New to Color Correction at DVinfo.net

Matthew Weitz · April 9th, 2006, 10:45 AM

I've never done color correction in Premiere Pro 1.5 before. Are there any good tutorials on the Web?

Joshua Provost · April 11th, 2006, 11:33 AM

Matthew,

The tools are all there (curves, levels, HSB, three-way color correction), but they are very difficult to use from the Effects Pallette. After Effects has the same tools, but is much easier to use. Most importantly, it has an info pallette that displays the RGB values under the cursor. This is critical if you are trying to correct to a reference card and want to do a little better than eyeball it.

Josh

Matthew Weitz · April 11th, 2006, 08:29 PM

Thanks Joshua. What I should have said is that I've never done color correction before... period. I have no idea what tools to use or good techniques to employ. Any suggestions?

Jad Meouchy · April 16th, 2006, 09:03 PM

Keep in mind that the color correction interface completely changed (arguably for the better) in PPro 2.0

Matt DeJonge · April 17th, 2006, 03:56 PM

I'd be interested in learning a bit more about color correction too. From what I've heard, you need to start with blancing the white / black levels of your camera before shooting, then shooting a reference chart like the GretagMacBeth (http://www.gretagmacbeth.com) color chart, placing the chart right where you subject will be (i.e., under the same lighting you subject will be under). Then, once the footage comes into the computer, you can use those frames of the chart from the video to color balance.

The only thing I'm not sure of is how to properly correct your footage in Premiere. I assume you'd need a reference graphic (BMP/JPEG) of the color chart and would use some sort of eye-dropper-matching series of clicks? How do you pros out there do that?

Glenn Chan · April 17th, 2006, 07:40 PM

In my opinion, balancing colors to a color chart (i.e. dsc labs / camaling, gretag macbeth) isn't necessary.

Take CSI for example. It has won many accolades for its cinematography and it does not adhere to lighting or color accuracy. The lighting changes a lot from setup to setup (i.e. hair lights only on the close ups)... but they get away with this cheating because no one pays attention to these things. Color accuracy is cleared and intentionally whacked in the re-enactment scenes.

My opinion is that you should try to:
A- Avoid noticeably color continuity problems. It should not look like the scene is changing locations or time when it really isn't.

Use the color corrector to change color balance. Start with the highlights/white/wheel on the right to affect overall white balance. Then adjust the midtones if necessary. Blacks generally don't need to change.
The curves and the midtone controls can control how bright/dark a scene is.
B- Make the image look better.
The Levels filter should be able to adjust the black and white points... aim for 0/7.5 and 100 on the scopes in Premiere Pro.
You can then use the color corrector to add a s-shaped curve to the Master curve.
That will work well for video-originated footage.

I'm not a big fan of Premiere Pro myself so I don't know all the ins and outs to it.

April 9th, 2006, 10:45 AM	#1
Matthew Weitz Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 42	New to Color Correction I've never done color correction in Premiere Pro 1.5 before. Are there any good tutorials on the Web?

April 11th, 2006, 11:33 AM	#2
Joshua Provost Major Player Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 493	Matthew, The tools are all there (curves, levels, HSB, three-way color correction), but they are very difficult to use from the Effects Pallette. After Effects has the same tools, but is much easier to use. Most importantly, it has an info pallette that displays the RGB values under the cursor. This is critical if you are trying to correct to a reference card and want to do a little better than eyeball it. Josh __________________ Owner/Operator, 727 Records Co-Founder, Matter of Chance Productions Blogger, Try Avoidance

April 11th, 2006, 08:29 PM	#3
Matthew Weitz Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 42	Thanks Joshua. What I should have said is that I've never done color correction before... period. I have no idea what tools to use or good techniques to employ. Any suggestions?

April 16th, 2006, 09:03 PM	#4
Jad Meouchy Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 663	Keep in mind that the color correction interface completely changed (arguably for the better) in PPro 2.0

April 17th, 2006, 03:56 PM	#5
Matt DeJonge Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 37	I'd be interested in learning a bit more about color correction too. From what I've heard, you need to start with blancing the white / black levels of your camera before shooting, then shooting a reference chart like the GretagMacBeth (http://www.gretagmacbeth.com) color chart, placing the chart right where you subject will be (i.e., under the same lighting you subject will be under). Then, once the footage comes into the computer, you can use those frames of the chart from the video to color balance. The only thing I'm not sure of is how to properly correct your footage in Premiere. I assume you'd need a reference graphic (BMP/JPEG) of the color chart and would use some sort of eye-dropper-matching series of clicks? How do you pros out there do that?

April 17th, 2006, 07:40 PM	#6
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	In my opinion, balancing colors to a color chart (i.e. dsc labs / camaling, gretag macbeth) isn't necessary. Take CSI for example. It has won many accolades for its cinematography and it does not adhere to lighting or color accuracy. The lighting changes a lot from setup to setup (i.e. hair lights only on the close ups)... but they get away with this cheating because no one pays attention to these things. Color accuracy is cleared and intentionally whacked in the re-enactment scenes. My opinion is that you should try to: A- Avoid noticeably color continuity problems. It should not look like the scene is changing locations or time when it really isn't. Use the color corrector to change color balance. Start with the highlights/white/wheel on the right to affect overall white balance. Then adjust the midtones if necessary. Blacks generally don't need to change. The curves and the midtone controls can control how bright/dark a scene is. B- Make the image look better. The Levels filter should be able to adjust the black and white points... aim for 0/7.5 and 100 on the scopes in Premiere Pro. You can then use the color corrector to add a s-shaped curve to the Master curve. That will work well for video-originated footage. I'm not a big fan of Premiere Pro myself so I don't know all the ins and outs to it.