The Color Compass: A Color Navigation System in a Dynamic Deliverable World

Abstract

Color order systems were developed to aid in the quantification of color. Classic color systems such as Munsell and Ostwald relied upon a 3D model of color to visually conceptualize the color order, in the shape of a cylindrical atlas and a double cone, respectively. These systems can aid in designating absolute values and identifying manufacturing standards by numerical specifications. This study proposes a visual color navigation system, which provides new vocabulary so that shifts in color, lightness, and chrominance values can be identified, related to original creative intent, and shared between creatives and engineers alike in motion picture applications using simple non-numerical language. The system revolves around a hue disk with four cardinal directions, indicating two axes of warmth to coolness (North–South and East–West). This color compass can be used as a navigational tool within any color-encoding scheme or color space in use for a project. For example, the system can be used to discuss the g and j axes in Optical Society of America uniform color scales (OSA-UCS), the\n $a^{\\star}$ and\n $b^{\\star}$ axes in CIELAB, or the tritan and protan axes in ICtCp. The system also equates lightness to altitude values, so a user can describe “higher” or “lower” values as one might describe the altitude of terrain. Lastly, chrominance will be described as expanded or contracted, with respect to the original value. The study includes illustrations of the system at work in different color spaces, in addition to using practical examples from the author’s experience with over 100 episodes of high-dynamic-range (HDR) content\n.