Apple Color 1.0 Manuel d'utilisateur

ColorUser Manual

10 Preface Color Documentation and ResourcesUsing the Color DocumentationThe documentation that accompanies Color consists of a printed setup Guide

100 Chapter 5 Setup QuickTime Export Codecs pop-up menu: If QuickTime is selected in the Render File Type pop-up menu, this menu lets you choose

Chapter 5 Setup 101 Phase: Lets you adjust the phase of the chroma. If Amplitude is set to 0, no change is made. Offset: Lets you adjust the of

102 Chapter 5 SetupImportant: The broadcast-safe legalization employed by Color can only do so much to maintain detail in the image while preventi

Chapter 5 Setup 103Media and Project DirectoriesThe Media and Project directories let you control where new files are saved by default. Default Pr

104 Chapter 5 Setup Jog/Shuttle Sensitivity: This parameter controls the speed at which the playhead moves relative to the amount of rotation tha

Chapter 5 Setup 105The following parameters use miniature color controls that operate identically to those described in “Using Color Balance Contro

106 Chapter 5 Setup Grading Proxy: Lets you choose a proxy resolution to use while adjusting the controls in any of the rooms. This increases the

Chapter 5 Setup 107Important: If Force RGB is turned on, super-white and out-of-gamut chroma values will not be displayed by your broadcast displa

108 Chapter 5 Setup Turning this setting on causes in keyframed changes in hue to be animated radially, with the hue cycling through all hues on t

Chapter 5 Setup 109∏ Tip: Depending on your system’s performance, you may find it advantageous to work at a lower bit depth in order to maximize r

Preface Color Documentation and Resources 11Apple Service and Support WebsiteThe Apple Service and Support website provides software updates and an

6 1116 MonitoringThe equipment and methods with which you monitor your work are critical to producing an accurate result.The importance of proper

112 Chapter 6 MonitoringThe Preview DisplayThe preview display either shows you the frame at the current position of the playhead in the Timeline,

Chapter 6 Monitoring 113Monitoring Broadcast Video OutputFor the most accurate monitoring of broadcast programs, Color ouputs standard and high def

114 Chapter 6 MonitoringMonitoring at high bit depths is processor intensive, however, and can reduce your real-time performance. For this reason,

Chapter 6 Monitoring 115 The ideal viewing distance for a given monitor is approximately five times the vertical height of its screen. The color

116 Chapter 6 MonitoringWhat Is a LUT?Simply put, look up tables (LUTs) are precalculated sets of data that are used to adjust the color of an imag

Chapter 6 Monitoring 117When extruded into 3D space, the gamut and chromaticity of different devices create different shapes. For example, the stan

118 Chapter 6 MonitoringWhen Do You Need a LUT?The following examples illustrate situations where you should consider using LUTs:Â If you’re matchi

Chapter 6 Monitoring 119This process typically involves printing a test image to film at the lab and then analyzing the resulting image to generate

120 Chapter 6 MonitoringNote: By default, LUTs are saved to the /Users/username/Library/Application Support/Color/LUTs directory.The LUT immediate

7 1217 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and EditingThe Timeline provides you with an interface for navigating through your project, selecting shots

122 Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and EditingBasic Timeline UI ElementsThe Timeline is divided into a number of tracks, containing the s

Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and Editing 123Each of the four grades may include one or more Primary, Secondary, Color FX, and Primary O

124 Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and EditingThere are additional options in the User Prefs tab of the Setup room that let you change ho

Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and Editing 125Working with TracksThis section describes different ways you can change the state of tracks

126 Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and EditingSelecting the Current ShotWhichever shot you move the playhead to becomes the current shot.

Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and Editing 127Important: When you start playback, you enter a mode in which you’re unable to work with t

128 Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and EditingTo customize the playback duration:1 Move the playhead to the desired In point, then press

Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and Editing 129When there are more tracks than can be displayed within the Timeline at once, small white a

1 131 Color Correction BasicsTo better learn how Color works, it’s important to understand the overall color correction process and how images wo

130 Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and EditingTo select a shot in the Timeline:m Click any shot.Selected shots appear with a cyan highlig

Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and Editing 131Working with Grades in the TimelineEach shot in the Timeline can be switched among up to fo

132 Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and Editing Control-click or right-click on the grade you want to switch to, and choose Select Grade

Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and Editing 133The Settings 2 TabThis second tab contains additional settings that let you modify the head

134 Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and EditingHowever, if you’re working on a project where these issues aren’t important, you can use th

Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and Editing 135Roll ToolThe Roll tool lets you adjust the Out point and In point of two adjacent shots sim

136 Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and EditingA ripple edit is a one-sided edit, meaning that you can only use it to adjust the In or Out

Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and Editing 137To make a slip edit:1 Move the playhead to the shot you want to adjust, in order to be able

138 Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and EditingImportant: When you splice two shots that have different grades and corrections, the grade

Chapter 7 Timeline Playback, Navigation, and Editing 139Important: When you splice two shots that have different grades and corrections, the grade

14 Chapter 1 Color Correction BasicsThe FundamentalsEvery program requires you to take, at the very least, the following steps. With practice, most

8 1418 Video ScopesIn addition to a well-calibrated broadcast display, video scopes are a fast and accurate way to quantitatively evaluate and co

142 Chapter 8 Video Scopes Vectorscope Histogram with the following options: RGB presented simultaneously Red, Green, or Blue channel in isolat

Chapter 8 Video Scopes 143Â In Double Display mode: Up to three video scopes are displayed in the Scopes window, in addition to the video preview.

