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Appendix A, The Autodesk Control Surface
Performing Colour Grading

Topics on this Page:

Logarithmic Mode

Linear Mode



You can use the Autodesk control surface to perform input and output grading in Logarithmic or Linear mode.

As with other menus, you select the Grade menu from the Navigation panel. This activates colour grading functionality on the Function panel. The Colour Grading panel is enabled regardless of which menu is active in the Function panel. The features available on these panels depend on whether you are in Logarithmic or Linear mode. You specify the colour architecture in the Setup Grade menu in the user interface.

Logarithmic Mode Top

When Log is enabled in the Setup Grade menu, the Colour Grading panel and the Function panel are activated with logarithmic colour grading functionality.

Grading in Logarithmic Mode Using the Colour Grading Panel

Use the Colour Grading panel to:

There are two available setups for the Colour Grading panel. You can switch between setups by pressing the F9 button.

The default setup allows you to modify contrast, overall brightness, and brightness in the shadows, midtones, and highlights. Adjusting brightness in the shadows, midtones, and highlights requires that you switch the functionality of the first trackball among the three. You use the second and third trackballs to adjust contrast and brightness in the overall image.

The alternate setup distributes brightness controls for the shadows, midtones, and highlights amongst the three trackballs. This allows you to balance the values without having to constantly switch the functionality of a single trackball.

To colour grade using the Colour Grading panel default setup:
To colour grade using the Colour Grading panel alternate setup:

  1. Press the F9 button to switch to the alternate setup.

  2. On the Colour Grading panel, use the following controls.

    Use: To:
    First ring Adjust overall brightness in the shadows. To reset, press F1.
    First jog ball Adjust brightness in the shadows for a range of colours. To reset, press F2.
    Second ring Adjust overall brightness in the midtones. To reset, press F4.
    Second jog ball Adjust brightness in the midtones for a range of colours. To reset, press F5.
    Third ring Adjust overall brightness in the highlights. To reset, press F7.
    Third jog ball Adjust brightness in the highlights for a range of colours. To reset, press F8.
    F9 button Toggle between the panel default and alternate setup.


Grading in Logarithmic Mode Using the Function Panel

When the Grade menu is enabled, you can use the Function panel to:

To colour grade in Logarithmic mode using the Function panel:

  1. Press the Grade button on the Navigation panel.

    The In Primary, Out Primary, Inside, and Outside options are activated.

  2. Do one of the following:

  3. If you are accessing the Grade menu after having created a geometry or key, do one of the following:

  4. On the Function panel, use the following controls.

    Use: To:
    Wheels Modify overall hue, brightness/contrast, and saturation. Wheel 1=Hue Wheel 3=Brightness/contrast Wheel 4=Saturation To reset a wheel, press the button above it.
    Knobs at top left Balance brightness or contrast in the RGB channels. Knob 1=Red brightness/contrast Knob 2=Green brightness/contrast Knob 3=Blue brightness/contrast To toggle knob functionality, press the F1 button in the centre column. To reset a channel, press the button below it.
    Knobs at top right Balance S/M/H brightness of the colours, or adjust cutoff values. Knob 4=Brightness in shadows/cutoff values Knob 5=Brightness in midtones/cutoff values Knob 6=Brightness in highlights To toggle knob functionality, press the F4 button in the centre column. To reset a knob, press the button below it.
    First row of buttons at bottom right Increase printer light values. F1=Red F3=Blue F5=Green F7=Overall
    Second row of buttons at bottom right Decrease printer light values. F2=Red F4=Blue F6=Green F8=Overall Press ALT for half point adjustments.
    SHOW button Toggle the geometry wireframe on or off.


Linear Mode Top

When Lin is enabled in the Setup Grade menu, the Colour Grading panel and the Function panel are activated with linear colour grading functionality.

Grading in Linear Mode Using the Colour Grading Panel

Use the Colour Grading panel to modify lift, gain, and gamma in the low, mid, and high levels of the image, or across the entire image.

To colour grade in Linear mode using the Colour Grading panel:
Grading in Linear Mode Using the Function Panel

When the Grade menu is enabled, you can use the Function panel to:

To colour grade in Linear mode using the Function panel:

  1. Press the Grade button on the Navigation panel.

    The In Primary, Out Primary, Inside, and Outside options are activated.

  2. Do one of the following:

  3. If you are accessing the Grade menu after having created a geometry or key, do one of the following:

  4. On the Function panel, use the following controls.

    Use: To:
    Wheels Modify overall hue, contrast, gain, and saturation. Wheel 1=Hue Wheel 2=Contrast Wheel 3=Gain Wheel 4=Saturation To reset a wheel, press the button above it.
    Knobs at top left Balance the RGB channels. Knob 1=Red Knob 2=Green Knob 3=Blue To reset a knob, press the button below it.
    Buttons in left centre column Toggle the type of value to be adjusted in the RGB channels (Knobs 1-3). F1=Lift F2=Gamma F3=Gain
    Knobs at top right Define values to clamp minimum and maximum luminance. Knob 4=Black Knob 5=White
    Buttons in right centre column Toggle the type of black and white values to be adjusted (Knobs 4-5). F4=Clip F5=Reference
    SHOW button Toggle the geometry wireframe on or off.


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