Technical Help/Opinion needed ASAP

[armisiano]

I need responses to this preferably within 30 minutes or so. Sorry.

Here goes:

Before finally submitting a film, after all editing is done, I like to burn it to a DVD and watch it in my living room for a final sound and picture check. That's where I watch movies all the time, makes sense.

And I'm noticing that the colors of my film are VERY saturated when viewed on my TV set, more so than on my monitor, and more so that most TV programs and films I watch. Though the colors of my film look fantastic on my monitor.

I am asking, in your opinion, should I take the saturation down a bit and run the risk of it looking a bit dull online? Or just leave it?

[chriscurl]

My 2 cents... if it looks good on the computer, leave it alone, maybe modify another version specifically for TV viewing but if most people are going to be viewing on the computer and it looks good you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

[Tom Shortridge]

Where's the audience for this festival going to be? Online. So on computer monitors (for the most part.)

So make sure it looks its best for its intended audience. Stick with it looking good on a computer monitor.

If you want to share it with other people on a DVD, do another version after the fest is over (and you've got free time) and change the saturation so it looks best for that medium.

But, again, like Chris said, just my opinion.

[cinealma]

I'm not sure how far off it should differ, though. How well are your tv and computer monitor calibrated? That could be your biggest problem. If you know your computer monitor is calibrated fine, then I would stick to what the monitor shows. But if not, or you are not sure, I'd do my best to get my monitor as close to "normal" as possible. Because what might look good on your computer screen might not look so good on somebody else's screen.

[Sprocketboy]

Reset your computer monitor to its default settings. Make sure this is done on both the computer's profile (NVidia or ATI software) and the physical monitor. Your entry will be only judged on what people will see on their computers, so tweak it until it looks good on your monitor. If your monitor sucks... borough a good one.

After the fest, the only economical way to tweak your image for DVD is to change your color settings, burn a DVD and review. Repeat and rinse.

The best way to color correct, is to get something like the MXO2 hooked up to a 32" HDMI monitor, calibrate it using color bars and BLUE ONLY. In the end, it should look pretty much the same on most sets.

[Dick Campbell]

and previewing on a TV doesn't take into account overscan, which does not occur on a computer monitor; i.e., you could have things in the frame you don't see on the TV.

[Sprocketboy]

and previewing on a TV doesn't take into account overscan, which does not occur on a computer monitor; i.e., you could have things in the frame you don't see on the TV.

Actually, it does take overscan into account, as long as you have a 1080p monitor with 1:1 pixel mapping. I also, assume that filmmakers are also taking the "safe areas" into account during shooting.

Regardless, if an editor is editing on a computer, the editor will catch both overscan problems on the computer monitor and offset colors on the LCD monitor.

Overscan is never really an issue.

[Robbie Comeau]

Where's the audience for this festival going to be? Online. So on computer monitors (for the most part.)


Most people on this site view the films on their TV.

Robbie

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Most people on this site view the films on their TV.

RobbieMost? I doubt that.
Maybe you should run a poll. :)

[Mark Harris]

You must must must work on a calibrated monitor. Jack turned me onto a little gadget called the Huey Pantone Pro, which plugs into USB and can calibrate any monitor. In addition, it keeps an eye on the room light and adjusts your monitor as that changes. It's only like $100 at Amazon and worth every penny.

[Zim]

Most people on this site view the films on their TV.

Robbie

I never do..

[Sprocketboy]

You must must must work on a calibrated monitor. Jack turned me onto a little gadget called the Huey Pantone Pro, which plugs into USB and can calibrate any monitor. In addition, it keeps an eye on the room light and adjusts your monitor as that changes. It's only like $100 at Amazon and worth every penny.

I never heard of this. It would be nice to have the computer monitors calibrated properly. Thanks for the tip.

[Mark Harris]

I never heard of this. It would be nice to have the computer monitors calibrated properly. Thanks for the tip.

I think it's actually made for photographers. My GF uses it as well for working in photoshop. Here it is:

http://www.amazon.com/Pantone-MEU113-huey-Pro/dp/B000OFC1YY/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1236263397&sr=8-1

[Dick Campbell]

Actually, it does take overscan into account, as long as you have a 1080p monitor with 1:1 pixel mapping. I also, assume that filmmakers are also taking the "safe areas" into account during shooting.

Regardless, if an editor is editing on a computer, the editor will catch both overscan problems on the computer monitor and offset colors on the LCD monitor.

Overscan is never really an issue.Allow me to disagree, only because there is no standard for overscan, and every monitor/TV handles overscan and scaling differently, even HD sets. The least amount of overscan (if any) is on computer monitors. This is evident from viewing VHS footage, for example. You can see the horizontal sync noise on a computer monitor, but never on a TV.

My point is just, that in addition to color space differences, the TV will not show what the monitor will see, and so is not a good preview method, if the viewers will be watching it on a PC monitor.

[Sprocketboy]

My point is just, that in addition to color space differences, the TV will not show what the monitor will see, and so is not a good preview method, if the viewers will be watching it on a PC monitor.

If the final destination is a computer monitor... you are correct. Its just nice to have something you can throw up on a big screen, or dole out to other festivals for consideration. If that's not your goal then so be it.

[Tim Joy]

WOW. Thanks Mark for that tip on the Huey Pro. I immediately realized this was the answer to my color correction woes, (besides lack of skill and knowledge) and picked one up yesterday. After calibrating I realized why my coloring has always been too warm- My monitor was WAY too bluish.

It's a whole new world now...

I have one question. How do you know what gamma and color temp settings to use?
I'm on a Mac and I've read how mac's and PC's use different gamma, the reason my stuff has always looked washed out on PC, I think. Should the color be balanced to look good on both?

Thanks Again.

[Mark Harris]

Do a search for the gamma stuff. Honestly, I just switched to a mac, so have not calibrated that yet. Only the PC. But I know Jack had some thread about it here I searched recently. Check in the FCP section.

[Sprocketboy]

Do a search for the gamma stuff. Honestly, I just switched to a mac, so have not calibrated that yet. Only the PC. But I know Jack had some thread about it here I searched recently. Check in the FCP section.

Here are the two threads:

Calibration of an HDTV, Computer Monitor and Field Monitor
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=117523

Gamma Calibration on a Mac
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=163561

It appears that Noah Kadner suggested using the Huey Pro and Jack took it from there. Jack did a lot of research on this matter. These are good threads.

[Tim Joy]

Thanks for finding those threads.

After I calibrated and the colors were looking great I opened up my FCP sequence only to find a very dark and contrasy image. (I had the Huey set to gamma 2.2) I switched to 1.8 and thought it was probably correct... sure enough, that thread confirms 1.8 is it.

Worth every penny.