Little help on color separation for timelapse at DVinfo.net

Alex Payne · March 1st, 2012, 05:01 PM

Hey gang,

So I was bored the other day and did some timelapse tests from my roof. Saw this cool building with roaming spotlights. The timelapse came out okay, besides a few kinks (that's what tests are for!) but i'm pretty new at color correction/grading. I really wanted to have these high beams flickering in and out everywhere for the timelapse, and while you can definitely see that, I was hoping I could separate them more from the background and have them stand out.
Part of the problem is the beams are relatively weak, and there's a very bright (for night) sky, so I can't really just crank the whites and limit the black/mids. Before I try randomly messing around with stuff, anyone have any ideas on what to do? Video below, excuse the link, I'm not sure how to embed.

timelapse test 6 - YouTube

Seth Bloombaum · March 2nd, 2012, 11:48 AM

Looks like a tough one, yes.

First thing I'd do would be to draw a mask for the buildings, so they wouldn't get adjusted, or, you could adjust them independantly. Fairly straightforward, depending on your NLE. Worst case, if no NLE support, you make the mask in Photoshop. I think bringing down the buildings will give more pop to the sky...

On close review, the beams look just a little blue-er than the sky/cloud glow. The next step would be to use a secondary color corrector to see if you can isolate and adjust that color. If so, you've got lots of choices for hue, gamma, gain, saturation, etc.

Depending on the NLE's secondary color corrector, you may be able to isolate based on luminance as well as hue, which would be a second choice.

I am not a video graphics specialist, those are the only approaches I know about.

Ric Kasnoff · March 8th, 2012, 09:27 PM

as it's a timelapse/still series you can accomplish all that Alex suggested much easier in Lightroom 4 with the local adjustments (masking, adding clarity, local WB adjustments, dropping the building values a bit etc)...then apply the adjustments (sync) to all with a push of a button...

30 day trial is free

HTH...Ric

Alex Payne · April 27th, 2012, 01:38 PM

Hey guys, I've got another one:

Any idea what's with the jitters in the first part of this timelapse test?

tlt202 2 YouTube sharing copy - YouTube

The bizarre part is they completely disappear in the second part of the video (once I've adjusted the aperture) so I can't figure out what caused it the first time around. I thought maybe me walking by the camera (I have it set in my apartment) could have been the culprit, but it's too consistent in the first part and completely gone in the second... also thought wind from the window could be a problem, or the traffic outside causing minor bumps, but that doesn't seem to be consistent with it disappearing later. Anyone have any thoughts?

March 1st, 2012, 05:01 PM	#1
Alex Payne Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: new york Posts: 94	Little help on color separation for timelapse Hey gang, So I was bored the other day and did some timelapse tests from my roof. Saw this cool building with roaming spotlights. The timelapse came out okay, besides a few kinks (that's what tests are for!) but i'm pretty new at color correction/grading. I really wanted to have these high beams flickering in and out everywhere for the timelapse, and while you can definitely see that, I was hoping I could separate them more from the background and have them stand out. Part of the problem is the beams are relatively weak, and there's a very bright (for night) sky, so I can't really just crank the whites and limit the black/mids. Before I try randomly messing around with stuff, anyone have any ideas on what to do? Video below, excuse the link, I'm not sure how to embed. timelapse test 6 - YouTube

March 2nd, 2012, 11:48 AM	#2
Seth Bloombaum Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,420	Re: Little help on color separation for timelapse Looks like a tough one, yes. First thing I'd do would be to draw a mask for the buildings, so they wouldn't get adjusted, or, you could adjust them independantly. Fairly straightforward, depending on your NLE. Worst case, if no NLE support, you make the mask in Photoshop. I think bringing down the buildings will give more pop to the sky... On close review, the beams look just a little blue-er than the sky/cloud glow. The next step would be to use a secondary color corrector to see if you can isolate and adjust that color. If so, you've got lots of choices for hue, gamma, gain, saturation, etc. Depending on the NLE's secondary color corrector, you may be able to isolate based on luminance as well as hue, which would be a second choice. I am not a video graphics specialist, those are the only approaches I know about. __________________ 30 years of pro media production. Vegas user since 1.0. Webcaster since 1997. Freelancer since 2000. College instructor since 2001.

March 8th, 2012, 09:27 PM	#3
Ric Kasnoff New Boot Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: West Seattle, WA Posts: 5	Re: Little help on color separation for timelapse as it's a timelapse/still series you can accomplish all that Alex suggested much easier in Lightroom 4 with the local adjustments (masking, adding clarity, local WB adjustments, dropping the building values a bit etc)...then apply the adjustments (sync) to all with a push of a button... 30 day trial is free HTH...Ric

April 27th, 2012, 01:38 PM	#4
Alex Payne Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: new york Posts: 94	Re: Little help on color separation for timelapse Hey guys, I've got another one: Any idea what's with the jitters in the first part of this timelapse test? tlt202 2 YouTube sharing copy - YouTube The bizarre part is they completely disappear in the second part of the video (once I've adjusted the aperture) so I can't figure out what caused it the first time around. I thought maybe me walking by the camera (I have it set in my apartment) could have been the culprit, but it's too consistent in the first part and completely gone in the second... also thought wind from the window could be a problem, or the traffic outside causing minor bumps, but that doesn't seem to be consistent with it disappearing later. Anyone have any thoughts?