The Sony color correction tool is powerful enough, but it confuses the heck out of me. Check out this thread for another approach:

http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=650452

Andy_L, Apply Color Correction to a clip - allocate a clip and copy Ctrl+C then the right button of a mouse on other clip and Paste Event Attributes.



For Paste Event Attributes it is possible to appoint a hotkey

My first step is to use the left eye-droppers in Colour Corrector, choosing a white tone with the high end dropper, facial colours, clothing other then black with mid tone dropper and shadows, black tones with the dark one (not aways necessary to use both of these latter two). Afterwards Levels, Colour Curves if necessary.

Good Luck,

Richard

Unless you are dealing with the funk of stage lighting you basically have to get the black and white corrected and the colors naturally fall into place.

John

Okay, suppose I want to correct a clip in the project media window which is not yet on the timeline. In this way, every instance of the clip on the timeline will already be corrected when I add it.

I can see how to apply FX to the clip (click the FX icon above the project media window; dragging and dropping doesn't seem to work), but I don't see any way to preview the clip with the color correction plugin's effect visible so that I can actually correct the colors (other than add it to the workspace and then preview normally).

What am I missing?

Laurence,

Thanks for that link. That plugin is a sweet tool! Faster better results. :)

Okay, suppose I want to correct a clip in the project media window which is not yet on the timeline. In this way, every instance of the clip on the timeline will already be corrected when I add it.

You're not missing anything.
What I do in situations like this is drag the clip to the timeline, do my corrections, save it/them as a preset, remove it from the timeline and then apply the saved preset to the clip while it's in the Project Media tab.

Mike

I have to say, after trying the 6-Pack I'm back with the SONY wheels. Kinda appreciate the graphical interface of the Wheels . .

Grazie

>Afterwards Levels...<

I've read a few tutorials lately that have levels then colour correction. What is the general convention on this? I usually have mine in that order.

This wasn't obvious to me given Vegas' help info, so I'll post it.

Yes, it looks like you have to drag a clip from the Project Media window to the timeline before you can preview any effects you add to it.

So, drag the clip onto the timeline, make sure its visible in the preview window, and then (the important part) don't add fx to either the track or the event on the timeline. Instead, go back to the Project Media window, select the original clip, click the fx icon above the PM window, and add/preview your fx from here.

Now, whatever you do to the clip updates automatically to all instances of the clip on the timeline--no need to create presets. Delete the FX from the clip in the PM window, and the fx is removed from all instances of the corresponding event(s) on the timeline.

That was the behavior I wanted. Just didn't know how to make it happen. Thanks for the help getting there!

Stuart,

The order I suggested was because we were looking for ways to correct white balance. Unless this is needed I tend to start with Levels and/or Colour Curves and then look to see what else might be of help (e.g. Secondary CC) but I don't think you can have a hard and fast rule about the order as it all depends on what you are starting with. It's a judgement call often based on experience and practice but, even so, you may find yourself arriving at your final judgement through a process of trial and error.

Richard

Richard, thank you for your reply, and given that all the controls impact one another, the "correct", or should we say "most appropriate" order could well differ according to the end result.

For example, I found that adding a sharpening filter (oddly enough, even with the value at 0) pushes previously set legal video levels outside of that range, so unless a broadcast filter is applied the levels control always has to be after sharpening. Conversely, without sharpening I always put levels first.

A great tip I now follow: Add B&W filter first. Then, in monochrome, concentrate on getting the levels as wanted. Then disable the B&W filter. Then do color correction.

If broadcast levels are an issue I would fix that after this chain, e.g. by Broadcast Levels FX. For that reason I usually apply it as a "Video Output FX" (the one just above the Preview window). To "help it along", underpin all with a solid black track (reason explained at http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?Forum=4&MessageID=586766).

Andy, alternatively you can open the clip in the trimmer, and if you wish, have the trimmer set to preview in the Preview window. By using the trimmer you eliminate the extra step of removing the clip from the timeline.

Jerry

So, drag the clip onto the timeline, make sure its visible in the preview window, and then (the important part) don't add fx to either the track or the event on the timeline. Instead, go back to the Project Media window, select the original clip, click the fx icon above the PM window, and add/preview your fx from here.