Brightening a dark shark exhibit

kdi001 wrote on 5/17/2006, 5:10 PM
Apparently "Sony Color Curves" and "Sony Levels" are to be used instead of the basic "brightness" FX. I understand that, but there seems to be confusion (at least my own) on when or if I should use both Curves and Levels or one or the other to brighten a dark scene.

I am trying to brighten a scene I shot at SeaWorld of the indoor shark tank exhibit, which is obviously a dark environment. I am using only Color Curves and am having difficulty brightening the scenes enough to see the sharks. I guess I need to find the happy middleground, because if I brighten the shots too much, I'm getting a blooming (I guess it's called "blooming") or ghosting/washed out effect on different parts of the image (not the whole image).

Is there something in Color Curves I may be doing wrong that is producing this or is it just a matter of brightening it too much? That diagonal line in Curves can be frustrating. It's still difficult, even with my calibrated Sony monitor.

I have uploaded two stills: the raw footage still and the problem areas still.

http://pages.prodigy.net/kdi/shark raw footage still.jpg
http://pages.prodigy.net/kdi/shark with problem areas.jpg


The problem areas shot demonstrates that on some of the black parts of the shot, there are ghosting or blooming effects--maybe from too much contrast?
The shark itself doesn't show this effect as blatantly. The problem areas aren't seen as easily on a PC monitor.

During this same shot, the camera tilts up to where the lighting is more appropriate, so I have to be careful how much I brighten the sharks, but at the same time avoid this undesired effect around the sides of the shot.

Please let me know what I could use and what settings seem to be appropriate. I, as a beginner to Vegas, find Color Curves and the diagonal line difficult. Thanks.

Comments

MH_Stevens wrote on 5/17/2006, 9:35 PM
You don't need use both Levels and Curves together. You might try each and compare. Curves, because it has no histogram and uses dragging lines is a more intuitive and artistic tool and the one preferred by most experienced editors. Levels however has the ability to easily set the black and white points (with the eye droppers) and to then move the gamma around for a subjective tweak.

If you find dragging the Curves line difficult always remember the famous "S" curve. Start by making the straight line a slim letter "S".

After you have used these tools you will most likely need use the Secondary Color Corrector to make a final hue shift to remove color casts from your new highlights.
farss wrote on 5/18/2006, 3:00 AM
I'd also suggest getting familiar with the scopes in Vegas. Probably the Histograms are the easiet to comprehend as they give you an over view of where the 'energy' is in the image and what's happening as you change it with Curves etc.

Your biggest problem though will be as you've guessed, there's just too much contrast in your subject for the video system to cope. Unless you can light your subject there's very little you can do although shooting on an overcast day might help even out the light levels in the tank. You might do better by keeping your shots tight, this should minimise the range of light levels within the frame. Of course then you need a good tripod and good camera skills.

Bob.
kdi001 wrote on 5/18/2006, 4:06 AM
Thanks for the feedback; the exhibit is inside and on a moving walkway --just to make it interesting. At least you can get a smooth tracking shot! So whether it's overcast or not that won't assist me, unfortunately. Obviously, TPTB wouldn't allow me to use portable lights; hence, I will continue tweaking using Vegas's fine tools.
craftech wrote on 5/18/2006, 4:15 AM
Use the "Levels" FX and try the "Brighten" preset. Then play with the Gamma slider.

John