Pinnacle Systems Color Correction - 1.0, Color Correction - 4.0 User’s Guide

Avid® Color Correction

User’s Guide

make manage move | media

™

Avid

Product specifications are subject to change without notice and do not represent a commitment on the part of Avid Technology, Inc.

The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement. You can obtain a copy of that license by visiting Avid's Web site at www.avid.com. The terms of that license are also available in the product in the same directory as the software. The software may not be reverse assembled and may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the license agreement. It is against the law to copy the software on any medium except as specifically allowed in the license agreement.

Avid products or portions thereof are protected by one or more of the following United States patents: 4,746,994; 4,970,663; 5,045,940; 5,267,351; 5,309,528; 5,355,450; 5,396,594; 5,440,348; 5,452,378; 5,467,288; 5,513,375; 5,528,310; 5,557,423; 5,568,275; 5,577,190; 5,584,006; 5,640,601; 5,644,364; 5,654,737; 5,715,018; 5,724,605; 5,726,717; 5,729,673; 5,745,637; 5,752,029; 5,754,851; 5,781,188; 5,799,150; 5,812,216; 5,852,435; 5,905,841; 5,929,836; 5,929,942; 5,930,445; 5,930,797; 5,946,445; 5,987,501; 5,999,190; 6,016,152; 6,018,337; 6,023,531; 6,023,703; 6,031,529; 6,058,236; 6,061,758; 6,091,778; 6,105,083; 6,118,444; 6,128,001; 6,134,607; 6,137,919; 6,141,691; 6,157,929; 6,160,548; 6,167,404; 6,198,477; 6,201,531; 6,223,211; 6,249,280; 6,269,195; 6,317,158; 6,317,515; 6,330,369; 6,351,557; 6,353,862; 6,357,047; 6,392,710; 6,404,435; 6,407,775; 6,417,891; 6,426,778; 6,449,019; 6,473,094; 6,477,271; 6,489,969; 6,512,522; 6,532,043; 6,539,163; D396,853; D398,912. Additional U.S. and foreign patents pending.

No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, for any purpose without the express written permission of Avid Technology, Inc.

APPLE COMPUTER, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIS PRODUCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO ITS MERCHANTABILITY OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES IS NOT PERMITTED BY SOME STATES. THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THIS WARRANTY PROVIDES YOU WITH SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS. THERE MAY BE OTHER RIGHTS THAT YOU MAY HAVE WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE.

The following disclaimer is required by Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics, Inc. for the use of their TIFF library:

Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software [i.e., the TIFF library] and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that (i) the above copyright notices and this permission notice appear in all copies of the software and related documentation, and (ii) the names of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics may not be used in any advertising or publicity relating to the software without the specific, prior written permission of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS-IS” AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL SAM LEFFLER OR SILICON GRAPHICS BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGE, AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

The following disclaimer is required by the Independent JPEG Group:

Portions of this software are based on work of the Independent JPEG Group.

The following disclaimer is required by Paradigm Matrix:

Portions of this software licensed from Paradigm Matrix.

The following disclaimer is required by Ray Sauers Associates, Inc.:

“Install-It” is licensed from Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. End-User is prohibited from taking any action to derive a source code equivalent of “Install-It,” including by reverse assembly or reverse compilation, Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. shall in no event be liable for any damages resulting from reseller’s failure to perform reseller’s obligation; or any damages arising from use or operation of reseller’s products or the software; or any other damages, including but not limited to, incidental, direct, indirect, special or consequential Damages including lost profits, or damages resulting from loss of use or inability to use reseller’s products or the software for any reason including copyright or patent infringement, or lost data, even if Ray Sauers Associates has been advised, knew or should have known of the possibility of such damages.

The following disclaimer is required by Videomedia, Inc.:

“Videomedia, Inc. makes no warranties whatsoever, either express or implied, regarding this product, including warranties with respect to its merchantability or its fitness for any particular purpose.”

“This software contains V-LAN ver. 3.0 Command Protocols which communicate with V-LAN ver. 3.0 products developed by Videomedia, Inc. and V-LAN ver. 3.0 compatible products developed by third parties under license from Videomedia, Inc. Use of this software will allow “frame accurate” editing control of applicable videotape recorder decks, videodisc recorders/players and the like.”

