Color Correction - Color Grading

[Leatherfeet]

Hey,
I'm working on a large, zero budget film at the moment, and I wanted to give it some nice effects. I was just wandering if anyone has a tutorial for adding some atmospheric colour filters. I dont know if colour filters is the right words for what I'm asking for, but basically I want to achieve '300' like effects and also a way to make home video recording look more realistic using software. I have after effects...

Thanks for the help,

Leatherfeet

[BeyondForeverFilmss]

There are special lenses you can use to film your Films in different lights, like bluer or more yellow, or making the light dimmer or stronger.

There arnt a lot of good effects that will jsut make your film like 300, maybe in a very good program.

Theres not much to make your home film look like movie film, sorry to say =(

small tweaks but not much. Lighting is imporant, can give your film good depth.
the problem is, real film is on 32mm film not digital which gives it taht nice look, and also the FPS are a bunch more so that makes it look a lot smoother.

Basically lighting is what will make your film look nicer, jsut get good shots, pans, and waht not, sound also helps a lot.

Hope this helped a bit

[Solo0312]

In response to your request, I'd also recommend looking for "Color Finesse" which is a kodak based color correction software filter that can be used in final cut OR after effects. I swear by this program and have yet to do a project WITHOUT it. I can't really give you much more info about achieving it other than you may be able to snag a torrent of it online considering the legit version is pretty expensive. It's called "Color Finesse" plugin for after effects.

Hope this helps

[nooneimportant77]

i JUST started working on the 300 look in after effects

one really great way to get a similar look is to use brightness contrast (duh?!) and boost the contrast and the brightness to whatever disiered levels you want THEN you go to effects chanel and select CC composite and you change the blending mode in that effect to "color"

it gives you a close look and you can tweek it, i added over it a photo filter effect too to give it a more sepia look

[Ladri.]

I really have no idea how to color correct my movies. I have adobe premiere elements 2.0 so can I do it with that? If so, how?

[ciwi286]

ive never used adobe premiere but usually theres a menu "effects->colour correction" and then there will be a few different one...in after effects (what I use) my favourites are "curves" and "hue and saturation"

[Ladri.]

Thanks. I'll check it out.

[edwardlavender]

Sidekick Showdown (http://video.google.com/url?docid=8905847422269402869&esrc=sr1&ev=v&len=92&q=sidekick%2Bshowdown&srcurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D e5ftC5wyLvU&vidurl=%2Fvideoplay%3Fdocid%3D8905847422269402869% 26q%3Dsidekick%2Bshowdown%26total%3D3%26start%3D0% 26num%3D10%26so%3D0%26type%3Dsearch%26plindex%3D0&usg=AL29H22BZxihILbbqqmCCNYYIlj_EUJOpA)

Just an example of what color correction can do for a picture.

That video was shot all on a camera phone.

-zac

[Ladri.]

Yea, I've seen that video before.

[nooneimportant77]

before you worry about how to do color correction, are you sure you understand the purpose of color correction?

to really take advantage of how powerful and versatile it is you should read up

its far too much to explain and i'm sure i don't even fully know its uses

I'M NOT SAYING YOU'RE STUPID OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT

EDIT: and color correction is not the only thing that made that cell phone movie look good.

[Ladri.]

Yea I know what color correction is and its uses. I just never learned how to use it.

[edwardlavender]

Yea, I've seen that video before.

You've seen it where...when I posted it before? or just randomly on Youtube.

I'm just curious because it's my buddy's video and I was wondering if it got hit up randomly by an indy moguler because that would be rad and semi-small worldish.

-zac

[spicysmoke]

You've seen it where...when I posted it before? or just randomly on Youtube.

I'm just curious because it's my buddy's video and I was wondering if it got hit up randomly by an indy moguler because that would be rad and semi-small worldish.

-zac

The other day my brother met a guy who had seen my videos, how trippy is that? Very small world ish

[17thletterfilms]

Yea I know what color correction is and its uses. I just never learned how to use it.
Andrew Kramer has some tutorials over at Videocopilot.net. They're for After Effects, but I'm sure that some of the stuff is translatable over to other programs.

[Ladri.]

You've seen it where...when I posted it before? or just randomly on Youtube.

I'm just curious because it's my buddy's video and I was wondering if it got hit up randomly by an indy moguler because that would be rad and semi-small worldish.

