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
Ingest Native RED QuickTime Media for Editing and Finishing
It’s also possible to edit and finish using native RED QuickTime media. This is an efficient
workflow that skips the need for reconforming, and gives you access to the high-quality
native image data when you grade in Color. Since working with native RED QuickTime
media is processor-intensive, this workflow may be most appropriate for short-form
projects and spots. This workflow is illustrated in Editing and Finishing with RED QuickTime
Media.
• Advantages: Ingesting RED QuickTime media is fast when compared to transcoding.
Skips the need for an offline reconform. Provides maximum data fidelity through direct
access to each shot’s native R3D image data.
• Disadvantages: RED QuickTime media is processor-intensive when editing.
Ingest Transcoded Apple ProRes Media for Editing; Conform to Native RED QuickTime
for Finishing
The most practical workflow for long-form work when you want to be able to grade using
native RED QuickTime media involves transcoding the original RED media to Apple ProRes
media for efficient offline editing, and then reconforming your edited sequence back to
native RED QuickTime media for final mastering and color correction in Color. This workflow
is illustrated in Offline Using Apple ProRes; Finishing with RED Media.
• Advantages: Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) can be easily edited on most current computers.
After you reconform, this workflow provides maximum data fidelity through direct
access to each shot’s native R3D image data.
• Disadvantages: Reconforming is an extra step that requires good organization.
Improving Performance When Using Native RED QuickTime Media in
Color
To get the best performance when working with native RED QuickTime media (especially
when working with 4K media, which can be extremely processor-intensive), be sure to
turn on Enable Proxy Support in the User Prefs tab of the Setup room. These are the
suggested settings for optimal performance:
• Set Grading Proxy to Half Resolution
• Set Playback Proxy to Quarter Resolution
Proxies for native RED QuickTime media are generated on the fly, without the need to
prerender proxy files as you do with DPX or Cineon media. For more information on
the Color proxy settings, see Using Proxies.
57Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows