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Improve This Video (Screen Shot Attached)
Hi, I’m new to color correction and video improvement. Below is a screen shot of a clip I have, converted from an old VHS tape. Clearly the whites are too bright and the dark colors are far too dark. The sun is shining through the shades and it makes for a terrible picture.
Which event FX would you suggest I use to correct this? I’ve tried a bunch but haven’t had much luck. Thanks.
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8 Replies
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Jeff, you forgot to post the screenshot.
From your description though, this sounds like a job for the Levels FX as you can control brightness and darkness on specific portions of the video all at once. -
Hi Mike, I did attach the photo but this forum has been giving me technical problems. Let’s hope it works this time.
I played with brightness and contrast, but it has been hard to find the proper balance. Color correction has helped a bit, though. Thanks.
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The problem with brightness and contrast is that they affect the entire image.
Here’s a screenshot of the Levels FX settings I tried on your snapshot.
Try it and see what you think.
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Mike, you’re a life saver! Those settings gave me a better image than anything I’ve tried thus far. The Levels FX is clearly very underrated and I’ll be using it much more often. A million thank-you’s. It’s not perfect, but still far better than anything I’ve been able to achieve thus far, and probably as good as it’s going to get considering the source video. I very much appreciate your help.
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Jeff, I’m always glad to help out.
Be advised that, due to the gamma increase, the noise level also came up and unfortunately there’s no way around that happening.
You can try the free Dynamic Noise Reduction plugin from Mike Crash.
A lot of Vegas users speak very highly of it.The other Vegas FX to get your head wrapped around is Color Curves as you can do even more with it than the Levels FX.
If you’ve ever used Photoshop, this one is very similar.If you want pay a little bit, I highly recommend the
Absolute Training for Vegas+DVD, Vol. 4: Color Correction, Enhancement and Image Restoration DVD from the folks at VASST.
I own it and have watched it several times. -
Funny you say that, I planned on getting that plugin from Mike Crash later today. Color Curves did improve the video somewhat last night when I tried it, but the final rendering wasn’t quite as nice as the preview. Thanks for the VASST recommendation, I’ll look into it.
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“…but the final rendering wasn’t quite as nice as the preview”
How are you judging the final render?
If it’s on the computer, be advised that different media players can and will give widely varying levels of quality and accuracy of colour during playback.
Burning to DVD and comparing it to the original footage on your TV set is the only way to accurately judge it. -
Good point, haven’t judged the final render. I just rendered as an mpg and judged it there, without burning to DVD yet. That will be the next step, but I’m not there yet. Thanks.
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