Color correction ???

[HARBIME]

Hi all

I have a question if you mind. I heard a lot about that thing called "Color Correction". What does that mean? And is it must for every DV project?

If it so, then could you please tell me how to do it with software like Adobe premiere or After Effects ?

Thanks in advance


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[machead]

Colur correction is only worth pursuing if you have a calibrated moniter(calibration should be done once a week by the way)

This is because your moniter may have a natural blue tint so everything looks blue you then add some red&yellow to counter the blue (looks great on your machine)but when people vue the film on a neutral moniter everything is hiddeously red&yellow.

Colour correction is usefull say for example if your shooting indoors and the scene is light with fluorescent tubes,these causes a green colour cast over the scene so by adding a Magenta filter will render the scene neutral (assuming the Magenta filter isn't to strong or weak)

Hope this answers your question



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MACHEAD
http://www.apple.com

[HARBIME]

Thanks a lot Machead.

That was a grate help from you.
Could you please refere me to a web site which describes this in more details.

Thank you.

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[Jim Bird]

Hi,

The program you need for colour correction is Xentriks Vixen Pro.

It was ?90.00 but it became so popular they hiked the up price up to ?300.00.

But it is the best software for the job.

Jim Bird.


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[Iano]

The 'Colour Correction' you've heard about probably isn't to do with calibrating your monitor.

All monitors are different as someone has already pointed out. Small differences are unimportant as our eyes adjust to them quickly. Also you will never see the 'true' colour of a monitor unless the walls and everything else in your viewing room is a neutral grey.

In my opinion the Colour Correction you have heard about is to do with the colours of your video footage.

Colour Correction is neccessary for three reasons:

1. To make your video look 'right'. Either you want the colours to be as natural as possible or you want to give the video a cast or tint. You can colour your video during shooting by using filters, but I would suggest you shoot as naturally as possible (do a white balance and check your exposure every time you change shot or if you're outside and the cloud cover changes) and experiment with your colours in post-production.

2. Matching shots. Due to repositioning the camera or changes in lighting, shots in the same scene (the same time and place) might have noticeably different colours. If you're using Premiere you can compare shots next to each other in the Trim Window and use the colour editing tools (Red, Green, Blue, Hue, Saturation, Contrast, etc) to make them match. I believe you can save the correction settings and then apply them to other shots as neccessary.

3. For Broadcast. If the video you are making is intended for broadcast then the colours need to be 'legal' which means that the transmitter and viewers' TV's can handle them. (I'm talking from the perspective of someone from the UK where the PAL system is used, but I imagine its the same for NTSC and SECAM.) To a certain extent DV footage is automatically colour corrected, but this may be lost if you alter the colours during post-production or if you put the video through an Aspect Ratio Convertor. This level of colour correction should only be done by trained professionals and if your video is to be broadcast it will be sent to a department which does a 'compliance' check and if colour correction is needed it will be done by them.

Doing your own colour correction:

-Consider brightness (also called luminance or video level) and colour (also called chroma) seperately.

-You probably know that video colour is made of Red, Green and Blue (RGB) -- but its useful to know that the opposite of Red is Cyan (an equal mix of Green & Blue); the opposite of Green is Magenta (an equal mix of Red & Blue) and the opposite of Blue is Yellow (an equal mix of Green & Red).

-Look at the deep blacks in your video. If they are 'crushed', meaning that no detail can be seen, then you might want to increase the brightness of the shot. If increasing the brightness does not show any more detail then the black crushing was caused by exposure when shooting.

-White crushing is also common, this is where you encounter very bright white areas with no detail. You might be able to remedy this by darkening the shot but usually its caused by camera exposure when shooting. Often this happens when you expose your subject correctly, but the sky above their head is very bright. This problem can be solved by putting a Graduated Neutral Density Filter on the lens. Neutral Density means it will change the brightness without changing the colour.


Hope this splurge of info is useful.


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[machead]

do all of the above spend days making subjective descisions on exposure and colour, carefully altering your film so the minutest details are seen in the shadows,the highlights are crisp and clean but hold subtle details,after all your hard work you then discover that little Johnny has turned the brightness up on your moniter and everything you've done looks shite on your TV.



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MACHEAD
http://www.apple.com

[miker]

Don't know Johnny, but he sounds like a twat

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N305UDB M173UBM
(B55VOR)
(WGO963W)

[Iano]

If you really are stupid enough not to check the basic settings on your monitor before you start, then you deserve to have a video that looks like shit.

The guy asked a question, I answered it.

If you want to call me a 'twat' for sharing the information I have, then that's truly unfortunate -- I took a lot of time out to write that message and also to do some research to make sure I had got all my facts correct.

An ignorant response from ignorant people is what stops television professionals (that would be me) from sharing their knowledge with the people who might find it useful.


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[Curtin-Parloe]

Iano,

Don't get all excited, if you actually read the posts then you'll see that it's nothing to do with you:

"Little Johnny" - the "twat" who mucked about with your monitor when you weren't looking...

We all have a "Little Johnny" in our lives, and I'm sure that you aren't Machead's or miker's - that would be f**lmaster (just kidding foolmaster)

It would be a shame if you decided to avoid the board based on inaccurate information, ironically so when the information you have supplied is accurate.

Cheers

Paul

PS It sounds to me like Machead has experience of this brightness phenomenon. Maybe he should get a PC.


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BAD EYE - It's finally here! www.curtin-parloe.co.uk/badeye Curtin Parloe 2001

[miker]

Um, yeah.

I always make sure you know properly when I'm insulting you.

Sorry for any confusion, perhaps I should detach my miserable sense of humour and make a zombie film


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N305UDB M173UBM
(B55VOR)
(WGO963W)