. A CDL knows nothing and transmits nothing about the recording format, exposure, and color space of input data. However, as powerful as CDLs can be (they are only metadata themselves), they are pretty featureless when communicating other pieces of information. What makes CDLs so vastly compatible? It’s a simplified design. Software engineers can easily reverse-engineer the conversion between SOP and LGG.Īn exaggerated example of a CDL grade, using only SOP controls combined with a viewing 3D LUT. Any software that offers CDL compliance will generate the same precise results when reading a CDL. If anything, it’s designed to side-step proprietary color grading exchange formats such as the. Remember, a CDL is not meant to compete with an entire 5- or 10-node color grade. This primary-only set of controls may initially feel like a restriction, but it is deliberate. The key takeaway with CDLs is that they are primary-only color corrections with the added saturation slider. Like LUTs, CDLs do not affect spatial or temporal adjustments – power windows, tracking, secondaries, and all plugins are out of scope. We’ll look at these individual operations in a few moments. That’s right, a tenth designation that solely controls Saturation was added in Version 1.2 of the ASC-CDL and affects the entire combined result of RGB after all SOP transfer functions have been applied. Those with attentive eyes will notice an extra feature in the above screenshots. This example has a heavy adjustment in Slope, a slight one in Offset, and none for Power and Saturation. This screenshot of a CDL via TextEdit is formatted as an EDL. The CDL, in its most basic form, is a human- and machine-readable text document. An end result is a group of nine separate operations in a single CDL each SOP operation has three color components. Slope, Offset, and Power (referenced here as SOP), are transfer functions applied to all three independent channels of R, G, and B. This is extremely important, if you think back to high school math class, you’ll remember that even the slightest change in the order of operations will result in something else entirely different! You may be wondering why the ASC-CDL sequence is expressed as ‘S-O-P’, as opposed to ‘O-S-P’ to match the more commonly known ‘LGG.’ That’s because, in CDL math, the arithmetic of SOP-S is calculated in that precise sequence. However, each set of CDL controls behaves very differently from one another! The parameters of a CDL replace the traditional Lift, Gamma, and Gain you’re probably used to manipulating. A numerical read-out is conveniently shown on the right and updates in real time. Notice the design choice to arrange the wheels to represent Lift Gamma Gain grading controls. The ‘CDL’ Node is illustrated inside of Pomfort Silverstack LAB. In other words, it’s about the perfect interchange of color modifications. CDL-compliant hardware and software can create, modify, and reproduce consistent color results exported from any other supported platform. The strength of a CDL- based workflow is its software-agnostic nature. Their definitions of LGG can vary in sensitivity and response. Like an EDL communicates basic edit data, a CDL carries a subset of color-correction data.Īlthough all color-correction systems offer their basic grading controls, ‘Lift,’ ‘Gain’, and ‘Gamma’ are implemented differently from vendor to vendor. The specification was first released around mid-2007 and is now widely adopted among several software and hardware manufacturers. The ASC-CDL, more commonly expressed and known simply as the CDL, was created through a joint operation between the American Society of Cinematographers’ Technology Committee, production/post-production vendors, and color scientists to standardize the exchange of primary color adjustments. But before we get there, we need to understand what precisely a CDL is designed to do. And at the end of this article, we look at why DPs typically combine a LUT with a CDL to achieve their final looks. What precisely did he mean, being ‘CDL compliant’? Why is it important for dailies colorists to restrict their toolset? I’ll explain the theory behind the Color Decision List (CDL). One of the comments he made was about restricting his color corrections to be CDL-compliant. In a previous Insight, colorist Rob Bessette talked about his experience coloring dailies after a career in commercial color grading. Understanding CDLs (Color Decision Lists)ĭay 22: 25 Insights in 25 Days 2019 New Year Marathon! Meet the ASC-CDL (Color Decision List): The Theory.Tutorials / 2019 New Year Marathon / What Is A CDL And When Do You Use It? Series
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