-zac

I saw it when you posted it earlier. The world isn't as small as you think. ;)

[felix78]

I need same help but with vegas pro!

[baron von fogel]

In Premiere (and Premiere Elements as far as I know) the color corrector tools are in the Video Effects pallette. Color correction is great if you're looking to set a different mood, or to tint things blue to indicate a night scene or whatever. Also, if your actors look too orange from being lit by tungsten lights it can helpful to fix your white balance using the color corrector. Just take care to make sure that all of your corrected shots match in terms of color. Levels and Contrast filters can also help you a lot.

[rrh]

Say I have some footage that was shot inside, but it was white balanced for sunlight, so everything looks a little yellow. I want to cut this footage together with a couple shots that were white balanced properly. What's the most fool-proof way to do this? I have access to Adobe Premier for editing.

[WesScog]

I would suggest throwing the Color Correction Effect onto it, and turning up the blue a little bit. Just mess with the colors until it looks like your other scenes.

[ciwi286]

I dont know abour premiere but after effects has an effect under colour correction called levels...that lets you alter the white balance!

[John the Fish]

I like using the RGB curves myself.

[rrh]

So I adjusted them to something that looks better than it did. It still doesn't look exactly right, but I think you won't notice it unless you're watching for it.

It just seems so dreadfully imprecise, to just eyeball it. Like there should be a process where I can break the process down into smaller parts, like focus on one channel at a time, or on highlights first, then midtones, then shadows. (Or shadows, then highlights, then midtones? I don't know, so I'm asking...)

[kennyboy13]

Hello!
I was wondering if you could help me.
I am wondering you know of any free colour grading software??

:hayguyz:

[kennyboy13]

OK, sure. Dont All come at once.

:-(

[felix78]

when people don't have answers, they don't answer. Becaus people would start calling them spammers.

[Direktor]

Spammer....:P

[kennyboy13]

Great help guys. Thanks.

:(

[demoncheeseball101]

well, grading is a serious part of post, so you shouldn't go for a free program and expect anything great.

[KMProductions]

Yeah I have never heard of a free grading program. FX home composite lab lite is $80 USD. I have the pro version but they are both really good, and fairly cheap.

[BROKEN Productions]

the demo virsion of FX lab has color grading and can keep it on your PC for as long as you want

[BROKEN Productions]

http://fxhome.com/products/demo

[KMProductions]

the demo virsion of FX lab has color grading and can keep it on your PC for as long as you want
Nope sorry you cant render or save with the demo version. But you can keep it as long as you want I think. But it's useless if you can't render.

[jburas]

Most editing programs have some kind of color correction tools. Even iMovie has basic color correction. So if you can edit, you can probably do color manipulation. But as far as I know, there aren't any free standalone tools. Sorry, but there's no such thing as a free lunch.

[BROKEN Productions]

Nope sorry you cant render or save with the demo version. But you can keep it as long as you want I think. But it's useless if you can't render.really?
than wats the point?

[Direktor]

You can render, it just has a watermark over the entire project. It is usless though unless you buy it....which I deffinately recommend!

[WesScog]

really?
than wats the point?


So you can see if the program is right for your needs so you can buy it.

[kennyboy13]

Great thanks guys! Does anyone know if Wax is capable of this?

[google550]

After Effects has lovely grading, and Final Cut actually isn't that bad, but if you want cheap grading, I would just go for the FX Home stuff. As DemonCheeseBall said, grading is a serious part of post-production, and I would invest a bit of money in it.

[NaziActionFigure]

Magic Bullet pwns.

[kennyboy13]

Magic Bullet pwns.

Magic Bullet pwns? What?

[SivartAlappesProductions]

Ok, did a commercial for a contest for a local radio station. Just finished my main edit. Decided I'd fiddle around with some color correction tools in Premiere. Here are two low-res versions put online to get some feedback to fix it up before I enter it in the contest.


Before color correcting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQFhFEMdmmk



and after color correcting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-9Nwx9RITg


Tell me your thoughts!

[mrsiefer23]

without
its kinda blueish with it and i didnt really like that

[SivartAlappesProductions]

See, 'cause I think that the second one looks very film-like.

