Video Coloring. at DVinfo.net

Andreas Fernbrant · December 3rd, 2003, 10:36 AM

I watched some behind the scenes footage of Lord of the rings - two towers on TV yesterday. They showed how Peter Jackson was chooseing cuts on a scene where "Stryder" Viggo said something while smoking a pipe. The uncorrected takes looked like shit I mean really really bad! Then they showed the final cut and it looked awsome. I figured it all comes down to coloring in post.

Does anyone have links, books or anything remotly interesting about the subject so I can learn more about this?

If you haven't figured out what I'm talking about it's colorcorrection. And I know they have special colorist people trained but If I know more perhaps I can make my movies look alittle bit better!

Matthew de Jongh · December 3rd, 2003, 11:29 AM

what editing software are you using?

there are some cinema effects for premiere pro that are pretty neat from what i've seen and they are free if you register.

matthew

Rob Lohman · December 3rd, 2003, 04:35 PM

The footage you saw was probably not even coming from the
film itself but from a video feed.

Yes, color correction can change your picture dramatically. I
like to work with an S curve in my Vegas Color Corrector on
all colors to give it an apparent increase in exposure. From
there I tweak things like brightness, saturation and the colors
themselves.

Andreas Fernbrant · December 3rd, 2003, 05:11 PM

I use vegas, but I feel this is a craft that is beond what software one use. Basic skills and knowlage in coloring. Almost like, it does not matter what crayon you use. If you are bad at coloring you can't do a good job even if you have great crayons.

I feel that some good tutorials on the subject would help me a great deal. If there aren't any, perhaps someone that feels confident could make one if they have some spare time?

Rob Lohman · December 10th, 2003, 08:48 AM

It's a very subjective issue. There is a tutorial here @ DVi that
talks about the same things I did in my previous post.

See these two articles here at the site:
http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/filmlook/pappas1.php
http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/filmlook/broadway2.php

I have also written several posts on this site on how I did my
color correction for my Lady X episode, see the posts at the
bottom of this thread's page

Bill Pryor · December 12th, 2003, 07:55 PM

Lots of the behind the scenes stuff and outtakes you see on DVDs are digitized at a low resolution because they often run out of space on the DVD. Also, some things have been transferred from a one light workprint to video, and those may eventually end up on a DVD behind the scenes thing. Most original footage I've seen looks good, although not as good as the final print with all the color tweaking they do. Sometimes, however, footage may be shot over or underexposed deliberately for an effect, or maybe without the proper filter, and those takes could get into the DVD. So you really can't judge much by that. I have a friend who did a really nice behind the scenes piece for a movie, and he was really hacked off because when it got to DVD, they ran out of room and his stuff was all loaded at a very low Avid resolution and was pixellated all to hell. Also, most movie editors work from low resolution digitized footage to save hard drive space, and some of that stuff may get dumped to DVD with no thought about the end quality.

Wayne Orr · December 13th, 2003, 01:37 PM

Andreas, you are absolutely correct that you need to learn color correction techniques, just as you need to learn any art form. Most of the color correction skills used in digital video are the same as those used in Photoshop, so I highly recommend you check out Michael Kieran, who offers seminars in color correction, along with his excellent books. www.colorweb.com

Another book is "Color Correction for Digital Video" by Hullfish and Fowler. But Michael Kieran is better for really getting into the topic.

Wayne Orr, SOC

December 3rd, 2003, 10:36 AM	#1
Andreas Fernbrant Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Sweden - Helsingborg Posts: 283	Video Coloring. I watched some behind the scenes footage of Lord of the rings - two towers on TV yesterday. They showed how Peter Jackson was chooseing cuts on a scene where "Stryder" Viggo said something while smoking a pipe. The uncorrected takes looked like shit I mean really really bad! Then they showed the final cut and it looked awsome. I figured it all comes down to coloring in post. Does anyone have links, books or anything remotly interesting about the subject so I can learn more about this? If you haven't figured out what I'm talking about it's colorcorrection. And I know they have special colorist people trained but If I know more perhaps I can make my movies look alittle bit better!

December 3rd, 2003, 04:35 PM	#3
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	The footage you saw was probably not even coming from the film itself but from a video feed. Yes, color correction can change your picture dramatically. I like to work with an S curve in my Vegas Color Corrector on all colors to give it an apparent increase in exposure. From there I tweak things like brightness, saturation and the colors themselves. __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

December 10th, 2003, 08:48 AM	#5
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	It's a very subjective issue. There is a tutorial here @ DVi that talks about the same things I did in my previous post. See these two articles here at the site: http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/filmlook/pappas1.php http://www.dvinfo.net/articles/filmlook/broadway2.php I have also written several posts on this site on how I did my color correction for my Lady X episode, see the posts at the bottom of this thread's page __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

December 3rd, 2003, 11:29 AM	#2
Matthew de Jongh Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: sounthern maine Posts: 344	what editing software are you using? there are some cinema effects for premiere pro that are pretty neat from what i've seen and they are free if you register. matthew

December 3rd, 2003, 05:11 PM	#4
Andreas Fernbrant Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Sweden - Helsingborg Posts: 283	I use vegas, but I feel this is a craft that is beond what software one use. Basic skills and knowlage in coloring. Almost like, it does not matter what crayon you use. If you are bad at coloring you can't do a good job even if you have great crayons. I feel that some good tutorials on the subject would help me a great deal. If there aren't any, perhaps someone that feels confident could make one if they have some spare time?

December 12th, 2003, 07:55 PM	#6
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	Lots of the behind the scenes stuff and outtakes you see on DVDs are digitized at a low resolution because they often run out of space on the DVD. Also, some things have been transferred from a one light workprint to video, and those may eventually end up on a DVD behind the scenes thing. Most original footage I've seen looks good, although not as good as the final print with all the color tweaking they do. Sometimes, however, footage may be shot over or underexposed deliberately for an effect, or maybe without the proper filter, and those takes could get into the DVD. So you really can't judge much by that. I have a friend who did a really nice behind the scenes piece for a movie, and he was really hacked off because when it got to DVD, they ran out of room and his stuff was all loaded at a very low Avid resolution and was pixellated all to hell. Also, most movie editors work from low resolution digitized footage to save hard drive space, and some of that stuff may get dumped to DVD with no thought about the end quality.

December 13th, 2003, 01:37 PM	#7
Wayne Orr Major Player Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Northridge Ca Posts: 734	Andreas, you are absolutely correct that you need to learn color correction techniques, just as you need to learn any art form. Most of the color correction skills used in digital video are the same as those used in Photoshop, so I highly recommend you check out Michael Kieran, who offers seminars in color correction, along with his excellent books. www.colorweb.com Another book is "Color Correction for Digital Video" by Hullfish and Fowler. But Michael Kieran is better for really getting into the topic. Wayne Orr, SOC