In December I traveled to Taiwan to run the first ‘BYO’ laptop Resolve training class. I have often talked about a BYO class but up until now didn’t think the hardware would be up to the job. The old saying ‘you never know till you try’ was to be tested here. This is my Taipei report.
Canadian DP and Taiwan resident Luke Cameron encouraged me to stage the class, confident we would get the numbers to make the class a success. The Red Room is a cool creative space in the center of Taipei, ideal for hosting a training class. I loved the pictures and different art pieces that lined the room, it really added to the creative vibe we were aiming for in the class.
I was a little concerned about the students’ machines not being up to spec. I was relieved when the students were very well prepared. They had already loaded the Resolve 12.5 software, giving them the option to have a play before we started. We supplied each student with a 64GB USB stick containing all training media and tutorials.
Local reseller HiProtech supplied the projector, Sony OLED monitor and Blackmagic panels, a big thanks to them for supporting color training in Taiwan.
The Resolve R101 class kicked off the week with five students, followed by seven in the R201 Advanced class. Students mostly originated from Taiwan and Hong Kong.
The most pleasing thing for me was the fantastic support for my Looks and Matching Masterclass. The 14 participating students were a mixture of those in R101 and R201 plus experienced colorists. These colourists were not only Resolve users but general graders looking to add to their skillset. This mix worked very well because it led to a good variety of questions. The key objective of all of my classes is getting the students confortable enough to ask questions and get involved with the group.
Looks and Matching covers more than just how to create a look. We look at films and try to match or recreate their look with similar material that the student can take away from the class. We discuss how to work with clients, when to be creative and when to sit back. How much should you charge, and realistically how long should a movie or TVC take to grade?
The biggest advantage for the student is they could practice on their own machines so familiarity was a big plus. The Looks we created in the class could be added straight into their Powergrade library, so no copying or exporting needed.
Here is what the students thought of the class. https://vimeo.com/198609807
If you are interested in the ICA visiting your town in 2017 please contact us here info@icolorist.com
Red Room http://redroomtaipei.com
HiProtech www.hiprotech.com.tw
Luke Cameron luke.mw.cameron@gmail.com
