Man this is like last 30years of tech on one table. It is so cool how tech savy you are yet it feels a bit like you are working in a museum (in a good way!). So cool setup!
Darren absolutely amazing content and overview of your equipment. Would love to see a video showing grading with a Client, and how that works when they come to your studio. Happy New Year.
I cover that on my Masterclasses in detail. Its hard to get client consent on a live job and also my focus is on the job at that point, not worrying about RUclips - wouldn't be Pro at all. Most of my clients have no idea I have a RUclips channel. Great idea though. Thanks.
Got tangled and lost in all that cabling...!!! 😵💫😅 Great setup, great channel and great teacher...!! Wish you happy and blessed new year in advance, Sensei...! 🙇
One of those videos that keeps you glued. Loved it. That cheap monitor (4:00) is the second I have 🤣 together with my iMac 5K. Wishing you and your family all the best for 2025 🎉 Maybe I’ll see you in February at the BSC in London 👍
Very interesting tour Darren thanks for sharing. Good to see you still have those 3.5" Premiere disks. Thanks for all the terrific content, Happy New Year!!
Love the outtakes!! 😂😂 What a dream suite, seriously! And I’m very curious about ur experience with BM Cloud, can’t wait for that episode in 2025! In this spirit, wishing you a fantastic New Year and happy holidays🤗 See you next year!
Some smooth moves right at the end. 😂 I’m still using my MX keyboard after your last review and think it’s the bees knees. Hope you and your family have a happy new year.
As always, very useful and impressive. Try not to forget, but I appreciate you are a very busy chap, the idea around getting aview to grade some of their footage and you then showing them how it should be done. It would be a real big wow to see the effect of all the nuances and the years of experience to the finished video.
Amazing!!! Thanks for showing us. I’ll never have anything like this but I sure enjoyed seeing how a real pro does it!! Thanks again!!! BTW, I love what you do for us!!
haha - luckily the AKA desks have discreet cable management but I need to have a re-wire - there is probably 20 unused cables in that desk trunking!! I do like to label them and it could be improved a bit - some more could be hidden - maybe you just gave me a nudge to do that!
I have that same tripod, and of all the tripods i have i use that one the most. so versatile, and sturdy. i put a video head on it, so i cant use the horizontal center bar as often, like you have yours set up, but still i do love that tripod.
Hi Darren thank you for this absolutely great and interesting behind your scene video i loved it really to watch. I wish you a healthy and formidable 2025 and always good work at your studio, Roland
gotta love that youve had some of this stuff for 10+ years thats awesome, did not realize the resolve panel was THAT big same size as my desk lmao. seems like an awesome setup overall
Hi Darren, Happy New Year! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and so many helpful tips! You have a great setup. I wish you lived next door to me in Dubai. Wishing you all the best for 2025!
Agreed - it doesn't even feel that solid but the sound is far superior to the small 'loud technologie' and a yamaha (MG06X) I have in the other suites.
Great to see this current state of your studio Darren!! Thanks so much for sharing. So I'm so fascinated by the fact that you find the Speed editor so valuable. Are you editing as well these days? As a pure colorist I'm surprised this would be so valuable to you as it's so limited in the Color panel - if applicable at all. Just want to make sure I'm not missing some application that you have for it in Color Grading.
Im editing all my own RUclips content. I used to be an editor so I appreciate its versatility but Im a full time colourist so its only out when Im making youtube videos. For colour you can use the scroll wheel as a stills wipe! and play stop start and some more functions too. Also sometimes I like to sit away from the suite and I can control the timeline easily using it as a large remote control.
40 seconds in, and I can see that this is a guy who knows exactly how to operate a successful RUclips channel. Clearly earmarking the sections that specific audiences will be interested in - even if not working in this particular industry.
I didn't even think about it BTW - That just came out of mouth! i dont really overplan things like a tour - I just do the tour. But appreciate it and this video is doing well on my stats for day 2 so Im pleased. Thanks for watching and the kind words. Happy New Year.
I was not aware they had color grading stations on Federation Starships but now I am. Going to have to write you up for being out of uniform, however. Have a great 2025!
Timely video. I’m trying to decide whether I want a regular 27” or an ultrawide for my GUI monitor and you seem happy with the former. I found out how to put my scopes on my iPad so that’s sort of similar to your setup and it’s good to see a working pro using a regular monitor for gui. Happy new year too
Id say if you rely on using the stills gallery a lot then you may want second GUI monitor. I dont need that feature heavily. Scopes on ipad is a fantastic use of an ipad.
Happy new year! Love your video. Not that I can afford to get any of the equipment you’ve got but i think it might be helpful for others if you put (affiliate) links in the description box for the products you mentioned for purchase or research. Keep up the great work.
I also bought the Advanced Panels, used in my case, 3 weeks before the mini and micro was announced, because there wasn’t really any great options. I almost sold it at a big profit because the mini could do so much in smaller form for so much less. Luckily I held onto it, because the V2 keycaps/programming is just so incredibly good and a joy to work on. I do rent my Advanced Panels out in the NYC area from time to time, as long as people have insurance. I did sell the Linux dongle that came with it since I don’t run Linux.
Im so jelly jealous of your suite in general but foremost your new fsi monitor!!!! 😂😂 luv the bloopers at the end~ one more thing tho☝🏻 which colorimeter and software, lut box do you use to calibrate your monitors? Klein k10? And i also wonder if you do DIT jobs on field and which gears you pack out
No LUT box needed. XMP310 stores data internally. You can calibrate it directly using a Klein or others too. No software even required - its all internal menu driven. See the XMP310 video I made - goes into more depth. Hope that helps.
you dont need two - I just always have a backup system as broadcast schedules can be tight and demanding - I have 2 of everything! So, it is convenient for me to use it as a scopes system and thats why 2 I/O boxes - just helps for backup really - I could have sold them really.
Happy New Year! As a beginner, working with a decent but not ideal monitor, how would you approach HDR content? Looking at your setup I can see why you end up with all the gear you have - how can the rest of us approach getting acceptable results on a budget? I've been 'fine' working in SDR but recently received some HDR footage to edit and grade. It took me a long while to work out why my rendered output looked nothing like the view in Resolve - turning on 10-bit in settings helped. Your previous tutorials on Colour Managed settings was also a life-saver too! It doesn't help when the footage you're sent isn't carrying metadata and the client has no clue what it was recorded on - MediaInfo to the rescue.
Whoah that looks amazing! I'm new the the game after 10 years working as a special effects artist. I'm using a BenQ PD 2700U (500€) as my primary Reference monitor as well as a Panasonic TX-42LZ1500E (900€) as my HDR Clean Feed secondary that I calibrated myself at 720nits peak using a Calibrite Pro Checker Display Plus (300€) with the Callman Panasonic software (150€). Not perfect but usable when mostly relating on the scopes and very cheap alternative for the making of HDR content. I also use my Ipad Pro to check some higher HDR values and display the scopes. I recently bought the new DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel wich is a bargain for its price (560€). I will eventually bought better hardware in the future but to begin my venture as a colorist It's okay, I guess. My pc could sometime be a little slow when working with neat video or using relight though.
Warm and useful tour, thank You Darren))) Got inspired for next year, got distressed for rest of the year listening to these 23 mins))) Why won't You use one of the "😮" thumbnails? 😅
Darren, Color grading & DaVinci beginner here and learning lots from you. Had some questions below. Many emphasize transcoding to mezzanine in their workflows. I understand the principals and obvious advantages. However, since my computer is capable of editing in h.265/4 (with far more processing of course) is it in fact poor form to do so for the video outcome? What workflow would you trust in maintaining highest quality over platforms such as Instagram, or in most practical application at least? Avoiding degradation in final export is my highest priority. My firmware won't bottleneck, still, varying opinions state transcoding as nonoptional for professional use to avoid compression artifacts/maintain quality even if your computer can edit h.265/4. Do you agree? Is this what you experience? And what do you do? Finally, I've encoded to ProRes in Shutter Encoder if required. (Being in DaVinci Studio you could do this natively of course). To sum, if editing footage directly is possible and easier, is transcoding always recommended to preserve quality? And does this imply h.265 > Intermediate (Ex. ProRes) > h.264 introduces less degradation than h.265 > h.264 directly? Thank you.
agreed! Even the smaller ones are hard to beat. These have Genelec stands too. I missed that - it keeps the feet on rubber mounts on points and have a huge solid round base. It makes a slight difference that is worth it. I have a pair or Presonus in the edit suite - great but not as good - certainly cheaper though!!
@@DarrenMostyn well as they say cheap things no good and good things no cheap. I first got a pair of 8030's loved them ... loaned them to my brother the Audio engineer who just got stated back then. never got them back LOL, got a pair of 8020's which I still have to today. He has since added 8351's to his lineup.
very nice indeed, but you didn't mention what coffee machine you entertain the clients with - or do you have a close by coffee shop and (as i used to do), suggest it's time for a coffee break ;-) ?
we are spoilt fr coffee shops - Im right in the heart of brighton. Probably 10 within 3 minutes. I do have a nespresso machine and milk frother too. And TEA!
I prefer my clients attending tbh! I very rarely have to deal with annoying clients. Not saying never, but usually we have a great experience in the suite.
@@DarrenMostyn whilst i agree wholeheartedly it's great having the client around, (if for no other purpose other than getting instant feedback, making critical decisions, and signing off on such) - there were times when they could become a real pita (especially corporate types chattering on about internal politics, or their latest acquisition, etc.,). that i simply needed a 'get-out' of jail card. since i'm now retired, and only working with people i want to, i'm wondering what one does in such cases nowadays ;-)
They are blackout blinds on a motorised roller so i can press a remote switch to activate. I dont know the brand - they were custom made. Happy New Year too
Happy New Year Darren!! Can you provide a link for the acoustic boards, please. I have a very similar layout to yours. When you upgrade your client monitor, consider the Sony A95L. I have one and when calibrated along with my Flanders in both hdr/sdr they match perfectly. I hope the New Year treats you kindly.
Hi Happy NY to you too. I have no idea where they came from Im afraid...I bought them years ago. They are nothing special- just a google search. The wood paneling acoutic boards are from woodveneerhub
Curious on your thoughts on the eye drops? Things to consider when shopping? I’m kicking myself I never thought of this to fight eye strain! Great work as always
Yep. Just regular ones. Im not an eye specialist, but 'daily' type eyedrops that are weaker is what I use. I dont use every session, I use when Im needing an eye refresh - please consider Im 56 years old too and this is not medical advice! Works for me.
Great video, Darren. A few quick questions: 1. How long does it take from all power being off to starting a session? 2. When booting up, does everything work by default or do you need to make any settings changes each time, like monitor input selection? 3. What’s the ambient noise level like? Happy NY 👍
Hi Andrew. Great questions!! 1. About 2 minutes. I didn't show but I have an app that powers up some kit like the advanced panel and ultrastudios, speakers etc so thats instant. 2 macs via MX Keyboard and USB switcher takes no time. Flanders I like to give 5-10 minutes to be sure but Im usually in at least an hour before I start grading and clients. 2. Everything remembers its settings - I just have to point the M2 Mac Studio to the Pegasus drive which is annoying and probably easily fixed but it takes 10 seconds. 3. Whisper Quiet. I insist on it. I sent a G-Tech raid back once because I could hear it. Ultrastudio 4K rack mount is noisiest part of the system. The 4K Extreme is silent. I could put all the kit downstairs as I have three suites here but there is no need. You get fan noise on heavy renders sometimes but thats fine when we've finshed the grade. All the kit is on when i record RUclips so you are hearing it for real. Thanks Andrew, hope that answers for you. All the best, Darren AMEND: After a few weeks use I can hear the Blackmagic CloudStore MAX running but its not loud - just not silent. The regular Cloud storage (not the rack mount) have different cooling so they are quieter. This is connected by 10G ethernet so I can put somewhere else easily if needed.
@@DarrenMostyn Thanks for such a detailed response. That’s good to know about the Ultrastudio Extreme as I was looking at one for my next piece of hardware. I agree completely on the need for quiet running. Best decision I made with my home suite was to drill a hole in the wall and put every drive that clicked and whirred into the adjoining room, now totally silent save for when the computer fans are spinning. Bliss 😌.
Hey Darren, Thanks for those insights. It really gives inspiration for my own setup. I have a quick question though: Is your StreamDeck running through the Elgato Software or through Bitfocus Companion? Happy New Year!
because I have them anyway and it keeps all my processing on the resolve machine just for resolve. Its really not essential though. One mac is also a backup in case of failure during a tight turnaround broadcast grade session. My scopes run faster on a dedicated machine but its just easy for me. Hope that explains.
Darren, did you know that the photo of your grading station is used on the official Flanders Scientific XMP310 page (you need to scroll down just a little bit)? They did photoshop a woman there, but I can clearly see the Geneleс monitors, elgato device, big scopes screen, keyboard and all Blackmagic devices at the same places)
Thank you for such an in-depth look at your studio, Darren. Do you have ambient lighting for your clients when the "house lights" are down for working? If so, what are you using?
Gorgeous setup! Would a BenQ Screenbar Pro to light the desk be a cherry on top? The Screenbar Halo would be overkill since you already have the back lighting. Plus the Halo doesn’t have the proximity sensor as the Pro has.
Thanks. The screenbar from BENQ is not good for colour grading as it shines light on the monitor. They are great for edit suites, graphics, admin etc. I only recommend MEDIALIGHT as a company.
Thanks for sharing and well deserved suite!! Question about working hard drive: isn’t 10GB/s (ethernet) too slow ti handle UHD footage with color correction, plug ins, DCTLs, noise reduction, film grain, etc playing in real time ?? I mean, why not Thunderbolt 3 or 4 for this ??
ambient nits is measured using a guide from medialight and I adjust my BIAS lighting accordingly. Wall is based on N5 but a copy version mixed to guidelines I got via a professional calibration engineer. The acoustic panels were a lucky match TBH! It may not be 100% perfect but Im still in business since 1999. The monitors are calibrated!
Hi, Darren. I do have a question I need some help. I have to subject grading scene. They all share same skin color but I need to work more on one individual's skin color and smothing while isolate the other one and not touching. How can I do it?
I run a masterclass once a year. Teaches you everything you need to become a proficient colourist including all my special techniques. Next one is in March (20-23). Tickets Not announced yet. Subscribe to my FREE email list here bit.ly/2RrjvpN for free downloads, including my editors e-book & my FIXED NODE TREE and items coming in the future INCLUDING priority information on my ONLY 2025 4 day LIVE MASTERCLASSES
We all know everyone wants to know the price breakdown on everything too. I know you're a humble professional which is amazing, but it's nice to hear what it truly takes to be doing it at the top level financially would have been awesome to hear. Beautiful space but I don't think I could be in any room that long that many years but amazing you can. 🙏🏾🖥️🖍️ And as a drone pilot for a living just do a giveaway for the Mini 3 Pro! 😃👌🏾🤙🏾
Hi. Thanks for your response. I dont have a recall of pricing of everything tbh. I think a google of the model numbers should help. Ive been here in this room for 15 years in central brighton. Im very happy living in Brighton. Why would I move studio when its in perfect location and great size for my needs (i have 3 studios here).? I dont live here btw. Thanks anyway. All the best, darren
Love it. You say you use your speakers for playback with the clients; do you experience a latency issue with your Flanders? I have the DM220 fed by Blackmagic Ultrastudio and the audio has always been out of sync with the video (it’s fine on the GUI monitors). This is almost always distracting for clients and I would love to know if there is a way to fix this.
