Key scenes on DVD appear too dark!

I've recently finished a project in which many of the poorly lit but viewable scenes from a wedding appear way darker than on the Mac screen or the cam itself. Having read through the forums I now realise that the Imovie rendering/process to IDvd can lose 10-15% of the brightness (i think that was the quote?) Anyone got any ideas for a work around other than redoing it (or them) in Final Cut, which would be a nightmare! (Does everyone agree that ImovieHD's brightness effect is useless? Are there custom plugin's that are any better?)
Found this quote below....from http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3189924&#3189924
"This is a by-product of the way the compression works. There are other DVD authoring tools that I have read provide better results in poorly lit scenes but these will start at several hundred dollars."
What are they? Is this really true?
Thanks in advance.....
Hob
mini mac 2yrs old 512mb ram Mac OS X (10.4)

The best thing you can do is hook at least an inexpensive TV to the output on your camera so you get an idea of how it looks on a TV while you edit. Depending on your monitor calibration, it is quite possible that an image is darker on your computer screen than on a TV. Of course the better the NTSC monitor (the TV), the more accurate everything will be. I don't know of any iMovie plug-ins, but when clients bring me reception video from say a Canon camera that has a 7 lux rating (very poor in low light), I apply a gamma "filter" in FC to make the scene appear brighter. Maybe there is some sort of gamma plug-in for iMovie?
As far as better encoding software, I would look at Mpressionist, http://www.digigami.com/products.html. I hear it's the best. Others prefer BitVice, http://www.innobits.se/.
And hardware encoders are coming down in price as well... within the range of us mere mortals: http://www.optibase.com/Content.aspx?id=79 which probably yields the best results.
All that said, if you are looking for more professional results, you will need some sort of infrastructure to achieve them. What I mean by that is right now you don't know if the scenes are darker only on your computer monitor or if they are darker on an NTSC monitor. I can say that LCD camera screens tend to be far brighter than the "real" image recorded. And finally, the only way to be sure of anything is to use hardware scopes!
Mike

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in PPro 2.0 i've create a movie with duration of 1h20 minutes. After i have finished i export->Movie using Microsoft DV AVI codec. I obtained a AVI file of 15Gb.
In Encore 2.0, i imported this file and used as my timeline. I also wanted a cool motion background for my menus, with dynamic link i create a composition of 4m:30s with a motion background, is 4minutes and 30 seconds length because i wanted to match the MP3 i choosed to the menu.
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(Jorge_Costinha) wrote:
Back to encore 2.0, I just hit the button to create the DVD. Everything looks as I expected, except the fact that the movie is a little bit dark. I assume I lost quality with the compression?
Maybe, but probably not.
I'm with Mr. Simon, I think this is a color correction / grading issue, and not an Encore issue. You can't look at a video on a PC monitor and expect it to resemble in any way what you'll see off the computer -- very few PC monitors can show you the Rec.709 color space that HDTVs, DVDs, and BDs use. This is what production monitors are for -- letting you see the "truth" of the signal.
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(Jorge_Costinha) wrote:
Back to encore 2.0, I just hit the button to create the DVD. Everything looks as I expected, except the fact that the movie is a little bit dark. I assume I lost quality with the compression?
Maybe, but probably not.
I'm with Mr. Simon, I think this is a color correction / grading issue, and not an Encore issue. You can't look at a video on a PC monitor and expect it to resemble in any way what you'll see off the computer -- very few PC monitors can show you the Rec.709 color space that HDTVs, DVDs, and BDs use. This is what production monitors are for -- letting you see the "truth" of the signal.
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Equally, FCP shows you a proxy image intended to deal with composition and action. And the third variable is - who knows how well your computer monitor is adjusted?
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Thank you for your message.
I take most of my photos with a Canon Rebel XT but I also use a
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In german:
raw von s100fs mit 400%DR in Lightroom
Hallo
wenn ich in Adobe Lightroom ein RAW-Foto mit 400% HDR öffne sind diese zu dunkel. Bisher wurschtelte ich dann halt rum bis es mir gefiehl oder benutzte einfach die "Auto" -Korrektur von Lightroom.
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I read the article already but missed that part...thanks.
For those having the same Question:
Quote fom Dpreview:
"You can also shoot extended dynamic range images in RAW, but third-party converters won't understand that the image has been intentionally under-exposed and will produce a very dark image. You need to play extensively with tone curves, highlight recovery and fill light (or equivalent), to get the correct results from third-party software. Once you've established these correction settings, you should be able to apply them to all extended dynamic range images, though."
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hi there!
I have a great problem (being under time-pressure with a project): video-material, taken with a canon HV30, that looks all right on the camera-screen, appears FAR TOO DARK (not usable), after beeing captured. the problem does not seem to be a premiere-problem (I have CS3), since windows movie maker produces the same fault. it is neither a pc-screen-calibration or -regulation-problem, since the same material played onto the same screen by another pc, that displays everthing else perfectly, is also too dark. the answer must be between the cam-corder and the capturing software? does someone have a clue? (the problem seems to be not only mine if you check via google... and the solution seems not to be at hand...)
I'm working with DV-widescreen(16:9)-PAL-material converting it with 16-bit sound and 48 kHz.
following my relevant systems-data... (everything is updated with the most recent drivers...)
thanks very much indeed in advance!
hilmar
System Information
Time of this report: 11/21/2008, 23:54:29
Machine name: PC02
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.080814-1233)
Language: German (Regional Setting: German)
System Manufacturer: MAXDATA
System Model: *
BIOS: Default System BIOS
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 4400 @ 2.00GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 2048MB RAM
Page File: 766MB used, 3172MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode
DxDiag Notes
DirectX Files Tab: No problems found.
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
Music Tab: No problems found.
Input Tab: No problems found.
Network Tab: No problems found.
DirectX Debug Levels
Direct3D: 0/4 (n/a)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (n/a)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)
Display Devices
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Chip type: GeForce 8600 GTS
DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0400&SUBSYS_040110B0&REV_A1
Display Memory: 256.0 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor: (Standardmonitor)
Monitor Max Res:
Driver Name: nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0011.7824 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 10/7/2008 13:33:00, 6058112 bytes
WHQL Logo'd: Yes
WHQL Date Stamp: n/a
VDD: Nicht zutreffend
Mini VDD: nv4_mini.sys
Mini VDD Date: 10/7/2008 13:33:00, 6133856 bytes
Device Identifier: {D7B71E3E-4740-11CF-906D-0A2400C2CB35}
Vendor ID: 0x10DE
Device ID: 0x0400
SubSys ID: 0x040110B0
Revision ID: 0x00A1
Revision ID: 0x00A1
Video Accel: ModeMPEG2_C ModeMPEG2_D ModeWMV9_B ModeWMV9_A
Deinterlace Caps: {6CB69578-7617-4637-91E5-1C02DB810285}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: Format(In/Out)=(YUY2,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_BOBVerticalStretch
{6CB69578-7617-4637-91E5-1C02DB810285}: Format(In/Out)=(UYVY,YUY2) Frames(Prev/Fwd/Back)=(0,0,0) Caps=VideoProcess_YUV2RGB VideoProcess_StretchX VideoProcess_StretchY DeinterlaceTech_PixelAdaptive
{335AA36E-7884-43A4-9C91-7F87FAF3E37E}: F

