Multiple cams color matching at DVinfo.net

Yobel Pembebasan · March 2nd, 2007, 04:09 PM

Greetings

I am editing footages from 4 cameras. How do I get the color from one clip matches the other?

I am using Vegas 7.

Thanks for the help.

Don Bloom · March 2nd, 2007, 04:43 PM

Use the one you want to match everything else to- make a 'snapshot' of a frame put it to the clipboard (icon over the preview screen) split the screen and place the cursor over an area of anothr track of video-now you should see both. Use the color correction and secondary color correction tools to match them up. Now you can save the corrections as a preset and simply drop it on the other clips or if they are all different go thru the same process for each camera. Once you have the correction saved as a preset you can add them to the appropriate clips in the media file.
HTHs
Don

Yobel Pembebasan · March 3rd, 2007, 01:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Don Bloom

Use the one you want to match everything else to- make a 'snapshot' of a frame put it to the clipboard (icon over the preview screen) split the screen and place the cursor over an area of anothr track of video-now you should see both. Use the color correction and secondary color correction tools to match them up. Now you can save the corrections as a preset and simply drop it on the other clips or if they are all different go thru the same process for each camera. Once you have the correction saved as a preset you can add them to the appropriate clips in the media file.
HTHs
Don

Thanks. Will try.

Christian de Godzinsky · March 3rd, 2007, 01:09 PM

Hi,

Thank's for the tips. I printed on a good quality color printer an A4 sized color chart, that I shoot with all cams, prior to the recording session. You can find a suitable printable file (or information thereof how to construct such an image) by googling for an image called "ColorChecker_ProPhoto". I also shoot the other side of this chart that is white, or do the white balance using that as a reference.

I normally do as Don suggests in post, but find it difficult to precisely match the colors, using the existing color correction tools. I don´'t say that you cannot achieve excellents results, but the process is manual - and slow. I would like to use a plugin or script where you just simply click on the color bars in turn on one reference cam, and then on the video of the other cams, and the plugin would to the matching work for you. Does something like this exist? Or if not - could that be something that a script could solve in Vegas 7?

Christian

Glenn Chan · March 3rd, 2007, 02:42 PM

An old mini-tutorial on matching cameras in Vegas is here:
http://www.glennchan.info/matching/matching.htm

2- Don's suggestion about using the clipboard is a good one. You can also click-drag the video preview window to get a custom split.

3- The VASST training DVD on Vegas color correction has an entire chapter that goes through matching cameras, and shows the relevant aspects of the Vegas interface (which might be a little hard to explain in a post!).

4- IMO, you don't really need to shoot a color chart. And a color chart is prone to metamerism anyways (which makes matching to a color chart imperfect).

Theoretically it's possible to make some sort of Vegas plug-in that would automate the color matching process. Right now, you can just do it by using many secondary color correctors.

5- Professional cameras let you tweak the matrix settings, which does help match colors in the field if you have a color chart + vectorscope. It's sort of a faster version of doing things in post.

The budget solution to matching cameras is, of course, shooting everything on the same model.

Good luck!

March 2nd, 2007, 04:09 PM	#1
Yobel Pembebasan New Boot Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 19	Multiple cams color matching Greetings I am editing footages from 4 cameras. How do I get the color from one clip matches the other? I am using Vegas 7. Thanks for the help.

March 3rd, 2007, 01:09 PM	#4
Christian de Godzinsky Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Helsinki/Finland Posts: 131	Hi, Thank's for the tips. I printed on a good quality color printer an A4 sized color chart, that I shoot with all cams, prior to the recording session. You can find a suitable printable file (or information thereof how to construct such an image) by googling for an image called "ColorChecker_ProPhoto". I also shoot the other side of this chart that is white, or do the white balance using that as a reference. I normally do as Don suggests in post, but find it difficult to precisely match the colors, using the existing color correction tools. I don´'t say that you cannot achieve excellents results, but the process is manual - and slow. I would like to use a plugin or script where you just simply click on the color bars in turn on one reference cam, and then on the video of the other cams, and the plugin would to the matching work for you. Does something like this exist? Or if not - could that be something that a script could solve in Vegas 7? Christian __________________ The future does not exist - we must invent it !

March 2nd, 2007, 04:43 PM	#2
Don Bloom Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,609	Use the one you want to match everything else to- make a 'snapshot' of a frame put it to the clipboard (icon over the preview screen) split the screen and place the cursor over an area of anothr track of video-now you should see both. Use the color correction and secondary color correction tools to match them up. Now you can save the corrections as a preset and simply drop it on the other clips or if they are all different go thru the same process for each camera. Once you have the correction saved as a preset you can add them to the appropriate clips in the media file. HTHs Don

March 3rd, 2007, 02:42 PM	#5
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	An old mini-tutorial on matching cameras in Vegas is here: http://www.glennchan.info/matching/matching.htm 2- Don's suggestion about using the clipboard is a good one. You can also click-drag the video preview window to get a custom split. 3- The VASST training DVD on Vegas color correction has an entire chapter that goes through matching cameras, and shows the relevant aspects of the Vegas interface (which might be a little hard to explain in a post!). 4- IMO, you don't really need to shoot a color chart. And a color chart is prone to metamerism anyways (which makes matching to a color chart imperfect). Theoretically it's possible to make some sort of Vegas plug-in that would automate the color matching process. Right now, you can just do it by using many secondary color correctors. 5- Professional cameras let you tweak the matrix settings, which does help match colors in the field if you have a color chart + vectorscope. It's sort of a faster version of doing things in post. The budget solution to matching cameras is, of course, shooting everything on the same model. Good luck!