@@DarrenMostyn Hmm. Just checked, and the audio delay is indeed set to 0 (I had already tried this a year ago when I first set everything up). Any idea what else it may be? The latency issue is still present!
Love the little disclaimer at the end
Its important!! If you are new to this game then build it up slowly. I started on a very simple set up and grew it only as my business grew.
@@DarrenMostyn i really appreciate your integrity and sure sharing your experience and lessons on RUclips
@@DarrenMostyn That was the best advice in the video. Far too many newbies/amateurs think if they just have the gear, they'll get the results.
Man this is like last 30years of tech on one table. It is so cool how tech savy you are yet it feels a bit like you are working in a museum (in a good way!). So cool setup!
yep agreed!
This was both inspiring and super practical. Loved seeing how a full professional grading suite is put together. Thanks for taking the time to share!
Glad you enjoyed it Stefan! Wishing you another great year in 2025 and keep them Mononode DCTL's coming!
So that's a PRO Grading Suite /RUclips Setup
Amazing professor, thanks for the videos in 2024 and happy new year !
Happy new year to you too. Thanks for your support.
Thank you for letting us in. Great working space.
I wish you a happy and prosperous new year. All the best.
Happy new year to you too. Thanks for watching!
@DarrenMostyn
Thank you. Great thumbnail by the way!
Thank you for the studio tour. I really appreciate your channel. I've learned so much!
You are most welcome Brandon. Appreciated back.
That is amazing Darren. Thanks for the insight and for your videos in general, that helped me a lot.
Great to hear!
Darren absolutely amazing content and overview of your equipment. Would love to see a video showing grading with a Client, and how that works when they come to your studio. Happy New Year.
I cover that on my Masterclasses in detail. Its hard to get client consent on a live job and also my focus is on the job at that point, not worrying about RUclips - wouldn't be Pro at all. Most of my clients have no idea I have a RUclips channel. Great idea though. Thanks.
Aww I love the fact the chair went out filming ❤❤😂
Love you daren we have a great year ahead
Thanks John! Have a great 2025 too!
Thanks!
Very Kind of you. Thank you so much!! Appreciated. Wish you a Happy New year!! All the best, Darren
@@DarrenMostyn Wondering what your choice is for a mouse?
Got tangled and lost in all that cabling...!!! 😵💫😅 Great setup, great channel and great teacher...!! Wish you happy and blessed new year in advance, Sensei...! 🙇
Thank you. Happy New Year to you too.
Very nice Darren. Thanks for sharing! You’ve helped me design my studio. Got to study your upgrades now and see what else I may “need”!
The video must have a disclaimer mentioning that beginners could fall into depression after watching 😅
I did summarise at the end that this is over 15 years of kit, some of it about 20 years old! Accumulated over time - but yes, I see what you mean!
not sure, depends on your goals
I’m only making videos for work; perfectly happy in my weight class. Micro and Speed panels 😔
@@equisetuminc your panels are already a great weight class!
@@TimetoTalkwithYevgen that’s true
One of those videos that keeps you glued. Loved it. That cheap monitor (4:00) is the second I have 🤣 together with my iMac 5K. Wishing you and your family all the best for 2025 🎉 Maybe I’ll see you in February at the BSC in London 👍
Hi Ruben. Nice to hear from you! I'll be at BsC for sure. Hope to see you. Happy New Year.
This man has style! look at the shirt, the trousers.... Everything screams coolness!
I'll show this comment to my daughters!🙏
Even the little things are reviewed 😄It's so cool that you have a fully equipped studio!
glad you enjoyed it
Very interesting tour Darren thanks for sharing. Good to see you still have those 3.5" Premiere disks. Thanks for all the terrific content, Happy New Year!!
Cheers ray. Happy New Year to you too! Thanks for all your support on the channel as ever.
Love the outtakes!! 😂😂 What a dream suite, seriously! And I’m very curious about ur experience with BM Cloud, can’t wait for that episode in 2025! In this spirit, wishing you a fantastic New Year and happy holidays🤗 See you next year!
Thank Chi. Happy New Year to you too and thanks for all your support on the channel this year. Darren.
Suite dreams are made of this 😂
Some smooth moves right at the end. 😂
I’m still using my MX keyboard after your last review and think it’s the bees knees.
Hope you and your family have a happy new year.
And a happy New Year to you and yours frank. Yes love my MX keys.
As always, very useful and impressive. Try not to forget, but I appreciate you are a very busy chap, the idea around getting aview to grade some of their footage and you then showing them how it should be done. It would be a real big wow to see the effect of all the nuances and the years of experience to the finished video.
Happy New Year ! Yes of course - it would be a great idea to do. Will get around to it one day!
Amazing!!! Thanks for showing us. I’ll never have anything like this but I sure enjoyed seeing how a real pro does it!! Thanks again!!! BTW, I love what you do for us!!
Thank you.
Sick setup , i love the cable management so many people overlook that and just don't care and it drives me crazy :)
haha - luckily the AKA desks have discreet cable management but I need to have a re-wire - there is probably 20 unused cables in that desk trunking!! I do like to label them and it could be improved a bit - some more could be hidden - maybe you just gave me a nudge to do that!
