Using dual pipeline looks for HDR/SDR workflows

Shooting in HDR still often needs reliable SDR monitoring. Previously, managing both HDR and SDR pipelines required two input slots and two separate looks per camera, which added complexity to the live grading process.

The new dual pipeline looks simplify this workflow: only one slot and one comprehensive look per camera are now required.

In this article we want to guide you how to setup such a dual pipeline configuration in Livegrade.

Activate dual pipeline mode#

By activating the option Use 2nd Pipeline in the Grading tab of the Livegrade Settings, each look gets the possibility to tag individual nodes as HDR, SDR, or All.

Note: It is recommended not to change this option during a project, as all shots and look presets are saved with dual pipeline from this point onwards. Should a mix of single pipeline and dual pipeline shots occur, please refer to the chapter Compatibility between dual pipeline and single pipeline shots for further information.

Activating the 2nd pipeline option creates two pipeline paths in each look

The HDR pipeline consists of all nodes tagged to ALL and HDR
The SDR pipeline consists of all nodes tagged to ALL and SDR

Each look can therefore be flexibly configured utilizing all available node types in Livegrade and introduces the following improvements:

Both pipelines can be edited with only one slot per camera
Both pipelines are represented by a single shot in the library
Connected grading devices get the HDR or SDR look
Attached output devices show the HDR or SDR look
Exported looks contain either the HDR or the SDR pipeline
Exported stills show the look of the HDR or SDR pipeline

Let’s take a look at several areas of the application in which the activation of Use 2nd Pipeline leads to changes:

Grading settings#

The option Use 2nd Pipeline can be found in the Grading tab of Livegrade’s settings. It activates dual pipeline looks in Livegrade.

Use 2nd Pipeline

Use 2nd Pipeline

This leads to some options which have to be chosen:

Primary Pipeline: The primary pipeline is the most important and fall-back pipeline of your production. The primary pipeline consists of all nodes which are tagged to All and all nodes which are tagged to the chosen primary pipeline.
- When applying Dual Pipeline Shots in Livegrade when “Use 2nd Pipeline” is deactivated, only the nodes that were part of the primary pipeline are applied.
- When exporting a PFLA for look matching in Silverstack, only the nodes that were part of the primary pipeline are applied.
Primary Target Colorspace: Defines the target colorspace of your primary pipeline. This information is used for checks of the output colorspace of your actual look.
Secondary Target Colorspace: Defines the target colorspace of your secondary pipeline. This information is used for checks of the output colorspace of your actual look.

Node list#

To edit the pipeline of a node, press on the Edit button in the bottom right of the node list in order to edit the node list.

Within the edit mode, you will find in the contextual menu of each node, a Pipeline sub-menu to tag each node and define, in which pipeline a node should be applied.

Dual pipeline: tag pipeline of node

Dual pipeline: tag pipeline of node

Pipeline > AllTags a node to be applied in the HDR and SDR pipelineExample: a CDL node that adjusts the overall look
Pipeline > HDRTags a node to be applied in the HDR pipelineExample: an output LUT that converts the log signal into the HDR target colorspace
Pipeline > SDRTags a node to be applied in the SDR pipelineExample: an output LUT that converts the log signal into the SDR target colorspace

After you configured your pipelines, you can overview them by using the pipeline switcher below the node list.

Dual Pipeline Look Overview

Dual Pipeline Look Overview

Tip: Use a Knee Curve Node in the HDR pipeline to adjust highlights and shadows.

Grading device#

With every grading device will come a setting, whether the HDR or the SDR look should be sent.

HDR: all nodes whose pipeline is set to HDR or All will be sent to the grading device.
SDR: all nodes whose pipeline is set to SDR or All will be sent to the grading device.
- Post Processing > Enable SDR Display simulation: allows to append a technical conversion to the SDR pipeline in order to show the SDR image on an HDR monitor

Dual pipeline: pipeline for grading device

Tip: If you want to setup dual monitoring using two LUT boxes for one camera, you can add both LUT boxes to one slot and configure LUT box 1 to HDR and LUT box 2 to SDR.

Output settings#

As soon as you have chosen a video output device for your output, you will get the possibility to choose whether the HDR or the SDR look should be applied to images shown in this output.

This means the following for the selection of HDR or SDR for the output:

HDR: all nodes whose pipeline is set to HDR or All will be applied.
SDR: all nodes whose pipeline is set to SDR or All will be applied.
- Post Processing > Enable SDR Display simulation: allows to append a technical conversion to the SDR pipeline in order to show the SDR image on an HDR monitor

Dual pipeline: pipeline settings for output

Tip: If you want to adjust your HDR output to a certain maximum nit level, you can add a 3D LUT as filter to your output which adjusts your HDR rendered image. As this filter will be added on output level, it will not be saved with your shot in the library.

Scopes#

Within the scopes you can choose if you want to analyze the HDR or the SDR pipeline

HDR: all nodes whose pipeline is set to HDR or All will be applied to the original image.
SDR: all nodes whose pipeline is set to SDR or All will be applied to the original image.

