Over Exposure at DVinfo.net

Mike Lugton · June 16th, 2003, 10:03 AM

Shot a dance recital at the weekend with my GL2. All went well except for the fact that the faces of the dancers are somewhat overexposed and difficult to make out. Is their anything I can do in post production on editing system that will make this problem as less noticeable as it is and/or go away??? I use Adobe premiere with the Matrox RTX100 software. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Peter Moore · June 16th, 2003, 10:26 AM

Try lowering the brightness and increasing the contrast. In general futz around with those settings. Color balancing might also help, though Premier's color tools are not that good. If you had something like Vegas or Final Cut Pro you could probably use color correction to fix that too.

Barry Goyette · June 16th, 2003, 05:00 PM

This is a common problem with dance recitals, and although there is little you can do to fix it, I've found that lowering the NLE's white output levels a few points will keep the heads from "glowing" like they probably are now...this is essentially the same thing you often do with titles...purewhite letters will glow on most tv sets, so setting the maximum white a few points lower makes them appear white, without the glow.(there is actually a "standard" for this but I don't know it off hand).

I'm unfamiliar with premier so I can't tell you how to accomplish it there, but it would be in some sort of levels, or process amp control.

Next time with the gl2, use your zebras set at 95% or lower, and do a custom preset with setup notched upward a few points, this will help lower your overall contrast...set your exposure so that the zebras just barely show up on the dancers shoulders and foreheads. Later, adjust the gamma in your NLE to open up the shadows....(however, without convincing the lighting designer to cut his contrast by 50% or more--which will never happen, you will still struggle with contrast even with this technique.)

good luck

Barry

Don Berube · June 16th, 2003, 06:08 PM

You can also try under-exposing slightly, so that you are exposing for the highlights (faces) and everything else will usually fall into place. It's easier to adjust levels in post if your white are true and not over-exposed.

- don

Mike Lugton · June 17th, 2003, 09:51 AM

Thankyou for everyones help...much appreciated

June 16th, 2003, 10:03 AM	#1
Mike Lugton New Boot Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 16	Over Exposure Shot a dance recital at the weekend with my GL2. All went well except for the fact that the faces of the dancers are somewhat overexposed and difficult to make out. Is their anything I can do in post production on editing system that will make this problem as less noticeable as it is and/or go away??? I use Adobe premiere with the Matrox RTX100 software. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

June 16th, 2003, 06:08 PM	#4
Don Berube Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Boston, MA (travel frequently) Posts: 837	Expose for the highlights when shooting You can also try under-exposing slightly, so that you are exposing for the highlights (faces) and everything else will usually fall into place. It's easier to adjust levels in post if your white are true and not over-exposed. - don __________________ DONALD BERUBE - noisybrain. Productions, LLC Director Of Photography/ Producer/ Consultant http://noisybrain.com/donbio.html CREATE and NETWORK with http://www.bosfcpug.org and also http://fcpugnetwork.org

June 16th, 2003, 10:26 AM	#2
Peter Moore Trustee Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Arlington VA Posts: 1,034	Try lowering the brightness and increasing the contrast. In general futz around with those settings. Color balancing might also help, though Premier's color tools are not that good. If you had something like Vegas or Final Cut Pro you could probably use color correction to fix that too.

June 16th, 2003, 05:00 PM	#3
Barry Goyette Trustee Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: San Luis Obispo CA Posts: 1,195	This is a common problem with dance recitals, and although there is little you can do to fix it, I've found that lowering the NLE's white output levels a few points will keep the heads from "glowing" like they probably are now...this is essentially the same thing you often do with titles...purewhite letters will glow on most tv sets, so setting the maximum white a few points lower makes them appear white, without the glow.(there is actually a "standard" for this but I don't know it off hand). I'm unfamiliar with premier so I can't tell you how to accomplish it there, but it would be in some sort of levels, or process amp control. Next time with the gl2, use your zebras set at 95% or lower, and do a custom preset with setup notched upward a few points, this will help lower your overall contrast...set your exposure so that the zebras just barely show up on the dancers shoulders and foreheads. Later, adjust the gamma in your NLE to open up the shadows....(however, without convincing the lighting designer to cut his contrast by 50% or more--which will never happen, you will still struggle with contrast even with this technique.) good luck Barry

June 17th, 2003, 09:51 AM	#5
Mike Lugton New Boot Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Canada Posts: 16	Thankyou for everyones help...much appreciated