[toppie34]

i like the blue sstyle because it kind of film like but the other one (with collor coreection) looks very natural

[Lyndon22]

definitley without. I don't think it changes the quality of the picture to make it 'film' like, just gives it a more washed out colour to it. Leave it as it is I say. Maybe try turning up the contrast of colours...

[New Spark Films]

89X... good station. Are you in Canada or the Detroit area?

[WesScog]

Without, it's warmer, and more inviting.

The other is too blueish, it looks cold, it's a warm happy scene, with happy music, if anything I would suggest trying throwing a warming filter on it to see how that looks.

[ciwi286]

It definately looks more washed out when its colour corrected blue. I would say try some red or orange filters or even just up the contrast.

[trspballer7]

without, or try again.

[MiniMogul27]

I say shoot for somewhere in between.

[SivartAlappesProductions]

Ok, let's try again, shall we?

This time, I changed one of my cuts. I changed the audio at the beginning so the high note from the singer isn't as shrill. I color corrected in a TOTALLY different direction.

So here's version 3:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPlos1DLY7c

[SivartAlappesProductions]

89X... good station. Are you in Canada or the Detroit area?


I'm about 30 minutes south of D-town.

[WesScog]

I like that much better than the first color correction, the colors are very vibrant in that.

[MiniMogul27]

I like that much better than the first color correction, the colors are very vibrant in that.
Agreed.

[SivartAlappesProductions]

does it look better than the uncorrected version?

[redtail5]

i liked with color corection

[SivartAlappesProductions]

i liked with color corection

Which color correction? The first one I posted at the beginning of this thread, or the new one I posted?

[WesScog]

I think I like the new color correction more.

[New Spark Films]

I'm about 30 minutes south of D-town.

I'm west of detroit, probably a bit closer than you are.

[ciwi286]

The second one is much better!

[sonnyfromda02]

The 3rd version really brought out the red in the drum.

[SivartAlappesProductions]

ok. I think this might be THE ONE!

I fixed all the audio.

I changed a couple of my cuts and believe it now flows better.

And again, I fiddled with the coloring and think it looks really good now. Do you guys think it's ready?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTphZWa0oec

[ciwi286]

It flows SO much better this time but looks a little more washed out. I would say with the colour correction of version three and the cuts of version four it would be Perfect!

[ctvfilms]

I think you should make it less blue and a little more warm, if you know what i mean.

[SivartAlappesProductions]

It flows SO much better this time but looks a little more washed out. I would say with the colour correction of version three and the cuts of version four it would be Perfect!


see, I think #3 looks TOO vibrant. #3 was at 200% saturation. #4 is at 125%. I tried it at 150%... but didn't even bother to save because the girl's skin looked like a fake tan.

[ciwi286]

Hmm, It is ultimately up to you but I think with the cuts of number 4 and 200% saturation that it would be perfect!

[segnett]

I've got some video that isn't bad, but needs to be better. I was thinking of how I've seen old scratchy video remastered into crisp clean good looking video.

I've tried researching it, but haven't had any luck yet. I'm hoping some of you guys have an idea of how this is done, how I can research/learn the basics, and what programs would be used to do this.

-Seg

[google550]

We-eell.

If you're talking about just the overall quality of the video, you can always light your scenes better. Then you can go in later and color-correct. That always adds to the production value.

If it's restoring video that you want to do, it's usually done in a program like Apple Shake or Color, or Adobe After Effects.

Restorative artists use color correction to bring back color to the faded film, and any blemishes or smudges on the film are painted out using a clone stamp tool, or a matte.

[dfoster26]

Hey ive got sony vegas movie maker and i'm trying to do some color correcting and I can't figure it out.Please help!!!

[ctvfilms]

okay.. hit the video fx symbol on the track that your video is on, it looks like a division symbol. next add, color corrector, color corrector secondary, and color curves. next, it will open up another window, and then you can adjust the settings until you get what you want. hope that helped :)

[Hunterr]

Hey guys, is there any free color correcting software out there? I don't want to use a trial, for the reason of having to re download it or find others once the trial runs out.

Thanks in advance,
-Hunter

[DimelessBumFilms]

Color Correctors usually come in NLE suites. some free ones are Wax and AviSynth.
Im sure theres more but, you can google "free editing software" and some should show up.

[nooneimportant77]

Color Correctors usually come in NLE suites.

not so at all.

