Questions about Color Correction/Grading

P

preciousppo

New member
I have some questions regarding color correction/grading and would like to know if someone can help me on those.

So, here they are:

1) I've been told that every shot of a film must preserve the wider range of the IRE scale, from the darkest black value (0 IRE) to the lightest white value (100 IRE), even if it is a low key scene. Is this correct or is it an aesthetic decision?

Even if there are close ups of the actor's faces, where the face tones do not get direct light?

If it is correct, why do we have to do it? That, because I've seen many examples in motion pictures where this doesn't happen (the brigthtest parts of the image don't go beyond zone 6/7 on the zone system scale).

2) In a PAL system, where do black values fall? At 0 IRE or at 7.5 IRE? Is it different to show the film on a tv or on a video projector?

3) Do we have to maintain the initial neutral white balance correction or is it ok to ignore it to give it, for example, a goldish look? Do whites have to be whites all the way? What if we intentionally mismatch color temperature?

I hope my questions don't take much of your time. I would be very thankful if you could answer them.
 
preciousppo said:
I have some questions regarding color correction/grading and would like to know if someone can help me on those.

So, here they are:

1) I've been told that every shot of a film must preserve the wider range of the IRE scale, from the darkest black value (0 IRE) to the lightest white value (100 IRE), even if it is a low key scene. Is this correct or is it an aesthetic decision?

Even if there are close ups of the actor's faces, where the face tones do not get direct light?

If it is correct, why do we have to do it? That, because I've seen many examples in motion pictures where this doesn't happen (the brigthtest parts of the image don't go beyond zone 6/7 on the zone system scale).

2) In a PAL system, where do black values fall? At 0 IRE or at 7.5 IRE? Is it different to show the film on a tv or on a video projector?

3) Do we have to maintain the initial neutral white balance correction or is it ok to ignore it to give it, for example, a goldish look? Do whites have to be whites all the way? What if we intentionally mismatch color temperature?

I hope my questions don't take much of your time. I would be very thankful if you could answer them.
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First, there are no "musts" in film. There is only what you are trying to convey, and how you aproach it.

It's always easier to darken an image than lighten one, and it's always easier to add contrast than remove it.

With that in mind, shoot with a wide a range as you can, since you can always change looks in post. It is also easier to color grade to mood in post when your footage has all been shot with proper white balance. the closer your shots are in color temp from the start, the less work you have trying color correct them out color grading them.

It is also important to know what your target viewing device is going to be. Since it's usually TV, you have to play by TV limitations. Your computer monitor can handle 16.7 million colors (256R X 256G X 256B) in 24 bit true color mode, but most tvs can represent about 3+ million. That's a fairly siginifigant difference, and that is why you have filters and techniques to make your video "broadcast safe" or "broadcast legal". The blackest your tv (generalizing here a little) can show is around R16,G16,B16. So, if you have shadowed portions that you can plainly see on your monitor with differences in them, and they all fall beneath that 16, on your TV, they will all be the same shade of black. The same is true with your white point. Your tv can only display around R235, B235, G235, so any light shades above that will look the same on your tv. Super whites (as I believe they are called) can also cause things like text and hot spots to flicker, since they are being pushed farther than your tv is able to handle.

I have found that working with footage that has been white balanced and has no in camera contrast tweaking always allows the most flexibility in post. So it's ok to have a "gold" look to your video, just don't do it in camera.

If you have ever seen "The Making of . . ." for any movie or TV show, you will immediatly notice that the finished video doesn''t look the same as the video/film that was shot originally. That's why. Hell, it usually barely resembles it.

Basically, do a manual white balance before each take (or series of takes) and shoot without over exposing or underexposing your video. Color Grading and balancing are a snap when you do, since you can blow out the highlights at will, but you cant recover visual information FROM blown out whites you captured (Ok, sometimes you can a little, but it is usually obvious when you do) when you filmed it.

When you shoot, try to get as bland (color and contrast) looking but consistantly color temperatured video as you can. You can always boost color and contrast later.
 
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