Color similar to lightroom at DVinfo.net

Greg Fiske · November 23rd, 2010, 10:17 AM

I've tried a lot of the color correction plugins in premier but can't get it to look natural. Is there a plugin similar to lightroom with just two sliders to fix whitebalance info? Or can I import my footage into lightroom, color correct, and then use those kelvin numbers in premier? It might just be that the 5d mark II footage and color space lost information when I screwed up the capture and there is no repairing it? Second scene on this video (with my basic color correcting attempt):
2010.10.09.EmilyRoundsWedding-sample - fiskephotography's Photos

Marc Brackhahn · November 23rd, 2010, 10:45 PM

Look at Cineform firstlight. You get it with NeoHD.

Eric Lagerlof · November 23rd, 2010, 11:06 PM

Greg, you can use the eyedropper tool in PPros' 'Fast Color Corrector'. Remember that 'white' levels only effect part of your image, you also need blacks to be truly black. Generally WB, either in-camera or thru software does just that, makes 'whites' each level of R, of G & B equal with the others, no real magic. And higher color temperature are more blue, lower more red, in both the whites and blacks. You may already know this, but if it can help your current situation...

Robert Young · November 24th, 2010, 01:49 AM

I'm not sure if you are just trying to "warm" up that second shot, or really do a detailed matching of the whole sequence of shots, but PPro has very sophisticated and competant color correction tools at your fingertips.
You can pull up a reference monitor with the "master" scene that you want to match to, use eyedroppers or your eyeballs to adjust highlites, mids, darks, reds, greens, blues, white points, blackpoints, etc. all independantly, and get near perfect matches that cut together like a Hollywood movie.
There are tutorials ( Adobe TV, & other Adobe web resources) for learning how to do this.
A bit of a learning curve, but well worth the effort.
BTW- very nice shooting and editing of the sequence I viewed :)

Greg Fiske · November 24th, 2010, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marc Brackhahn

Look at Cineform firstlight. You get it with NeoHD.

Only had about ten minutes to play with this last night, but the results were much better. I guess coming from a photography background, I am more proficient with the sliders compared to the color wheels. The linked video is the outcome of my attempt with the fast color corrector, and I guess my goal is to warm it up to make it more natural. I think it might be the saturation that is throwing things off?

Robert,
Not really worried about matching clips, I just have two clips in the video that just look ugly. I watched a tutorial to learn how to match up the skin tones using the reference monitor, I'll need to practice with it more. Thanks, its my first video, so probably dealing with stuff in post more than I'd like to because of rookie mistakes.

Things I need to learn about, gain, gamma and lift, which adjusting seemed to improve my shot. Also need to learn about video colorspaces.

Robert Young · November 24th, 2010, 11:26 AM

It is a lot of stuff to learn, but these are the tools you need to deliver really good looking projects.
Once you wade through the basics things will begin to feel more comfortable and you can continue to add to your knowledge incrementally.
You do need to shoot good footage, but the real movie is created in post production.
So, instead of thinking about post as a necessary evil, look at it as the main creative playground, dig in and have fun. It's the best part of the process!!
BTW, if you are using Cineform, First Light is an excellent, fast CC tool.

Charles W. Hull · November 24th, 2010, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Young

BTW, if you are using Cineform, First Light is an excellent, fast CC tool.

I agree with Robert and Marc. FirstLight makes the color correction process fast and painless; it really is an outstanding tool.

Greg Fiske · November 24th, 2010, 03:10 PM

I've been reading up on it. Does the cineform codec have more play with color? What I mean is, can you replicate the results using native tools in premier, or is it a limitation of the 4:2:2 codec/color space? From stuff I'm reading it seems like if your footage needs some difficult color grading then you should look outside of premier and after effects?

