Can you use Photoshop to color correct video?

F

Fellini's Moon

New member
Big salute to dvx users - this is my first post.

Can you use the standard edition of Photoshop ( not the extended) for color correction of video?

I'd love to do some noise reduction (cleaning it up), color correction, especially color temperature/tint.

Am I asking too much? Should I have this written to Santa Claus instead posted it on dvxuser.com?

If there is a way to do that in Photoshop, how can it be done?

I'd be very appreciative and attentive to links to tutorials or the title of a book that shows me how to do it.

Thanks!

PS: I'm currently using iMovie HD (but when I get rich and fat I'll get Final Cut Studio)
 
You can do that. You would have to export an image sequence from your NLE and then open each image in Photoshop to correct. You can also set up an action if you find the settings you like. You're better off just correcting in your NLE. Not sure if iMovie has color correction or not though - I don't use a Mac.

You don't have to get Final Cut Studio. Get the light version (not sure what it's called, but I know they have some sort of "light" version, sort of like Photoshop Elements) if you can't afford the full version.
 
Thanks, Tommy.

Importing each image separately sounds like a murderous task.

I have not yet tried Photoshop actions.

Yes, I'm thinking about getting Final Cut Express.
 
Actually, can you give me a link that would tell me how to import a sequence into Photoshop?

Given what power you have with Photoshop, it could be real fun to do it.

I just have to learn that section about Photoshop actions.
 
This isn't terribly helpful, but I ran across this article and thought it was worth mentioning that apparently even certain pros might choose to cc in Photoshop. It's a pretty hardcore shoot- 3d using the SI 2K cameras for a Bjork music video. They're pretty complimentary of PS as a color corrector for video.

The interview is at StudioDaily:
http://www.studiodaily.com/main/technique/casestudies/8811.html

The bit about PS for color correction is at the very bottom.

And what about color correction?
IS: We haven’t gotten there yet. In the past what we’ve done is used a batching technique in Photoshop because that program we are more comfortable with and haven’t really found comparable tools. Specifically the selective color control in Photoshop has a really intuitive feel for us that we haven’t found in even the high-end color correctors. So we’ve always run our project on a shot-by-shot batch basis through Photoshop using he automator. We’re not sure whether we will use that on this project but if we can’t find anything that gives us that control we will.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for that very interesting article.

I guess there's a bit of detective work to be made to get the how-to knowledge.

Even though the headline of this section is "using Photoshop in video is nothing new", one is tempted to add "but it doesn't look like many people are actually doing it".

I have once run into a book about "Photoshop for video", but Amazon doesn't carry it.
 
Hehe... yeah, Photoshop's got a bit of a learning curve...

Probably the easiest way on a Mac (that is, if you can't export an image sequence from iMovie, which you probably can't) is to open the movie that you create from iMovie in Quicktime and then export from there as an image sequence. I'm not sure if you have to use the "Pro" version of Quicktime or not. If that doesn't work, there is probably a freeware program that will do it for you. All the free programs I know to do something like that are PC only...
 
I just wonder if you need Photoshop extended to import video.

(?)

I have searched the web, and have posted questions, and could not find a single person who has actually imported video into Photoshop.
 
No, you don't need the Extended version. You could even do what you want with an ancient version of Photoshop. It's not difficult. It's just a matter of figuring out how to export an image sequence with iMovie.
 
Fellini's Moon said:
I just wonder if you need Photoshop extended to import video.
Click to expand...
As Tommy said there are ways to import image sequences into the basic verion of PS. But if you're specifically wanting to handle video in PS then the extended version is a better choice. It handles video in layers similar to After Effects. Here's a comparison chart for PS & PS extended: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/compare/

More often than not color correction is handled within the NLE. What about Final Cut Express?
 
Or you could export the filmstrip format (adobe products can do this). Then when you open it in PS, you'll have a document with every frame in it laid out in a grid. Do your color grading over the whole document and save it back out as a filmstrip. Open that filmstrip back up in your NLE, and walla.
 
You don't need any extended version or any of that nonsense. All you need is to look up how to create an Action, and then do a Batch Process. You will need to do what Tommy said and export as a giant image sequence, but you put those in one folder, create another for the altered results, and Batch Process to the "New" empty folder.

I do it all the time. You will have to step away from your computer for a few hours, but make a sandwich, drink a beer, or do whatever until Photoshop finishes.

The key things here are, learning to create Actions, and learning Batch Processing. Both are simple, and easily explained in the Help section, not to mention online.


EDIT:

Or do as Kai suggested, though .flm format can be tricky.
 
tommyinla said:
No, you don't need the Extended version. You could even do what you want with an ancient version of Photoshop. It's not difficult. It's just a matter of figuring out how to export an image sequence with iMovie.
Click to expand...

How do you do it?

Can you give me a link to a tutorial, or some hints on how to try it?
 
