I am starting to see more and more pieces using inverted S curves in stills and motion pieces. How long before that aesthetic goes mainstream or is it a little too artsy?

so u talk about low contrast look ? ... ( light blacks )

It's already mainstream. I'd say instagram has many filters that have made this look popular.

I think Visual Supply Co is making it more mainstream.

But yeah, it'll come into popularity, and then after a few years people will go back to crushing blacks for the 'punchy' look. But I think with today's push at social media, everyone is trying to present a "soft image"... :)

I'll have to look into visual supply co. But I'm sure they're not as popular as instagram ;)

I think it's a hipster esque aesthetic. I don't know how well it plays to more mainstream tastes

Look for #VSCOCAM on Instagram. It works within Instagram as an option.

Exactly. I completely agree, but a lot of fashioin/local brands are doing more video, so it plays nicely into that.

well everbody tries to have (safe) details in the blacks ... what might work for some stuff but not fo others (most) so yeah i don't like that look that much (if it does't fit the mood) ... and yes its mainstream already!!!!

@michaschmidt Agreed.

I think the crushed blacks, deeply saturated look is still the mainstream look.

@Mikespins well "old school" mainstream

that is i consider a rather normal okay'ish color grade for a average corporate project : film-sound-color.tumblr.com

vimeo.com this is the look I am talking about

Hard to say.. But I've been seeing it a lot online. The advent of Instagram filters helped revive those looks for sure, but context is a factor. It doesn't work for everything.

I like the inverted S curve look, but mostly on hipsterish, or dreamy-feel topics. Otherwise I think it's mainstream and lazy, wide DR and a lack of saturation can give a lot of lame footage that earthy feel.

@mikespins I think a colorist could do a lot with that. But it waking up in the morning does lend itself to a 'dreamy/hazy' feel.

@christianmazza +1

Yeah I agree it's all about the subject matter. I think it could work for one person direct to camera as well.

A soft corporate video definitely. Probably a ton out there already. But if you were doing some shooting for the History channel and interviewing an expert, I'd go with a more contrasty dramatic feel, probably Rembrandt lighting.

I do like that hipster look though!
*shame*

Oh I love it personally. I think it's a really nice aesthetic.

I know. I've seem your instagram/pinterest/vimeo :)

I like it, I think you've got a good look going for your work.

Thank you sir :)

yeah indeed mikes instagram vimeo upload did work very well ... it did fit the mood for that shot

so i watched the whole Stephen Kenn : Inheritance Collection thing ... sadly i find the color grade / look / mood ist not consistent at all in a way ... it really seems they kinda had to go for that look in "bad" shots (underexposed stuff) ... so IMO the grade is kinda all over the place ... but that might be a matter of taste anyways ...

I didn't watch it all, but that makes sense. It's almost as though they go for the only correction they can and it's milky. But when it's done correctly for the right content it's a very nice look. We've always liked it, even when we just called it "dreamy".
:)

yeah if it fits the mood, feels right so to speak its a very nice look actually .... oh and it should be consistent in some way and not switch skintones every shot in the same location for example ;)

Bwahahahaa! Color correction?! Fuck it. We're just doing color grading... :P

;)

On a side note, this Branch is much easier to follow than twitter.

Nice talking with y'all today.

yeah it really is. I think it's going to be pretty useful.