144 Chapter 8 Video ScopesVideo Scope OptionsYou have the following ways of modifying the display and behavior of the video scopes.To enable real-t

Chapter 8 Video Scopes 145To reset any scope to its original scale and orientation:m Control-click or right-click within any scope, and choose Rese

146 Chapter 8 Video ScopesTo produce the overall analysis of the image, the individual graphs for each line of the image are superimposed over one

Chapter 8 Video Scopes 147Note: To better illustrate the Parade scope’s analysis, the examples in this section are shown with Broadcast Safe disab

148 Chapter 8 Video ScopesThe Parade scope is also useful for comparing the relative levels of reds, greens, and blues between two shots. If one sh

Chapter 8 Video Scopes 149OverlayThe Overlay scope presents information that’s identical to that in the Parade scope, except that the waveforms rep

Chapter 1 Color Correction Basics 15Â Creating contrast: Color correction can also be used to create contrast between two scenes for a more jarrin

150 Chapter 8 Video ScopesLumaThe Luma scope shows you the relative levels of brightness within the image. Spikes or drops in the displayed wavefor

Chapter 8 Video Scopes 151ChromaThis scope shows the combined CB and CR color-difference components of the image. It’s useful for checking whether

152 Chapter 8 Video ScopesVectorscopeThe Vectorscope shows you the overall distribution of color in your image against a circular scale. The video

Chapter 8 Video Scopes 153The Vectorscope is useful for seeing, at a glance, the hue and intensity of the various colors in your image. Once you le

154 Chapter 8 Video ScopesHow the color targets in the Vectorscope relate to the saturation of the Vectorscope graph depends on the scale the Vecto

Chapter 8 Video Scopes 155The Q BarThe Q bar shows the proper angle at which the hue of the purple box in the color bars test pattern should appear

156 Chapter 8 Video ScopesFor example, images with a red color cast either have a significantly stronger red histogram, or conversely will have wea

Chapter 8 Video Scopes 157The Luma histogram can be very useful for quickly comparing the luma of two shots so you can adjust their shadows, midton

158 Chapter 8 Video ScopesIn this way, every color that can be represented in Color can be assigned a point in three dimensions using hue, saturati

Chapter 8 Video Scopes 159In this way, darker colors lie at the bottom of the interior, while lighter colors lie at the top. More saturated colors

16 Chapter 1 Color Correction Basics Making digital lighting adjustments: Sometimes lighting setups that looked right during the shoot don’t work

160 Chapter 8 Video ScopesIPTThe IPT color space is a perceptually weighted color space, the purpose of which is to more accurately represent the h

Chapter 8 Video Scopes 161Sampling ColorThe 3D video scope also provides controls for sampling and analyzing the color of the currently displayed i

162 Chapter 8 Video Scopes Crosshairs identify that value’s location within the three-dimensional representation of color in the 3D scope itself.E

9 1639 Primary InThe Primary In room provides your main interface for color correcting each shot. For every shot, this is where you begin, and in

164 Chapter 9 Primary In  To adjust color in the highlights and midtones to correct for unwanted color casts due to a video camera’s incorrect whi

Chapter 9 Primary In 165 Step 1: Adjust the contrast of the imageMost colorists always begin by correcting the contrast of an image, before moving

166 Chapter 9 Primary In Step 4: Make more specific adjustmentsIf you still feel that there are specific aspects of the image that need further ad

Chapter 9 Primary In 167 Contrast RatioOne of the most important adjustments you can make to an image is to change its contrast ratio. The contrast

168 Chapter 9 Primary In When using a control surface, the Encoder Sensitivity parameter in the User Prefs tab of the Setup room let you customize

Chapter 9 Primary In 169 Â If Limit Shadow Adjustments is turned off: Contrast adjustments with the shadows slider are performed as a simple lift

Chapter 1 Color Correction Basics 17At other times, the director or producer may change his or her mind regarding how the finished piece should loo

170 Chapter 9 Primary In You’ll probably leave the Limit Shadow Adjustments control turned on for most of your projects, since this provides the mo

Chapter 9 Primary In 171 Adjusting the MidtonesThe Midtone contrast slider lets you make a nonlinear adjustment to the distribution of midtones in

172 Chapter 9 Primary In Next, the Midtone slider is raised. The image has clearly lightened, and much more of the picture is in the highlights; ye

Chapter 9 Primary In 173 If the image is too dark and the highlights seem lackluster, you can raise the Highlight slider to brighten the highlights

174 Chapter 9 Primary In Overly bright highlights are often the case with images shot on video, where super-white levels above the broadcast-legal

Chapter 9 Primary In 175 While modest adjustments made with the Highlight slider won’t affect the black point, they will have an effect on the midt

176 Chapter 9 Primary In Most images don’t start out with the highest contrast ratio they could have. For example, even in well-exposed shots, vide

Chapter 9 Primary In 177 Important: When you expand the contrast of underexposed shots, or make other extreme contrast adjustments, you may accent

178 Chapter 9 Primary In Image Contrast Affects the Operation of the Color Balance ControlsThere’s another reason to expand or otherwise adjust the

Chapter 9 Primary In 179 If, afterward, you adjust the Shadow or Midtone contrast sliders to lower the shadows, you’ll find more of the image becom

18 Chapter 1 Color Correction Basics Projects of any length which are going through post-production as a digital intermediate are transferred with

180 Chapter 9 Primary In The Color Balance controls (which are sometimes referred to as Hue Wheels) work as virtual trackballs on the screen; howev

Chapter 9 Primary In 181 In the previous example, the image has a red color cast in the highlights, which can be confirmed by the height of the top

182 Chapter 9 Primary In There are three color balance controls in the Primary In, Secondaries, and Primary Out rooms. Each one lets you make adjus

Chapter 9 Primary In 183 Understanding Shadow, Midtone, and Highlight AdjustmentsLike many other color correction environments, Color provides a se

