Resources for getting better at color correction

Hi!
Can anyone recommend some sources, books, instructional movies or similar for advanced color correcting and image coloring?
I am fairly decent at it already, I know the technical tools for it, I mostly use scopes and the 3-way color corrector for correcting the
basics like luminance and white balance, but I want to learn more about the coloring.
I'm looking for some inspiring resources for "movie color theory creativity" I guess.
Help much appreciated!

Thanks for another book tip.
Regarding the luminance levels, coming from a photoshop background it comes naturally for me to tune these with curves or a simple levels adjustment. However the basic "levels" effect itself I find pretty annoying because of that non-working win95 histogram that pops out, it's not a very big problem but it seems odd to me that it's not possible to get a simple working histogram in PPRO in addittion to the scopes. I do understand that histograms
doesnt have such a historical place in video editing as in still image editing, and the more I use and learn scopes I definetly see the benefits of it. Still, does someone happen to know if there there is such thing as a *affordable* plugin available for PPRO that can display a proper histogram?
And by the way, just out of curiosity: Im editing 1080/30 video from my 5D MKII and I am constantly amazed with the dynamic range and how much tinkering the video can take before image quality starts to suffer, even with the h264 compression. Do a professional HD camera 10 times the cost really deliver that much better raw footage quality (consider image quality alone of course) than this?
Thanks again

Similar Messages

5930K vs 5960X for AVCHD editing and color correction?

***I have also posted this in Hardware Forum because I'm not certain which forum will be the best place to ask. Mods, I apologize if this is a no-no and of course you're welcome to remove the one you deem inappropriately placed. Thanks**
Hi guys, getting ready to have a new custom system built (probably iBuyPower, not sure yet). I would love your input on choosing the ideal processor. I have read benchmarks and forums on both the Intel 5960X and the 5930K. Most benchmarks are only concerned about encoding times, not the actual editing and color correction processes. I realize that encoding (exporting) would be generally faster on the 8-core 5960 compared to the 6-core 5930. HOWEVER, all my source material is AVCHD and for that, higher clock speed does make a big difference during the actual editing. So let's forget about encoding/exporting right now and ONLY think about the actual editing. Let's also assume I will not overclock, or if I do then never more than 20%.* I 'm not a gamer and this workstation is ONLY for editing. I use Premiere Pro CC 2014.x and always keep it up to the latest version.
Since the 5960X is only clocked at 3.0 Hz. I'm concerned that editing and color correcting AVCHDs will be not as smooth as one would expect from a $1000 chip. The editing process is quite complex, with multiple video layers (all AVCHD, either 60p or 60i), picture-in-picture, color correction (mostly GPU-accelerated ones such as the Three Way CC and RGB Curves), and so on. It's not simple cuts and a few transitions. In fact, the work required on those AVCHD files is very much beyond what AVCHD is meant for but it is what it is.
So, considering all that, would you STILL fork out the extra cash to get the 5960X versus the 5930K, and if so, why?
I thank you in advance for your opinions and insight!
Current planned system specs (highlights)
- Win 8.1
- 5930K or 5960X (help!)
- Asus Rampage V
- 32 Gb 2666 RAM
- GTX 780 (possibly will invest in a Titan X 12 Gb if funds allow)
- Intel 730 SSD (480 GB) for OS and programs
- I will use my current set of 5-6 SSD drives for sources, scratches, misc pull files, exports
Thanks again for your feedback!
PS: I would like to emphasize again that the actual process of editing and color correcting AVCHD files is what matters most to me here rather than getting the absolute fastest encoding times.
* I realize that both chips are unlocked and made for overclocking. I've overclocked for years but frankly, I was never that comfortable with it, lots of crashes and instability - and that was at low overlock levels of around 20% or less. I do not want manage overclocking or thermal management or worry about frying the chips. If at all possible I would like to run the chips at stock, or as close to stock as possible. However I'm also open to suggestions about that.

