A7SII Picture Profile for beginner?

[kat.hayes]

I want to use an A7SII to shoot video with a cinematic feel that will be delivered on the web. I know next to nothing about color grading/correcting, and am going to begin looking into doing it in Premiere or After Effects.

1. Which profile should I consider using to create my intended look that will let me easily make limited changes in Premiere or After Effects until I get better at it?

2. Which program should I spend more time learning basic color correcting with this camera -- Premiere or After Effects?

3. How easy is it to make changes if you are not happy with a selected profile after the footage is shot? Is everything baked in with limited ability to make changes?

Thanks.

 

[balazer]

I suggest setting your a7SII picture profile to Cine1 gamma and Still color, and color correcting with my Logarist plugin for Premiere. That way the look is mostly not baked in: you have a lot of flexibility in post. The Logarist plugin handles basic color correction, and if you want you can add a Lumetri effect to get separate control over shadows and highlights, saturation, etc.

 

[Imamacuser]

If you're not familiar with color grading, stick with the standard creative style for the time being (turn picture profiles off, and set creative style to standard). It won't have the dynamic range of some of the picture profiles, but the colors should be decent. Once you've experimented with color grading, and have a good idea what's involved and how to handle it, then you can shoot with your favorite flavor picture profile on regular basis. Apparently Davinci Resolve in ACES color space is one of the best routs for grading LOG footage.

If you want more dynamic range, try these picture profile settings (I can't remember who it was on here who came up with these settings):
Black level = 10-15
Gamma = Cine 4,
Black Gamma = Range: Wide, Level: +7
Color mode = Pro
Knee = Auto
Saturation = 0
Color phase = 0
Color depth = everything 0
Detail = 0
Under expose by 2/3 of a stop