184 Chapter 9 Primary In To prevent obvious banding or other artifacts, adjustments to the three tonal zones overlap broadly, with each color balan

Chapter 9 Primary In 185 Â If Limit Shadow Adjustments is turned off: Color adjustments made using the shadows control are performed as a simple a

186 Chapter 9 Primary In Note: To better illustrate the effect of the Shadow color control, the previous examples were shown with Broadcast Safe d

Chapter 9 Primary In 187 Highlights Color AdjustmentsAdjustments made using the Highlight color balance control apply a multiply operation to the i

188 Chapter 9 Primary In  Adjustments made to the midtones affect the broadest area of the image, but don’t affect the lowest percentages of the s

Chapter 9 Primary In 189 The result is that the highlights correction that had been affecting the midtones has been neutralized in the lower portio

Chapter 1 Color Correction Basics 19Color Timing for FilmPrograms being finished and color corrected on film traditionally undergo a negative confo

190 Chapter 9 Primary In Color balance controls are usually faster to use when making broad adjustments to the shadows, midtones, and highlights of

Chapter 9 Primary In 191 If part of a curve is raised by one or more control points, then the tonal area of the image that corresponds to the sourc

192 Chapter 9 Primary In Curves in Color are edited using B-Splines, which use control points that aren’t actually attached to the curve control to

Chapter 9 Primary In 193 To remove control points from a curve:m Drag a point up or down until it’s outside the curve control area.To remove all co

194 Chapter 9 Primary In These two control points roughly correspond to the shadow and highlight contrast controls. If you add a third control poin

Chapter 9 Primary In 195 An Example of the Luma Curve in UseThe following example illustrates how to make very specific changes to the contrast of

196 Chapter 9 Primary In ∏ Tip: When adding multiple control points to a curve, you can use the grid to identify where to position parts of a curv

Chapter 9 Primary In 197 3 Add a control point below the first control point you created, and drag it up until the man’s face lightens.The man’s fa

198 Chapter 9 Primary In An Example of Color Curves in UseIn the following example, you’ll see how to make a targeted correction to eliminate a col

Chapter 9 Primary In 199 This operation certainly neutralizes the red in the shadows; unfortunately, because this one control point is influencing

K Apple Inc.Copyright © 2007 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.Your rights to the software are governed by the accompanying software license agreement. T

20 Chapter 1 Color Correction BasicsNote: Color includes printer points controls for colorists who are familiar with this method of color correcti

200 Chapter 9 Primary In Since the key light for this shot is the sun coming in through the window, this is probably inappropriate and should be co

Chapter 9 Primary In 201 Basic TabThe Basic tab contains the controls for saturation, as well as master lift, gamma, and gain parameters that let y

202 Chapter 9 Primary In  Saturation: This parameter controls the saturation of the entire image. The default value of 1 makes no change to image

Chapter 9 Primary In 203 Â Highlight Sat.: This parameter controls the saturation in the highlights of your image. You can selectively desaturate

204 Chapter 9 Primary In  Shadow Sat.: This parameter controls the saturation in the shadows of your image. You can selectively desaturate the sh

Chapter 9 Primary In 205 RGB ControlsThese parameters provide per-channel control over contrast and color. These are not numerical representations

206 Chapter 9 Primary In Also unique is the way in which adjustments are made. To emulate the nature of the filters employed by these kinds of mach

Chapter 9 Primary In 207 To use the Auto Balance button:1 Move the playhead in the Timeline to a representative frame of the shot you want to autom

10 20910 SecondariesSecondary color correction controls let you isolate a portion of an image and selectively adjust it without affecting the res

Chapter 1 Color Correction Basics 21Using the cut list, the post-production supervisor pulls only the film negative that was actually used in the e

210 Chapter 10 Secondaries Isolating areas for targeted corrections: This is the primary reason for the Secondaries room’s existence. Using a var

Chapter 10 Secondaries 211Â Digitally relighting areas of the image: The same feature can be used in a different way, drawing custom shapes to iso

212 Chapter 10 SecondariesStep 2: Make color balance, contrast, and saturation adjustmentsAfter you’ve qualified an area for correction, you can u

Chapter 10 Secondaries 213The HSL controls work as a chroma keyer. By selecting ranges of hue, saturation, and lightness, you create a matte that i

214 Chapter 10 SecondariesTo use the eyedropper to pull a secondary key:1 Click the eyedropper.The eyedropper becomes highlighted, and crosshairs a

Chapter 10 Secondaries 215In addition to sampling individual color values, you can also use the eyedropper to sample an entire range of values.To u

216 Chapter 10 SecondariesEach qualifier has three sets of handles, which correspond to three knobs on compatible control surfaces. These handles c

Chapter 10 Secondaries 217To make a symmetric adjustment to the Range handles:m Drag the Range handles directly, or drag anywhere between the Range

218 Chapter 10 SecondariesEach Qualifier Explained H (hue): Defines the range of colors that contribute to the key. Using Hue by itself to define

Chapter 10 Secondaries 219Note: You can manually set the key blur to even higher values by typing them directly into the Key Blur field.One of the

22 Chapter 1 Color Correction BasicsColor Correction in ColorYou’ve seen how color correction is done in other post-production environments. This s

220 Chapter 10 SecondariesNote: The Matte Preview Mode and Vignette Outline only appear in the Preview display of the Scopes window when the Previ

Chapter 10 Secondaries 221Â Matte Only: Shows the actual matte being used to limit the effect. This is similar to the image displayed in the HSL q

222 Chapter 10 SecondariesVignettes can also be used to select large regions of the frame for brightening or darkening. One common example of this