The most accessible color correction program for indy mogul types is Magic Bullet looks, they offer a free trial which i've been meaning to get for ages.

EDIT: hm I read it wrong, and thought you wanted a free trail.

[DimelessBumFilms]

I have a feeling that he means being able to white balance, change hue/ saturation, etc.. not so much changing the color to create a feeling. But your right, Magic Bullet Looks is a great color changing plugin.

[NickFiorentino]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EmOH5f1J1Uc

I wanna know how to make videos a certain color like I love the color in 300 I'm not sure if thats what color correcting is or what but if it is I've messed with color correcting before and I'm a complete noob there are so many options and choices I don't know what to set everything to.

Also like in 8 mile theres like a greenish tint and in the ring its like a blueish tint

[TacticalNinja]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EmOH5f1J1Uc

I wanna know how to make videos a certain color like I love the color in 300 I'm not sure if thats what color correcting is or what but if it is I've messed with color correcting before and I'm a complete noob there are so many options and choices I don't know what to set everything to.

Also like in 8 mile theres like a greenish tint and in the ring its like a blueish tint
Well Color correcting can tint your shots a certain color.

Or shutter speed can add a blueish tint.

lighting and lighting gels...

I perfeer in post production (that editing on your computer, you color correct)

[NickFiorentino]

well how do I know what settings to make for me I screw it up I'll make it too gold or too brown

[TacticalNinja]

well how do I know what settings to make for me I screw it up I'll make it too gold or too brown
Well just keep adjusting your levels. I cant tell you you want 50 blue and 76 red because it depends on your lighting.


adjust, and view your scene, and re adjust. If your working with an RGB color slider remmeber R is red B is blue and g is green.

Remember your colors and which colors mix to make what.

Also what program are you using?

[NickFiorentino]

premiere pro cs3

[TacticalNinja]

premiere pro cs3
Oh then you shouldnt have much of a problem then. try to use a RGB color switcher
You can get crazy ones with THOUSANDS of options but there should be a simple 3 level slider. In Premiere Elments its called Color Balance RGB. You can get Channel mixer but theres too many options there for me. RGB works fine.

Just boost Red and Green and adjust brightness and contrast.

With time you'll get it for sure.

[NickFiorentino]

alright thanks a lot man!

[TacticalNinja]

alright thanks a lot man!
No problem man. Any time

[knightly]

Not sure if there's a 3-way color corrector in there, but if you can affect the darks, mids and hilights separately from the filter (or can use 3 versions of the same clip composited over one another with mattes to separate the different brightnesses), you can push your darks one way and highlights / mids the other (on the color wheel - complimentary colors) which will give a visual separation. Usually the darks are pushed toward cooler colors (blue or green) and the hightlights pushed opposite that (usually orange/yellow/red). This will punch up skin tones while giving the shadows a bit more definition (the human eye is most sensitive to greens).

[TacticalNinja]

Well said. I never realy thought about that one.... It makes sense though, as soon as you said do 3 diffrent layers I thought you could do it like Technick color(or the one film medium). But thats diffrent.

[Ladri.]

Under color correction, use levels with you have it. It is great when you are going for a darker look.

I did this video with only messing with levels.

http://www.vimeo.com/1094252

[secondsticks]

300 was filmed using all green screen. If you can get a couple HMI lights. They give more of a blue tint, if that's what you're looking for. Try using gels, different lights, diffusion, anything you can to get the effect you're looking for before post production. Also make sure to test things out like this before you make your movie!

[WesScog]

http://www.xslimits.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31
http://www.rickdavidson.com/2007/04/30/visual-effects-in-the-style-of-300/ - This tutorial is for photoshop, but the same basic things you have to change also apply to video.

[waveform]

I'm working from memory, but wasn''t there a load of that balck and white except for one colour in 300? I recall they left reds and made everything else monochrome, sometimes blue, I'll have a dig around and see if I can find a sample.

If so, CS3 can do this, It's on my other machine but I think it's called 'Colour leave'. Bascially you drag the effect onto the clip in the timeline as usual, then either select a colour that you want to remain, or I use the 'eye dropper' sampling option and click on the colour I want to keep in the preview window. You can adjust the tolerance for the given colour, to allow for a few shades either side of the selected colour, and adjust the degree that all other colours are turned to monochrome.

