Pinnacle Systems Color Correction - 4.5 User’s Guide

Avid® Color Correction

User’s Guide

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Avid

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Avid Color Correction User’s Guide • 0130-06113-01 • June 2004

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

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

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

If You Need Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

If You Have Documentation Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

How to Order Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Avid Educational Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

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

Understanding Avid Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

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

Automatic and Manual Color Corrections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

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

Understanding Color Correction Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Other Color Adjustment Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Chapter 2 Understanding Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Entering and Exiting Color Correction Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Overview of the Color Correction Mode Toolset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

The Composer Window in Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Activating Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Displaying Tracking Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Displaying Images in Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Understanding Default Monitor Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Configuring Image Display in Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Splitting the Image Display in Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Hiding the Video in Monitors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Displaying 16:9 Video in Monitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Using the Composer Window Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Using the Play Loop Button in Color Correction Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

The Client Monitor in Color Correction Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

The Color Correction Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Working with the Group and Subdividing Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Displaying a Group Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Displaying an HSL Subdividing Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Understanding Interaction Between Color Correction Groups . . . . . . . 36

Working with the Enable Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Turning Controls On or Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Resetting Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Understanding Interaction Between Enable Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Using the Color Correction Tool Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Customizing Color Correction Mode Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Adding Comments to Color Correction Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Working with Color Correction Effect Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Understanding How Color Correction Effect Templates Save Settings. 44

Saving a Color Correction Effect Template to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Saving a Color Correction Effect Template to a Bucket . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Applying Color Correction Effect Templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Working with Color Correction Effect Templates in the Effect Palette. . 48

Chapter 3 Performing Color Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

General Workflow for Making Color Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Using Automatic Color Corrections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Understanding Automatic Color Correction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Adjusting Contrast and Balance Automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Using the Remove Color Cast Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Considerations When Using Automatic Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Using the Color Match Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Making a Correction with the Color Match Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Selecting Match Type Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Understanding NaturalMatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Color Match Example Using NaturalMatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Saving Custom Colors to a Bin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Getting RGB Information Using the Color Match Control. . . . . . . . . . . . 67

The HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance) Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Working with the Controls Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Making Corrections Using the Controls Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Using the HSL Sliders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Controls Tab Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Working with the Hue Offsets Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Understanding the ChromaWheel Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Making Corrections Using the Hue Offsets Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Using the ChromaWheel Crosshair Pointers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

The Curves Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Understanding ChromaCurve Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Making Corrections Using the Curves Tab. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Adjusting ChromaCurve Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

ChromaCurve Graphs and the Color Match Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Examples of ChromaCurve Graph Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Working with the Waveform Monitors and Vectorscope Monitor. . . . . . . . . . 91

Displaying a Waveform Monitor or Vectorscope Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Using the Waveform and Vectorscope Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Applying Color Corrections to an Entire Sequence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Using Color Correction Effects in the Effect Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Performing Automatic Color Corrections from the Effect Palette . . . . 102

Selecting AutoCorrect Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Applying Automatic Color Corrections from the Effect Palette . . . 104

Working with the Color Correction Effect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Chapter 4 Color Correction Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Guiding Principles for Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Goals of Color Correction: Restoration and Adaptation . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Restoring the Original Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Adapting the Original Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Stages of Color Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Correcting Tonal Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Neutralizing Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Achieving Shot-to-Shot Consistency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Achieving a Final Look . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Examples of Color Correction Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Example 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Example 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Chapter 5 Safe Colors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Overview of Safe Color Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Setting Safe Color Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Understanding the Graphical View of Safe Color Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Understanding Safe Color Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Safe Color Warnings in the Monitors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Safe Color Warnings in the Color Match Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Making Adjustments to Achieve Safe Color Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Safe Color Limits with Waveform and Vectorscope Information . . . . . . . . 133

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Tables

Source Menu Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Composer Window Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Correction Mode Settings Feature Tab Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Automatic Contrast and Balance Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Match Type Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Controls Tab Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Hue Offsets Tab Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Hue Offsets ChromaWheel Crosshair Pointers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Waveform and Vectorscope Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

AutoCorrect Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

Safe Color Settings Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Safe Color Warning Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Safe Color Limits in Waveform Displays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

Using This Guide

This guide provides information on the color correction features of your Avid® system. Using these features, you can easily make 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.

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

Unless noted otherwise, the material in this document applies to the Windows XP and Mac OS X operating systems.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.

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 system, 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 publications CD-ROM.

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

Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

Symbols and Conventions

> This symbol indicates menu commands (and

Margin tips

(Windows), (Windows only), (Macintosh), or (Macintosh only)

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

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.

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

This symbol represents the Apple or Command key. Press and hold the Command key and another key to perform a keyboard shortcut.

