An appropriate color correction can completely change the final aspect of our work. It is an essential discipline in audiovisual production, which requires specific kit specialists when it comes to film production. But with simple, affordable and certain knowledge, we can also deal with a simple touch of color can dramatically improve your images.
Any editing program includes its own tools and color filters we can use to follow these same steps.
Final Cut also includes a specific software such as Color for color grading work, though not always a useful solution, it requires precise preparation workflow and therefore more time consuming. On a day to day and in projects where raw speed, the use of tools within each editing system is a more effective solution that does not have to produce images of lower quality.
SETTING UP THE WORK SPACE.
The interface will then be as follows. On the right side windows appear several tools used to monitor the color and luminance values. These waveform monitors and vectorscope.
This workspace also gives us many advantages such as a window where you can compare the before and after using a cortilnilla or adjacent to compare between shots in the timeline.
PRIMARY COLOR CORRECTION
It is called primary color correction to balance the balance of black and white, dominant tones and contrast of the image. Ie leave it as close to reality.
Apply the first color filter to the video clip.
In the window Effects> Color Correction three ways.
With this first filter just try adjusting the white and black media to standard values.
It is very important to understand how this filter. It consists of three components or routes, one for lights or white, the other for the media or gray and another for blacks. Each channel controls the pitch or dominant color of your component and contrast. There is also a driver that affects the color saturation of the scene overall.
We can adjust the white balance automatically using the dropper of each track.
The way to do this is:
- We identified the main problem in this case the scene has a bluish, very pronounced in the mids and highs.
- Select the midtone eyedropper and chop in a gray area that is probably in reality, in this case the shadow of the lines of the road, but white, the shadow would be gray.
- Automatically ceases to be the scene and takes a bluish tint warm, much more in keeping with the evening light with which the scene is taken. We can do the same with black and means to achieve a correct balance.
If you want to do it manually you can use a useful trick when an image has a tendency to an unnatural tone, that is, when you have a parent due to poor balance in camera.
In that case we will:
1. We identify the dominant tone: blue cyan
2. Identified as part of the image is more pronounced this dominant tones.
3. In the color wheel, just loosen the central point in the opposite direction of where the dominant tone in this case, towards the magenta.
Thus made up and cancels the dominant tone. We must force the image to the tone that is right in front of the dominant color wheel.
In this case, the contrast of the image is more or less correct how can we be sure? For learning to read waveform monitors and vectorscopes. In this we can see that the signal is within correct parameters of the video signal. Both the high values of light and dark as the media are at the correct levels. Learning to "decode" wave monitors requires a thorough tutorial that will try to address in future articles.
In this step we can style a little image to our liking. For example, balancenda however properly, we can step a little more warm tones looking for a more stylized look and even adjust the contrast a little, making blacks are more compressed.
SECONDARY CORRECTION.
Secondary color correction is performed on an image on her well-balanced and a correction is selective of those tones we want change, then the rate asylee, either for purely aesthetic or otherwise.
In this case we will tweak the cyan tone that has marked the sky, to soften and make it more real. Add color correction and use a tool that resides in this filter, although a bit hidden. The sting in the lower arrow displays a new menu that works similarly to a chroma.
With the switch in tone color cyan chop we want to retouch. We can visualize the color mask that we are creating using the Bolton with a key icon.
Extend the selection until you consider correct the thin edge controls and softening. Now yields a selection to get a more credible.
We can also modify a bit the tone and blue ink, different. We'll do it on the color wheel of the high tones. Offset gray spot located right in the middle and slid into the preferred shade of blue.
We can do the same with the yellow tones of the vegetation and sang more towards green. The process would be the same as described above. We can add all the color corrections that we want it operating on a non-destructive and are calculated on the final render image
Care must be taken to visualize the secondary color masks at different times and preview clip at least a fragment movement because the selections can jump and cause strange effects if not properly adjusted.
With these steps we would have a much more correct and stylized to the original. The process is simple and fast and applicable to any outlet.
Vignetting and degraded.
As a council we can add a few more filters that can increase a bit the cinematic aspect of our image.
Vignetting filter (vignette) that comes by default in Final Cut enough for us here, although I recommend MagicBullet Plugin Fitr vignetting and it brings is much better, it is not limited to obscure corners, but that simulates quite well the effect of a true optical, which is what we seek.
The default vignetting Final Cut does nothing but darken a bit the edges of the image, we must not abuse it and just be perceptible to fit. ). We will not use the blur but only the gradient (fallof) and oscurecimeinto (darken).
Finally we added a gradient filter in this case with a plug- Joe's filter , this filter is especially useful to enhance heaven but it can be useful in many other circumstances, for example, our image will not use it to heaven but to soil, and resulting image:
This combo of filters and retouching is applicable in almost any circumstance and they can quickly resolve most situations that require a color correction more or less simple.