Actually the 5960X will clock the turbo speed for all cores if you set it that way which is one of the things we do with our systems. All Intel chips that are not locked can clock to their turbo rating for all cores if set that way. Even without setting all cores to the peak turbo ratio they will turbo to a clock speed higher than base when all cores are active. It's just not the peak turbo ratio. That has to be manually set. Turbo occurs anytime the system load reaches beyond a low level regardless of what your doing. The system boards and bios effect that. You can also disable a setting in the bios and the system will always stay at it's peak clock ratio. The 5960X clocked at 3.9 will easily outperform the 5930K with all codecs due to the cores and cache.
We can configure the systems with any hardware available in the market. However we cant include all those items on the website right now without making it far harder for people to configure systems. The hardware options we list are there because they are tested to work with the video and audio hardware/software and the reliability. We also support the systems as a solution for the life of the system. We have price the systems for that support which is part of the price difference. The options you are looking at wont have near the same support or expertise with the hardware and software together hence why your asking the questions here.
Eric
ADK

Workflow for Green Screen Multicam, Color Correction. (CC 2014)

Hi
What is the best workflow to do a music video shot with 7 cameras (each with 4 takes) on a green screen which would also include green screen stills.
All shot with Consumer Grade cameras at 1920/1080 at the highest resolution (I think 30 fps)
The way I am going about is not efficient.
My tasks are:
Key each 20 minute clip (to get about 2 usable minutes)
Rotate my DSLR video (shot in landscape so I could take stills as well)
Color correct all clips
Create a new cleaned up movie for each clip including: Proper format. Keyed with new background, Color Corrected, Re-encoded as a new movie, Re-imported as 7 new movies, begin to edit.
I was watching some movies about pasting attributes which look helpful and also about nesting sequences which looks like it could save time.
What is the best workflow steps to do all this? Am I going about it the right way by creating new movie clips which are keyed with a new background, color corrected, and reencoded including all the garbage footage? Then create a new multicam project to edit the cleaned up footage?
HELP!

Temporary solution for this was "export xml" after all. I had to disable all graphics and textlayers and delete colorcorrections, and flatten multicam, so i had to redo all grading ja graphics stuff in older premiere after importin FCP xml. But got the work done in time. Won't use cc 2014 in near future unless someone figures out what is wrong with green frames. (well actually now im exporting from older AME, will she if the green frames pops out there too, wouldn't be too much surprised....)

Configuring an external Monitor for Color Correction?

I currently have my Mac Book Pro 17in connected by the mini DV port and one USB port to a Mac 30" Cinema Display for editing on FCP7. I use it in a two monitor configuration with my Bin on the laptop screen and the FCP interface on the Cinema display. This works well for me.
I also have an external ESata drive via PCI slot. I would like to connect an external video monitor as well for quality checks and Color correction purposes. I am also looking for advice on what sort of external video monitor I should get and how would I connect it to the laptop or via some external third party device. I would be hoping to use a video monitor connected via a hdmi connection. Most of the work I do is supplied on drives, original material EX3 or Canon and some on HDV (Camera) that I ingest via Firewire800. Many thanks in advance.

Sorry Mark, you can't always have everything ... with the Matrox MXO2 (or similar, like Motu HDX-SDI) you wouldn't be able to use your eSATA drive at the same time as the I/O device as they both use the ExpressCard/34 port ... you would have to use a FW800 drive for your media instead. On the plus side the MXO2 includes a calibration tool which can help you calibrate your LCD/LED screen via HDMI for accurate color reproduction.
An alternative device would be the AJA IoHD (or perhaps Motu V4HD) which connects via FW800. It's a superb piece of kit but is costly and doesn't offer any calibration utility ... that said, a good quality plasma display, such as a Panasonic Pro Plasma, can be found relatively cheaply and many of these have built in picture controls suitable for getting an accurate calibration.
The future is much brighter for Mac laptop users with the introduction of the Thunderbolt connector on the latest MBP revisions. As with FireWire and ExpressCard, you can expect to see I/O devices, hard drives and monitors etc that will connect directly via that connection, greatly expanding the capabilities of a simple laptop setup.

Color Finesse vs Colorista 2 Premiere vs After Effects for color correction

Hi,
I want to get in to color correcting of my Canon XF305 footage that is converted to the Blackmagic 10 bits lossless codec.
I have two Eizo calibrated monitors etc , but my only doubt is the choice of the program (to do it in Premiere-pro or After Effects) and with Color Finesse or with Colorista 2.
So if there are people with color correction experience please share it here.
Thanks! David

