Colors off after endering in V8 at DVinfo.net

Roger Shealy · July 1st, 2008, 05:27 PM

I was working on a project today, did color correction, used the color curve to slightly press the blacks and slightly accentuate the high mids, everything looked great.

I then rendered the file and the rendered colors where wacko. Skin tones were very red and very different from what I saw in the preview window. Tried rendering to .avi & .wmv with same end result; very red.

Any ideas?

Andrew Kufahl · July 1st, 2008, 08:11 PM

It sounds to me like you are describing a drastic difference, so this may not be the issue... But what I've found is that there is a noticeable color difference in the preview window when switching between "Preview" and "Best". I had something similar to what you described happen to me once (although it wasn't "terrible"), and that's when I realized "Preview" was not the mode to do color correction with... so I always try to remember to switch to "Best" when doing CC. If you toggle between "Preview" and "Best" you may be able to see what I'm talking about.

Mike Kujbida · July 1st, 2008, 08:36 PM

Roger, did you do your colour correction on a computer monitor and then watch it on on a TV/video monitor?
If so, that would contribute to your problems as computer monitors and video monitors have different gammas, sometimes very different, and the colour difference between the two can be quite drastic.
This site has some very useful colour correction tutorials.

Roger Shealy · July 2nd, 2008, 04:55 AM

Thanks for the input, I'll try two things when I get back to my editing computer.

1. I'll look at the preview quality to see if that impacts the color.
2. I use two monitors for my work, the preview being on my 2nd monitor and my viewing of the rendered piece on the primary. I'll also try dragging the preview screen over to the primary to make sure it isn't radically different (don't think it is).

Thanks,

Update:

I tried everything above and the final render still comes out very red. I'm playing through Windows media player, so maybe that's the weak link.

July 1st, 2008, 05:27 PM	#1
Roger Shealy Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fayetteville, GA Posts: 772	Colors off after endering in V8 I was working on a project today, did color correction, used the color curve to slightly press the blacks and slightly accentuate the high mids, everything looked great. I then rendered the file and the rendered colors where wacko. Skin tones were very red and very different from what I saw in the preview window. Tried rendering to .avi & .wmv with same end result; very red. Any ideas?

July 2nd, 2008, 04:55 AM	#4
Roger Shealy Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Fayetteville, GA Posts: 772	Thanks for the input, I'll try two things when I get back to my editing computer. 1. I'll look at the preview quality to see if that impacts the color. 2. I use two monitors for my work, the preview being on my 2nd monitor and my viewing of the rendered piece on the primary. I'll also try dragging the preview screen over to the primary to make sure it isn't radically different (don't think it is). Thanks, Update: I tried everything above and the final render still comes out very red. I'm playing through Windows media player, so maybe that's the weak link. Last edited by Roger Shealy; July 2nd, 2008 at 06:13 AM.

July 1st, 2008, 08:11 PM	#2
Andrew Kufahl Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Menasha, WI Posts: 88	It sounds to me like you are describing a drastic difference, so this may not be the issue... But what I've found is that there is a noticeable color difference in the preview window when switching between "Preview" and "Best". I had something similar to what you described happen to me once (although it wasn't "terrible"), and that's when I realized "Preview" was not the mode to do color correction with... so I always try to remember to switch to "Best" when doing CC. If you toggle between "Preview" and "Best" you may be able to see what I'm talking about.

July 1st, 2008, 08:36 PM	#3
Mike Kujbida Inner Circle Join Date: May 2005 Location: Windsor, ON Canada Posts: 2,770	Roger, did you do your colour correction on a computer monitor and then watch it on on a TV/video monitor? If so, that would contribute to your problems as computer monitors and video monitors have different gammas, sometimes very different, and the colour difference between the two can be quite drastic. This site has some very useful colour correction tutorials.