Having typed that, an example here: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Lugly180oHM&feature=related but there's better ones than that to be seen. Rather than plain monochrome, there's a sort of modified sepia tone in there.

[TacticalNinja]

I'm working from memory, but wasn''t there a load of that balck and white except for one colour in 300? I recall they left reds and made everything else monochrome, sometimes blue, I'll have a dig around and see if I can find a sample.

If so, CS3 can do this, It's on my other machine but I think it's called 'Colour leave'. Bascially you drag the effect onto the clip in the timeline as usual, then either select a colour that you want to remain, or I use the 'eye dropper' sampling option and click on the colour I want to keep in the preview window. You can adjust the tolerance for the given colour, to allow for a few shades either side of the selected colour, and adjust the degree that all other colours are turned to monochrome.

Having typed that, an example here: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Lugly180oHM&feature=related but there's better ones than that to be seen. Rather than plain monochrome, there's a sort of modified sepia tone in there.
I believe your thinking of SinCity.

300 had a lot of bright colors then as the movie progressed it got duller and duller on the characters. and it smeed to have brighter backgrounds (brighter green screen insirts)

half the scenes were done in Lightwave...

[WesScog]

300 looked almost Sepia in some places, it was like someone took Copper paint and sprayed it on almost everything.

[knightly]

Well said. I never realy thought about that one.... It makes sense though, as soon as you said do 3 diffrent layers I thought you could do it like Technick color(or the one film medium). But thats diffrent.

You can actually do a 2 strip (the earlier technology - see high society) technicolor by using the channel swap filter and replacing your green channel with the blue (or is it the other way)... looks really cool :) 3-strip (wizard of oz) is harder to do, but doable.

http://www.aviatorvfx.com/?cmd=frontendOverview&id=color

[KMProductions]

OK I have a still from a video that I did some color correcting on. The right is un-color corrected and the left is CCed. Which one do you think looks better. Also is there anything that needs to be changed with the CC.

http://www.kmpfilms.com/compare.tiff

[happyhands man]

we can't see the pics

[BinBinProductions]

Where are the pics?

[New Spark Films]

Left.

[KMProductions]

Give it time to load. It's a really wide picture so it takes a few seconds.

[TheMan24]

Yeah, it's still not there

[PadawanGeek]

Give it time to load. It's a really wide picture so it takes a few seconds.


Could you please link me to the image because its not loading here.

[happyhands man]

i waited for a minute and nothing happened

[BinBinProductions]

Nothing is happening and im waiting.

[nooneimportant77]

It's not a very pushed look, looks like just a little more contrast. There's nothing wrong with it really, either one is good.

[KMProductions]

Thanks Noone, What could I do to make the color have that sort of look that I really can't describe. I hope you know what I'm talking about...

For everyone else here is the link. I cant figure out why you guys can't see it. Here is the direct link. (http://www.kmpfilms.com/untitled.jpg)

[nooneimportant77]

Well you'll have to describe it a bit better then that, then I can help you out with getting to the look.

[KMProductions]

Yeah, I figured you wouldn't get what I mean. haha

Bright highlights and dark shadows
Examples-
http://www.vimeo.com/1215406
http://www.vimeo.com/1317440

These are just random videos that I found on Vimeo.

[Fisherking]

Not good. You've lost a lot of detail in the highlights and shadows and amplified the noise. Admittedly, this shot was not a very good one to colour-correct. It's dark and noisy. Work on your lighting.

[Direktor]

The one on the left looks like its grainier than the one on the right.

[speekerphone]

i like left

[BinBinProductions]

I like right. The left looks like it has too much saturation.

[jburas]

The blacks look okay. I'd brighten up the midtones and bring down the highlights to a safer brightness. You might even want to bring down the saturation if it gets too saturated, particularly with the red pillow.

But... color correction is no substitute for poor lighting.

[google550]

Aye. It never is.

[KMProductions]

Thanks everyone!

[VileProboscis]

I would take the left picture and take the red back a shade or two, maybe turn the gamma up very slightly if at all.

[knightly]

what are you correcting in?

You can use luma mattes to be able to bring down just the bright areas into a range that doesn't overwhelm the rest of the image, which will bring out the subject more. The reds are over saturated a bit because it's DV, so you can do a separate key on those and desaturate the reds just slightly (that way the table won't look wonky compared to the rest of the image).