When shooternz said 'gain' I presume he means "what was the benefit". If your original footage can be opened in PP, converting it isn't usually necessary unless you find the scrub performance is really hampered by the camera's codec - and that's more of an issue for line editing rather than color correction as you won't be playing it back and forth very much. PP will edit in 32-bit color space no matter what the footage is, so you don't need to force the ingested material into a higher bit depth.
We get the 'real time' question asked a lot. PP is a non-linear editor so realtime playback and scrubbing are essential, but the exact content of each frame isn't all that important. AE works on individual frames so it's not designed to play back in real time - it has to compose all your effects onto every single frame before it can show you the results, and in every frame it processes every pixel. The realtime monitors in PP don't do that - they show something that looks visually the same but only some of the frames are actually processed, then the rest are interpolated.
AE has some extremely powerful CC tools, but realistically it's intended for use on small clips - if you look at grading workflows in studios their typical AE timelines might only be 20 seconds max, and often only a couple of seconds. It can work with longer clips but it gets painful. The big advantage in AE is the ability to layer up lots of effects with masks, so for example you can color-correct a video clip so it exactly matches another clip or a still image, fine-tuning one coffee cup in the background of a scene or relighting in post by masking up zones of color and exposure adjustment.
PP on the other hand is great for long timelines and cutting together clips into a program - that's what it's designed for - but it works on clips so correcting at a frame-by-frame level is correspondingly horrible. I'd say the 3-way CC in PP is perfectly fine for prosumer and indie work; if you know what you're doing it's possible to replicate any of the motion picture styles people are used to seeing, it's simply that it doesn't have a library of presets and you don't get the same level of spatial controls (there's no masked adjustment layer concept in PP like there is in AE). As shooternz says some of the third-party plugins for PP give you those power tools.
New in CS6, Speedgrade provides a standalone program with more powerful features, though the workflow at the moment isn't all that seamless (SG wants frame images, as do most pro grading applications, so there's a gnarly export-import thing to go through that makes round-tripping a one way street).
A professional colorist will use a standalone grading program for several reasons, but they're not all down to pure 'quality';
pro colorists tend to use special hardware desks with physical versions of the three color wheels, and they only work with certain software.
if you're matching the 'look' of an entire motion picture, being able to store, share and batch process with preset styles and look-up tables (LUTs) is important - MB Looks and the Colorista plugin bundled with AE both have libraries of presets, the native fast and 3-way CC tools in PP don't.
On a big project the grading is done by someone other than the editor, so they don't generally need (or want) access to the master timeline - they'll get an exported mezzanine format from edit (an image sequence or uncompressed video track) so don't care about all the other stuff PP or AE can do.
If your only job is grading then a standalone package is the way to go. If it's one of an army of things you do, from shooting and editing to burning the DVDs and writing the blog, I'd say to stick with the inbuilt tools in PP/AE, have a go in Speedgrade if you have CS6 and some time to teach yourself, but the expense of a standalone grading tool would only be worthwhile if you have a few months spare to learn the skills. There's a reason the best colorists earn top dollar, it's 50% art, 50% science and 100% dedication.

? about image resolution/color correction when apple prints photo book

My first time making a photo book. I color correct and sharpen all of my images in Adobe Lightroom 2 first. Then I save the jpegs and import into iPhoto to make a book. Is there an option for turning off auto color correction when the file is uploaded to apple for printing? Is there an accurate way to tell how the photos will print on the specific paper they use? Also, what print resolution should the photos be set to? Is 180 dpi enough? Thanks in advance.

first read the Apple pages - http://www.apple.com/support/photoservices/preparation_tips/ - and all of its links
Second - I suspect you will be disappointed. Based on reports on these forums almost everyone who uses iPhoto exclusively to preprocess photos is extremely happy with the results. very often people you over process their photos using a third party program (including Lightroom, Photoshop, etc) are unhappy because the printing process is optimized for point and shoot cameras and iPhoto processing - it is NOT a professional desktop book process
There are no options re color correction - it is built in again aimed at sRGB, point and shoot cameras and iPhoto processing
Plus there have been reported incompatibilities between iPhoto and Lightroom
The print resolution is what it is - if it will be less than 180 dpi you will get a waarning - it can be greater
The papers they print on are specified here - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3412
LN

Sony PVM 20N5U=Broadcast Color Correction Monitor?

Hello, folks. Posted this on the "Getting started with video production on a Mac" forum, but no responses . . . so I'm trying here.
I have a Sony 14M2U that IS indeed a professional grade broadcast monitor that can be used for color correction. However, I was recently given a Sony PVM 20N5U and I'm wondering if this one can also be used for broadcast standard/professional color correction. I looked online, but couldn't find any specific information on whether it was or not.
Any help resolving this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks much in advance,
Javier

the n5u is a very sweet monitor and quite versatile. Beats the cr*p out of most of the lcd monitors out there. These are no longer in production, so check carefully the hours on the tube and the general condition.

