Color and Render Problem

[ramsaur]

So I've been doing my color in FCP7 with the color filters it comes with (color corrector and contrast). I apply what settings I want and hit render. When it's done rendering the color drops to a very dark color, darker than the original raw footage. I've even exported it out to see if it keeps that dark color and it does. This happened to me when I had a regular macbook and FCP6 so I upgraded to a Macbook pro and FC7 hoping it would go away, yet it still does this to me. Someone told me I should delete all the fcp preferences so I did and still nothing new. Here's a video below of what's happening. I have a ton of projects I need to get to clients and I can't at the moment so any help would be really helpful, thanks!

 

[zijital]

I personally love "Color" a lot more than any filter in FCP. Program isn't like anything else in FCS in terms of UI, but wow sooooo much better color correction.
If you can find someone to teach you, check it out.

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now for a real answer
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For this, not sure what is going on.

Have you deleted the project's render files? It could be reverting to old files & not newly rendered ones.

Have you tried something like the 3-way color corrector? You might be able to get the same effect out of just using one filter.

What codec are you editing? If you're editing something like h264 .mov files, there is a chance that FCP doesn't play nice with the codec & so when it goes to render it really plays rough with the codec & trashes the image up.

All above are just a guess. Good luck.

 

[Shane Ross]

Please tell me you are NOT using the Viewer in Color to color correct to. It is VERY inaccurate. I mean...way way WAY inaccurate. Color is designed to be used with an IO device (AJA, Decklink, Matrox) and an external display. If you lack those, you should not use Color. The Viewer shows the image as a lot brighter than it really is. It isn't to be used to accurately judge your footage. Not at all.

 

[zijital]

This happened to me when I had a regular macbook and FCP6 so I upgraded to a Macbook pro and FC7 hoping it would go away, yet it still does this to me.

To me this seems like it is either a bug with the way you do color correction, or possibly the codec thing I mentioned before. If you switch machines & software, but get the same result, it (probably) isn't the machine or the software.

Color is designed to be used with an IO device (AJA, Decklink, Matrox) and an external display. If you lack those, you should not use Color.

I'd love to have a AJA io Express & $5k HD Monitor, but personally I'm going to use what I've got in front of me. Color on a 13" MBP isn't much fun, but it works (though obviously much nicer to do it on a Mac Pro witha big display). I'm not going to NOT do something just because I can't do it perfectly.

I listen to audio to hear how it sounds, but look at my audio meters to see how loud it is. I don't just judge how an image is looking to my eyes, I also look over at the scopes to make sure what I'm seeing is what I'm making. Scopes on a small screen or a nice monitor will tell you the same thing. So if you don't have a real monitor, make sure you know how to use proper measurement tools.

If you don't have a great set up for color, your color won't be great, but it'll still be a lot better than no color at all.

 

[Shane Ross]

A Matrox MXO2 Mini and $300 24" HDTV is all you really need. And it will show you a far better and more accurate image than that Color Viewer. BUT, if you are good without those...fine. No skin off my nose if you choose to do what you do. Just giving suggestions.