"Film-like" Look in Final Cut Express?
 

Hi all --

My apologize if that question has been asked many times before ...

How can I get a "film-like" look of my footage (shot in 24p) using Final Cut Express? What settings for color balance, hue, contrast, etc, work best to get that film-esque look & feel? Are there any plugins for FCE that can be used (that don't cost and arm and a leg)?

Thanks for your help!

Achieving the "film-look" is a combination of camera settings, lighting, and composition during production. That's not something you can do in post, most people trying to do the "look" in post are thinking that adding noise/grain or changing around color settings will do it, but that's more for creating an additional effect or "feeling" to the footage.

If you've already shot your footage then the best thing to do is use the available filters in FCE and experiment with combinations that achieve the look you prefer.

Keep in mind that the film "look" is completely subjective so what you like to see may not match what others are using - there is no single, perfect "look", it's up to your own creative input to decide that.

Understood, Robert! Thanks for your reply and help.

Haha, I was litteraly going to ask the same question.

I understand about using contrast, hue...etc, but I personnaly don't quite know how to match some of the color presets that are offered for premiere and AFX. Does anyone know of a decent standalone program for color correcting/presets that wont break the bank? (IE: synthetic aperature, and any information about that plus information about other programs would be really appreciated.)

Simon

Call me Mr Grumpy, but isn't there a whole forum on here dedicated to discussing film look, methods and technique? Now what do they call it? Ah yes, Film Look Methods And Techniques.

Enjoy;

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/forumdisplay.php?f=34

fce doesnt support 24p

That's what I thought! Do you know if Final Cut Pro supports 24f from the canon cameras? (I know it will do 24p)

Only FCP6 and forward has native 24f support for the Canons and CineFrame support for the Sonys. Read the HDV white-papers on the Apple site for full compatibility details.