Color Correction: Canvas color is off from exported video

Hey everyone,
Forgive me if this has been covered before, but I've been searching around and can't find the answer I'm looking for.
When I color correct a video, I get it to where I want in the canvas, and then go to export. When I export the video, it looks different from what I did in the canvas. The exported video ALWAYS looks like its never been color corrected. It's very aggravating because I have to over color correct it to make it look the way I want. Like raise the contrast a bit more, to get the exported video to look right, while the preview in the canvas looks bad.
Any suggestions to how to perhaps change the color settings on the canvas? or how to correct this problem?
Thanks a lot,
Jonathan

It's unfortunate that the word "calibration" has been co-opted to mean something along the subjective lines of a daily set-up using a blue gun gray scale or a blue screen with NTSC or PAL or HD bars, performing white/black and chroma level adjustments by eye.
Calibration of a monitor in the literal sense is performed by an engineer with engineering tools to perform precise, objective adjustments of the r,g,b bias and gains as well as any yoke alignment in the case of one of those old fashioned cathode ray tube type displays.

Color Correction Tutorials

Having searched this forum for some advice on color correction, I've found some links to some very useful information.
I was wondering if anyone could also recommend some more detailed information on color correction. Books, or DVD tutorials.
One specific issue I'm trying to solve is the fact that I have some footage I shot which was manually white balanced along with some that was not. So I'm trying to bring the non-white balanced footage in line with the white balanced footage.
(new underwater housing and I bumped the white balance button, oops)
G5 Dual 2.5 GHZ, 4.5 MB (cause WinXP Can't), GeForce 6800 Ultra, Sonnet SATA 4+4 Mac OS X (10.4.7)
G5 Dual 2.5 GHZ, 4.5 MB (cause WinXP Can't), GeForce 6800 Ultra, Sonnet SATA 4+4 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

steve hullfish wrote a text several years ago about digital video color correction. it's pretty good if you know nothing about this subject.
there's also the apple pro text by alexis van hurkman that is okay if you know nothing about this subject.
One specific issue I'm trying to solve is the fact
that I have some footage I shot which was manually
white balanced along with some that was not. So I'm
trying to bring the non-white balanced footage in
line with the white balanced footage.
for this issue, i would apply the three way color corrector to your non-white balanced clips. use the match hue function to have fcp match to your white-balanced clips. that'll give you a base to start tweaking from. magnifying your vectorscope will help with the tweaking.
search the manual for the match hue function and how to use it.
zeb

Color Correction split screen comparison

I'm looking for a way to Color Correct a Multiclip made up of 3 angles from an interview.
I would like to do a split screen so I can match colors of one angle to the next.
FCP had a thing where you could split screen and select part of the screen as last edit, next edit, in point etc.
I only see in Premiere to do a comparison split screen of the CC on and off.
Thanks
Paul

Simply I would line up whichever was the Reference Clip and and CC / grade the other to match.
Check with scopes later but primary work is done to "eyeball" and in the case of the 1st Clip..Use the Reference Monitor with a scope.

Looking for a better resource to get a handle on using effects in after effects (CS6 BTW)

Hello thanks for looking in,
I would like to get better control over Zooming. The Zooming I found in AE did not function when
dragged it into my effects controller...Is the only Zoom control really the "Scale" as found in Prem-Pro?
I could not find it in AE. I wanted to zoom over the shoulder of my actor and concentrate on what my Actor is looking at/pointing at. I could not find where that effect is at in AE.
If you know of a couple good tutorials to watch that show how to control the effecst in After-Effects it would be welcomed and appreciated. If you know the specific path to use to pan and
zoom for my desired shot mentioned, that too would be appreciated. One other ? I skimmed through "Creative Cow" but there are many videos and after watching a couple that were titled what
I want, were not what I was looking for. Spent an hour plus surfing before I came here to ask.
Are some of the effects only applicable to one or the other? IE: Movies or stills? If so is there a
manual that states what can be used with what? I tried dragging some of the effects into my effects area and they would not populate. IE: Zoom Forward. Only used for Text?
Thanks for your time with this in advance.

Start here to learn After Effects: http://adobe.ly/bjBT3P
(That link is the direct link to the resources recommended on the thread that shooternz gave.)