Chapter 10 Secondaries 223Note: If you have a compatible control surface, you can also use its controls to customize the vignette. Vignette butto

224 Chapter 10 SecondariesUsing the Onscreen Controls to Adjust Vignette ShapesThe X Center, Y Center, Softness, Size, and Aspect parameters can al

Chapter 10 Secondaries 225To adjust the softness of the vignette:m Middle-click and drag to blur the edges of the vignette.This adjusts the Softnes

226 Chapter 10 Secondaries3 Click in the Geometry preview area to add control points outlining the feature you want to isolate, then click on the f

Chapter 10 Secondaries 2275 To feather the edge of the shape, increase the value of the Softness parameter.Two additional editable shapes appear to

228 Chapter 10 SecondariesYou’ll see the shape you created within the vignette area of the Previews tab. At this point, the matte that’s created by

Chapter 10 Secondaries 229Â Inside: The default setting. When set to Inside, all adjustments you make affect the interior of the secondary matte (

Chapter 1 Color Correction Basics 23Finishing film or video programs digitally frees colorists from the limitations of film and tape transport mech

230 Chapter 10 SecondariesImportant: Curves cannot be animated with keyframes, although just about every other parameter in the Secondaries room c

Chapter 10 Secondaries 231For example, if you add four control points to the Saturation curve to lower the green-through-blue range of the curve, y

232 Chapter 10 SecondariesThe secondary curves use B-Splines, just like the primary curve controls. In fact, you add and edit control points on the

Chapter 10 Secondaries 233Sat Curve TabRaising the saturation curve increases the saturation in that portion of the spectrum, while lowering it dec

234 Chapter 10 SecondariesLum Curve TabRaising the luminance curve lightens the colors in that portion of the spectrum, while lowering it darkens t

11 23511 Color FXWhen the primary and secondary color correction controls aren’t enough to achieve the look you need, Color FX lets you create so

236 Chapter 11 Color FXÂ Node View: The Node View, at the center of the Color FX room, is the area where nodes that you create appear and are conn

Chapter 11 Color FX 237You can think of a node tree as a waterfall of image processing data. Image processing operations begin at the top, and casc

238 Chapter 11 Color FXAny node’s output, on the other hand, can be connected to multiple nodes in order to feed duplicate versions of the image as

Chapter 11 Color FX 239Note: When you position the pointer over any node’s input, a small tooltip appears to show you its name.If you want to elim

24 Chapter 1 Color Correction BasicsImage Encoding StandardsThe following section provides important information about the image encoding standards

240 Chapter 11 Color FXSelected nodes appear highlighted in cyan, and if that node has any parameters, they’ll appear to the right, ready for editi

Chapter 11 Color FX 241As you fine-tune this effect, you’ll want to adjust the amount the black and white image contributes to the final effect by

242 Chapter 11 Color FXBypassed nodes are outlined with an orange dotted line.If you want to suspend the effect of an entire node tree without dele

Chapter 11 Color FX 243In the following example, a Bleach Bypass node (which alters the saturation and contrast of an image to simulate a chemical

244 Chapter 11 Color FXThis multiplies the color with the corrected image (remember, disconnected inputs always link to the corrected image data).

Chapter 11 Color FX 245Math Layering Nodes ExplainedThe layering nodes shown in the previous example use simple math to combine two differently mod

246 Chapter 11 Color FXIsolating Portions of an ImageAnother common method of creating a layered effect is to use a grayscale matte to control wher

Chapter 11 Color FX 247This matte is connected to the Alpha input of the Alpha Blend node (the third input). A blur node is then connected to the S

248 Chapter 11 Color FXWhen you’re finished with the effect, you need to reassemble the fields into frames using the Interlace node, connecting the

Chapter 11 Color FX 249The effect is saved with a thumbnail taken from the shot it was saved from. Entering a custom name is optional, but recommen

Chapter 1 Color Correction Basics 25Chroma SubsamplingIn Y´CBCR encoded video, the color channels are typically sampled at a lower ratio than the l

250 Chapter 11 Color FXThe order in which the inputs are connected does not matter. Add has two parameters. Source 1 Bias: Controls how much of t

Chapter 11 Color FX 251When multiplying two images, the darkest parts of the images remain unaffected, while the lightest parts of the image are th

252 Chapter 11 Color FXDuotoneDesaturates the image, mapping the black and white points of the image to two user customizable colors to create tint

Chapter 11 Color FX 253Film LookAn “all-in-one” film look node. Combines the Film Grain operation described above with an “s-curve” exposure adjust

254 Chapter 11 Color FX Green Gamma: Adjusts the green channel only, enabling color correction based on a gamma adjustment for that channel. Blu

Chapter 11 Color FX 255LiftLift uniformly lightens or darkens the entire image, altering the shadows, midtones, and highlights by the same amount.

256 Chapter 11 Color FXScale RGBExpands or contracts the overall contrast ratio of a shot, from the black point to the white point, centering the m

Chapter 11 Color FX 257Â Horizontal Scale: How much to stretch the image, horizontally. Higher values stretch the image outward, while lower value

258 Chapter 11 Color FXOutputThis must be the last node in any node tree. It outputs the effect created within the Color FX room to the main Color

12 25912 Primary OutThe Primary Out room provides an additional set of controls for overall color correction, but it can also be used as a tool t

26 Chapter 1 Color Correction BasicsFurthermore, it’s common to use chroma keying operations to isolate specific areas of the picture for correctio

260 Chapter 12 Primary OutMaking Extra Corrections Using the Primary In RoomThe Color interface was designed for flexibility. The functionality of

Chapter 12 Primary Out 261As the processed image makes its way from the Primary In to the Secondaries to the Color FX rooms, the corrections in eac

