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
To track the correspondence between the original still frames and the offline QuickTime
files that you'll create for editing, you should ask for the following:
• A non-drop frame timecode conversion of each frame's number (used in that frame's
filename) saved within the header of each scanned image.
• It can also help to organize all of the scanned frames into separate directories, saving
all the frames from each roll of negative to separate directories (named by roll).
• The resulting DPX files should be named using the following format:
fileName_0123456.dpx (For more information on naming DPX and Cineon files, see
Required Image Sequence Filenaming.)
Stage 3: Converting the DPX Image Sequences to Offline-Resolution QuickTime Files
Create offline-resolution duplicates of the source media in whatever format is most
suitable for your editing system. Then, archive the original source media as safely as
possible.
When you convert the DPX files to offline QuickTime files:
• The roll number of each image sequence (taken from the name of the directory that
encloses the frames being converted) is used as the reel number for each .mov file.
• The timecode values stored in the header of each frame file are used as the timecode
for each .mov file. If there’s not timecode in the header, the frame number in the
filename is converted to timecode and used, instead.
You can use Color to perform this downconversion by creating a new project with the
Render File Type set to QuickTime and the Export Codec set to the codec you want to
use. Then, simply edit all the shots you want to convert into the Timeline, add them to
the Render Queue, and click Start Render. For more information, see Converting Cineon
and DPX Image Sequences to QuickTime.
You can also use Compressor to perform this downconversion. For more information, see
the Compressor documentation.
Tip: If you downconvert to a compressed high definition format, such as Apple ProRes 422
or Apple ProRes 422 (HQ), you can offline your project on an inexpensively equipped
computer system and still be able to output and project it at a resolution suitable for
high-quality client and audience screenings during the editorial process.
Stage 4: Doing the Offline Edit in Final Cut Pro
Edit your project in Final Cut Pro, being careful not to alter the timecode or duration of
the offline media in any way.
67Chapter 2 Color Correction Workflows