Is skin tone something you achieve..

L

lucidz

Well-known member
With the camera or in post? I can get the lighting pretty good I think, but my skin still doesn't look skin tone. All the colors are pretty vibrant around me and things look ok, but not quite perfect.

Is this what the magic bullet is for? Fixing this in post? I haven't played with it yet, just wondering if I'm going to go too far filming stuff if i look pasty and inhuman and won't be able to fix it in post.
 
Something I recently have been paying attention to is how I want my skin tones to look. My latest short (Luper) still has a pinkish that I just am not digging although I am liking the slight over saturated look. On my next project, I will concentrate on getting rid of the pink in my flesh tones; in post.
 
Maybe you where killed while punching a bear. Dead people look pretty pasty when filmed.
But seriously, everything I do I bump up the saturation just a touch in post to get more vibrant colors. That usually makes my dead skin come to life. Magic bullet can achieve a spectrum of different looks, not just for skin tone, definitely play around with it, it's pretty cool. The only tip I can give you with the camera that might help is maybe bring your color temp down (-3 or so), that should give you warmer colors. I'm still learning the camera myself so don't hate me if I'm wrong.
 
There is a great quote by Milos Forman in the audio commentary for Amadeus: Director's Cut:

Make sure skin tone is right, and black is black. Nothing else matters.

It's a little oversimplified, but it's essentially correct. I have the "advantage" of being red-green color blind, so I know better than to rely on what I see. I've been playing with DVRack (not nearly as much as I would like to). It lets you see RGB and/or CMYK values of individual pixels on the field monitor (something I miss in Vegas - I hope they will implement something like a color sampler tool in the next version).

In 'Professional Photoshop' , Dan Margulis explains in detail how to hit the skin tones right every time - using CMYK values and color curves adjustment.

So - I'd shoot as close as I can using a diagnostic tool like DVRack, and color-correct in post.
 
Wouldn't you want to light your set and try to get the closest thing to the final look that you want during production, so that 1) you wont have to do as much work and 2) HOPEFULLY will achieve a better end result?

Garbage in Garbage out right? I would think your end result would be better if the proper steps were taken during shooting. Or am I way off?
 
I'm not advocating software piracy...but if you want DV rack that bad.....it can easily be found on the internet for download....as well as Magic Bullet and other great tools. But please be honest.....if you download it and really like it....buy it!! Or you can go download the demo version of most of the proggies *LEGALLY* for free anyway. just my 8 3/16 cents!! ~reservoir~
 
Thanks, but I don't do that. I'm sure you aren't advocating piracy, but I steer clear of anything that can even be remotely construed as unethical in that arena.

Besides, my laptop sucks.
 
reflex said:
Wouldn't you want to light your set and try to get the closest thing to the final look that you want during production, so that 1) you wont have to do as much work and 2) HOPEFULLY will achieve a better end result?

Garbage in Garbage out right? I would think your end result would be better if the proper steps were taken during shooting. Or am I way off?
Click to expand...

I'd say you are leaning towards way off on this one. You do want to take care of things on set in terms of the look you are after; specifically lighting and design, but when it comes to color correction; that magic will come in post.
 
You didn't mention what your editor is, but if it's final cut, you should definitely get the two books by Digital Film Tree. The second one, "Advanced Editing and Finishing Techniques" is superb and goes into color correction in great detail. The focus a lot on getting skin tones right.

John what you say is very interesting. When I leave my XL2 alone (default settings) skin tone is bang on. When I tweak the camera so that overall it looks like the DVX, I also get pinkish skin tones. I think it has to do with saturation levels and DV's love of red, but I'm just guessing.

Matt
 
Can somebody say ...


MAKEUP :beer:


This is a good time to bring the makeup person into your production.
I used to have tons of problems with pinkies and splotchies. These are of course technical terms.
Unfortunately I'm no professional colorist so getting my makeup chicks saved me a ton of work in post.
Many beauticians will work for cheap just to work on a movie.
Mine even do some wardrobe design for me as well.

Also as far as post goes, look into the 55mm plugins, many good tools for color correction and skin tone adjustments.

:thumbsup: CAVEMAN
 
Hey I was checking out DV Rack and it's only for the PC.
Do they make an equivilant for the MAC?
Anyone know?
 
svf1972 said:
Hey I was checking out DV Rack and it's only for the PC.
Do they make an equivilant for the MAC?
Anyone know?
Click to expand...

No, but you can use Final Cut in a very similar fashion on a laptop.

:grin: CAVEMAN
 
Thanks caveman, which filters are you referring to that are similar?I'm familiar w/final cut but not DV rack
 
Caveman is talking about a set of pluggins which are available from Digital Film Tools and called 55mm. You can download a working demo of these plugs (which work right in Final Cut, After Effects or Motion, among others) at their website. I happen to have all of DFT's stuff and think its the bomb, with 55mm being the best. Simply amazing really.

Caveman - I agree somewhat with the makup and do use it, but that doesn't really address the point that I was making with John, where I think higher levels of saturation, done in camera, affect skin tones. Just a thought.....

Matt
 
Guys, makeup has a major influence on skin tone. It is extremely hard to get a nice skin tone on a cloudy day for example and color correcting it will affect the rest of the frame. Makeup will help you a lot ...

-L
 
I agree with the makeup factor. It is amazing the difference I have had with my former productions, compared to my latest, when I brought in a professional makeup artist. It really does payoff. And remember there are special types of makeup to use, that will look best on screen.
 
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