13 26313 Managing Corrections and GradesColor provides many tools for managing the corrections and grades that you’ve applied. You can work even

264 Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and GradesCorrections are adjustments that are made within a single room. You have the option to save individua

Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and Grades 2653 Click Save.The correction is saved into the current room’s bin with a thumbnail of the shot it was

266 Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and Grades3 Make the grade you want to save the currently selected grade for that shot.4 Type a name for the sa

Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and Grades 267Organizing Saved Corrections and Grades with Folders in ColorSaved corrections are available to every

268 Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and GradesTo save a correction or grade into a folder:1 Move the playhead to the shot with a correction or grad

Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and Grades 269Managing Grades in the TimelineEach shot may have up to four alternate grades, shown with different c

Chapter 1 Color Correction Basics 27Most of the media you’ll receive falls into one of the following bit depths, all of which Color supports:Â 8-bi

270 Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and GradesTo change the selected grade:1 Move the playhead to the shot you want to change the grade of.2 Do one

Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and Grades 271Note: When you copy individual corrections, secondary corrections overwrite other secondary correcti

272 Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and GradesUsing the “Copy to” Buttons in the Primary RoomsThe “Copy to Selected” and “Copy to All” buttons in t

Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and Grades 273To copy a primary correction to every single shot in the Timeline:1 Move the playhead to a shot with

274 Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and GradesSetting a Beauty Grade in the TimelineWhen you’ve set up a project with multiple grades for each shot

Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and Grades 275You can also use the icon view as an organizational tool to rearrange the shots in your program into

276 Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and GradesTo zoom in or out of the Shots browser when in icon view, do one of the following:m Press the Control

Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and Grades 277To select the grade used by a shot:m Double-click the grade you want to select.The selected grade tur

278 Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and Grades3 Rearrange the shots you want to group within the Shots browser area (this step is optional).Even th

Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and Grades 279To add a shot to an already existing group:m Right-click anywhere on a shot’s name bar, and drag a co

28 Chapter 1 Color Correction BasicsContrastContrast adjustments are the most fundamental, and generally the first, adjustments made. Contrast is a

280 Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and GradesTo collapse or expand a group:m Double-click any group’s node.When a group is collapsed, the shots th

Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and Grades 281To copy an individual correction to a group:m Drag the correction bar of the room you want to copy fr

282 Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and GradesThis is especially true for projects where the Director of Photography and the crew worked to achieve

Chapter 13 Managing Corrections and Grades 283Step 4: Make modifications due to client feedbackOnce your client has had the opportunity to screen

14 28514 KeyframingYou can create animated grades and other effects using keyframes in the Timeline.The keyframing mechanism in Color is simple,

286 Chapter 14 Keyframing How Keyframing Works in Different RoomsYou can keyframe effects in the Primary In, Secondaries, Color FX, Primary Out and

Chapter 14 Keyframing 287 In addition to the color and contrast controls, the following secondary controls can also be animated using keyframes:Â T

288 Chapter 14 Keyframing Working with Keyframes in the TimelineIt takes a minimum of two keyframes to animate an effect of any kind. Each keyframe

Chapter 14 Keyframing 289 To delete a single keyframe:1 Move the playhead to the frame with the keyframe you want to delete.2 Choose Timeline >

Chapter 1 Color Correction Basics 29An image’s contrast ratio is the difference between the darkest and brightest tonal values within that image. T

290 Chapter 14 Keyframing Keyframe InterpolationThe interpolation method that a keyframe is set to determines how settings are animated from one ke

Chapter 14 Keyframing 291 By default, all new keyframes that you create are smooth, although you can change a keyframe’s interpolation at any time.

15 29315 GeometryThe Geometry Room provides a way to zoom into shots, create pan and scan effects, draw custom mattes for vignetted secondary ope

294 Chapter 15 GeometryThe Pan & Scan TabThe Pan & Scan tab lets you apply basic transformations to the shots in your projects. You can use

Chapter 15 Geometry 295Working with the Pan & Scan TabYou can transform shots in your program using two sets of controls. To the left, onscreen

296 Chapter 15 GeometryThe onscreen controls are designed to work in conjunction with the image that’s displayed by the Preview and Broadcast displ

Chapter 15 Geometry 297To reposition a shot:m Drag anywhere within the red bounding box.The onscreen control moves to select a different portion of

298 Chapter 15 Geometry Using a tracker: You can also use motion tracking to automatically animate a Pan & Scan effect, for example, to move

Chapter 15 Geometry 299Controls in the Shapes TabThe Shapes tab has the following controls:Â Current Secondary: Lists which of the eight available

3 1 Contents Preface 9 Color Documentation and Resources9 What Is Color? 10 Using the Color Documentation 10 Color Websites 11 Apple Service a

30 Chapter 1 Color Correction BasicsLumaLuma (which technically speaking is gamma-corrected luminance) describes the exposure (lightness) of a vide

300 Chapter 15 Geometry B-spline/polygon buttons: Toggles the currently selected shape between B-spline mode, which allows for curved shapes, and

Chapter 15 Geometry 301B-splines use control points that aren’t actually attached to the shape’s surface to “pull” the shape into different directi

302 Chapter 15 Geometry4 When you’re ready to finish, close the shape by clicking on the first control point you created.5 Enter a name into the Sh

Chapter 15 Geometry 303Selected control points turn green.You don’t have to select every control point in the shape. You can choose to make a parti

304 Chapter 15 GeometryTo feather the edge of a shape:1 Increase its Softness value.The Softness parameter applies a uniform feathering around the

Chapter 15 Geometry 305To add control points to a previously existing shape:1 Select a shape to edit in the Shapes list.2 Click Open Shape.3 Click