The following disclaimer is required by Altura Software, Inc. for the use of its Mac2Win software and Sample Source Code:

The following disclaimer is required by Ultimatte Corporation:

Certain real-time compositing capabilities are provided under a license of such technology from Ultimatte Corporation and are subject to copyright protection.

The following disclaimer is required by 3Prong.com Inc.:

Certain waveform and vector monitoring capabilities are provided under a license from 3Prong.com Inc.

Attn. Government User(s). Restricted Rights Legend

U.S. GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS. This Software and its documentation are “commercial computer software” or “commercial computer software documentation.” In the event that such Software or documentation is acquired by or on behalf of a unit or agency of the U.S. Government, all rights with respect to this Software and documentation are subject to the terms of the License Agreement, pursuant to FAR §12.212(a) and/or DFARS §227.7202-1(a), as applicable.

Trademarks

888 I/O, AirPlay, AirSPACE, AirSPACE HD, AniMatte, AudioSuite, AudioVision, AutoSync, Avid, AVIDdrive, AVIDdrive Towers, AvidNet, AvidNetwork, AVIDstripe, Avid Unity, Avid Xpress, AVoption, AVX, CamCutter, ChromaCurve, ChromaWheel, DAE, D-Fi, D-fx, Digidesign, Digidesign Audio Engine, Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction, DigiDrive, DINR, D-Verb, Equinox, ExpertRender, FieldPak, Film Composer, FilmScribe, FluidMotion, HIIP, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, IllusionFX, Image Independence, Intraframe, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, Lo-Fi, Magic Mask, make manage move | media, Marquee, Matador, Maxim, MCXpress, Media Composer, MediaDock, MediaDock Shuttle, Media Fusion, Media Illusion, MediaLog, Media Reader, Media Recorder, MEDIArray, MediaShare, Meridien, MetaSync, NaturalMatch, Nearchive, NetReview, NewsCutter, OMF, OMF Interchange, OMM, Open Media Framework, Open Media Management, ProEncode, Pro Tools, QuietDrive, Recti-Fi, RetroLoop, rS9, rS18, Sci-Fi, Softimage, Sound Designer II, SPACE, SPACEShift, Symphony, the Avid|DS logo, Trilligent, UnityRAID, Vari-Fi, Video Slave Driver, VideoSPACE, and Xdeck are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

iNEWS, iNEWS ControlAir, and Media Browse are trademarks of iNews, LLC.

Adobe and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Apple, Macintosh, and Mac OS are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Windows is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Footage

Bazaar Rugs — Courtesy of Randy Fayan. All Rights Reserved. Bell South “Anticipation” — Courtesy of Two Headed Monster — Tucker/Wayne Atlanta/GMS. Canyonlands — Courtesy of the National Park Service/Department of the Interior. Eco Challenge British Columbia — Courtesy of Eco Challenge Lifestyles, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Eco Challenge Morocco — Courtesy of Discovery Communications, Inc. It’s Shuttletime — Courtesy of BCP & Canadian Airlines. Nestlé Coffee Crisp — Courtesy of MacLaren McCann Canada. Saturn “Calvin Egg” — Courtesy of Cossette Communications. “Tigers: Tracking a Legend” — Courtesy of www.wildlifeworlds.com, Carol Amore, Executive Producer. WCAU Fire Story — Courtesy of NBC-10, Philadelphia, PA. Windhorse — Courtesy of Paul Wagner Productions.

GOT FOOTAGE?

Editors — Filmmakers — Special Effects Artists — Game Developers — Animators — Educators — Broadcasters — Content creators of every genre — Just finished an incredible project and want to share it with the world?

Send us your reels and we may use your footage in our show reel or demo!*

For a copy of our release and Avid’s mailing address, go to www.avid.com/footage.

*Note: Avid cannot guarantee the use of materials submitted.

™

/Fauer — John Fauer, Inc.