Very helpful, Darren! It’s great to look behind the curtain. Well done and Happy New Year!
Glad you enjoyed it! Happy New Year to you too!
I have that same tripod, and of all the tripods i have i use that one the most. so versatile, and sturdy. i put a video head on it, so i cant use the horizontal center bar as often, like you have yours set up, but still i do love that tripod.
Hi Darren thank you for this absolutely great and interesting behind your scene video i loved it really to watch.
I wish you a healthy and formidable 2025 and always good work at your studio,
Roland
Thank you Roland. Happy New Year to you too.
“Listen to how quiet this is” sudden and loud Kroger commercial startles me. 😂
RUclips premium !!
Great video Darren, i really enjoyed) Happy new year!
Happy New Year to you Jeremy
The out takes was funny! Was a pleasure watching Darren.
Glad you enjoyed them Mark. There were a lot more believe me!! It took us 6 hours to record that day!
Great video Darren :) Awesome to see how you have your kit set up.
Glad you enjoyed it. Happy New Year to you both!
gotta love that youve had some of this stuff for 10+ years thats awesome, did not realize the resolve panel was THAT big same size as my desk lmao. seems like an awesome setup overall
Thank you Sebastian
I think once you purchase and invest into that piece of hardware you know what direction your life is heading. 😂 Commitment to color 💯🦾
Great walkthrough Darren, thanks for sharing. Got some good ideas from your setup that I can use in mine. Cheers!
Great to hear Cody.
Hi Darren,
Happy New Year!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and so many helpful tips! You have a great setup. I wish you lived next door to me in Dubai.
Wishing you all the best for 2025!
Happy new year to you too. I used to do lots of work in Dubai back in early 2000’s.
RIGHT ON TIME!!!
The soundcraft spirit is an absolute classic, I love mine, I had it fixed up multiple times! 😂
Agreed - it doesn't even feel that solid but the sound is far superior to the small 'loud technologie' and a yamaha (MG06X) I have in the other suites.
Love the tour Darren. Fantastic.
Glad you enjoyed it
Great to see this current state of your studio Darren!! Thanks so much for sharing. So I'm so fascinated by the fact that you find the Speed editor so valuable. Are you editing as well these days? As a pure colorist I'm surprised this would be so valuable to you as it's so limited in the Color panel - if applicable at all. Just want to make sure I'm not missing some application that you have for it in Color Grading.
Im editing all my own RUclips content. I used to be an editor so I appreciate its versatility but Im a full time colourist so its only out when Im making youtube videos. For colour you can use the scroll wheel as a stills wipe! and play stop start and some more functions too. Also sometimes I like to sit away from the suite and I can control the timeline easily using it as a large remote control.
40 seconds in, and I can see that this is a guy who knows exactly how to operate a successful RUclips channel. Clearly earmarking the sections that specific audiences will be interested in - even if not working in this particular industry.
I didn't even think about it BTW - That just came out of mouth! i dont really overplan things like a tour - I just do the tour. But appreciate it and this video is doing well on my stats for day 2 so Im pleased. Thanks for watching and the kind words. Happy New Year.
Wow, that is an impressive setup! Thank you for sharing.
You are welcome!
Thanks, it was quite interesting to see your work settings!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great video. I love the outtakes!
My compliments for your workstation.
Thank you
I was not aware they had color grading stations on Federation Starships but now I am. Going to have to write you up for being out of uniform, however. Have a great 2025!
and a great 2025 to you!
Timely video. I’m trying to decide whether I want a regular 27” or an ultrawide for my GUI monitor and you seem happy with the former. I found out how to put my scopes on my iPad so that’s sort of similar to your setup and it’s good to see a working pro using a regular monitor for gui. Happy new year too
Id say if you rely on using the stills gallery a lot then you may want second GUI monitor. I dont need that feature heavily. Scopes on ipad is a fantastic use of an ipad.
@ thanks for that and RIP my wallet 😂 now I want a third monitor! I love my clean feed monitor I have running off an Ultrastudio too
TRUE feed off ultrastudio as you have done is a sound investment!
Happy new year! Love your video. Not that I can afford to get any of the equipment you’ve got but i think it might be helpful for others if you put (affiliate) links in the description box for the products you mentioned for purchase or research. Keep up the great work.
I dont have affilliate links with the kit.? I have listed every item as a graphic for you. Hope that helps.
Love to see the Biffy Clyro representation! Great setup 🔥
Its a doc I graded for Amazon. All edited in my facility too.
I also bought the Advanced Panels, used in my case, 3 weeks before the mini and micro was announced, because there wasn’t really any great options. I almost sold it at a big profit because the mini could do so much in smaller form for so much less. Luckily I held onto it, because the V2 keycaps/programming is just so incredibly good and a joy to work on. I do rent my Advanced Panels out in the NYC area from time to time, as long as people have insurance. I did sell the Linux dongle that came with it since I don’t run Linux.
yes I dont regret mine either - would be hard to downgrade after keycaps V2 but if I was buying now Id buy the mini panel as its very functional.
Happy New Year 2025!!
Happy new year!
Coool setup !! Thx for sharing 🥰
Thanks for watching!
