Feature AE Color Correct workflow- HELP

J

Jason407

Member
OK, so I am editing a feature in Premiere...I would like to do the Color Correction in AE...what is the best workflow?

I know I could CC in Premiere, but that is not the question here...I have reasons for wanting to do it in AE. :)

I have tried importing a test Premiere project into AE, but the way it imports, and the sheer mass number of clips I will be working with for the feature, makes it pretty daunting to go through the project in AE. It seems to me that there may be a better method.

My current plan is to finish editing in Premiere, then use the Project Manager to make a copy of my project while trimming all of my clips to the length used in the project. Then, opening that in AE to do the CC. If anyone has some different suggestions, they would be appreciated. :)
 
If you upgrade to v2 you can move clips between AE and PPro without any rendering at all :) That might be easiest and could be more cost effective than spending hours (money) importing and exporting.
 
Shaw said:
If you upgrade to v2 you can move clips between AE and PPro without any rendering at all :) That might be easiest and could be more cost effective than spending hours (money) importing and exporting.
Click to expand...

Sorry...I should have been more clear...I do have v2.

I am aware that you can copy and paste between the 2 applications...I often use that function for certain effects. But, for working with every clip in a feature length timeline, it still doesn't seem like the best route. Or, maybe I am just hoping for something better. ;)

I drool when watching someone work on a Davinci and see them import a single video file, and the hardware seperates the video into seperate clips, and then groups them together where it thinks they are from the same scene...and then is able to put them all back in order when you are done. I know that isn't possible when working with inexpesive software, but I do hope there is a method that someone has tried and tested on a big project. If not, I have a method that will work...I am just trying to get input on the workflow in case someone more experienced has any insight to share.

Thanks. :)
 
I color corrected "a scanner darkly" ( before animation ) in Ae and it was a pain but the ability to use synthetic aperature's color finesse plug-in was worth it. To be able to determine exactly where your low mid and high ranges lie is the best part of this program. If you break the movie down into scenes it makes it more manageable.
Regards,
Shane.
 
Obviously I haven't seen any of your footage so this advice is a bit generic.

For most of your scenes the CC in PPro should be fine, for scenes that are darker and you want to preserve the detail in the blacks, when you've overexposed a scene and your hoping to get some of the detial in the brights back, or if there's a mood or effect you want to accomplish, those are the types of shots I would recommend bringing into AE to use Synthetic Aperature on.

Does Synthetic Apertature have a plugin for PPro? That's where it would make the most sense.
 
id agree on the use of color finesse if you need some really tedious correction, but if you just simply wanted AE's stock correction tools, you can actually just copy the .aex files for them out of the proper AE plug in directory, and paste them into PPRO's effects folder with all the other ppro effects. PPRO 2.0 will run almost every AE stock 2D based filter that doesnt require any of AE's advanced rendering engine PPRO 2.0 actually loads most of the compatable AE 7.0 filters by default if the programs are both installed correctly. it also runs a few photoshop filters as well. Ive have a few photoshop correction tools loading directly within PPRO again just by copying the file to the PPRo effects folder.
 
Thanks guys!
I will try to do it in Premiere, but I really like using Color Finesse in AE, and being able to selectively color certain areas with masks, etc...
I am still going to try and find a way to do it in AE. I like LowDown's idea of breaking it into scenes. :)

If anyone else has an idea, I am open to anything. :)

ChuckS said:
Obviously I haven't seen any of your footage so this advice is a bit generic.
Click to expand...

Well...if you want to see some of it, check out the trailer on our MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/zombiesmovie
We just finished shooting about 3 weeks ago, so this is by no means a finished trailer...but we wanted to put something together to show at a Horror Festival we went to last week. Let me know what you guys think.
 
Neil Rowe said:
id agree on the use of color finesse if you need some really tedious correction, but if you just simply wanted AE's stock correction tools, you can actually just copy the .aex files for them out of the proper AE plug in directory, and paste them into PPRO's effects folder with all the other ppro effects. PPRO 2.0 will run almost every AE stock 2D based filter that doesnt require any of AE's advanced rendering engine PPRO 2.0 actually loads most of the compatable AE 7.0 filters by default if the programs are both installed correctly. it also runs a few photoshop filters as well. Ive have a few photoshop correction tools loading directly within PPRO again just by copying the file to the PPRo effects folder.
Click to expand...

And thats why i love Adobe Products!
 
Using Color Finesse in AE is worth all of the trouble getting there from PrPro 2 (and it's not that much trouble). First and foremost, AE works in 16bit and now 32bit color depth as opposed to PrPro 2's 10bit color space so more color fidelity which in the end means a richer image and more colors to work with. Secondly, Color Finesse's color correction tools in my opinion and many others is unsurpassed. I can do things in Color Finesse quite easily (after getting my workflow down) that takes more time and not as elegant in Photoshop CS2, that's right Photoshop but this is merely my opinion.

To give some advice as I've been through this as I'm currently in the final stages of color correction on an 18+ month project. Once you have your final edit in PrPro 2, save it as a different project so you have a backup and use the "Remove Unused Footage" option which I believe is under the edit menu. This will remove all content that isn't being used. Save the project and then import it into AE 7. In AE, it may appear a little messy, but your project is intact including nested sequences. I would suggest going through and fixing any blemishes, correcting horizons, etc. Once this is done, then go for your color correction. Apply Color Finesse, launch it. My flow is something like this:

1. Levels, set your black and white points
2. White balance in Curves
3. Curves on the master, shallow S curve will make 90% of shots look better right off the bat
4. HSL, Component, etc for fine tuning colors, shadows, midtones, highlights, etc.
5. Secondary if needed to bring out a particular color(s)
6. Limitor to be in legal range.

Now here is the kicker and I don't understand it myself, but when you're ready to render and if you're going to DVD Video, AE 7 Professional doesn't have 2-pass vbr, only 1 pass! Huh? Exactly. PrPro and Encore both have 2-pass VBR. So guess what I'm going to be doing? Render out uncompressed from AE and encode in Encore, wow, fun, but that's how it goes sometimes. Good Luck.


Kevin
 
In addition to marshal110's excellent advice, you might also want to check out Rebel CC, a cool little AE color correction tool I rigged up.

I'm a big fan of the edit in PPro, CC in AE workflow.

-Stu
 
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