Avid Color Correction User’s Guide • Part 0130-05734-01 • May 2003

Using This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Who Should Use This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

About This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

If You Need Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

If You Have Documentation Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

How to Order Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Avid Educational Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Chapter 1 Introducing Avid Color Correction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Understanding Avid Color Correction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Applying and Viewing Color Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Automatic and Manual Color Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

The Color Correction Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Understanding Color Correction Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Other Color Adjustment Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter 2 Understanding Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Entering and Exiting Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Overview of the Color Correction Mode Toolset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

The Composer Window in Color Correction Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Activating Monitors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Displaying Tracking Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Displaying Images in Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Understanding Default Monitor Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Configuring Image Display in Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Splitting the Image Display in Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Hiding the Video in Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Displaying 16:9 Video in Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Using the Composer Window Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Using the Play Loop Button in Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Reviewing Color-Corrected Clips with the Edit Review Button. . . . . 35

The Client Monitor in Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

The Color Correction Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Working with the Group and Subdividing Tabs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Displaying a Group Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Displaying an HSL Subdividing Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Understanding Interaction Between Color Correction Groups . . . . . 39

Working with the Enable Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Turning Controls On or Off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Resetting Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Understanding Interaction Between Enable Buttons . . . . . . . . . 41

Using the Color Correction Tool Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Customizing Color Correction Mode Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Adding Comments to Color Correction Effects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Working with Color Correction Effect Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Understanding How Color Correction Effect Templates

Save Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Saving a Color Correction Effect Template to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Saving a Color Correction Effect Template to a Bucket . . . . . . . . . . 48

Applying Color Correction Effect Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Working with Color Correction Effect Templates in the

Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Chapter 3 Performing Color Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

General Workflow for Making Color Corrections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Using Automatic Color Corrections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Understanding Automatic Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Adjusting Contrast and Balance Automatically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Using the Remove Color Cast Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Considerations When Using Automatic Color Correction. . . . . . . . . 60

Using the Color Match Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Making a Correction with the Color Match Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Selecting Match Type Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Understanding the NaturalMatch Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Color Match Example Using the NaturalMatch Feature. . . . . . . . . . 67

Saving Custom Colors to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Getting RGB Information Using the Color Match Control . . . . . . . . 69

The HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance) Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Working with the Controls Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Making Corrections Using the Controls Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Using the HSL Slider Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Controls Tab Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Working with the Hue Offsets Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Understanding the ChromaWheel Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Making Corrections Using the Hue Offsets Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Using the ChromaWheel Crosshair Pointers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

The Curves Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Understanding ChromaCurve Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Making Corrections Using the Curves Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Adjusting ChromaCurve Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

ChromaCurve Graphs and the Color Match Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Examples of ChromaCurve Graph Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Working with the Waveform Monitors and Vectorscope Monitor . . . . . . 95

Displaying a Waveform Monitor or Vectorscope Monitor. . . . . . . . . 95

Using the Waveform and Vectorscope Information . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Applying Color Corrections to an Entire Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Using Color Correction Effects in the Effect Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Performing Automatic Color Corrections from the

Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Selecting AutoCorrect Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Applying Automatic Color Corrections from the

Effect Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Working with the Color Correction Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Chapter 4 Color Correction Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Guiding Principles for Color Correction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Goals of Color Correction: Restoration and Adaptation . . . . . . . . . 112

Restoring the Original Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Adapting the Original Look. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Stages of Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Correcting Tonal Range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Neutralizing Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Achieving Shot-to-Shot Consistency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Achieving a Final Look. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Examples of Color Correction Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Example 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Example 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Chapter 5 Safe Colors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Overview of Safe Color Limits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Setting Safe Color Limits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Understanding the Graphical View of Safe Color Settings . . . . . . . . . . 134

Understanding Safe Color Warnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Safe Color Warnings in the Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Safe Color Warnings in the Color Match Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Making Adjustments to Achieve Safe Color Values . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Safe Color Limits with Waveform and Vectorscope Information. . . . . . 140

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Tables

Table 1 Source Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Table 2 Composer Window Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Table 3 Correction Mode Settings

Features Tab Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Table 4 Automatic Contrast and Balance Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

Table 5 Match Type Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

Table 6 Controls Tab Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

Table 7 Hue Offsets Tab Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Table 8 Hue Offsets ChromaWheel Crosshair Pointers . . . . . . . . .79

Table 9 Waveform and Vectorscope Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96

Table 10 AutoCorrect Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

Table 11 Safe Color Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132

Table 12 Safe Color Warning Indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137

Table 13 Safe Color Limits in Waveform Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . .142

Using This Guide

This guide provides information on the color correction features of your

editing application. Using these features, you can easily make

Avid adjustments to color that will improve the appearance of the video material in your projects.

If your project workflow normally includes traditional color correction, your system’s color correction tools can reduce or even eliminate the need for such procedures. If your workflow has not allowed for extensive color correction in the past, your system’s color correction tools can make possible a new level of color-finishing quality.