306 Chapter 15 GeometryTracking TabMotion tracking is the process of automatically analyzing a shot in order to follow the motion of a specific fea

Chapter 15 Geometry 307Using Motion TrackingAfter you’ve processed a tracker, you can use that tracker’s analysis to animate a Vignette, User Shape

308 Chapter 15 Geometry Manual Tracker: Click to enter manual tracking mode, where you use the pointer to click on a feature in the preview area

Chapter 15 Geometry 3094 While the playhead is at this initial frame, drag within the center box of the onscreen control to move it so that the cro

Chapter 1 Color Correction Basics 31GammaGamma refers to two different concepts. In a video signal, gamma refers to the nonlinear representation of

310 Chapter 15 GeometryIn many cases, this will be the last frame of the shot. However, if the feature you’re tracking becomes obscured, you’ll wan

Chapter 15 Geometry 3114 Click Manual Tracker to enter manual tracking mode.When you enable manual tracking, the tracker onscreen control disappear

312 Chapter 15 GeometrySometimes a motion track is successful, but the resulting motion path is too rough to use in its original state. Oftentimes,

Chapter 15 Geometry 313Using Trackers in the Secondary, Color FX, and Geometry RoomsAny adjustment in any room that can be animated by a tracker ha

16 31516 Still StoreThe Still Store provides an interface with which to compare shots to one another while you do scene-to-scene color correction

316 Chapter 16 Still Store2 If the Still Store is currently enabled, turn it off to make sure you don’t accidentally save a still of the currently

Chapter 16 Still Store 317Important: Still Store images aren’t updated if the shot they originated from is regraded. This means that if you save a

318 Chapter 16 Still StoreTo remove an image from the Still Store:1 Click the Still Store tab.2 Select the still image you want to remove.3 Press t

Chapter 16 Still Store 319Each still image has its own settings for how that image will appear when it’s recalled. These settings can be found on t

32 Chapter 1 Color Correction BasicsSaturationSaturation describes the intensity of that color, whether it’s a bright red or a pale red. An image t

320 Chapter 16 Still Store List View: In list view, all still images and directories are represented by two columns; the still-image file’s name

17 32117 Render QueueOnce you’ve finished color-correcting your program, the controls in the Render Queue let you render the appropriate set of m

322 Chapter 17 Render QueueOn the other hand, you may need to render the entire program after all, such as when you need to generate another set of

Chapter 17 Render Queue 323When you’ve finished grading your program in Color and you render that project as a series of QuickTime movies in prepar

324 Chapter 17 Render QueueRender Queue ControlsThe following buttons beneath the Render Queue list let you add shots to the queue, remove them, an

Chapter 17 Render Queue 325Once you add shots to the Render Queue list, the status of each of the shots that you add changes to Queued in the Shots

326 Chapter 17 Render QueueAt the same time, the render bar appearing above the Timeline ruler for the shot being rendered in the Timeline updates

Chapter 17 Render Queue 327You also have the ability to render each of a shot’s grades individually, or together. This way, whenever there’s a scen

328 Chapter 17 Render QueueGather Rendered MediaThe Gather Rendered Media command can only be used when you’ve rendered image sequence media for a

329AAppendixA Calibrating Your MonitorWhen using analog devices, make sure they are calibrated for accurate brightness and color so you can colo

Chapter 1 Color Correction Basics 33Complementary ColorsTwo colors that appear 180 degrees opposite one another on the wheel are referred to as com

330 Appendix A Calibrating Your MonitorCalibrating Your Broadcast MonitorMonitors are calibrated using SMPTE standard color bars. Brightness and co

Appendix A Calibrating Your Monitor 331The point where this bar is barely visible is the correct contrast setting for your monitor. (The example sh

332 Appendix A Calibrating Your MonitorNote: The step in the second bullet also applies to the monitoring of composite signals, but you really, re

333BAppendixB Keyboard ShortcutsKeyboard Shortcuts in ColorThe following tables show the various keyboard shortcuts that are available while wor

334 Appendix B Keyboard ShortcutsSwitching Rooms and WindowsThe following keyboard shortcuts let you navigate the Color interface, moving from room

Appendix B Keyboard Shortcuts 335Grade ShortcutsThe following keyboard shortcuts let you create, switch, copy, and paste grades for shots at the po

336 Appendix B Keyboard ShortcutsKeyframing ShortcutsThe following shortcuts are for keyframing effects in every room.Shortcuts in the Shots Browse

Appendix B Keyboard Shortcuts 337Still Store ShortcutsThe following keyboard shortcuts let you save and enable still frames without having the Stil

339CAppendixC Setting Up a Control SurfaceColor is compatible with control surfaces from JLCooper and Tangent Devices.A control surface lets you

34 Chapter 1 Color Correction BasicsThe HSL color space model can be graphically illustrated as a three dimensional cone. Hue is represented by an

340 Appendix C Setting Up a Control SurfaceTo use compatible JLCooper MCS Control Surfaces with Color, you need the following:Â MCS-3000, MCS-3400,

Appendix C Setting Up a Control Surface 341d Enter a port number, then press ENTER to accept and continue.For example, you might enter: 49153Note:

342 Appendix C Setting Up a Control SurfaceControls for the MCS-3000 and MCS-SpectrumMany of the controls in the MCS-3000 and MCS-Spectrum are iden

Appendix C Setting Up a Control Surface 343Â Bank3: Switch/Copy/Paste Grade Bank 3Â Bank4: Switch/Copy/Paste Grade Bank 4Â Assign: Toggle Switch

344 Appendix C Setting Up a Control Surface R1: Reset Shadow contrast slider B1: Reset Shadow color control Left joyball: Shadow color contro

Appendix C Setting Up a Control Surface 345If you’re opening Color for the first time, you’ll be presented with the Control Surface Startup dialog.

