Pipeline design

Pipeline design is the skill of choosing the fixed color chain every shot in a production passes through and documenting it so every department follows it. The skeleton: input transform (each camera’s log/gamut in) → working / timeline color space (where everyone grades) → the show look → output transform / DRT (one per deliverable). The biggest decision is the working space — a wide, scene-referred space (ACEScct or DaVinci Wide Gamut) so the whole show has headroom. The deliverable of the skill is a written show pipeline document covering working space, input transforms, the show look, output transforms, dailies CDL workflow, VFX interchange and QC. Decided up front, it keeps dailies, editorial, VFX and finishing all speaking one color language.

First used in: 3.3 · Show pipeline & show LUT design