The documentation describes the features and hardware of all models. Therefore, your system might not contain certain features and hardware that are covered in the documentation.

Who Should Use This Guide

This guide is intended for all Avid Color Correction users, from beginning to advanced.

Using This Guide

About This Guide

This guide is designed to provide you with all the information you need to make precise color adjustments using your Avid editing application, including complete explanations of all the color correction tools. The guide leads you through all color correction procedures with task-oriented instructions. Many examples of color correction techniques and typical color correction problems help you understand what to look for when you are correcting color in a sequence. Thorough cross-references to other parts of your Avid documentation make it easy for you to find additional information.

If you are reading a black-and-white hardcopy printout of this document, you will find it useful to view the color images in the Help or in the online version of this document on the Online Library DVD.

The Contents lists all topics included in the book. They are presented with the following overall structure:

• Chapter 1 provides a general introduction to Avid Color Correction and summarizes all the other color adjustment tools.

• Chapter 2 describes the Color Correction mode display in detail and explains how to control, customize, and move around in Color Correction mode.

• Chapter 3 provides step-by-step instructions for all the color adjustment operations you can perform using the Color Correction tool, together with conceptual information and examples to help you understand the differences between the various color correction controls.

• Chapter 4 provides guidelines for approaching the task of color correction, examples of typical color correction problems, and discussions of how to solve those problems using your system’s color correction tools. This chapter is especially useful as an introduction to color correction for Avid users who have little prior experience making color adjustments.

• Chapter 5 explains the Safe Color warning function of your Avid system.

• The Index helps you quickly locate specific topics.

Symbols and Conventions

Unless noted otherwise, the material in this document applies to the Windows to a specific operating system, it is marked as follows:

• (Windows) or (Windows only) means the information applies to the

• (Macintosh) or (Macintosh only) means the information applies to the

The majority of screen shots in this document were captured on a Windows XP system, but the information applies to both Windows XP and Mac OS X systems. Where differences exist, both Windows XP and Mac OS X screen shots are shown.

Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

XP and Mac OS® X operating systems. When the text applies

Windows XP operating system.

Mac OS X operating system.

A note provides important related information, reminders, recommendations, and strong suggestions.

> This symbol indicates menu commands (and

A caution means that a specific action you take could cause harm to your computer or cause you to lose data.

A warning describes an action that could cause you physical harm. Follow the guidelines in this document or on the unit itself when handling electrical equipment.

subcommands) in the order you select them. For example, File > Import means to open the File menu and then select the Import command.

Using This Guide

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

This symbol indicates a single-step procedure. Multiple arrows in a list indicate that you perform one of the actions listed.

k This symbol represents the Apple or Command key.

Press and hold the Command key and another key to perform a keyboard shortcut.

Margin tips In the margin, you will find tips that help you

perform tasks more easily and efficiently.

Italic font Italic font is used to emphasize certain words and to

indicate variables.

Courier Bold font

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

Click Quickly press and release the left mouse button

(Windows) or the mouse button (Macintosh).

Double-click Click the left mouse button (Windows) or the mouse

button (Macintosh) twice rapidly.

Right-click Quickly press and release the right mouse button

(Windows only).

Drag Press and hold the left mouse button (Windows) or

the mouse button (Macintosh) while you move the mouse.

Ctrl+key

k+key

Press and hold the first key while you press the second key.

If You Need Help

If you are having trouble using your Avid editing application:

1. Retry the action, carefully following the instructions given for that task in this guide. It is especially important to check each step of your workflow.

2. Check in one of two locations for the latest information that might have become available after the documentation was published:

- If release notes are available, they ship with your application.

- If ReadMe files are available, they are supplied in your Avid

If You Need Help

application folder. ReadMe files are also available from Help.

Release notes and ReadMe files are also available on the Avid Knowledge Center.

3. Check the documentation that came with your Avid application or your hardware for maintenance or hardware-related issues.

4. Visit the online Knowledge Center at www.avid.com/support. Online services are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Search this online Knowledge Center to find answers, to view error messages, to access troubleshooting tips, to download updates, and to read/join online message-board discussions.

5. For Technical Support, please call 800-800-AVID (800-800-2843). For Broadcast On-Air Sites and Call Letter Stations, call

800-NEWSDNG (800-639-7364).

Using This Guide

If You Have Documentation Comments

We’d appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have about this document or any other piece of documentation. Please restrict your comments to documentation issues.

