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Filed under: Editing •Hardware •Post Production •Software •

Review: The Tangent Wave control surface

Mouse emulation makes the Wave more usable

When the Wave is starting up you might notice the Firmware version listed on the display. This would indicate that the Wave is firmware upgradable in the future but expanded functionality is more likely to come in the form of software updates. One such recent update included a new Mouse Emulation mode. With this, a toggle of a button will allow a trackball of your choice to act as the mouse pointer and the reset buttons as mouse buttons. This is indicated by the word mouse on the display:

The Tangent Wave in mouse emulation mode

This mode can be useful if you use Curves as you can add points and manipulate the curves with the mouse mode without having to reach to another input device on the desk. The Color FX rooms is another place where this will come in very handy as that particular room is probably the most mouse friendly room in Color. It’s also very convenient to be able to jump into mouse mode when setting up a key in the Secondary room as that is a mousing procedure as you choose your key color with the eyedropper and drag handles to fine-tune your key with the HSL sliders. This mouse mode is a small addition to the software but a nice stroke of genius for the dedicated Color suite as it could collectively save a lot of time if you don’t have to reach away from the Wave to operate a mouse. Using the reset buttons as mouse buttons is a bit awkward and might require two hands so you probably won’t be doing a lot of Finder work with it but it is more than good enough to allow you to stay entirely on the Wave for most Color operations.

Tangent has also seen fit to allow the trackballs to operate both the framing of the Geometry room and the orientation of the Vignette in the Secondary room. It’s a more interactive setup for both of these parameters than using the rotary knobs or a mouse. I also discovered by accident (though I’m sure this is listed in the user manual) that if you hold down the ALT key while changing a parameter, say with the control knobs, it will “gear up” the parameter change allowing for very large and very fast changes. While just a couple of “geared up” turns will almost always produce an extreme with unusable results I found this a great way to see what I was working on and how a given parameter was going to change the image. I’m not a dedicated professional colorist and still have a lot to learn so using the ALT key in this manner has been a great learning tool.

And then there’s the RED .R3D parameter tab

With a recent update of Color Apple allowed for the direct import of QuickTime wrapped RED .R3D files. With this update came the RED tab in the Primary room that allows for the changing of all of the basic .R3D parameters:

As of this writing the Wave doesn’t support those .R3D parameters in the RED tab but with the ability to change banks in any room your working in I don’t see why this couldn’t be added. It seems only natural that this would be in a future Wave update as this RED tab feels like a very natural part of Color. I would venture to guess that a lot of Color’s usage has been driven by the need to grade RED footage and capturing the RED market is something that the Tangent marketing folks should jump on. Support for this tab would help with that. Of course Color still has some issues with its RED support but it has gotten better with round-tripping in general from Final Cut Pro in version 1.5.

Final Thoughts

So do you really need a Tangent Wave if you use Apple Color? If you are just a casual user who jumps over to Color on occassion for a short color correcting session on a small piece then probably not. Given the device’s $1,795 price tag it is not cheap. That said it is more affordable than offerings from JL Cooper and that price should be in line with the upcoming MC Color from Euphonix. If you use Color on a more regular basis and get into any serious grading work where you’re trying to do more than just match cameras then the Wave is a great investment. It’s not that it makes Color easier to use ... it makes it more pleasent to use. It allows for more experimentation and interaction with the software and really removes a technical veil from between the artist that is the colorist and the canvas that is the grading application. If you’ve only used a mouse to control Color then you’ll almost find a new beginning with the software once you begin using a control surface like the Tangent Wave. At least I know I did. Now I don’t want to go back to that ancient mouse.

Pros: Easy setup, customizable software, makes Color much more usable

Cons: High price is not for the casual Color user, No support for the RED parameters tab

Wish List: How about a stripped down version for half the cost with only the trackballs, dials and a few user programable knobs and buttons?!

I’d buy it if I were a dedicated colorist or spent a significant part of my post-production work day in Apple Color. Rest assured that if you do buy a Tangent Wave it will make working in Color a much more pleasant, much more professional experience. And clients will think it’s cool.

FTC Disclosure: Per the new FTC guidelines regarding bloggers and disclosure, Tangent sent the Wave unit to me free of charge per a request I made to them. It was on loan for just over a month and then returned at my expense. I’m glad I asked them for this demo unit to review as I really learned the value of a control surface!

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Why is it that all these color grading interfaces have the rollers in a straight line? Why not configured like your rubber-band illustration - in a triangle? Not that I have used any Hardware Interface like this that I have any authority on the matter - but with that configuration wouldn’t is be easier to tweak?

Posted by Synaptic Light  on  11/05  at  07:32 AM

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I would think that if the trackballs were arranged in a triangle-type pattern then it would takes up more room on a control surface and not leave at much room for the displays and buttons and knobs. It’s not difficult to use at all with the trackballs in a line as that’s how they are in the software as well.

Posted by Scott Simmons  on  11/05  at  03:25 PM

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