How to tone down the sun?

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DVX100Shooter

Veteran
I have a shot where I interviewed someone on a sunny day. His face is well lit but the shoulder area of his shirt and some of the background is really hot in terms of levels. I have played around with Desaturate the Highlights and the CC 3-way to try to tone the brightness down. Is there anything within FCP that I can try? I am in the process of getting some plugins.
 
Re: How to tone down the sun?

If it's shot hot, then chances are it's gonna stay that way. If it's job crucial, I've actually had to clean up a shot like you describe.... and it was frame by bloody frame in photoshop. Not a fun weekend, but the end results were WAY better than any filter or effect will give to the entire clip.
 
Re: How to tone down the sun?

I could be wrong (haven't really used desaturate highlights) but doesn't that filter just decrease the color (chroma) part of the image in areas where the brightness (luminance) is high? In that case it'd just leave you with bright, colorless white highlights.

I haven't tried this, and don't know how it would look, but you can give it a shot...this just might work:

1. Throw a layer above your interview footage

2. Draw a circle/oval/whatever shape you need on that top layer over the hot regions (shoulders)

3. Blur the shapes and adjust transparency to darken those regions. Play around until it's hard to see the shapes. You can even animate them if need be.

Might look like poo poo but it's just an idea...worth a try...

-Todd
 
Re: How to tone down the sun?

Since you brought that up...is there a way you can tint the entire clip except for a certain section as in to highlight someone in a crowd or in a photograph? I have seen this effect in various plugins though.
 
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