Hi Jules,

not 100% I understand your question right but here's my 2p's worth, my preference would be using 'linear light'(raw) plates with a target film print look-up, or even just video gamma, applied in your render pre-viewer. As I think It is good to get used to watching the image as it is intended to finally look. [EDIT] Just realized you didn't mean RAW as in dslr/red raw file format. Sorry not sure why I thought that. :)

Then render out as 'linear light' for comp in 2D.

This maybe also ties in with 'neutral grades' of plates. You might want to have a sequence 'neutrally graded' to get all shots to approximately line up, color wise. Because then it would be easier to re-use a light rig over the sequence.

But if you have gotten some strong 'artistic choice' grade numbers to type into a 2d composit node, do you want to light to these? I would probably like to light to as natural light as possible as otherwise you might have to try and match something which is not how light realistically behaves. You have to weigh pro's and con's in this case.

cheers fred

I would definitely say to match to plates that have been converted to linear light (as opposed to what TV/video people call linear) - linear light being where, as you said in a comment, photon count is directly (linearly) proportional to pixel value.

There are three different possible grade types that might be done to the plate before it goes to the lighter:

Balanced : This is where all of the shots are graded to an average place - so that the sequence flows without any jarring grade changes, but overall, they look pretty similar to how they came out of the scan.

Neutralised : This is where the balanced shots have had a grade applied to neutralise out any grade that came from the light, film stock or processing method. If a Macbeth chart was shot, this will often be used to find the grade that makes the gray squares on the chart truly gray.

Graded : This would be what the final grade will be (or as close to as possible - it's often tweaked in the DI).

If the final grade is relatively close to neutral, then this may be used, but if it's going to be pulled a long way, it often helps the lighter out to work on the neutralised plates. However, sometimes neutralising the plates isn't feasible, as both the original plates and the final grade are both the same direction, and dragging it back to a neutral grade will cause more problems than it solves.