Color correcting isn't just a single brush stroke, you want to apply several correctors to affect different parts of the image independently. It takes time and processing power. First, white balance and even tonal range to give a nice foundation upon which to work, then start applying correctors to do specific things to the image. Using luma mattes, you can affect different bits of the image separately ( http://www.1000dollarfilm.com/the-matte-part-one/news/2008/06/24/ - full disclosure: I'm a columnist at this site -DIY stuff :)-, but the link is directly relevant to this discussion )

[happyhands man]

left one

[D.M.I-Productions]

im am not good with color correcting

[SCDPictures]

I have no idea how to use color correcting. Do I need some sort of program? I heard on an episode of BFX that there is somthing called color corecting and then it showed the difference. I just wanted to know.... thanks.:)

[stefanocasadei]

most higher-end editing programs come with some sort of color correcting tools, that's about all I know hehe

[TiE_Shepherd]

most higher-end editing programs come with some sort of color correcting tools, that's about all I know hehe

Yeah Premiere and Final Cut both do. I think Sony Vegas does as well, but not positive on that one. There are also add ons that will do color correction as well. One of them is magic bullet by red giant. They have magic bullet looks and colorista. I haven't used the new versions, but I got good results from the previous magic bullet.

[Mixed-Studios]

Final Cut Pro has amazing color correcting tools. Adobe After Effects also has really good ones as well.

[SCDPictures]

ok.... I'll have to get one of those... lol

[punkandska66]

You know...

After effects 1,000 dollars.
Final Cut is like 1,300 dollars.
Premier is 800 dollars.
Sony Vegas is 500 dollars.

But the last two come with "smaller-versions-for-people-who-aren't-super-advanced". And those are a lot cheaper than the full versions.

[TacticalNinja]

You know...

After effects 1,000 dollars.
Final Cut is like 1,300 dollars.
Premier is 800 dollars.
Sony Vegas is 500 dollars.

But the last two come with "smaller-versions-for-people-who-aren't-super-advanced". And those are a lot cheaper than the full versions.
Adobe Premiere Elments is missing maybe 3 things diffrently from the pro verson (little less color control, no motion tracking (does the pro even have it?) and a wack of lame effects and transitions)

If your good with elements its not hard to make anything look good.

There was a 4 minute film school, and abunch of threads on this topic.

Try to make your whites white, and if not add a tint to make your movie have more of a mood set in just the color.

[google550]

It's not BAD. It looks like you crushed your blacks, which got rid of some of the noise on the laptop. It also looks like you upped your saturation, though.

Not necessarily a good thing- on a true-color monitor it can look really unprofessional.

[SCDPictures]

i have adobe premire elements 4.0. Does that have it?

[nooneimportant77]

Unless your NLE supports working higher then 8bpc don't color correct in it. There are ways to cheat this in Final Cut that I know of, but I'm not sure about other programs. If you have After Effects, learn to do your color work in that. If you use the 3 way color corrector in Final Cut, you'll see that you can end up with a very flat strange look, you can either put it through After Effects, or buy Colorista by Red Giant (or for big time Magic Bullet by the same people).

[EnipProductions]

Yea don't trick yourself in thinking you can use Premiere Pro to get great colour corrections. I use After Effects which I think is the best. Pro does have magic bullet but its still meh on the output. Better to use After Effects Tools and then save your own preset. Which is what I do

[ThreeOnAMeathook]

i have adobe premire elements 4.0. Does that have it?

I have it, but I don't know how to color-correct in it...or if you even can.

[NaziActionFigure]

Color correcting and color grading are not the same thing.

[nooneimportant77]

Well, in the DV rebels guide there is a note that says that color correcting and color grading are the same thing, and that color grading is actually the european way of saying it. I don't actually know if there's a difference, but I'm pretty sure stu does.

If color correction, and color grading are the same thing, I'm guessing that color timing is the other one.

[michaelbak]

Final cut express! don't froget final cut express!

[michaelbak]

What do you think about my color correction? left original pic , middle magic bullet berlin look , right my color corrected version.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3266/2715136184_0cb417a55d.jpg?v=0

[NaziActionFigure]

Well, in the DV rebels guide there is a note that says that color correcting and color grading are the same thing, and that color grading is actually the european way of saying it. I don't actually know if there's a difference, but I'm pretty sure stu does.

