1.5
Table Of Contents
- Color User Manual
- Contents
- Welcome to Color
- Color Correction Basics
- Color Correction Workflows
- An Overview of the Color Workflow
- Limitations in Color
- Video Finishing Workflows Using Final Cut Pro
- Importing Projects from Other Video Editing Applications
- Digital Cinema Workflows Using Apple ProRes 4444
- Finishing Projects Using RED Media
- Digital Intermediate Workflows Using DPX/Cineon Media
- Using EDLs, Timecode, and Frame Numbers to Conform Projects
- Using the Color Interface
- Importing and Managing Projects and Media
- Creating and Opening Projects
- Saving Projects
- Saving and Opening Archives
- Moving Projects from Final Cut Pro to Color
- Before You Export Your Final Cut Pro Project
- Move Clips That Aren’t Being Composited to Track V1 in the Timeline
- Remove Unnecessary Video Filters
- Organize All Color Corrector 3-Way Filters
- Divide Long Projects into Reels
- Export Self-Contained QuickTime Files for Effects Clips You Need to Color Correct
- Use Uncompressed or Lightly Compressed Still Image Formats
- Make Sure All Freeze Frame Effects Are on Track V1
- Make Sure All Clips Have the Same Frame Rate
- Media Manage Your Project, If Necessary
- Recapture Offline Media at Online Quality, If Necessary
- Check All Transitions and Effects If You Plan to Render 2K or 4K Image Sequences for Film Out
- Using the Send To Color Command in Final Cut Pro
- Importing an XML File into Color
- Before You Export Your Final Cut Pro Project
- Importing EDLs
- EDL Import Settings
- Relinking Media
- Importing Media Directly into the Timeline
- Compatible Media Formats
- Moving Projects from Color to Final Cut Pro
- Exporting EDLs
- Reconforming Projects
- Converting Cineon and DPX Image Sequences to QuickTime
- Importing Color Corrections
- Exporting JPEG Images
- Configuring the Setup Room
- The File Browser
- Using the Shots Browser
- The Grades Bin
- The Project Settings Tab
- The Messages Tab
- The User Preferences Tab
- Monitoring Your Project
- Timeline Playback, Navigation, and Editing
- Basic Timeline Elements
- Customizing the Timeline Interface
- Working with Tracks
- Selecting the Current Shot
- Timeline Playback
- Zooming In and Out of the Timeline
- Timeline Navigation
- Selecting Shots in the Timeline
- Working with Grades in the Timeline
- The Settings 1 Tab
- The Settings 2 Tab
- Editing Controls and Procedures
- Analyzing Signals Using the Video Scopes
- The Primary In Room
- The Secondaries Room
- What Is the Secondaries Room Used For?
- Where to Start in the Secondaries Room?
- The Enabled Button in the Secondaries Room
- Choosing a Region to Correct Using the HSL Qualifiers
- Controls in the Previews Tab
- Isolating a Region Using the Vignette Controls
- Adjusting the Inside and Outside of a Secondary Operation
- The Secondary Curves Explained
- Reset Controls in the Secondaries Room
- The Color FX Room
- The Primary Out Room
- Managing Corrections and Grades
- The Difference Between Corrections and Grades
- Saving and Using Corrections and Grades
- Managing Grades in the Timeline
- Using the Copy To Buttons in the Primary Rooms
- Using the Copy Grade and Paste Grade Memory Banks
- Setting a Beauty Grade in the Timeline
- Disabling All Grades
- Managing Grades in the Shots Browser
- Managing a Shot’s Corrections Using Multiple Rooms
- Keyframing
- The Geometry Room
- The Still Store
- The Render Queue
- Appendix A: Calibrating Your Monitor
- Appendix B: Keyboard Shortcuts in Color
- Appendix C: Using Multi-Touch Controls in Color
- Appendix D: Setting Up a Control Surface
All of these tools are divided among eight individual “rooms” of the Color interface,
logically arranged in an order that matches the workflow of most colorists. You use Color
to correct, balance, and create stylized “looks” for each shot in your program as the last
step in the post-production workflow, giving your programs a final polish previously
available only to high-end facilities.
About the Color Documentation
The Color User Manual provides comprehensive information about the application and
is written for users of all levels of experience.
• Editors and post-production professionals from other disciplines who are new to the
color correction process will find information on how to get started, with detailed
explanations of how all controls work, and why they function the way they do.
• Colorists coming to Color from other grading environments can skip ahead to find
detailed information about the application’s inner workings and exhaustive
parameter-by-parameter explanations for every room of the Color interface.
Additional Resources
The following websites provide general information, updates, and support information
about Color, as well as the latest news, resources, and training materials.
Color Website
For more information about Color, go to:
• http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/color
Apple Service and Support Websites
The Apple Service and Support website provides software updates and answers to the
most frequently asked questions for all Apple products, including Color. You’ll also have
access to product specifications, reference documentation, and Apple product technical
articles:
• http://www.apple.com/support
For support information that's specific to Color, go to:
• http://www.apple.com/support/color
To provide comments and feedback about Color, go to:
• http://www.apple.com/feedback/color.html
A discussion forum is also available to share information about Color. To participate, go
to:
• http://discussions.apple.com
10 Preface Welcome to Color