Please e-mail your documentation comments to:

TechPubs@avid.com

Include the title of the document, its part number, and the specific section you are commenting on in all correspondence.

How to Order Documentation

To order additional copies of this documentation from within the United States, call Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843). If you are placing an order from outside the United States, contact your local Avid representative.

Avid Educational Services

For information on courses/schedules, training centers, certifications, courseware, and books, please visit www.avid.com/training or call Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843).

Chapter 1

Introducing Avid Color Correction

Your Avid editing application includes Avid Color Correction, a comprehensive set of tools for correcting and adjusting colors. These tools have easy-to-use controls that can be mastered quickly by film and video editors.

This chapter provides a conceptual introduction to Avid Color Correction. This chapter also summarizes the other color adjustment features available in your Avid application and tells you where to find more information about them.

• Understanding Avid Color Correction

• Other Color Adjustment Tools

A more complete Color Correction tool is available for Avid Symphony™. If you have an Avid Symphony system, see the Avid Symphony Color Correction User's Guide.

Chapter 1 Introducing Avid Color Correction

Understanding Avid Color Correction

Avid Color Correction lets you perform color corrections on individual segments in a sequence or on multiple segments at the same time. You perform most color correction tasks in Color Correction mode, a distinct toolset that displays the Color Correction tool and a Composer window specially reconfigured for color correction work. The Color Correction tool includes several types of color correction controls, so you can select the ones that are best for your project and working methods.

When you use Color Correction mode, having a basic understanding of how your application applies color corrections is helpful. The following sections explain these basic concepts.

For an introduction to color correction techniques and illustrated examples of typical color corrections, see Chapter 4.

Applying and Viewing Color Corrections

Avid Color Correction works with video material once it has been edited into a sequence. You make color adjustments in Color Correction mode by selecting segments within a sequence and then altering their color values. Avid Color Correction applies a Color Correction effect to each segment that you correct in a sequence, and you can view the correction as you play back the sequence, within the normal limits for effects playback for your application.

Your ability to preview color correction effects in real time in the Composer monitor or in a Client monitor depends on the model of your Avid application, your hardware configuration, and the complexity of the sequence to which you have applied the color correction effects. As with other effects, you might need to render at least some of your color correction effects before you can export your sequence or perform a digital cut. For more information, see the information on previewing, playing, and rendering in the Help.

The color corrections that you make with Avid Color Correction do not cause any permanent change to clips in bins or to their associated media files. If you make a color adjustment to a clip in one sequence, that adjustment does not apply to the same clip in a different sequence.

Automatic and Manual Color Corrections

Avid Color Correction lets you make corrections both automatically and manually. Automatic corrections are easy to learn, quick to implement, and can remove common color problems in the majority of images. Manual corrections require more skill and practice but allow you more precise control over the final look of your images and give you a greater range of creative possibilities.

When you make automatic corrections, Avid Color Correction calculates and then makes the adjustments needed to improve a particular aspect of an image, for example, its color balance. Some automatic corrections involve no input from you beyond the click of a single button; others allow you to assist Avid Color Correction in its calculations by identifying targets in an image with an eyedropper, for example, an area that should be white. When you make manual corrections, you make the adjustments that change the look of the image yourself using controls such as sliders and color wheels.

Understanding Avid Color Correction

The Color Correction Effect

The Color Correction effect appears in the Image category of the Effect Palette. Because the application automatically applies a Color Correction effect in the Timeline when you make a correction in Color Correction mode, you apply the Color Correction effect directly from the Effect Palette only for a small number of special purposes.

You apply the Color Correction effect from the Effect Palette if you want to apply a single color correction to multiple segments in a sequence. You also apply the Color Correction effect from the Effect Palette if you want to apply multiple automatic color corrections to one or more segments in a sequence in accordance with the settings you have established in the

Chapter 1 Introducing Avid Color Correction

AutoCorrect tab of the Correction Mode Settings dialog box. For more information, see “Using Color Correction Effects in the Effect Palette” on

page 106.

Once you render a Color Correction effect, you can move the sequence to a system without color correction and the rendered correction will play successfully. In a system without color correction capability, a Color Correction effect is an unknown effect. The effect icon appears blank in the Timeline, and you cannot make any adjustments to it.

Understanding Color Correction Groups

Avid Color Correction provides two groups of color correction controls, the HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance) group and the Curves group.