Wow! It's a dream desk!
Works well for me.
Im so jelly jealous of your suite in general but foremost your new fsi monitor!!!! 😂😂 luv the bloopers at the end~ one more thing tho☝🏻 which colorimeter and software, lut box do you use to calibrate your monitors? Klein k10? And i also wonder if you do DIT jobs on field and which gears you pack out
No LUT box needed. XMP310 stores data internally. You can calibrate it directly using a Klein or others too. No software even required - its all internal menu driven. See the XMP310 video I made - goes into more depth. Hope that helps.
👌👏👏👏 It was a very different video. I liked it very much :)
Thank you Darren!
you are welcome
Fantastic video .I thing I like to know why do need extra Mac for noobscoope!?
you dont need two - I just always have a backup system as broadcast schedules can be tight and demanding - I have 2 of everything! So, it is convenient for me to use it as a scopes system and thats why 2 I/O boxes - just helps for backup really - I could have sold them really.
@DarrenMostyn as usual best of the best explains my problem Mr Dreenmostyn.. Love u man❤️
Happy New Year🎉
Happy new year
Fantastic setup!
Thanks!
Happy New Year!
As a beginner, working with a decent but not ideal monitor, how would you approach HDR content? Looking at your setup I can see why you end up with all the gear you have - how can the rest of us approach getting acceptable results on a budget?
I've been 'fine' working in SDR but recently received some HDR footage to edit and grade. It took me a long while to work out why my rendered output looked nothing like the view in Resolve - turning on 10-bit in settings helped. Your previous tutorials on Colour Managed settings was also a life-saver too!
It doesn't help when the footage you're sent isn't carrying metadata and the client has no clue what it was recorded on - MediaInfo to the rescue.
Snap! Got the same Mac Studio 🎉
Quite Amazing
Happy New year to all
Whoah that looks amazing!
I'm new the the game after 10 years working as a special effects artist. I'm using a BenQ PD 2700U (500€) as my primary Reference monitor as well as a Panasonic TX-42LZ1500E (900€) as my HDR Clean Feed secondary that I calibrated myself at 720nits peak using a Calibrite Pro Checker Display Plus (300€) with the Callman Panasonic software (150€). Not perfect but usable when mostly relating on the scopes and very cheap alternative for the making of HDR content. I also use my Ipad Pro to check some higher HDR values and display the scopes. I recently bought the new DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel wich is a bargain for its price (560€).
I will eventually bought better hardware in the future but to begin my venture as a colorist It's okay, I guess. My pc could sometime be a little slow when working with neat video or using relight though.
Thanks Spike. Wish you all the best for 2025!
Warm and useful tour,
thank You Darren)))
Got inspired for next year,
got distressed for rest of the year listening to these 23 mins)))
Why won't You use one of the "😮" thumbnails? 😅
thumbnails get changed after a while but this one is working right now! At least you saw how they are made!!
@DarrenMostyn thanks a lot for sharing such an atmosphere with You viewers, sir.
Love your channel mate🙌🏽😎
Thank you Stephen
I hope we will see your 'tweets' on BlueSky too in 2025. Best wishes for the new year!
no intention to do that. Happy New Year too.
@@DarrenMostyn Thank you for the response. I shut down my X account. Will keep following your channel on RUclips.
Darren,
Color grading & DaVinci beginner here and learning lots from you. Had some questions below.
Many emphasize transcoding to mezzanine in their workflows. I understand the principals and obvious advantages. However, since my computer is capable of editing in h.265/4 (with far more processing of course) is it in fact poor form to do so for the video outcome?
What workflow would you trust in maintaining highest quality over platforms such as Instagram, or in most practical application at least? Avoiding degradation in final export is my highest priority. My firmware won't bottleneck, still, varying opinions state transcoding as nonoptional for professional use to avoid compression artifacts/maintain quality even if your computer can edit h.265/4. Do you agree? Is this what you experience? And what do you do?
Finally, I've encoded to ProRes in Shutter Encoder if required. (Being in DaVinci Studio you could do this natively of course).
To sum, if editing footage directly is possible and easier, is transcoding always recommended to preserve quality?
And does this imply h.265 > Intermediate (Ex. ProRes) > h.264 introduces less degradation than h.265 > h.264 directly?
Thank you.
Started using Genelec in 1997/1998 when I was an Avid editor ....... never looked back , I have yet to find a better set of Audio Monitors.
agreed! Even the smaller ones are hard to beat. These have Genelec stands too. I missed that - it keeps the feet on rubber mounts on points and have a huge solid round base. It makes a slight difference that is worth it. I have a pair or Presonus in the edit suite - great but not as good - certainly cheaper though!!
@@DarrenMostyn well as they say cheap things no good and good things no cheap. I first got a pair of 8030's loved them ... loaned them to my brother the Audio engineer who just got stated back then. never got them back LOL, got a pair of 8020's which I still have to today. He has since added 8351's to his lineup.
love that quote! all the best!
Daren, thanks forthe tour 🤘 can you please suggest a simila tv (for client) to your panasonic?
