Color Correction - Two Times?

Chakra5films wrote on 7/5/2005, 3:31 PM
Hey guys - quick question

I am preparing a short film - and the initial presentation is going to be projected onto a screen via laptop and digital projector. After that, the short will be on handed out to patrons on a DVD. My question is do I have to (or should I) color correct twice for these two different presentation formats, or should I just buy and external monitor and color correct to that and be done with it?

Also, any recommendation on a budget (sub 500) external monitor would be much appreciated.

marc

Comments

Spot|DSE wrote on 7/5/2005, 4:09 PM
color correct to the external monitor, and be done with it. If it's a very critical presentation and you can't afford a good monitor, two options come to mind;
1. Rent
2. Get a lower cost monitor, and do everything you can to keep it calibrated to the same level. You'll likely need to check this every time you go to correct/view on it, and you'll want to wait for correction until it's warmed for at least 20 mins or so. Many editors wait at least 30 mins.
For sub 500.00....look to JVC for reasonably professional solutions, or look at the more high end Sony consumer models that offer SVideo input, and fairly deep menus that allow you to go in and tweak most of the color settings so you can calibrate as accurately as possible.
PossibilityX wrote on 7/5/2005, 4:29 PM
I second what Spot said about renting. If you have a video rental house near you, and need a monitor as infrequently as I do, renting can be a much better option.

I can't remember exactly, but I think I got a decent sized Sony monitor for the weekend for less than $30.
Chakra5films wrote on 7/5/2005, 4:37 PM
Great, thanks guys.

Although I have recently upgraded to an M-Audio sound card, my video card is just a plain ole OEM card that came with my PC - do I need to upgrade that, or can I run the external off of that. I also have a Pyro A/V Link if that makes a difference.
Chakra5films wrote on 7/5/2005, 4:48 PM
What do you guys think of this ( besides the small size....). This is just a prosumer type project, not for broadcast. But is 300 lines enough?

JVC TM-A101GU 10" Color Production Monitor with 300 Lines, NTSC/PAL

Mfr# TMA101GU • B&H# JVTMA101GU
Our Price: $ 364.95

Here is the link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=252971&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

Spot|DSE wrote on 7/5/2005, 4:54 PM
That small JVC is made for on-set monitoring of video, but it works pretty well. I've got a couple, and there are several folks here that have them.
300 lines of H resolution on that small of a monitor will give you a pretty good image.

Re; video card. your plain vanilla vid card is all you need. What you need more, is some sort of device that converts the DV stream to analog, via your firewire card.
www.vasst.com/training/ohci.htm will show you how the external monitor set up takes place.