I recently came across films like Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” and “Silence” which have what I call a “Soft 2 Strip” look. So does “Jurassic World” by Colin Trevorrow and “Inglorious Basterds” by Quentin Tarantino. It is a variation of the popular “Teal & Orange” Look, but partly less saturated. Sometimes it can look a bit like a “Technicolor 2 Strip”, but way less harsh than a true “Technicolor 2 Strip”, so I call the look “Soft 2 Strip”.

There are also variations of “that look” … a warmer, redder version in “A Quiet Place” or in films like “Dunkirk”, “Iron Man 2” and “Skyfall” the colors tend to shift towards yellow. Here are some References.

Jurassic World (2015)
Directed by Colin Trevorrow
© Universal Pictures

Shutter Island (2010)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
© Paramount Pictures

Silence (2016)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
© Paramount Pictures

Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
© Universal Pictures

Dunkirk (2017)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
© Warner Bros. Pictures

Almost all the references shown here were printed on Kodak 2383, so I started with that. Then I analyzed the scopes and created my own fixed node tree consisting of 6 Nodes. Node 1 for CST, Node 2 is for balance, Node 3, 4, 5 and 6 are for look development. After creating “my Soft 2 Strip version” I was collecting behind the scenes images and wanted to see if I could use my minimal approach to match scenes from the original film. So far I was able to recreate scenes from 12 different films.

NODE 1

CST

Color Space Transform

NODE 2

BALANCE

Offset
Contrast
Saturation

NODE 3

–

Look
Development

NODE 4

–

Look
Development

NODE 5

KODAK 2383

Rec709 LUT
Kodak 2383

NODE 6

–

Look
Development

I built the “Soft 2 Strip” Look around the “Kodak 2383 LUT”. The LUT expects “Cineon Film Log” as Input Gamma. I placed a “CST / Color Space Transform” to transform the input footage to “Cineon Film Log” Gamma. This is happening in Node 1. Input Color Space / Gamma can be any camera that is supported by DaVinci Resolve.

The second node is to make adjustments in Offset / Printer Lights to adjust the white balance and increase or decrease contrast and saturation.

Node 5 is the “Rec709 LUT Kodak 2383” LUT by DaVinci Resolve. Available in the Free & Studio version.

In Node 3, 4 and 6 I created the “Soft 2 Strip” (Teal & Orange) look. If you download the “Soft 2-Strip” PowerGrade package, you will find a user manual with detailed information on how I created the look.

As with my other projects, it was important to me to work simply and cleanly and to achieve the desired look with minimal tools so that my PowerGrade remains flexible during grading. I did not use any of the following tools to create the main look: Curves, Color Warper, Qualifier, Hue Vs. Hue, … and 99% of the time no lift gamma gain adjustments.

In the ZIP-File, you will find an additional 28 pages PDF User Guide that includes instructions to my minimal method that shows and explains every single Node.

The user guide covers the following topics:

• Overall Workflow
• Learn how to properly analyze footage
• Working with Print Film Emulation LUTs
• Learn to balancing a shot underneath a LUT
• Analyze scopes for look recreation
• Information about the “Soft 2 Strip” Preset
• Look adjustment & look development
• Final thoughts on working with the tools shown
• Additional information on various Orange & Teal techniques

The ZIP-File Includes 68 PowerGrades. Inspired by 12 films. The PowerGrades give you an insight into the interplay between “behind the scenes” images and the final look. This gives you a hands-on exploration of PowerGrades that you can use as inspiration or as a “starting point” for developing your own look.

This is a pack for beginner & intermediate colorists that want to gain a solid understanding of a “Soft 2 Strip” look development workflow and color theory. You should have at least watched “Introduction to Color” & “Advanced Color” by Blackmagic once and know how to work with Scopes. My user guides also walk you through the process of creating the “Soft 2 Strip” look step by step.

You will learn how to balance underneath a LUT, evaluate and recreate film looks, analyze scopes for look development and more. If you are interested in a simple, minimalistic and flexible workflow which gives you a consistent look, this pack is for you.