If color correction, and color grading are the same thing, I'm guessing that color timing is the other one.

Well, they're mainly the same thing. The difference is that the term color correction is generally used to do describe altering the colors to reproduce them accurately, while color grading usually descibes the process of changing colors to reproduce a certain look. But that's just my experience. I'm pretty sure the two are interchangeable.

Also, color timing is the photo-chemical(as opposed to digital or electronic) process of grading.

[TiE_Shepherd]

Well, they're mainly the same thing. The difference is that the term color correction is generally used to do describe altering the colors to reproduce them accurately, while color grading usually descibes the process of changing colors to reproduce a certain look. But that's just my experience. I'm pretty sure the two are interchangeable.

Also, color timing is the photo-chemical(as opposed to digital or electronic) process of grading.

I think color timing has kinda just been transposed into the digital word, like alot of other terms.

As for color correction/color grading. The way you descibed it, is how I've always understood the different to be. An example might be to correct for a slightly off white balance you would be color correcting, but if you were trying to give a distinct look it would be color grading... think the matrix or payback with mel gibson.

But it seems to me both terms get used to discribe both techniques.

[NaziActionFigure]

s.

As for color correction/color grading. The way you descibed it, is how I've always understood the different to be. An example might be to correct for a slightly off white balance you would be color correcting, but if you were trying to give a distinct look it would be color grading... think the matrix or payback with mel gibson.

Um, that's what I said. Or at least tried to say.

[TiE_Shepherd]

Um, that's what I said. Or at least tried to say.

Yeah I was agreeing with you.

"The way you descibed it, is how I've always understood the different to be"

Guess I should have worded it better.

[speekerphone]

This:

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii178/stewieparker/Plain.png


or this:

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii178/stewieparker/Corrected.png

or this:

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii178/stewieparker/Corrected2.png

or:

http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii178/stewieparker/Corrected26.png

[stefanocasadei]

They honestly all look the same to me. Only thing I can spot is 2+3 have a tiny bit more contrast than 1...maybe it's my shitty monitor

[google550]

I'm not sure I like any of them, your color palette is pushing too green. A little more magenta... and crush the blacks a bit. The last one's also over-saturated...

but if I had to choose, I'd say the second one.

[TacticalNinja]

If i was the editor choosing, id choose the top one. Look at the green cup, you can see throw it, better and shows the edge of the table through it,

I have a pretty nice monotor and id say top.

Another reason your shirt is more black. and then plate doesnt look wierd.
And the bricks at as green.

What are you editing with?

also would help if they were all the same frame... Look at the first picture and the position of the money...
Then the second, diffrent position, possible change in lighting

[17thletterfilms]

I like the last one myself, but I also like oversaturated footage.

[google550]

Okay, the (new) bottom one looks very good, but try de-saturating.

[Explosion Mainiac]

exactly the last has a black a little to deep.

[Ergo Pictures]

It depends on the style and tone of your video. Between 1, 2, and 3, I'd say 2, as t has the best balance, but 4 would look good if you were going for a gritty grindhouse look (no, not the Tarantino-Rodriguez film, the style XD).

Maybe a medium between 2 and 4 would look good.

[Grenadis Productions]

I agree with what Ergo said it depends on the mood of your film or video for example if its quite a dark and dim piece then I would turn down the saturation like in this photo. I think your colour correction is good theres a little green that needs to be tweeked but still its good


Without Edit


http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/grenadis/DSC00285.jpg




With Edit

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn158/grenadis/Image0.jpg

[jacobfilm]

I like the third one. Not overly saturated, yet the colour seems true.

[nigel101]

what you editing on?

3rd one, 1-2 looks normal, 4th very contrast.

[NaziActionFigure]

I'd have to say number 1 since it's the most neutral. Everything else is too green.

[TacticalNinja]

I'd have to say number 1 since it's the most neutral. Everything else is too green.
Finally a supporter.

:D
I doubt he'll choose the first one, but i presented some good points. You can see the reflection in the glasses well too.

[speekerphone]

I'm going to stick with Numero 1. It looks good and TN pointed out some good things

[nathannguyen59]

i was wondering what do most people use to color correct their videos?

final cut studio's color or magic bullet looks which is much cheaper...

what are the advantages and disadvantages of each program?