You can make both automatic and manual adjustments using one or both groups of controls. If you make adjustments in both groups, you can turn either group on or off independently to control which adjustments are active. When you view the sequence or render the Color Correction effect, your application applies the adjustments from the active groups to create the final appearance. For more information on the interaction between the two groups, see “Understanding Interaction Between Color Correction

Groups” on page 39.

Each group uses a different kind of control for making adjustments. The HSL group provides controls for adjusting attributes such as hue, saturation, gain, and gamma. The Curves group allows you to manipulate points on a graph that control the relationship between input and output color.

For more information on the color correction groups, see “Working with

the Group and Subdividing Tabs” on page 37.

Other Color Adjustment Tools

In addition to the work you can do with Avid Color Correction, you can correct and adjust colors at various stages of your project using several other tools. Some of these tools are described in this guide; others are described in other parts of the documentation for your Avid editing application. The following is a summary of these tools with the locations of detailed information about them.

• In some circumstances, when you capture your video input, you can make initial adjustments to the color of incoming video using the Video Input tool. For more information, see “Preparing to Capture Media” in the Help.

• You can create keyframeable color effects on individual segments in a sequence using the Color Effect. For more information, see the “2D Effects Reference” in the Help.

• You can make many adjustments to color within other 2D and 3D effects, including color control for keys and border colors. For more information, see the “2D Effects Reference” and “3D Effects Reference” in the Help.

Other Color Adjustment Tools

You can set safe limits for the colors that appear in your project and ask the system to warn you when those limits are exceeded. For more information, see Chapter 5.

Chapter 1 Introducing Avid Color Correction

Chapter 2

Understanding Color Correction Mode

As it does with other modes (such as Trim mode and Effect mode), the Avid editing application changes the screen display to provide a specialized interface for Color Correction mode. This interface includes the Color Correction tool itself (containing the controls for adjusting color), and a reconfigured Composer monitor that allows you to view several segments in your sequence side-by-side. This chapter describes the features of Color Correction mode and explains how to control and customize them.

• Entering and Exiting Color Correction Mode

• Overview of the Color Correction Mode Toolset

• The Composer Window in Color Correction Mode

• The Client Monitor in Color Correction Mode

• The Color Correction Tool

• Working with Color Correction Effect Templates

Chapter 2 Understanding Color Correction Mode

Entering and Exiting Color Correction Mode

To enter Color Correction mode, do one of the following:

t Select Toolset > Color Correction. t Press Shift+F8. t Click the Color Correction button.

The Color Correction toolset appears.

Overview of the Color Correction Mode Toolset

In some Avid applications, the Color Correction button appears by default below the Timeline. In others it does not appear in the default button layout, but you can map it from the CC tab of the Command palette to the keyboard or to any button location that can be remapped. For more information, see “Using the Command Palette” in the Help.

To exit Color Correction mode and return to another mode:

t Select Toolset > mode, where mode is a selection other than Color

Correction. The system replaces the Color Correction toolset with the toolset for

the mode you selected.

Overview of the Color Correction Mode Toolset

The toolset for Color Correction mode includes three windows in addition to Project and Bin windows:

• The Composer window, a three-monitor view For more information, see “The Composer Window in Color

Correction Mode” on page 26.

• The Color Correction tool For more information, see “The Color Correction Tool” on page 37.

• The Timeline, resized to accommodate the other elements of the color correction toolset

Avid Color Correction also allows you to display several kinds of image information in the Client monitor. For more information, see “The Client

Monitor in Color Correction Mode” on page 36.

The following sections describe the organization of these elements and explain how to navigate in them and how to customize them for your project needs.

Chapter 2 Understanding Color Correction Mode

The Composer Window in Color Correction Mode

The Composer window in Color Correction mode is a three-monitor view. This allows you to view material from three segments at once, making it easy to compare material on a shot-by-shot basis. This three-monitor view shares many of the features of the monitors in other modes but also includes several features specific to Color Correction mode.

The following illustration shows the features of the Composer window in Color Correction mode.

ource menu

By default, the monitors show (from left to right) the first frame of the previous segment, the first frame of the current segment, and the first frame of the next segment.

Activating Monitors

Composer Window buttons

Tracking In

ormation Display menu

Position barPosition indicator

Only one of the monitors is active at any one time. The position bar is highlighted in the active monitor, and the image from the active monitor is displayed in the Client monitor.

