Just finished shooting a Holiday Pagaent for School and that some of the footage was low light, therefore giving me a lot of darker images than I would like. What recomendations could anyone give me in regards to altering it in Premiere 6.5 and Matrox RTX Extreme?? Have found when I adjusted increased exposure in post the footage becomes very grainy. Any thoughts or advice for a complete novice??

Thanks

Hmmm... maybe try Levels in Premiere -- it gives you a little more control over the image than Brightness/Contrast (which I assume you were using before?). If you are familiar with Photoshop, the Levels function in Premiere works similarly.

You don't have a friend with After Effects, do you?

John,

Thanks for quick reply. What exact function or effect do you mean in premiere? I do not have access to aftereffect....any specific effect in premiere you would reccomend?

Thanks again

Uh, like I said...it's called "Levels." It's with the video effects in Premiere 6.5

thanks ...will try it tonight when i am home.....

Mike,

With RTX100 do you have Matrox Real time plugins installed ???
If yes, you can use Matrox Colorisation... it will give control over Brightness/Contrast/ Hue/ saturation/ Lum/Black level/ Y/RY/BY

I think that will solve your problem.


___________
Debu
Studio Brahmaputra
Assam

thanks debu, i will try tonight....thanks to all for your help.

Mike,

I agree with John, you can do a great deal with Levels, though it can still turn a bit grainy no matter whay you do. Also in Premiere Pro, and I think in 6.5 but I'm not sure, there is an effect under "Image Control" called "Color Corrector". It is pretty complex, but you can do a lot with just a few of the controls in there.

Under the "HSL" setion they have (among other things):

Brightness
Contrast
Contrast Center
Gamma

These will all effect the image in the way you want. The key is using "Contrast Center". Usually if you have a dark video and you adjust the contrast, all the darks can run together. With Contrast Center you can say that you want the midpoint brightness to be somewhere in the dark area, and this will help you bring out detail in the dark areas. I reccomend this:

1. Add the Color Corrector Effect

2. Turn the Contrast almost all the way up (all Wihtes and Blacks)

3. Adjust the Contrast Center down until you have a good balance between the whites and blacks - i.e. you can make out the forms clearly

4. Roll the Contrast down to where you like it

I think this is a good way to bring detail out of the dark areas. It may sound a bit complex, but when you are moving the dials it will all make more sense.

Good Luck.

Barry

THANKS BARRY.....BOY YOU GUYS ARE GOOD HERE!!!! I WILL LET YOU ALL KNOW ONCE I HAVE TACKLED IT WITH ALL YOUR SUGGESTIONS....THANKS AGAIN