Matt Grunau said:
You don't need any extended version or any of that nonsense. All you need is to look up how to create an Action, and then do a Batch Process. You will need to do what Tommy said and export as a giant image sequence, but you put those in one folder, create another for the altered results, and Batch Process to the "New" empty folder.

I do it all the time. You will have to step away from your computer for a few hours, but make a sandwich, drink a beer, or do whatever until Photoshop finishes.

The key things here are, learning to create Actions, and learning Batch Processing. Both are simple, and easily explained in the Help section, not to mention online.


EDIT:

Or do as Kai suggested, though .flm format can be tricky.
Click to expand...

I'm new to Photoshop, and haven't gotten to Actions.

I understand that you can import a whole image sequence into Photoshop.

At this moment, I can't really figure out how to mark those frames that I want to export from iMovie HD into Photoshop, and then import it into Photoshop.

I would appreciate it if you would find the time to give me the steps how to do it, and I will include this in my Photoshop learning process.

Thanks.
 
kai said:
Or you could export the filmstrip format (adobe products can do this). Then when you open it in PS, you'll have a document with every frame in it laid out in a grid. Do your color grading over the whole document and save it back out as a filmstrip. Open that filmstrip back up in your NLE, and walla.
Click to expand...

Could you enlarge on that filmstrip format?

And give me some resources to learn about this?

If you think back to your own early Photoshop days, can you remember that feeling of a wanting to breathe, but there's no oxygen? Well, that's the feeling I have at this moment.


PS: I love that video of the race horse on your website! Is that a video, that you transformed in Photoshop, or is it an animation? (with all those movements, that must have been some work).
 
Fellini's Moon said:
I'm new to Photoshop, and haven't gotten to Actions.

I understand that you can import a whole image sequence into Photoshop.

At this moment, I can't really figure out how to mark those frames that I want to export from iMovie HD into Photoshop, and then import it into Photoshop.

I would appreciate it if you would find the time to give me the steps how to do it, and I will include this in my Photoshop learning process.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

You can find your Actions in the under View>Actions. What an action does is record a bunch of changes or tweaks you make to an image. Look up Photoshop Actions on Google, you will get the idea. By default, there are a bunch of built in actions, from everything like making a wooden frame around your image, to making metallic textures, to really altering text.

If you DON'T know about actions, learn them.

Lastly, you are not importing a bunch of files into Photoshop by batch processing, you are simply telling photoshop to look in a specific folder (and if you have outputted an image sequence they will be numbered) and the during the batch processing part, Photoshop will open only one file, do the adjustments you have told it to from the Action you have chosen to be the Action for the batch process, save it to the new folder and move along.

It really is simple stuff. Check out Creative Cow or just look in the help directory. You will find all the info you need.
 
Fellini's Moon said:
Could you enlarge on that filmstrip format?

And give me some resources to learn about this?

If you think back to your own early Photoshop days, can you remember that feeling of a wanting to breathe, but there's no oxygen? Well, that's the feeling I have at this moment.

PS: I love that video of the race horse on your website! Is that a video, that you transformed in Photoshop, or is it an animation? (with all those movements, that must have been some work).
Click to expand...

Here's a quick link on flm format that at least shows the workflow. This is for roto, but the same principles for file handling apply.
http://ppro.wikia.com/wiki/Tutorial:_Rotoscoping

Thanks for the comment on the horse clip, that was a rotoscoped horse shot, with 3D and 2D surroundings (C4D & AE)
 
very briefly;

1. Export your video sequence as images, like say tiff's. Pay attention to color export settings from your video editing program and match up with colorspace in PS (photoshop).

2. Import ONE of the images in PS and play around with the correction tools til you like what you see. Testing your correction on 500+ images is not fun. An idea might be to split up sequences in scenes that might require slightly different color correction so you won't end up with 500+ nice corrs and 500+ not so nice corrections - if correcting from the same one action that is.

3. Create an action that does the exact changes you want to include from your above test. Create the action simply by opening the actions pallet and hit record, do the changes you like (any) and the hit stop button. Remember to include the "save as"-step or PS won't save all images, just change them. When "saving as" during the creation of an action, pay no attention to what you save your image as; the filenames will be saved with the extension you specify in the "batch" window later.

4. Under file/automate/batch set the action you just created in the "play" top window, choose the folder with your exported images in the "source" dropdown. Do not open all your images in PS and then batch - PS can only open a limited amount of windows (images) at the same time. Under destination choose "save and close" and check the "override action 'save as' command" (you already have "save as" included in the action). You can play around with renaming the files under "file naming". Hit "ok".

5. PS will now open each image, be it tiff, jpg or what not, and run through the action for all images one at a time and save them as a last step. In the right folder or another you've set for it.

6. Import to your fav video editing program as image sequence.

Read up on actions, batching and the mighty Curves tool.

:)

Matt
 
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