The Composer Window in Color Correction Mode

To activate a monitor:

t Click anywhere in the monitor’s image area, in the position bar, or on

the Tracking Information Display menu.

When you click one of the Composer Window buttons below a monitor, the system activates that monitor and performs the action associated with the button.

Displaying Tracking Information

The Composer Window monitors in Color Correction mode have the same options for displaying tracking information that are available in other modes.

To display tracking information in a Color Correction mode monitor:

t Select Tracking Information Display > format.

By default, the Tracking Information Display menu shows no information until you select a tracking format.

For more information on tracking information display, see “Displaying Tracking Information” in the Help.

Displaying Images in Monitors

The default Composer window for Color Correction mode is a threemonitor view that shows images from three adjacent segments in the Timeline. You can customize the monitor view to show images from other parts of the sequence, to show specific images in a split-screen display, to hide the video, or to display wide-screen (16:9) video. You can also customize a monitor to show waveform or vectorscope information for the current segment.

Chapter 2 Understanding Color Correction Mode

Understanding Default Monitor Display

By default, the center monitor shows the current segment (the segment the position indicator is on in the Timeline). The left monitor shows the previous segment (the segment before the current segment), and the right monitor shows the next segment (the segment after the current segment).

When you move in the sequence by clicking a Composer Window button or by moving the position indicator to a new segment in the Timeline, all three monitors update to maintain the same relationship between displayed segments.

The following illustrations show the default monitor display behavior.

Example 1

The position indicator is on segment B in the Timeline. The three monitors display segments A, B, and C.

ABC

Example 2

The position indicator has moved to segment C. All three monitors have updated so they now display segments B, C, and D.

BCD

The Composer Window in Color Correction Mode

Configuring Image Display in Monitors

You can configure each monitor to display those segments that are most useful for making comparisons in your project.

To configure the display in a monitor:

t Click the monitor’s Source menu, and select one of the commands

described in Table 1 .

Table 1 Source Menu Commands

Command Description

Empty Displays no image (black).

Entire Sequence Makes the entire sequence available in the monitor. This is useful when you want

to compare shots from many different places in a sequence. For example, you can display the current segment and the next segment in two monitors for immediate shot-to-shot comparison and display the entire sequence in the third monitor so that you can quickly navigate to any other part of the sequence you want to view. When you change the current segment, the entire sequence updates to that segment.

You can use the Play Loop button in the Command palette to play the whole

sequence in the active monitor even if the monitor is not set to Entire Sequence. For more information, see “Using the Play Loop Button in Color

Correction Mode” on page 35.

Reference Locks the current frame (the frame the position indicator is on) in the monitor.

When the other monitors update as you navigate in the Timeline, this frame continues to display as a reference. This is useful if you want to use a specific place in your sequence as a reference against which to compare all other shots, for example, a segment that contains optimal skin tones.

To lock the current frame as a reference:

t Right-click (Windows) or Ctrl+Shift+click (Macintosh) in the Composer

window or the Color Correction tool, and select Reference Current.

Current Displays the current segment. This option is not available in the Source menu if

another monitor is already set to Current.

Previous Displays the segment immediately before the current segment.

Chapter 2 Understanding Color Correction Mode

Table 1 Source Menu Commands (Continued)

Command Description

Next Displays the segment immediately after the current segment.

Second Previous Displays the segment two segments before the current segment (the segment the

position indicator is on in the Timeline).

Second Next Displays the segment two segments after the current segment.

Waveform and Vectorscope commands

•Quad Display

• RGB Histogram

•RGB Parade

• Vectorscope

• Y Waveform

• YC Waveform

• YCbCr Histogram

• YCbCr Parade

These commands configure the monitor as a Waveform monitor or Vectorscope monitor. The system displays the information for the currently active monitor. For more information, see “Working with the Waveform Monitors and Vectorscope

Monitor” on page 95.

Splitting the Image Display in Monitors

You can configure a monitor so it splits the screen to show the image before and after the current color correction adjustments are applied.

The Dual Split display does not appear in the Client monitor.

To display uncorrected and corrected images in a split screen (Dual Split):

t Click the Dual Split button for the monitor you want to display the

split screen. The split-screen display appears in the monitor.

+ 120 hidden pages