346 Appendix C Setting Up a Control Surface >: Play forward Button next to jog/shuttle: Toggle x10 speed controlWhen Left Alt is held down:Â

Appendix C Setting Up a Control Surface 347Configuring the CP200 Series Control SurfacesThe following procedures describe how to configure and use

348 Appendix C Setting Up a Control SurfaceNote: The first three period-delimited sets of numbers in the IP address must match the first three set

Appendix C Setting Up a Control Surface 349 F3: Delete key frame F4: Alternate panel encodersIn the Secondaries room: F1: Toggle key frame In

2 352 Color Correction WorkflowsTaking maximum advantage of Color requires careful workflow management. This chapter outlines where Color fits in

350 Appendix C Setting Up a Control Surface Out: Set play marker out Mem: Toggle show still Grade: Toggle show grade Delete: Return grade t

Customizing Control Surface SensitivityYou can customize the sensitivity of the joyballs, knobs, contrast wheels, and the angle at which the joyballs

353IndexIndex.lsi file 74.pdl file 742K outputand rendered effects 3223D Color Space scope 157HSL 158IPT 160RGB 157sampling color 161Y’C

354 IndexMarch 26, 2007Ceiling IRE 100Channel dataand bit depth 109Chroma (Chrominance) 31Chroma levels 330Chroma Limit 101Chroma scope 151Chrom

Index 355March 26, 2007color wheels 63directory navigation 67display 67file 68in browsers and bins 67scroll wheel 62shortcut menus 62text field

356 IndexMarch 26, 2007EEdge Detector node 252EditingB-Splines 191control points 191limitations 37Editing controls and procedures 133Editing shor

Index 357March 26, 2007how they are different from corrections 263in the Timeline 131managing 263–283managing in the Shots browser 274managing in

358 IndexMarch 26, 2007deleting 289interpolation 290–291navigating 288Keyframing 285–291in Color FX 287in different rooms 286in the Timeline 28

Index 359March 26, 2007Node typesAdd 245, 249Alpha Blend 250B&W 251Bleach Bypass 251Blend 250Blur 251Clamp 251Color 257Curve 251Darken 2

36 Chapter 2 Color Correction WorkflowsEach room gathers all the controls pertaining to that particular step of the color-correction process onto a

360 IndexMarch 26, 2007general process 165saturation 165Primary In room 36, 163–207Primary Out room 36, 259–261trimming grades in 260Printer Ligh

Index 361March 26, 2007Roll tool 135Roomsabout 35Geometry 293Rotating shots 296Round trip 47Ruler 122units 123SSampling color (in 3D Color Spac

362 IndexMarch 26, 2007directory 74grouping and ungrouping 277how to render 324removing from groups 279removing notes 96repositioning 297reposit

Index 363March 26, 2007working with grades 131zooming 128Tolerance 216Tolerance handlesadjusting 217Tracker area 123Trackersanimating Pan & S

364 IndexMarch 26, 2007YY’CbCr (in 3D Color Space scope) 159Y’CbCr color model 24Y’CbCr scope 151ZZoomingin the image preview 293in the Shots brow

Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows 37Â Geometry: The Geometry room lets you pan and scan, rotate, flip, and flop shots as necessary. The Geometr

38 Chapter 2 Color Correction WorkflowsTo accommodate editorial changes, reconforming tools are provided to synchronize an EDL or Final Cut Pro seq

Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows 39Important: When you send frames of media to a compositing application, it’s vital that you maintain the fra

4 Contents 82 Exporting EDLs 82 Relinking QuickTime Media 83 Importing Media Directly into The Timeline 84 Compatible Media Formats 88 Converting Cin

40 Chapter 2 Color Correction WorkflowsExactly how you conform your source media in Final Cut Pro depends on the type of media that’s used.A Tape-B

Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows 41Uncompressed video formats, or projects where there are many, many reels of source media, may benefit from b

42 Chapter 2 Color Correction WorkflowsStep 4: Pre-render any still images or effects you want to grade in ColorColor can’t display or process sti

Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows 43Important: Some parameters in the Project Settings tab of the Setup room affect how the media rendered by C

44 Chapter 2 Color Correction WorkflowsHere’s a more detailed explanation of the offline-to-online portion of this workflow.Step 1: Shoot and back

Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows 45Reconforming Online Media in a Film-to-Tape WorkflowIf you’re working on a project that was shot on film, bu

46 Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows Some productions prefer to save money up front by doing an inexpensive “one-light” transfer of all the foo

Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows 47Important: Do not use the Media Manager to either rename or delete unused media in your project when workin

48 Chapter 2 Color Correction WorkflowsStep 2: Capture media at online resolutionYou’ll need to recapture the sequence created when importing the

Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows 49To properly “notch” the master media file, you need to be sure to turn on “Use as Cut List,” and then choose

Contents 5 183 Understanding Shadow, Midtone, and Highlight Adjustments 189 Curves Controls 201 Basic Tab 204 Advanced Tab 206 Auto Balance Chapter 1

50 Chapter 2 Color Correction WorkflowsA Tapeless DI Workflow Using Online/Offline Digital DuplicatesThe easiest digital intermediate workflow is o

Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows 51The following steps break this process down more explicitly.Step 1: Shoot filmIdeally, you should do some t

52 Chapter 2 Color Correction WorkflowsStep 5: Prepare your Final Cut Pro sequenceTo prepare your edited sequence for an efficient workflow in Col

Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows 53Step 11: Use the Gather Rendered Media command to assemble the final image sequence for deliveryOnce every

