Hi,

I know you cant get it looking like film but Im desperatly trying to get a nice warm look from my FX1's footage but without blowing out the highlights.

I have applied a nice S shaped colour curve, I have tried magic bullets but this always seems to result in the highlights becoming blown out a bit and loosing their detail (wedding dress's). I want to remove the dullness you normall get from video and the blueness you also get so the contrast is nice but again keeping the detail.

Anyone have any presets they can share as a starting block or offer some advice? Everything I have tried so far seems to be a little too harsh sometimes.

Thanks

Hi Danny,

Which Magic Bullet version have you tried? Have you looked at the latest MB Looks (v3 or v2008 depending on who you're talking to!) or are you looking at the older versions that came bundled with Vegas?

MB looks 1.1, latest

Hmmm . . . you should be able to dial out some of that blown out problem - are you using the presets or have you played around with the myriad of tools? Keep in mind you have things like spot exposure control that may help you out.

Try dropping the color corrector filter on the time line or preview window for the entire project, and just move the center marker toward the reds on all three wheels and adjust as necessary.

Do you think you can do this with your original footage? How are your existing levels?

Grazie

I think ive realised that with footage with normal exposure the brights get blown out real easy. Footage I have which is under exposed is easier to work with as there is very little that can blow out.

Yup. Once captured blown, that's about it. No, correction - that IS it! Is the footage you are trying to affect already blown?

Grazie

Not blown but on the edge. It was captured on an FX1 with zebras set to 100+% (default) and with the iris and other levels while filming so that the subject had non on them expect where there was particular shine. Its this shine thats causing problems, also some skin in direct sunlight which looks sunburnt. The footage which is underexposed is a lot more flexible. If it was striaght from camera the exposure is spot on. But to tweak in post as I want to do its a little troublesome.

I have since changed zebras to 90% so I get a 10% margin. Mainly for those days where the sun comes and goes thanks to clouds and wind (love the UK!)

Yes Danny - So your

"I know you cant get it looking like film but Im desperatly trying to get a nice warm look from my FX1's footage but without blowing out the highlights."

- it isn't the FX, it is rather you have overstepped the upper levels to start with - yeah?

Grazie