[nooneimportant77]

Magic bullet, and Apple Color are both really good color correction, and grading programs. I have very little experience with Color, but it is a very precise program, and there is a lot of information to see. It's got scopes, and graphs, and all kinds of stuff.

I've used the demo of Magic Bullet Looks, and it is a more user friendly interface. It's all built on real things. I can't remember if Color works that way, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't. Looks applies effects where they would be if they were real, like a lens flare gets comped in before your two strip process film. The effects are all based off real things, like a two strip process. Though I've even heard Stu (creator of Magic Bullet) compare Color, to a da-vinci 2K, which is pretty much the mother of color correctors.

However I use Adobe After Effects for all my color work.

[moviemachine22]

I have two question for you...
What does Color Correction do fot your movie?:confused:
And how to do it?:confused:

[OutOfTheBoxStudios]

1. Google search.
2. Forum search.

Color correction is the process of enhancing the colors in your movie to make them closer to how the eye would see them. Color grading is giving the movie a certain look. Using these can improve the production values of your movie and make it look more professional.

For further detail, google it.

PS: With a name like Movie Machine, you should know all this. ;)

[IdealistProductions]

It can really help make your video look better. It helps bring out certain colors, if your camera doesn't pick them up that good. Color correction is a good thing to mess around with a little, so you find out what's best to use for your video. :)

[PadawanGeek]

Color correction can also be used to portray an emotion to your audience. Another use is to improve the continuity between scenes/takes, say you have one part of a scene shot a few hours later than the other part of the scene and the lighting is different, you can change the color balance so that it looks like the two parts were taken at the same time

[nathannguyen59]

thanks for the reply....well im all for more preciseness in a program such as color....

but since im no professional or anything....would it just be easier if i used magic bullet looks?

also, does color have any presets made beforehand or no

[nooneimportant77]

Both are precise professional tools, I don't know for sure if Color has presets.

[mikeypthatsme]

i use color. i've never used magic bullet looks so i can't compare the two, but color certainly takes a long time to learn if you want to get deep into it and do advanced stuff. for more basic stuff i found it pretty easy to pick up.

[mikeypthatsme]

Both are precise professional tools, I don't know for sure if Color has presets.

yes it does. there's a couple different bleach bypasses, day to night, and some other junk.

[nathannguyen59]

define basic...i just want to make my movies look like i intended them to look like...

say i want a certain look for the film....say golden and warm feel...would it be difficult to achieve a certain look with color with no professional help...

btw, do you recommend any dvd's or tutorials on color?

[mikeypthatsme]

define basic...i just want to make my movies look like i intended them to look like...

say i want a certain look for the film....say golden and warm feel...would it be difficult to achieve a certain look with color with no professional help...

btw, do you recommend any dvd's or tutorials on color?

basic would be getting the white balance right, changing levels, giving it a blueish or any other color tint, adding a film look, bleach bypass, there's so many things you can just throw in quickly, i guess that's what i call basic.

the more advanced stuff would be isolating one color, changing the color of something, anything you would need to use keyframes.

as far as tutorials for color, search emeek77 on youtube. he has really good, and most importantly free, tutorials that are pretty awesome.

[OutOfTheBoxStudios]

I find that color is actually quite easy to pick up. Isolating one color is easy. Changing color is incredibly easy. It all has to do with using secondaries. And that's really easy. Lynda.com and finalcutstudioschool.com are awesome resources for tutorials.

I find it's pretty easy to get the look you're going for in color. In fact, very easy.

[nathannguyen59]

cool...yeah i have seen emeek 77....he has a funny voice...hehe

but anyways i guess im gonna see how color works at the apple store...

but if i did get magic bullet looks....how compatible is it with FCP?

[OutOfTheBoxStudios]

It's fully compatible, from what I understand, works like any plugin.

In my personal opinion, Color is more worth it because in the end you have way more control over what you do, and you're using the same program as many professionals. However, I'm not saying MBL is bad, just that Color is more versatile and professional in the grand scheme of things.

[nathannguyen59]

cool...thanx the tidbit out of the box!

so....are there any dvd's or training programs that teach color?

because i can see it is an extensive program....

btw...what sort of graphics do you do for free?

[WesScog]

Merged most of the Color Correcting/Grading Threads.