Comments

Cliff Etzel wrote on 7/11/2008, 12:30 PM
I would use the Levels FX - I have found I get a finer degree of control over how my footage looks while it's playing on the timeline. I've been using it over other FX's like Brightness/Contrast. Used in conjunction with the wave form monitor - I'm beginning to get a sense of how to make my footage look consistent when I have various shots that aren't exposed the same.

Cliff Etzel - Solo Video Journalist
bluprojekt | SoloVJ.com
GlennChan wrote on 7/11/2008, 4:28 PM
Here's a tutorial on using the Levels filter:
http://www.vasst.com/resource.aspx?id=a7a8c403-64dc-420d-97d0-90d2f8de9fc1
johnmeyer wrote on 7/11/2008, 7:40 PM
Never EVER use the brightness fX for any sort of correction. Feel free to use it to create some sort of special effect, but don't use it to correct dark or light problems. Instead, use one of the various fX that include a gamma control. Both the Color Corrector and the Levels controls include gamma.

In addition, read the tutorial referenced above and use the videoscopes and Levels function to get in the ballpark, and then create a curve, using Color Curves, which will give you complete control over the brightness in the shadows, highlights, and midtone. General "rule of thumb" is that you want to leave dark shadows dark and highlights very bright, but make the overall scene look brighter or darker by adjusting the midtones. That's more or less what Gamma does, with color curves giving you the ability to create your own gamma curve.