1.5

Stage 9: Creating Special Effects
Sometimes a scene requires more extreme effects, such as manipulating colors and
exposure intensively to achieve a day-for-night look, creating an altered state for a
flashback or hallucination sequence, or just creating something bizarre for a music video.
In the Color FX room, Color provides you with an extensible node-based tool set for
creating such in-depth composites efficiently, in conjunction with the other primary and
secondary tools at your disposal. For more information, see The Color FX Room.
When Does Color Correction Happen?
A program’s color fidelity shouldn’t be neglected until the color correction stage of the
post-production process. Ideally, every project is begun with a philosophy of color
management that’s applied during the shoot, is maintained throughout the various
transfer and editing passes that occur during post-production, and concludes with the
final color correction pass conducted in Color. This section elaborates on how film and
video images have traditionally made their way through the post-production process.
For detailed information, see:
• Color Management Starts During the Shoot
• Initial Color Correction When Transferring Film
• Traditional Means of Final Color Correction
• Advantages of Grading with Color
Color Management Starts During the Shoot
Whether a program is shot using film, video, or high-resolution digital imaging of another
means, it’s important to remember that the process of determining a program’s overall
look begins when each scene is lit and shot during production. To obtain the maximum
amount of control and flexibility over shots in post-production, you ideally should start
out with footage that has been exposed with the end goals in mind right from the
beginning. Color correction in post-production is no substitute for good lighting.
Optimistically, the process of color correction can be seen as extending and enhancing
the vision of the producer, director, and director of photography (DoP) as it was originally
conceived. Often, the DoP gets personally involved during the color correction process
to ensure that the look he or she was trying to achieve is perfected.
At other times, the director or producer may change his or her mind regarding how the
finished piece should look. In these cases, color correction might be used to alter the
overall look of the piece (for example, making footage that was shot to look cool look
warmer, instead). While Color provides an exceptional degree of control over your footage,
it’s still important to start out with clean, properly exposed footage.
16 Chapter 1 Color Correction Basics