thanks,
dear craig,
for your thoughts and tips!
I will do that just for curiosity. but then I would have to know how the waveform-scopes should ideally look like? where can I find model-scopes? (and, what's more, the camera "gave up its spirit", as we say in german: can't be switched on any more - brand new... so I'll have to get it fixed...)
but: it seems to me, that your path-finding leads in the wrong direction... see: the camera records pictures digitally on a tape. from the tape it is able to read the data again out onto a screen - and fine! now: you should be able to reproduce that outside the camera - and not blame it somehow...
others seem to have the same problem with different cameras and different systems-cominations (operating system, graphic cards...). so it can't be just my camera. the problem is not so easy...
the guy here - http://forum.videohelp.com/topic281706.html - seems to aim in the right direction (imho): he touches the point of the colour-spaces used! he says inside the camcorder IRE 0.0 / 16-235 color space is used. right? well: outside the cam on a computer-screen RGB or sRGB is used, right? so some transformation has to happen - or may be, it is not done - with the bad result, we have...
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what astonished me very much is to see that, when I change the screen-settings for color/luminance with my nvidia-graphics-card, then everything on the screen changes exept! the to video-images in the two screens (source, program) in premiere... so premiere seems to use its own screen-controle here!
and why actually can't I choose somewhere which the output-conditions for and after the capturing shall be, e.g. the clip-format (.avi, .mov etc.) and - may be! - the color-space! I can just say "DV 25i PAL max. bit-depth" and, under device(=cam)-controle, brand and type of device (and again PAL). now I can choose "canon" but not "HV30" (not contained in the list) - just "standard" instead. but that raises the question: what colour-space are the various cameras using and sending??
now if I check the supported camera-brands and -types online on the adobe-website (http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/dvhdwrdb.html) I can't find canon's HV30 (just the semi-pro-models, for which "conditional support" is promised... but problems seem to lay elsewhere).
on the website, where you can check the compatibility of your cam with premiere, adobe boasts its "Preconfigured solutions
Certified Adobe OpenHD configurations (that) help ensure compatibility between hardware and software components." if you click on the linked text some general boasting and buy exhortations about the "creative suite" come up - no precise information...
should this well known and ill suffered compatibility problem not be handled more clearly and competently?
please help me finding the solution, which is: to interprete the recorded data on the tape, that get transferred via capturing, like the camera does!
thanks a lot indeed!
hilmar
ps: it is interesting to check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_space, where it says: "YIQ was formerly used in NTSC (North America, Japan and elsewhere) television broadcasts for historical reasons. This system stores a luminance value with two chrominance values, corresponding approximately to the amounts of blue and red in the color. It is similar to the YUV scheme used in most video capture systems[2] and in PAL (Australia, Europe, except France, which uses SECAM) television, except that the YIQ color space is rotated 33° with respect to the YUV color space. ...
" you see: two different color spaces in TV and CAPTURE SYSTEMS! is premiere not a capture system?? and what do the graphics-devices underway between the camera and premiere??

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Key scenes on DVD appear too dark!

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