Color correction for bad skin tone

fongaboo wrote on 8/25/2002, 6:54 PM
I shot some models for a school project and the skin tone came out really yellow. I don't know if it is really a color temperature issue, because I did white balance when I shot.. I have a feeling it was my lack of lighting ability.. I was trying to light both the models and their green screen with a meager set of lights and I did my best.

I tried changing Color Curves to Cool Colors and that seems to help a bit. But I am wondering if anyone might have some suggestions after seeing some screenshots (www.musicmatchmaker.com/webofthreads) and knowing how they were shot.

TIA

Comments

Chienworks wrote on 8/25/2002, 8:39 PM
It looks like they were lit with fluorescent lighting, or maybe even mercury vapor. The problem with both of these light sources is that they emit narrow color bands instead of a continuous spectrum. The camera interprets these narrow colors differently than your eye does. There's not much you can do to completely correct this problem. However, since you're mostly after the skin tones, you can selectively fix one color pretty easily with the HSL filter. I got good results on your images setting the Add to hue: to about 0.94 or 0.95. This distorst the other colors, but in this case it might not bother you.
BillyBoy wrote on 8/25/2002, 10:38 PM
Use the color balance filter. Try adjusting both red and blue for midtones. I'm rendering something right now and can't stop to give you specific values. At least that's a starting point.
BillyBoy wrote on 8/26/2002, 12:52 AM
I used your Image 3 to adjust off of.

Try these settings for a starting point.

HSL: add to hue .96 Saturation .95 Luminance 1.09

Levels: Input start 15 Gamma 1.050

Color Balance: Red +0.220 Green 0 Blue +0.180
db wrote on 8/28/2002, 12:03 AM
the jpgs do NOT match the QT ...

based on your #0, 2, 5 JPGS .. out 1394 to sony 14M2U monitor set up to color BARS - with black IRE 0 ..


HSL hue .95, saturation .70, luminance .96

color balance red -.0855 , green -0.0705, blue -0.855
BillyBoy wrote on 8/28/2002, 4:51 PM
Did you even bother to try the combination I suggested on the image I used?
Kirk wrote on 8/28/2002, 8:04 PM
Try this. Copy your footage to the layer underneath your primary video layer. Use Chroma key to create a matte. Select the flesh tones with the eyedropper. Soften(blur) Effect the color balance of the layer that shows through with "Color Balance."you will then only be affecting the flesh tones.
fongaboo wrote on 9/2/2002, 11:22 PM
I haven't had a chance to check this thread or work on tweaking my project in the last couple of days, so I just read all your replies tonight. Thanks for all the suggestions.

I should note that the difference between the MOV and the JPEGs is that the MOV has 'Cool Colors' turned on. I disabled it for the stills.

It seems whenever I play with adding values to the Hue, it creates huge speckles or polka dots in my subject. Is there some bug in the version I have perhaps?

Kirk I am interested in your technique of isolating the skin areas and applying changes only to that, but I could not follow your method. Might you give a more procedural explantion? TIA..