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
For more information on editing programs that will be printed to film, see Stage 3: Editing
Using Apple ProRes Media.
Stage 3: Preparing Your Final Cut Pro Sequence, Sending to Color, Grading, Rendering,
and Finishing
Because you’re already working with native RED QuickTime media, no reconforming is
necessary. At this point, the workflow is identical to Stage 5: Preparing Your Final Cut Pro
Sequence.
Use Unlimited RT When Editing Native RED QuickTime Media in
Final Cut Pro
As mentioned previously, RED QuickTime media is processor-intensive to work with in
Final Cut Pro. For the smoothest editing experience, choose Unlimited RT from the
Timeline RT pop-up menu, set Playback Video Quality to Low or Medium, and set
Playback Frame Rate to Full.
RED Metadata Versus Color Processing in Transcoded Media
The Color, Color Temp, and View RED camera settings in use while shooting are stored
as metadata within each recorded R3D file. If you ingest or reconform using native RED
QuickTime media, this metadata remains intact, and is accessible via the RED tab of the
Primary In room. This is the most flexible way to work, as this image metadata has no
effect on the actual RAW R3D data that the camera has recorded, and, in fact, if you’re
unhappy with how the current metadata settings are processing the image, you can
change them to retrieve additional image data from the RAW source.
When you transcode R3D media to one of the Apple ProRes codecs using the Log and
Transfer window, this metadata is used to preprocess the color and contrast of the
transcoded media as long as the RED FCP Log and Transfer plugin submenu of the Action
pop-up menu is set to Native, which is the default setting. The result is that each
transcoded clip visually matches the image that was monitored during the shoot. This
preprocessing is “baked” into each ingested clip. If you want to later reapply a different
type of image preprocessing to a clip, you need to reingest it from the original source
media.
If necessary, you can choose other color processing options from the RED FCP Log and
Transfer plugin submenu of the Action pop-up menu. For more information, see the
Final Cut Pro 7 User Manual.
64 Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows