Questions concerning color corrections...

FuTz wrote on 4/12/2005, 4:56 AM

It's recommended not to go beyond the "below 0" and "above 100" limits on the Waveform when color correcting. But in some shots, if I want to keep the picture inside these standards, I have to boost my blacks to bring back the lowest value to 0, and it washes the picture / "kills" all the contrast.
Is there a way to go without sacrificing contrast? And what if on my monitor (a TV set) everything seems not so bad even with this portion of the line on waveform going below 0 ?

Other question: the Broadcast Colors filter. Where must we put it? On events ? On tracks? On output? So we really have to use it? I ask cause I don't see that much difference on both the picture and waveform when I set it...

Thanks

Comments

craftech wrote on 4/12/2005, 5:08 AM
Unless your footage is intended for broadcast I would skip the Broadcast Colors filter and not go so much by what the waveform monitor is saying. If your video monitor (TV) is adjusted properly use your eyes. Don't forget to render a few regions of the video and watch it before you do a final render. Rendered video never looks exactly the same as "real time".

John
FuTz wrote on 4/12/2005, 6:14 AM

Good!
That's the way I was slowly progressing but at some point, I had the problem a few times now so I was getting a little proccupied by the problem.

Thanks. And if ever this clip goes broadcast, can I just take the whole thing and use the Broadcast filter as a "mastering" tool ?
BillyBoy wrote on 4/12/2005, 7:42 AM
It isn't carved in stone, just guidelines. I sometimes go 101-103 on top. I've had source material sent to me by "professionals" that's over 110 in spots. Just for fun, when I first started using scopes in version 4 I taped some stuff from the TV, you know the guys that are so professional. Guess what, they were over the top too once in awhile. Kind of puts all the BS you hear in this forum in prespective.

This past winter there was this makeup commerical, forget which one, seems like it was a national spot so maybe others seen it. Anyway it was so blown out I couldn't stand to watch it. Some model all in white on a near white background. For all practical purposes the only color were her eyes, hair and lips. As far as skin tone looked like she was in buried in ice and they just dug her up. You wonder sometimes how such stuff gets on air.
Spot|DSE wrote on 4/12/2005, 7:51 AM
Futz,
The Broadcast Filters is a last resort/stopgap, over all. It's not often, although possible, that your cam shoots outside of legal ranges. The place where the Broadcast filter holds its most value is for titles, generated media, and stills. It can soften your image a little, but will guarantee that you'll mee the legal color specs of hard line specifications like PBS offers. But, it's often at the cost of very long renders, and potential damage to your final.
If you are going to use it, I recommend it as a track filter, used on stills, titles, and generated media that you know is out of range. You'll always be better off though, if you work on getting colors into range. Not only do you want to prevent the broadcaster from having to clip your colors, but you'll also avoid having audio issues.
FuTz wrote on 4/12/2005, 2:23 PM
Thanks a lot for informations guys... now I can keep on going without that little itch behind the neck : )