Color Correcting Help with Final Cut Pro 5 at DVinfo.net

Jeremy Brunson · July 31st, 2007, 05:01 PM

Hi,

I'm working on a wedding and I've only ever had to do marginal color correction. It was only ever slightly off.

I know the basics of the scopes and the basics of color correction. However, I'm having a problem with matching two shots with two different cameras.

For the "A" Camera, we had an Canon XH A1 with a warm look (thanks to the Vivid RGB preset). For the "B" camera, we had a Canon HV20 which had a bluish look.

I'm going mad trying to correct this. I get the skintones right and maybe some of the other colors right but there is always something horribly off. Like once I got most of the color right but the priest's robe was Baby blue in the "A" camera and purple in the "B" camera. Are there any good guides on the interenet or good books that are likely to be at the local Borders?

I desperately need to learn proper color correction and I need to learn it soon. Any help is definitely appreciated.

--Jeremy Brunson

Kieran Fitzgerald · July 31st, 2007, 05:10 PM

You need to add a second colour correction three way filter to one of the clips to manage the priests robe. You then isolate the robe using the limit effect controls. Have a look at peachpit press for the Apple Pro Training Series www.peachpit.com

Jeremy Brunson · July 31st, 2007, 07:48 PM

I finally got a look that seems to work. It seems to be a match and the robe in both shots are (finally) the same color. I was going nuts.

My only thing now is that I've got some visible noise in the B Camera footage and little to none in the A camera. Is there a simple and practical way to reduce some of this noise, to smooth it out? Or do I just have to live with it?

I'd much rather deal with some noise than the colors to be completely different. For that, I'm grateful.

Kieran Fitzgerald · August 1st, 2007, 08:09 AM

The best method in Final Cut itself is to add a slight Gausian Blur to the clip. Set the amount to between 0.2 and 0.9 - whatever looks best. It should take some of the edge off the noise without over blurring the image. There are also third party noise supressing filters available at sites like www.nattress.com or at www.joesfilters.com.

July 31st, 2007, 05:01 PM	#1
Jeremy Brunson Tourist Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Douglasville, GA Posts: 2	Color Correcting Help with Final Cut Pro 5 Hi, I'm working on a wedding and I've only ever had to do marginal color correction. It was only ever slightly off. I know the basics of the scopes and the basics of color correction. However, I'm having a problem with matching two shots with two different cameras. For the "A" Camera, we had an Canon XH A1 with a warm look (thanks to the Vivid RGB preset). For the "B" camera, we had a Canon HV20 which had a bluish look. I'm going mad trying to correct this. I get the skintones right and maybe some of the other colors right but there is always something horribly off. Like once I got most of the color right but the priest's robe was Baby blue in the "A" camera and purple in the "B" camera. Are there any good guides on the interenet or good books that are likely to be at the local Borders? I desperately need to learn proper color correction and I need to learn it soon. Any help is definitely appreciated. --Jeremy Brunson

July 31st, 2007, 07:48 PM	#3
Jeremy Brunson Tourist Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Douglasville, GA Posts: 2	Thanks I finally got a look that seems to work. It seems to be a match and the robe in both shots are (finally) the same color. I was going nuts. My only thing now is that I've got some visible noise in the B Camera footage and little to none in the A camera. Is there a simple and practical way to reduce some of this noise, to smooth it out? Or do I just have to live with it? I'd much rather deal with some noise than the colors to be completely different. For that, I'm grateful.

July 31st, 2007, 05:10 PM	#2
Kieran Fitzgerald New Boot Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Republic of Ireland Posts: 13	You need to add a second colour correction three way filter to one of the clips to manage the priests robe. You then isolate the robe using the limit effect controls. Have a look at peachpit press for the Apple Pro Training Series www.peachpit.com

August 1st, 2007, 08:09 AM	#4
Kieran Fitzgerald New Boot Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Republic of Ireland Posts: 13	The best method in Final Cut itself is to add a slight Gausian Blur to the clip. Set the amount to between 0.2 and 0.9 - whatever looks best. It should take some of the edge off the noise without over blurring the image. There are also third party noise supressing filters available at sites like www.nattress.com or at www.joesfilters.com.