Color correction is driving me BUGGY!
 

CC in PP CS3 is daunting to me. There are a plethora of tools to use (Curves, Levels, Fast Color Corrector, etc.). Which one's best, or which one's better in a certain set of circumstances? I haven't a clue. I've read articles and downloaded podcasts on the subject but the fog isn't lifting.

For example, I was tweaking some HDV footage using fast color corrector to get it to pop a bit more. When I got it the way I wanted it I ran it through the scopes and I was consistently at 105% IRE. Not good.

Can any of you here on the esteemed panel recommend a good resource on this black art? Clearly CC can often take good footage and give it what it needs to sizzle. I'd like to know that secret handshake.

Go over to digitaljuice.com and go through their tutorials on CC... its pretty good for the included CC actions in Premier.. you may have to go to the archived section to select all of the tutorials.... but they will give you a better understanding.... and they are free... if you have time you might want to check all of the tutorials out.... :-)

But if you want to color grade your footage and have more control within
a single user interface then I'd suggest you purchase magic bullet " looks "

it will do wonders for your footage..

Yeah.

Magic Bullet Looks truly rocks. I just moved from PPro2.0/AspectHD to FCS2 (forced to do so for a big contract) and I'm trying to learn Color as well as all the other FCS tools. I find myself frequently trying to justify using Color to grade with it's complicated interface vs. a quick, easy and above all *beautiful* grading in MBL. Color is a much more complicated and intensive program, and truly suited to pro/film work. MBL gets the same results as far as "good lookin' video" 9 times out of 10, and does so much, much faster.

Carl

Carl and Ray... thanks for the information. I will definitely check out the tutorials. I have also heard some about Magic Bullet and will look into that too. But before I jump into new tools I want to make sure that I understand the theory and fundamental concepts. When I do get into new tools, I want to be good, not dangerous.

Thanks again.

Tripp,

I would download the trial of MB Looks if you are trying to learn the theory. It's actually a pretty cool tool in it's layout, it's kind of designed for DPs. The controls are based off of filters on-camera, and the preset examples are pretty cool. A bit over the top, but definitely give you a lot to work with on figuring out what YOU want to do with a specific shot. A heckuva lot better than what comes with Color ;)

Carl

Tripp-

Tripp-

We’re practically neighbors… Well at least we are in the same state. I use Synthetic Apertures Color-Finesse plug in for most of my CC work. Unless I’m trying to get a specific color cast I normally try to make my blacks black and my whites white. I’m not certain which CC tool in P-pro has mater pedestal, gamma, and gain – but look for one that does. I usually just pull my blacks down to 7.5 IRE with the master pedestal controal then make sure my whites are not over 100 IRE. If they are I just full them down with the master gain control. I often pull the master gamma up a tad to make up for some of the detail I loose in the blacks. There are several ways to do this. This is just the way I do it most of the time.

Here is a simple little guide.

http://www.synthetic-ap.com/support/kb/420300.html

I highly recommend the book "Color Correction for Digital Video". This book is excellent. It can be a bit technical, but a great book.
http://www.amazon.com/Color-Correcti.../dp/1578202019

Tim,

Hey neighbor. Thanks for the heads-up. I do the same thing with whites and blacks as you do. I've learned that much, but it's the subtleties required to bring out the best color in the footage that I'm not comfortable with yet. It seems if you has 10 experts how to do it, you can get 12 different answers. Some go basic with levels, others use curves, fast color corrector or the whole full CC control.

What I want to do is look under the hood and understand the fundamentals of CC then learn how to use the available tools. Your two links will help me do that.

Thanks,

Tripp