In the margin, you will find tips that help you perform tasks more easily and efficiently.

This text indicates that the information applies only to the specified operating system, either Windows XP or Macintosh OS X.

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

indicate variables.

Courier Bold font

Ctrl+key or mouse action k+key or mouse action

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

Press and hold the first key while you press the last key or perform the mouse action. For example, k+Option+C or Ctrl+drag.

Using This Guide

If You Need Help

If you are having trouble using Avid Color Correction:

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

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

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

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).

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Using This Guide

Chapter 1

Introducing Avid Color Correction

Your Avid 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.

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.

Chapter 1 Introducing Avid Color Correction

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. The system 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 effects guide for your application or 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 great 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.

The Color Correction Effect

The Color Correction effect appears in the Image category of the Effect Palette. Because your system 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 AutoCorrect tab of the Correction Mode Settings dialog box. For more information, see “Using

Color Correction Effects in the Effect Palette” on page 102.

Understanding Avid Color Correction

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

Chapter 1 Introducing Avid Color Correction

appearance. For more information on the interaction between the two groups, see “Understanding Interaction Between Color Correction Groups” on

page 36.

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 34.

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 system. 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 the chapter “Preparing to Capture Media” in the input and output guide or the user’s guide for your system or the Help.

• You can create keyframeable color effects on individual segments in a sequence using the Color Effect. For more information, see the chapter “2D Reference” in the effects reference guide for your system or 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 effects guide for your system or the Help.

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 2

Understanding Color Correction Mode

As it does with other modes (such as Trim mode and Effect mode), your Avid system 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-byside. 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

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.

Chapter 2 Understanding Color Correction Mode

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 chapter “Using Basic Tools” in the user’s guide or the editing guide for your system or the Help.

To exit Color Correction mode and return to another mode:

t Make a selection from the Toolset menu.

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 23.

• The Color Correction tool For more information, see “The Color Correction Tool” on page 34.

• 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 33.

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.

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.

Chapter 2 Understanding 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

Position barPosition indicator

ormation Display menu

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.

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 the chapter “Viewing and Marking Footage” in the user’s guide or the editing guide for your system or the Help.

Displaying Images in Monitors

The default Composer window for Color Correction mode is a three-monitor 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.

The Composer Window in 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.

Chapter 2 Understanding Color Correction Mode

Example 1

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

Example 2

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

ABC

BCD

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 the following table.

The Composer Window in Color Correction Mode

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 32.

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.

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.

Chapter 2 Understanding Color Correction Mode

Source Menu Commands (Continued)

Command Description

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 91.

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 on 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.

The Composer Window in Color Correction Mode

Image with currently active corrections applied

Uncorrected image

The uncorrected image appears on the left and the image with currently active corrections applied appears on the right. You can resize the box that contains the split-screen image by dragging its triangular handles in the monitor.

Triangular handle for adjusting size of uncorrected image

You can map the Dual Split button from the Command palette to the keyboard. You can then switch Dual Split on and off with a single keystroke. For more information, see “Using the Command Palette” in the chapter “Using Basic Tools” in the user’s guide or the editing guide for your system or the Help.

Chapter 2 Understanding Color Correction Mode

To cancel the Dual Split display:

t Click the Dual Split button for the monitor that contains the Dual Split

display. The monitor returns to a single-image view.

Hiding the Video in Monitors

You can hide the video image area of the monitors at any time. When the video is hidden, you see only the Source and Tracking Information Display menus and the position bars for the monitors. The other parts of the Color Correction toolset expand to fill the remainder of your screen. This might be a preferable setting if you can perform your color correction tasks using only the Client monitor to view your image.

To hide the video in the monitors:

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

window, and select Hide Video. When the video is hidden, a check mark appears beside the Hide Video

command.

To display the video again:

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

window, and select Hide Video. When the video is visible, there is no check mark beside the Hide Video

command.

Displaying 16:9 Video in Monitors

You can display wide-screen 16:9 video as well as standard format 4:3 video in the monitors. However, you must switch to or from 16:9 display while in editing mode and then select Color Correction mode. The 16:9 Video option is unavailable in the shortcut menu when you are in Color Correction mode.

To display 16:9 video in the monitors:

t In editing mode, right-click (Windows) or Ctrl+Shift+click (Macintosh) in

the Composer window, and select 16:9 Video. For information on selecting editing mode, see the section on customizing

the Composer window in the chapter “Viewing and Marking Footage” in the user’s guide or the editing guide for your system or the Help.

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