Adobe CS5 is an editing software designed for your Canon camera’s color space and codec.

Dissent: Voicing opinions that conflict with those that are commonly accepted or officially espoused.

When my Elite Team and I started blazing this trail, we had already become dissenters. We embraced technology that in Hollywood was a joke, a fad, not viable. This is one of the great paradoxes of the human condition. On one hand, the movie industry is built upon the ability of diverse groups of people to conform to common sets of rules and principles.

Yet, there is an enormous benefit that awaits when somebody or a group is brave enough to disrupt this coveted social harmony and challenge prevailing convention. That is what all of you are, dissenters. Now that we all know who we are, why settle for conformity when it comes to software?

Smash Cut to:

Adobe CS5

The first time I saw our Act of Valor footage loaded into CS5, I was hooked as a cinematographer. The range, dimension, the filmic quality was so apparent. I went to Jacob Rosenberg who is the head of Bandito Brothers Post and asked him why this looks so different. He said two things: backward engineering and understanding the platform.

This is why CS5 is so special. Adobe went to Canon and asked them to open up their color space to them so that they could do their best to understand it and expand it. They worked together to find a cocktail to increase depth and dimension in this limited 8 BIT compressed color space. The next was to the camera’s codec. They designed Premiere Pro specifically to deal with the h.264 codec. How many times has this codec failed in Final Cut Pro?

How about an editing system that requires no converting? You can input directly from the CF cards if you would like. This is huge. We all know how long it takes to convert.  Adobe is investing in their software as they see this as the future. Everything is shrinking to your desktop. Save time, edit faster, expanded organic looking 4:2:2 color space, filmic looking blacks, no conversion, REAL TIME editing without the barber shop blue scroll. WOW!!!

When we talked about doing the Hurlbut Visuals HDSLR Bootcamp and giving the students the ability to color correct their edited footage on a 25′ screen by the end of the day, CS5 and Premiere Pro was the only viable option. When I started to use it, I quickly understood the power of this amazing tool. Be a dissenter, go against the grain, go the distance, and expand your creativity.

Schedule 1-on-1 Video Call with David Cole

Looking for mentorship in the film industry? Schedule a 1-on-1 meeting with master colorist David Cole (The Lord of the Rings) today! This is where you can get expert advice from an industry professional on your career or a particular project. 

About Filmmakers Academy Master Colorist David Cole

David Cole began his career in 1996 in Melbourne, Australia in the telecine department of AAV Digital Pictures. While maintaining his position as a colorist, his role expanded to Technical Director of Digital Film. He also assisted in the visual effects department as a Technical Director, writing scripts and other tools for the CG group.

In 2001, Cole joined The Post House Ltd in Wellington, New Zealand, as a Lead Digital Colourist on Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, and over the next several years helped pioneer DI in Australia and New Zealand. In 2004, Cole joined Weta Digital as Supervising and Lead Digital Colourist, setting up and leading the DI division for Peter Jackson’s King Kong, for which he earned a nomination for Outstanding Color Grading – Feature film, from the Hollywood Post Alliance Awards in its inaugural year.

Cole moved to Hollywood in 2006 and joined LaserPacific which later became Technicolor. In 2013 Cole moved to Modern VideoFilm and in 2016 started at FotoKem. Since arriving in Hollywood he has graded such films as Dune, The Tomorrow War, Minari (HPA nominated), TRON: Legacy (HPA nominated), Pride and Glory (HPA nominated), The Book of Life, Kong: Skull Island, and multi-Academy Award-winning Life of Pi (HPA win – Outstanding Colour Grading – Feature Film).

Filmmakers Academy Premium Post-Production Courses

• Color Correcting: Terms & Techniques
• Editing: Terms & Techniques
• Music Licensing & Selection