A very nice-looking studio. One thing that disappointed me was those biased backlights. I didn't expect so much flickering from them...
there is no flickering - thats the camera sensor. Do you honestly think Id use them if they did that ??
very nice indeed, but you didn't mention what coffee machine you entertain the clients with - or do you have a close by coffee shop and (as i used to do), suggest it's time for a coffee break ;-) ?
we are spoilt fr coffee shops - Im right in the heart of brighton. Probably 10 within 3 minutes. I do have a nespresso machine and milk frother too. And TEA!
@@DarrenMostyn great, but since smoking is out nowadays, how do you get your clients out of the suite when you've had enough of them? ;-)
I prefer my clients attending tbh! I very rarely have to deal with annoying clients. Not saying never, but usually we have a great experience in the suite.
@@DarrenMostyn whilst i agree wholeheartedly it's great having the client around, (if for no other purpose other than getting instant feedback, making critical decisions, and signing off on such) - there were times when they could become a real pita (especially corporate types chattering on about internal politics, or their latest acquisition, etc.,). that i simply needed a 'get-out' of jail card. since i'm now retired, and only working with people i want to, i'm wondering what one does in such cases nowadays ;-)
did you mention what window blinds you use ? ha ha , Happy New Year Darren, hope well ?
They are blackout blinds on a motorised roller so i can press a remote switch to activate. I dont know the brand - they were custom made. Happy New Year too
impressive!!
Thank you
Amazing Sir
My brain is fried. Thanks for the tour.
you are welcome!!
very good lookin studio man ! i love it
Glad you like it! My clients often compliment on how comfortable it is to work in.
I still use my spirit folio from the old days. Its my volume Control but also drives my PPMs :)
Good to hear Im not the last dinosaur! - They were in lots of suite's in the 90's.
@@DarrenMostyn I still haven't worked my way through the masterclass but hoping to be more engaged this year, Happy new year, Brian Barnes.
Happy New Year Darren!! Can you provide a link for the acoustic boards, please. I have a very similar layout to yours. When you upgrade your client monitor, consider the Sony A95L. I have one and when calibrated along with my Flanders in both hdr/sdr they match perfectly. I hope the New Year treats you kindly.
Hi Happy NY to you too. I have no idea where they came from Im afraid...I bought them years ago. They are nothing special- just a google search. The wood paneling acoutic boards are from woodveneerhub
It's nice to see all the stuff under the desk that never makes it into these tour videos.
Youve seen everything in this suite - I have a dedicated edit suite downstairs too.
What's Up Darren Thanks
awesome Grading suite...
Works for me! Thanks
Curious on your thoughts on the eye drops? Things to consider when shopping? I’m kicking myself I never thought of this to fight eye strain! Great work as always
Yep. Just regular ones. Im not an eye specialist, but 'daily' type eyedrops that are weaker is what I use. I dont use every session, I use when Im needing an eye refresh - please consider Im 56 years old too and this is not medical advice! Works for me.
@@DarrenMostyn wait. you're NOT a doctor. I'VE BEEN HAD!
Totally get it, thanks!
Great video, Darren. A few quick questions:
1. How long does it take from all power being off to starting a session?
2. When booting up, does everything work by default or do you need to make any settings changes each time, like monitor input selection?
3. What’s the ambient noise level like?
Happy NY 👍
Hi Andrew. Great questions!!
1. About 2 minutes. I didn't show but I have an app that powers up some kit like the advanced panel and ultrastudios, speakers etc so thats instant. 2 macs via MX Keyboard and USB switcher takes no time. Flanders I like to give 5-10 minutes to be sure but Im usually in at least an hour before I start grading and clients.
2. Everything remembers its settings - I just have to point the M2 Mac Studio to the Pegasus drive which is annoying and probably easily fixed but it takes 10 seconds.
3. Whisper Quiet. I insist on it. I sent a G-Tech raid back once because I could hear it. Ultrastudio 4K rack mount is noisiest part of the system. The 4K Extreme is silent. I could put all the kit downstairs as I have three suites here but there is no need. You get fan noise on heavy renders sometimes but thats fine when we've finshed the grade.
All the kit is on when i record RUclips so you are hearing it for real.
Thanks Andrew, hope that answers for you. All the best, Darren
AMEND: After a few weeks use I can hear the Blackmagic CloudStore MAX running but its not loud - just not silent. The regular Cloud storage (not the rack mount) have different cooling so they are quieter. This is connected by 10G ethernet so I can put somewhere else easily if needed.
@@DarrenMostyn Thanks for such a detailed response. That’s good to know about the Ultrastudio Extreme as I was looking at one for my next piece of hardware.
I agree completely on the need for quiet running. Best decision I made with my home suite was to drill a hole in the wall and put every drive that clicked and whirred into the adjoining room, now totally silent save for when the computer fans are spinning. Bliss 😌.
Hey Darren,
Thanks for those insights. It really gives inspiration for my own setup.
I have a quick question though: Is your StreamDeck running through the Elgato Software or through Bitfocus Companion?
Happy New Year!
Thanks. Its running through elgato. Ive never heard of bitfocus.
Great overview Darren! Why are you using a separate computer and I/O box for scopes?
Same
Question
because I have them anyway and it keeps all my processing on the resolve machine just for resolve. Its really not essential though. One mac is also a backup in case of failure during a tight turnaround broadcast grade session. My scopes run faster on a dedicated machine but its just easy for me. Hope that explains.