Dual pipeline: analyze HDR or SDR pipeline in scopes

Dual pipeline: analyze HDR or SDR pipeline in scopes

Shot library#

The following columns in the shot library are of particular interest when working with dual pipeline looks:

Output Colorspace: shows the output colorspace of the look. When working with dual pipeline looks, it will correspond to the primary output colorspace.
Pipeline: indicates if a shot was created in single or dual pipeline mode
Primary Output Colorspace: shows the primary output colorspace when the shot was created
Secondary Output Colorspace: shows the secondary output colorspace when the shot was created

Export shot(s) as…#

When exporting looks and stills from shots, you have the option to chose whether to export the HDR or the SDR pipeline.

HDR: all nodes whose pipeline is set to HDR or All
- will be applied to the exported graded image
- will be part of the exported look file
SDR: all nodes whose pipeline is set to SDR or All
- will be applied to the exported graded image
- will be part of the exported look file

UI viewer#

As of now, the viewer in the UI will always shows the SDR pipeline.

Example: Dual monitoring with LUT boxes and a monitor output device#

The following example will guide through the possibilities of setting up a dual monitoring setup which assumes that the DIT on the cart works in HDR and passes an HDR and SDR image to the Video Village via LUT boxes.

Step 1: Activate 2nd pipeline#

Go to the Grading tab of Livegrade’s Settings and activate**[Use 2nd Pipeline]**
Select your Primary Pipeline, for example**[HDR]**
Select your* Primary Target Colorspace*, for example [Rec.2100 PQ]
Select your Secondary Target Colorspace, for example [Rec.709]

Example: Dual Pipeline Settings

Example: Dual pipeline settings

Step 2: Setup your dual pipeline look#

Go to your look and notice, that your look contains two last LUT nodes. Both of them has an HDR or SDR tag.
Select a corresponding LUT for both nodes, for example a Log to Rec.2100 PQ LUT for the first node and a Log to Rec.709 LUT for the second node.
Click on the ellipsis menu (…) and select [Edit Node List]
Rename the first of the two last LUT nodes meaningful, for example Output LUT HDR
Rename the second of the two last LUT nodes meaningful, for example Output LUT SDR
Click on Done Editing

Now, you have setup a look which contains an HDR and an SDR output transform. Depending on which look pipeline you have selected in your grading or output device, either the HDR or SDR node will be applied.

Dual pipeline: HDR and SDR LUT nodes

Dual pipeline: HDR and SDR LUT nodes

Step 3: Setup your LUT boxes#

Open the Slot Manager via the menu Livegrade >[Slot Manager]
Add your LUT boxes as Grading Devices to your slots by pressing + Add Device
Select the look pipeline for your first LUT box, for example a [BoxIO] to show the [HDR] look pipeline
Select the look pipeline for your second LUT box, for example an [AJA ColorBox] to show the [SDR] look pipeline

Dual pipeline: setup LUT boxes

Dual pipeline: setup LUT boxes

Step 4: Setup your monitor device#

Open the Slot Manager via the menu Livegrade > [Slot Manager]
Select the Output you want to configure, for example [Out 1]
Select the monitor output device you want to use, for example**[UltraStudio Monitor 3G]**
Select the look pipeline you want to show on your output device, for example [HDR]

Example: Configure Out 1 for HDR

Example: Configure Out 1 for HDR

Compatibility between dual pipeline and single pipeline shots#

In this chapter we want to cover situations where dual pipeline and single pipeline shots meet each other.

Using dual pipeline shots for look matching with Silverstack#

When exporting a PFLA or uploading your project to ShotHub in order to look match in Silverstack, only nodes that were part of the primary pipeline are applied.

Importing a PFLA from Livegrade 6.5.x or above#

When importing a PFLA exported from Livegrade 6.5.x, the looks will always be imported as single pipeline shots. The import of linked looks from Livegrade 6.5.x is not supported.

2nd pipeline is activated and single pipeline shots are used#

When loading a single pipeline shot during an active “Use 2nd pipeline” mode, the last LUT node will be automatically tagged to the primary pipeline and an additional (empty) LUT node tagged to the secondary pipeline will be added to the current look.
Saving the shot will overwrite the existing look and transform the pipeline within the shot from “Single” to “Dual”

2nd pipeline is deactivated and dual pipeline shots are use#

When loading a dual pipeline shot during an inactive “Use 2nd pipeline” mode, only nodes that were part of the primary pipeline are applied.
Saving the shot will overwrite the existing look and transform the pipeline within the shot from “Dual” to “Single”

Applying a node preset with tagged nodes to single pipeline shots#

When applying a node preset which contains at least one tagged node during an active “Use 2nd pipeline” mode to a single pipeline shot, node(s) of the shot will get pipeline tags. The look of the shot will therefore be transformed from “Single” to “Dual”. The primary and secondary colorspace of the shot will be set accordingly to the Livegrade pipeline settings.

Applying a node preset without tagged nodes to dual pipeline shots#

When applying a node preset which does not contain any tagged node to a dual pipeline shot with the effect that no more tagged nodes in the shot exist, the look of the shot will be transformed from “Dual” to “Single”.