54 Chapter 2 Color Correction WorkflowsThe following steps break this process down more explicitly.Step 1: Shoot the filmIdeally, you should do so

Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows 55Â The pull list specifies which shots were used in the final version of the edit (this is usually a subset o

56 Chapter 2 Color Correction WorkflowsUsing EDLs, Timecode, and Frame Numbersto Conform ProjectsUsing careful data management, you can track the r

Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows 57Image Sequence File Naming for Conforming Digital IntermediatesHere’s an example filename of the first image

3 593 Using the Color InterfaceYou can work in Color either by using a mouse with the on-screen interface, or more directly by using a dedicated

6 Contents 274 Managing Grades in the Shots Browser 281 Using the Primary, Secondary, and Color FX Rooms Together to Manage Each Shot’s Corrections C

60 Chapter 3 Using the Color InterfaceSetting Up a Control SurfaceColor was designed from the ground up to support control surfaces specifically de

Chapter 3 Using the Color Interface 61Using the MouseColor supports the use of a three-button mouse, which provides quick access to shortcut menus

62 Chapter 3 Using the Color InterfaceTo modify the value of a numeric or percentage-based text field with a virtual slider:1 Move the pointer to t

Chapter 3 Using the Color Interface 63Â When you enter timecode in a field, you don’t need to enter all of the separator characters (such as colons

64 Chapter 3 Using the Color InterfaceOrganizational Browsers and BinsColor presents several browsers and bins for organizing shots, media, and gra

Chapter 3 Using the Color Interface 65To hide the file browser:m Move the pointer to the file browser divider at the right-hand side of the file br

66 Chapter 3 Using the Color InterfaceIn list view, you can sort all of the shots using different info fields. For more information on using the Sh

Chapter 3 Using the Color Interface 67Still StoreAlthough the Still Store isn’t a grade or correction bin, it’s managed in almost exactly the same

68 Chapter 3 Using the Color Interface Go Up: Moves to and displays the contents of the parent directory. Go Home: Navigates to the appropriate

Chapter 3 Using the Color Interface 69Individual corrections in each of the above directories are saved as a pair of files; a .lsi file which conta

Contents 7336 Shortcuts in the Shots Browser336 Shortcuts in the Geometry Room337 Still Store Shortcuts337 Render Queue ShortcutsAppendix C 339 Settin

70 Chapter 3 Using the Color InterfaceMoving Saved Corrections and Grades to Other ComputersIf you have saved corrections and grades that you want

4 714 Importing and Managing Projects and MediaColor provides powerful tools for managing projects and media as you work.As mentioned in Chapter

72 Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and MediaCreating and Opening ProjectsWhen you first run Color, you’re presented with a dialog with wh

Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and Media 73To revert the project to the last saved state:m Choose File > Revert (Command-R).Saving an

74 Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and MediaWhat Is a Color Project?The only shots that are in your project are those in the Timeline (wh

Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and Media 75Moving Projects Between Final Cut Pro and ColorOne of the easiest ways of importing a project

76 Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and Media Freeze Frames (created from a clip inside of Final Cut Pro) Still Image files (such as .ti

Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and Media 77To send a sequence from Final Cut Pro to Color:1 Open the project in Final Cut Pro.2 Select a

78 Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and MediaSending Your Project Back to Final Cut ProIf you’re doing a Final Cut Pro to Color round-trip

Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and Media 794 Click OK.A new XML project file is created, and the clips within are automatically linked t

80 Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and MediaImporting EDLsYou can import an EDL directly into Color. There are two reasons to use EDLs in

Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and Media 81The EDL Import Settings dialog appears, defaulting to the default project directory specified

82 Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and Media5 When you’ve finished choosing all the necessary settings, click Import.A new project is cre

Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and Media 83If you click Yes and proceed with relinking to a different file, then the original Source In

84 Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and Media Drag the shot directly into the Timeline. Click the Import button below that shot’s previe

Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and Media 85Compatible Third-Party QuickTime Codecs for ImportColor also supports the following third-par

86 Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and MediaCompatible QuickTime Codecs for OutputThe purpose of Color is to create high-quality color-co

Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and Media 87Compatible Image FormatsThe following RGB-encoded image formats are compatible with Color for

88 Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and Media JPEG 2000 (import only): Developed as a high-quality compressed format for production and

Chapter 4 Importing and Managing Projects and Media 89∏ Tip: To quickly apply a single correction to every shot in the Timeline, grade a represent

9PrefaceColor Documentation and ResourcesWelcome to the world of professional video and film grading and manipulation using Color.What Is Color?

5 915 SetupBefore you start working on your project, take a moment to configure your Color working environment and project settings in the Setup

92 Chapter 5 SetupBy default, it displays the contents of the default media directory when Color starts up. Up Directory button: Moves to the nex

Chapter 5 Setup 93The Current Shot and Selected ShotsIcons or entries in the Shots browser are colored based on their selected state. Dark Gray:

94 Chapter 5 SetupTo reveal all shots after a find operation:m Select all of the text in the Find field, and press Delete.All shots should reappear

Chapter 5 Setup 95Customizing the Shots BrowserThe following procedures describe ways you can sort and modify the Shots browser.To sort the Shots b

96 Chapter 5 Setup4 To save the note and close it, do one of the following: Press Command-S, and close the window. Close the window and click Sav

Chapter 5 Setup 97m Click any shot, and then Shift-click a second shot to select a contiguous range of shots from the first selection to the second

98 Chapter 5 SetupProject Settings TabThe options in the Project Settings tab are individually saved on a per-project basis. They let you store add

Chapter 5 Setup 99If the currently selected QuickTime Export codec allows custom frame sizes, the width and height fields below can be edited. Othe