Better support for grading workflows and shot-based looks

[doug-walker]

OCIO has long supported the ability to include "looks," both as distinct objects in a config and as part of a view. The context variable feature in OCIO has enabled many users to develop very sophisticated workflows to integrate a shot-specific look into an OCIO config.

However, these workflows are often complex and there is no standardization of how they are handled from facility to facility. There are no example configs that illustrate a best-practice workflow of this type online for people to learn from. Is there one workflow we should recommend or are there a few based on certain criteria?

Moreover, the OCIO configs for ACES are not set up to use a shot-based grading/look workflow at all. Adding support for this to the well-known ACES configs would begin the process of establishing best practices around how these workflows should be implemented. How should look support be integrated into these configs?

The upcoming AMF file format gives a way for people to document how looks are used in an ACES pipeline. This is an important related initiative, especially given that work is being done to better support AMF by generating an OCIO config. How should looks from an AMF file best be brought into an existing config?

This is issue is a placeholder to start discussion around this topic.