Robert Young · November 24th, 2010, 09:40 PM

Between PPro and AE, you have quite a handful of very sophisticated CC tools (AE comes with Synthetic Aperture's Color Finesse).
If you want to get into cinematic "grading", creating "looks" for an entire movie, or sequence, that sort of thing, then you may want to look at Magic Bullet Looks, the Rembrandt software suite- but that's pretty much beyond the normal call of duty for ordinary projects.
Cineform DI offers 10-12 bit codec that's expanded to 4:2:2 color, but PPro now unpacks your raw file & applies filters, effects as 32 bit floating, 4:2:2 as well.
IMO, we are pretty well equipped for all of these tasks within CS5.

November 23rd, 2010, 10:17 AM	#1
Greg Fiske Major Player Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Santa Ana, CA Posts: 499	Color similar to lightroom I've tried a lot of the color correction plugins in premier but can't get it to look natural. Is there a plugin similar to lightroom with just two sliders to fix whitebalance info? Or can I import my footage into lightroom, color correct, and then use those kelvin numbers in premier? It might just be that the 5d mark II footage and color space lost information when I screwed up the capture and there is no repairing it? Second scene on this video (with my basic color correcting attempt): 2010.10.09.EmilyRoundsWedding-sample - fiskephotography's Photos

November 24th, 2010, 01:49 AM	#4
Robert Young Trustee Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Coronado Island Posts: 1,472	I'm not sure if you are just trying to "warm" up that second shot, or really do a detailed matching of the whole sequence of shots, but PPro has very sophisticated and competant color correction tools at your fingertips. You can pull up a reference monitor with the "master" scene that you want to match to, use eyedroppers or your eyeballs to adjust highlites, mids, darks, reds, greens, blues, white points, blackpoints, etc. all independantly, and get near perfect matches that cut together like a Hollywood movie. There are tutorials ( Adobe TV, & other Adobe web resources) for learning how to do this. A bit of a learning curve, but well worth the effort. BTW- very nice shooting and editing of the sequence I viewed :) __________________ Bob

November 24th, 2010, 11:26 AM	#6
Robert Young Trustee Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Coronado Island Posts: 1,472	It is a lot of stuff to learn, but these are the tools you need to deliver really good looking projects. Once you wade through the basics things will begin to feel more comfortable and you can continue to add to your knowledge incrementally. You do need to shoot good footage, but the real movie is created in post production. So, instead of thinking about post as a necessary evil, look at it as the main creative playground, dig in and have fun. It's the best part of the process!! BTW, if you are using Cineform, First Light is an excellent, fast CC tool. __________________ Bob

November 24th, 2010, 09:40 PM	#9
Robert Young Trustee Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Coronado Island Posts: 1,472	Between PPro and AE, you have quite a handful of very sophisticated CC tools (AE comes with Synthetic Aperture's Color Finesse). If you want to get into cinematic "grading", creating "looks" for an entire movie, or sequence, that sort of thing, then you may want to look at Magic Bullet Looks, the Rembrandt software suite- but that's pretty much beyond the normal call of duty for ordinary projects. Cineform DI offers 10-12 bit codec that's expanded to 4:2:2 color, but PPro now unpacks your raw file & applies filters, effects as 32 bit floating, 4:2:2 as well. IMO, we are pretty well equipped for all of these tasks within CS5. __________________ Bob

November 23rd, 2010, 10:45 PM	#2
Marc Brackhahn Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 85	Look at Cineform firstlight. You get it with NeoHD.

November 23rd, 2010, 11:06 PM	#3
Eric Lagerlof Major Player Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Pacifica, CA Posts: 348	Greg, you can use the eyedropper tool in PPros' 'Fast Color Corrector'. Remember that 'white' levels only effect part of your image, you also need blacks to be truly black. Generally WB, either in-camera or thru software does just that, makes 'whites' each level of R, of G & B equal with the others, no real magic. And higher color temperature are more blue, lower more red, in both the whites and blacks. You may already know this, but if it can help your current situation...

November 24th, 2010, 03:10 PM	#8
Greg Fiske Major Player Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Santa Ana, CA Posts: 499	I've been reading up on it. Does the cineform codec have more play with color? What I mean is, can you replicate the results using native tools in premier, or is it a limitation of the 4:2:2 codec/color space? From stuff I'm reading it seems like if your footage needs some difficult color grading then you should look outside of premier and after effects?