I have footage of a talent in red dress.
I want to convert everything to black and white except for the red dress (which is the only red thing in the footage).

How do I do this in Vegas?

The other thing that I need, is to be able to gradually remove the red from the dress.

I.e., color disappears from dress like it's being washed out by the rain.

That's why I am asking for a masking solution - then I can probably paint over/delete the mask which determines where color remains.

Thank you.
-- Andre

Hi, I know this one...

Use the FX -Color Corrector (Secundary)- it has a DESATURATE ALL BUT RED in it´s presets..

The other thing that I need, is to be able to gradually remove the red from the dress.

I.e., color disappears from dress like it's being washed out by the rain.

Thanks.

Take a look at issue #11 of my newsletter (http://www.jetdv.com/tts). You can make the color gradual by keyframing a B&W effect on the red dress track.

I apologize for the lack of clarity...

The effect I am looking for is the color "emptying" from the object -- imagine a bottle turned upside down -- as the liquid pours out, the level in the bottle is lower and lower.

I need a hard line between color and no color rather than gradual fading out of the color.

So...
frame 1: whole dress is red.
frame 60: red from the waste down.
frame 120: red from the knees down.
frame 180: no red.

I know I'll have to delete the mask for each frame.

My logic tells me I'd have to:
- create a version of the track which only has red (maybe using color corrector)
- use the "red" channel from that track to define a mask
- show the masked area from a full color track
- over a desaturated track

then, either manually or through another mask, delete part of the "red" channel for each frame from 1 through 180.

I haven't done this before, and I am not sure it's doable. I am not sure this is how to do it.

Please help with the HOW part.

-- Andre
-- See my first music video done in Vegas: http://weeklydv.com/short.php?id=143

Use the same technique as my newsletter but add a second mask to the "keep red" part. The second mask would be a white/black generated media where the black starts at the top and gradually covers up the white - with a solid border.

Edward, thanks for helping with this.

I tried adding a second mask, but it influences all masks down the chain.

See an example file at http://bluemoontheatre.org/tests/masktest.zip (800k)



Note that this is example footage (I don't have original here) and the mask color is yellow and matches just a part of the dress. Effect would be the yellow part being deleted from the top.

The second mask is in the top track. Settings work OK before enabling the 2nd mask.

Eventually, I might render footage, open in AfterFX, create a mask and use paint to control saturation.

Thanks.

Ok, I did some playing with the file you sent. I moved the BW track to above the color version and added another BW version on the bottom. I then changed the BW track to two solid generated media dissolving and changed the transition to a linear wipe parent/child with the color version. This seems to do what you want.

If you listed or post your e-mail address, I could send you the revised VEG file.

I'm getting to this thread a little late, but I posted a Veg file on Sundance (http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/help/kb/kb_files.asp?author=527) for this. The name of the file is Color-Pass.

andre at turnhead dot com

that is

ANDRE at TURNHEAD dot COM

(it's easy to take the "rn" for an "m")

thank you!

Another way to achieve the colour washing away:

Create the whole colour pass sequence as per Ed's newsletter and render as avi, leaving the dress red throughout.

Then use a vertical wipe transition (with soft edge?) between this and a totally black and white version.

That's kind of what I did, Peter. But I used the transition as part of the mask.

Andre, check your e-mail. It's on its way.

Edward, could you please email me that veg too? Grazie

On it's way, Grazie. You'll have to add your own media, though.

http://www.instantclassic.org/ftp/masktest2.zip

you might have to manually browse for the media.

Again, thank you Edward.

-- Andre

No problem, Andre. Glad I could help.