Monitor for color correction

Hello guys,
I am a newbie to Color and Color Correction. I have a dual monitor setup with my Mac Pro.
I have two 24 inches of DELL 2408WFP & DELL 2407WFP. These monitors have different color, and I think it is just stupid how Dell manufactures them.
Anyways, From what I have learned, I know I am not suppose to do perform color correction for videos on any regular LCD monitors. Can you experts suggest me good color correction monitor? Not too expensive. I am not doing any major flim/music video or anything such. This is just a hobby of mine, and I'd like to learn new things as time goes on. Most of my videos are travel videos & I try to make a cinematography out of it. I also shoot landscapes.
I hope you guys can direct me right.
Thanks,
Lowell

I think there is a lot of snobery on this forum regarding hardware requirements. If you are not entertaining clients who have just come from a Da Vinci suite, then you CAN live with out a Broadcast monitor that meets EBU specs. The important thing is to use a video monitor and not a computer monitor. You will need a decklink like card to get the video into composite or component format, that later will give a cleaner image but most television is viewed in composite any way. Colorgrading is a matter of comparing the before and after image and comparing the graded shot with the pictures around it. The scopes will keep you informed of the limits and will help you interprit the monitor. Rember if the shot looks better after grading on a cheaper monitor then it will look better on a Grade A monitor with SDI inputs. Don't let the "big" boys put you off, and use the software that you own to inprove your video and your skill-set.
Good luck from Boaz

Calibrating FCP for Color Correcting

I'm about to do some color correcting for a video project. The challenging thing is I don't have a TV monitor hooked up to my computer, which is preventing me from seeing what the exact color looks like.
Does anyone know a way I can callibrate my FCP's canvas window to show the same color a TV monitor would show?
Thanks for your help.

TVs aren't used for this, as they vary greatly in every way...brightness, contrast, color...more. TV's aren't designed for broadcast color correction. You can try, but it won't be a true representation. Sorry to be a purist, but in this case, it is true.
Try these articles:
http://www.videouniversity.com/tvbars2.htm
http://www.bluesky-web.com/colorbars.html
What is this for? If you are doing any sort of broadcast work, then you'd better get a broadcast monitor. Can't afford it? Aren't they paying you? Paying for your system?
Shane
"There's no need to fear, UNDERDOG is here!"

My HD TV as NTSC Monitor for secondary color correction

Can I use my new Panasonic HD TV model TH-42PX80U as a NTSC monitor for secondary color correction using both Final Cut Pro out of a Macbook Pro intel? What cable I can use to conect via HDMI? Will the color acuracy will be similar to that of a NTSC color correction monitor? will my TV do a decent job for NTSC? THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!
I am not sure I have this HDMI cable to be use in my macbook pro does it comes with it?

Can I use my new Panasonic HD TV model TH-42PX80U as a NTSC monitor for secondary color correction using both Final Cut Pro out of a Macbook Pro intel?
Yes, but I would only trust it if you are going to be making DVDs, and ONLY if you properly set it up. I would not rely on it for broadcast color correction. The reason broadcast monitors exist is to have a standard...HDTVs don't have a standard. Go to best buy and look at all of them....none of them match. BUT, as a nice simple solution for DVD, I'd use it.
But the only way you are going to get a signal to it is with the Matrox MXO. It will do component to the monitor, or you can get a DVI to HDMI adapter...if you do that the MXO software will allow you to set the monitor up to color bars. That option is only available from of the DVI out of the box.
Will the color acuracy will be similar to that of a NTSC color correction monitor?
No...it would be similar to color correcting NTSC on your home television...because that it what it is.
will my TV do a decent job for NTSC?
I doubt it. Taking an SD image and blowing it up huge on this HD TV...scaled up. I wouldn't think so. I wouldn't use it for SD color correction.
I am not sure I have this HDMI cable to be use in my macbook pro does it comes with it?
You have a DVI port on your MacBook Pro. And they make DVI to HDMI cable adapters I'm sure.
http://library.creativecow.net/articles/ross_shane/MXO.php
Shane

Looking for a particular color correction tutorial

I am looking for an online tutorial on how to do color correction if the video one is working with has color bars. This happens on a lot of analog videotapes that come to me. I know what my scopes are suppposed to look like when analyzing color bars, but I need something that shows me how to get from A to B.
If I Google some varient of "color correction video color bars," all I get is information on calibrating monitors.
I am using Premiere CS5.5
Thanks in adavnce for any response!
J. D.

APP - Layer...
Also... Check this site for looking at APPs.. I've posted this before but it's a good site. It just started up a week or so ago.
http://androidapplications.com/

Resources for getting better at color correction

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