OT-ish: Neat Real World Examples of White Balance and Colour Cards
Grazie
wrote on 4/23/2004, 11:26 PM
Comments
stormstereo
wrote on 4/24/2004, 3:09 AM
Yeah, I've read about those before. It seems many people like them. I'm a bit scared of using these things though. But I guess you have to get to know them.
What I want is a grey card. It's a similar card but you use it mainly to set exposure. The surface is 18% neutral grey. For example - if you're shooting stills with your analog or digital camera, make sure to take one picture with the grey card in the frame. Open your pics in Photoshop. Open the Levels Tool and choose the grey point color picker. Now click the grey card in your photo. Voila - everything corrects in one step. Apply the settings to your other pics.
This should work within a video color corrector too. If it had the grey point pipette...
I'm still learning this so don't hang me if I sound irrational.
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products/tools/card.shtml
http://home.nc.rr.com/tspadaro/The_Grey_Card.html
http://www.cinematography.net/TheLastGreyCard.htm
Best/Tommy
Found another link: http://www.lashier.com/home.cfm?dir_cat=25711&gal_col=6
Here you can see the difference from the original shot (blue tint) and the fixed one.
What I want is a grey card. It's a similar card but you use it mainly to set exposure. The surface is 18% neutral grey. For example - if you're shooting stills with your analog or digital camera, make sure to take one picture with the grey card in the frame. Open your pics in Photoshop. Open the Levels Tool and choose the grey point color picker. Now click the grey card in your photo. Voila - everything corrects in one step. Apply the settings to your other pics.
This should work within a video color corrector too. If it had the grey point pipette...
I'm still learning this so don't hang me if I sound irrational.
http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/products/tools/card.shtml
http://home.nc.rr.com/tspadaro/The_Grey_Card.html
http://www.cinematography.net/TheLastGreyCard.htm
Best/Tommy
Found another link: http://www.lashier.com/home.cfm?dir_cat=25711&gal_col=6
Here you can see the difference from the original shot (blue tint) and the fixed one.
pb
wrote on 4/24/2004, 5:42 AM
You don't have to spend all that money for warm cards and flouro-correct cards. Get yourself a Rosco swatch book (free) and just white balance through the appropriate filter swatch.. FOr warming you have teh options of 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4(?) and full blue. The swatch book contains all of Rosco's Roscolux filters and diffusions so you get the added bonus of being able to touch and feel tough spun, Rolux, slik, tough white etc. etc. The swatch book fits on your shirt pocket and is will trick you white balance circuits uinder any conditions. I've been using that pack of gels since about 1990, thoug you need to get replacement books every couple of years because the gels do fade a little over time. Another use for the book is calibrating your monitors if they lack the "blue only" feature.
Peter Burn
Peter Burn
farss
wrote on 4/24/2004, 6:32 AM
Grey cards are a great idea, i used to use them when I was doing serious still work. Of course labs that knew whatthey were for weren't that common and charged a lot but the results were excellent. Silver used to print as silver, not just about any colour of the rainbow.
Spot|DSE
wrote on 4/24/2004, 11:24 AM
We demonstrate these on the VASST tours, they are simply wonderful. If you buy a set, use the VASST name and you should receive a discount.
johnmeyer
wrote on 4/24/2004, 12:01 PM
Is there an advantage to purposely capturing video that is not neutral white balanced? Why wouldn't you instead capture using neutral white balance and then "warm" or "cool" the colors in post?
Sometimes there is an effect you can only get in the camera, or it is just easier to do in the camera. Is this really one of those? I don't have an opinion one way or the other; I'm just asking.
Sometimes there is an effect you can only get in the camera, or it is just easier to do in the camera. Is this really one of those? I don't have an opinion one way or the other; I'm just asking.
Cheesehole
wrote on 4/24/2004, 12:04 PM
I guess if the camera processes the colors in a higher color space before downsampling to DV there could be a technical advantage to doing it on-camera.
vitamin_D
wrote on 4/24/2004, 9:53 PM
There's an aesthetic consideration, as well -- if you're shooting something based on how it looks in camera, you're going to make choices about what you shoot and how that are reacting to what you're seeing, which is potentially quite different than shooting straight forward. In other words, if you shoot in an augmented manner, the chances are that things which would otherwise escape your attention while shooting "clean" now make themselves apparent.
- jim
- jim
Grazie
wrote on 4/24/2004, 10:11 PM
VD - This is a very impotant "issue" you've raised. I like it very much. What is that I'm doing while filming that I want? What is it that I'm filming is it that I'm trying to create? How much "reality" am I after? WHat "feeling" am I trying to recapture? Coiuld I do/have done this in Post?
. . So far in my very short career I've gone for capturing/filmming as true as possible that which is on front of the lens. "True" - now there's a thought?!?!? THEN do the "stuff" in post. I've used BB's Colour tutes to get those fab results . .but what exactly AM I doing when I'm filming? More importantly, what am I trying to achieve with the light levels/colour in front of me. I suppose this is the question that is always going on with "pros" all the time!
. . very interesting thread . .
Grazie
. . So far in my very short career I've gone for capturing/filmming as true as possible that which is on front of the lens. "True" - now there's a thought?!?!? THEN do the "stuff" in post. I've used BB's Colour tutes to get those fab results . .but what exactly AM I doing when I'm filming? More importantly, what am I trying to achieve with the light levels/colour in front of me. I suppose this is the question that is always going on with "pros" all the time!
. . very interesting thread . .
Grazie
Spot|DSE
wrote on 4/24/2004, 10:41 PM
Warmcards DO require an additional step, but in some situations, particularly stages that have spotlights on actors, high reflections on water, and other hotspots, balancing to colors other than white can give a beautiful and interesting look, while still leaving options open in post to remove the slight cast that Warmcards or other color balancing cards might have your camera creating.
There is a new screw-on lens filter that assures perfect white balance in all situations. Looked at it at NAB, seems like a very smooth idea.
There is a new screw-on lens filter that assures perfect white balance in all situations. Looked at it at NAB, seems like a very smooth idea.
Grazie
wrote on 4/24/2004, 10:49 PM
Spot, you serious!?!?! Now THIS I really don't understand how it works . . . very clever "There is a new screw-on lens filter that assures perfect white balance in all situations."
Somewhere on NAB? Product name? Any link? . . . I'll go see... yeah?
Thanks for the 101 on how to get the best from cards . really appreciate this . .thank you .. .
Grazie
Somewhere on NAB? Product name? Any link? . . . I'll go see... yeah?
Thanks for the 101 on how to get the best from cards . really appreciate this . .thank you .. .
Grazie
Grazie
wrote on 4/24/2004, 11:00 PM
Spot . .ah ha ! I've been had . .of course . .;-) . . I knew that!!!
Grazie
Grazie
Gonzoman
wrote on 4/24/2004, 11:01 PM
I use one of those "The Last Grey Cards" - they are absolutely awesome. I've had mine for a few years now - and it's still in great shape. I got mine here: http://store.yahoo.com/cinemasupplies/lasgreycar8x.html
I use mine the same way you do. I use the white side to white balance my digital cameras (Canon 10d's) and then I shoot one shot with the grey side. Open that pic in photoshop and neutralize on the grey card and it totally wipes out any color cast that I may have. From there, I enhance the colors to be the way that I want them - couldn't be easier. Is there a way to do this in Vegas? Shoot a few seconds of the grey card and then neutralize it in Vegas?
I use mine the same way you do. I use the white side to white balance my digital cameras (Canon 10d's) and then I shoot one shot with the grey side. Open that pic in photoshop and neutralize on the grey card and it totally wipes out any color cast that I may have. From there, I enhance the colors to be the way that I want them - couldn't be easier. Is there a way to do this in Vegas? Shoot a few seconds of the grey card and then neutralize it in Vegas?