Happy New Year, Darren!
What a suite... Now I want to make a video about my own, but it's a huge mess compared to yours! 😂
Hi Kaur. Love to see your set up too!! Happy New Year to you too and see you sometime in 2025 I hope!
@DarrenMostyn NAB? I'll be there for the first time this April!
Darren, did you know that the photo of your grading station is used on the official Flanders Scientific XMP310 page (you need to scroll down just a little bit)? They did photoshop a woman there, but I can clearly see the Geneleс monitors, elgato device, big scopes screen, keyboard and all Blackmagic devices at the same places)
I did yes thanks. They asked my permission. Thanks letting me know anyway. 👍
I enjoyed it
pleased to hear that, thank you
I wonder how you keep your equipments clean. Any tips on products and tools required to keep the equipments clean?
i showed screen cleaner. The rest is a polish and a vacuum cleaner!
Daren, thanks for the tour 🤘. Can you please suggest, another tv(client) similiar to your panasonic, maybe a big smaller ?
LG C4 or G4 is commonly used i hear.
@DarrenMostyn thanks !
what are the brand of roll down shades you are using?
No idea, sorry. I had them custom made years ago.
13:25: Nice pun
Thank you for such an in-depth look at your studio, Darren. Do you have ambient lighting for your clients when the "house lights" are down for working? If so, what are you using?
No I dont. they are usually heads down on their ipads or laptops once we get going.
Gorgeous setup! Would a BenQ Screenbar Pro to light the desk be a cherry on top? The Screenbar Halo would be overkill since you already have the back lighting. Plus the Halo doesn’t have the proximity sensor as the Pro has.
Thanks. The screenbar from BENQ is not good for colour grading as it shines light on the monitor. They are great for edit suites, graphics, admin etc. I only recommend MEDIALIGHT as a company.
@@DarrenMostyn Ahhhh, great point!
This is a great setup
thanks - its years of work to get it how I wanted.
That is so interesting, you have 2 computers running! How did you set up an entire monitor of scopes? Mine are floating windows.
Its running omniscope as softeware on a seperate mac (mac pro 2019) and feeding from the ultrastudio 4K. Its not resolve scopes.
great! do you happen to have a streamdeck export preset floating around?
my presets wouldn't work for you as they are specific to XMP310, Omniscope, My OBS set up and admin. I have omniscope presets if you want?
Thanks for sharing and well deserved suite!!
Question about working hard drive: isn’t 10GB/s (ethernet) too slow ti handle UHD footage with color correction, plug ins, DCTLs, noise reduction, film grain, etc playing in real time ?? I mean, why not Thunderbolt 3 or 4 for this ??
Its newly installed so not used heavily yet. 10gb should handle my requirements! Im not expecting real time NR for example
Maybe I missed it, but your back wall paint is? Looks to be N5? Also curious if you’ve ever measured your ambient nits. Thanks!
ambient nits is measured using a guide from medialight and I adjust my BIAS lighting accordingly. Wall is based on N5 but a copy version mixed to guidelines I got via a professional calibration engineer. The acoustic panels were a lucky match TBH! It may not be 100% perfect but Im still in business since 1999. The monitors are calibrated!
This is fascinating. Also... 😊£100 for the drone? 🤔
no - your OK thanks.
@DarrenMostyn lol worth a try. Studio looks amazing mate keep up the good work!
Hi, Darren. I do have a question I need some help. I have to subject grading scene. They all share same skin color but I need to work more on one individual's skin color and smothing while isolate the other one and not touching. How can I do it?
I run a masterclass once a year. Teaches you everything you need to become a proficient colourist including all my special techniques. Next one is in March (20-23). Tickets Not announced yet. Subscribe to my FREE email list here bit.ly/2RrjvpN for free downloads, including my editors e-book & my FIXED NODE TREE and items coming in the future INCLUDING priority information on my ONLY 2025 4 day LIVE MASTERCLASSES
We all know everyone wants to know the price breakdown on everything too. I know you're a humble professional which is amazing, but it's nice to hear what it truly takes to be doing it at the top level financially would have been awesome to hear. Beautiful space but I don't think I could be in any room that long that many years but amazing you can. 🙏🏾🖥️🖍️ And as a drone pilot for a living just do a giveaway for the Mini 3 Pro! 😃👌🏾🤙🏾
Hi. Thanks for your response. I dont have a recall of pricing of everything tbh. I think a google of the model numbers should help. Ive been here in this room for 15 years in central brighton. Im very happy living in Brighton. Why would I move studio when its in perfect location and great size for my needs (i have 3 studios here).? I dont live here btw. Thanks anyway. All the best, darren
Love it. You say you use your speakers for playback with the clients; do you experience a latency issue with your Flanders? I have the DM220 fed by Blackmagic Ultrastudio and the audio has always been out of sync with the video (it’s fine on the GUI monitors). This is almost always distracting for clients and I would love to know if there is a way to fix this.
Goto preferences > video/audio IO and set the audio delay to 0. it defaults to something like 236ms. This fixes it. Hope that helps.
@@DarrenMostyn Hmm. Just checked, and the audio delay is indeed set to 0 (I had already tried this a year ago when I first set everything up). Any idea what else it may be? The latency issue is still present!