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What does it mean to color correct?
- Thread starter Return
- Start date
thisiswells
Retired
What does it mean to color correct? You change a bunch of stuff for different looks.
Specifically? Whatever it takes to take what you've got and turn it into what you want.
saturation
color
gamma curves
brightness
contrast
film grain/digital gain
diffusion and other effects
lots more.... depending on how much $$ you burn on effects software.
color correct is more like color enhance or like image enhancement in general.
brian wells
Specifically? Whatever it takes to take what you've got and turn it into what you want.
saturation
color
gamma curves
brightness
contrast
film grain/digital gain
diffusion and other effects
lots more.... depending on how much $$ you burn on effects software.
color correct is more like color enhance or like image enhancement in general.
brian wells
Scottdvx100
Veteran
You typically color balance the camera so that it represents the real colors.
You can use a white card or use the daylight/tungsten presets.
When you're in post production you can color correct it. This means tweaking the colors to obtain realistic results (not too dark or light, not to green, correct amount of saturation, etc) but this can also mean adjusting it for the sequence and personal choice. If you want it to look old you m ight color correct to remove saturation or if you want it to feel cold you might want to make it a bit cooler. You can do this on the camera as well but most users do it in post to have more flexibility.
Color Correction for DVX is usually done in your editing software after you have the edit done.
You can use a white card or use the daylight/tungsten presets.
When you're in post production you can color correct it. This means tweaking the colors to obtain realistic results (not too dark or light, not to green, correct amount of saturation, etc) but this can also mean adjusting it for the sequence and personal choice. If you want it to look old you m ight color correct to remove saturation or if you want it to feel cold you might want to make it a bit cooler. You can do this on the camera as well but most users do it in post to have more flexibility.
Color Correction for DVX is usually done in your editing software after you have the edit done.
thisiswells
Retired
Photographers have a standard term for this, "Photoshop."
Why can't it be so simple with the video community? Like--FinalCutPro.
On the other hand, photographers widely misuse the term, "scrim" to describe "silks" and it has just about put me over the edge. Who needs photographers with their improper name calling?
Ya, color correct will just have to do for the time being.
brian wells
Why can't it be so simple with the video community? Like--FinalCutPro.
On the other hand, photographers widely misuse the term, "scrim" to describe "silks" and it has just about put me over the edge. Who needs photographers with their improper name calling?
Ya, color correct will just have to do for the time being.
brian wells
Scottdvx100
Veteran
Since color correcting has been around before Photoshop or FCP and will continue to be used after they cease to exist there's no pointto naming them after a product.
To Photoshop an image means nothing to anybody. It means you made some change but you could be cutting and pasting. Color correction happens in a lot of different mediums and formats.
Real film goes through a color correction or color timiing process. No Photoshop or FCP. When it's done digitally it's color digital color timing.
They do color correction for large printers and other devices.
To Photoshop an image means nothing to anybody. It means you made some change but you could be cutting and pasting. Color correction happens in a lot of different mediums and formats.
Real film goes through a color correction or color timiing process. No Photoshop or FCP. When it's done digitally it's color digital color timing.
They do color correction for large printers and other devices.
Hey Now!
color correction (or color grading as it's called in the UK), is really an art and process onto itself. One could argue that not just for "true-to-lifeness" but also for artist reasons.
The most basic use is to match shot to shot edits that for one reason or another do not have consistent lighting, tone, saturation or balance. But you don't need to just "correct" something. There's a lot more than "correction" going on. There are esthetic concerns and narrative applications as well.
On East of Sunset I desaturated the #$^%&$ out of it, and added a bluish tint to help convey the niorish and bleak environment of the characters.
-b
color correction (or color grading as it's called in the UK), is really an art and process onto itself. One could argue that not just for "true-to-lifeness" but also for artist reasons.
The most basic use is to match shot to shot edits that for one reason or another do not have consistent lighting, tone, saturation or balance. But you don't need to just "correct" something. There's a lot more than "correction" going on. There are esthetic concerns and narrative applications as well.
On East of Sunset I desaturated the #$^%&$ out of it, and added a bluish tint to help convey the niorish and bleak environment of the characters.
-b
Scottdvx100
Veteran
When film was (is) shot the DP can specify a specfic lights (RGB balance) or they can just have do best lights.
When the negative has been cut the lab makes a color print and the DP sits down with a color timer from the lab and they watch the whole movie together. The DP says this scene shoudl be printed down 1/2 stop, this scene should have 3 points of red added,etc.
The color timing makes the adjustments which were on punch paper codes and changes the color of the 3 lights used when making the print. This process would be repeated until the film was correct to taste.
For specific scenes or visual effects you traditionally did a color wedge. If it was on the optical printer they used 21 colored filters, if it was at the lab they'd run a wedge there with colored strips or machines. These were viewed on a light box and a frame was selected. Typically you laid a number of clips next to each other and tried to create a matching balance. A video device for color timing was developed called the Hazeltine that was used for some color timing.
Even today with digital film scanning it's not unusual to color time from the input scanner and to deal with 'timing' units. Wedges are still filmed out since CRT monitor don't totally match film output.
Even though Avid and FCP editing has been around for awhile most color correction in the professional world is done at a professional video labs where you have color timers and special equipment such as Pogles and davince. Color timing is done at telecine and also in video to video. This applies to commercials, DVDs and just about any high level video work.
The 3 color corrector in FCP is based on these tools.
When the negative has been cut the lab makes a color print and the DP sits down with a color timer from the lab and they watch the whole movie together. The DP says this scene shoudl be printed down 1/2 stop, this scene should have 3 points of red added,etc.
The color timing makes the adjustments which were on punch paper codes and changes the color of the 3 lights used when making the print. This process would be repeated until the film was correct to taste.
For specific scenes or visual effects you traditionally did a color wedge. If it was on the optical printer they used 21 colored filters, if it was at the lab they'd run a wedge there with colored strips or machines. These were viewed on a light box and a frame was selected. Typically you laid a number of clips next to each other and tried to create a matching balance. A video device for color timing was developed called the Hazeltine that was used for some color timing.
Even today with digital film scanning it's not unusual to color time from the input scanner and to deal with 'timing' units. Wedges are still filmed out since CRT monitor don't totally match film output.
Even though Avid and FCP editing has been around for awhile most color correction in the professional world is done at a professional video labs where you have color timers and special equipment such as Pogles and davince. Color timing is done at telecine and also in video to video. This applies to commercials, DVDs and just about any high level video work.
The 3 color corrector in FCP is based on these tools.