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Washed out video? FCP
Hi all,
I recently saw one of my spots and it looked incredibly washed out. Here is the process…The video was from BetaSP, the graphics were done in Maya as well as After Effects and final editing in Final Cut pro. I then made a dub to Betasp and sent it for Closed Captioning…Then when I saw it on TV it was all washed out. I’ve never had this issue before. I read some articles on here about adding setup, and was wondering if that is what the CC house could be doing. How can I fix this? Unfortunately I think I’m stuck with the CC house that we are using, so switching houses is not an option.
Thanks,
Lance
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10 Replies
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You need to compare your BetaSP master with the closed caption master with a waveform monitor to check that the video levels on both your master the CC copy are correct. For North American NTSC black should be at 7.5IRE. Inside FCP, the video is digital and it should be at 0% on the FCP scopes. What device do you use to output the finished video to tape? You should make sure that it’s preferences are configured correctly.
Graeme
– http://www.nattress.com – Film Effects and Standards Conversion for FCP
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Thanks for the quick response Graeme…Unfortunately we just relocated and I won’t have my complete system until later this month, so I am dubbing from FCP through firewire into a DSR-45 then S Video into a UVW-1800. I don’t have an actual waveform monitor yet, so I am using the one in FCP, and it has the blacks at 0%. After I make the dub, and play it back on the video monitor it looks fine, it was only when seeing it on the air that I noticed the washed out look. Is it something I’m doing on this end?
Thanks again,
Lance
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Ok, I just heard back from the CC house, they said:
“We added setup because NTSC *requires* it. It is not optional. If the client feels that this is washing out the picture, what he needs to do is create the spot with black at 7.5 IRE and add whatever *NTSC legal* chroma saturation he desires. The black will be at the same 7.5 IRE as everyone else
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Why don’t you go component out of the 45 to the UVW-1800? That will get you a cleaner/less soft/less washed out image. Double check your settings on the 45 and see if there’s an add set up to analog outputs. That way you know that the proper setup is being added on the way out using your deck. You can add setup in FCP by duplicating your timeline, use a scope, and raise the blacks to 7.5. If you have bars and they are calibrating to your bars, raise the blacks on the bars and the rest should adjust accordingly.
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G5 Dual 2Ghz <> 4GB RAM <> FCP 4.5 <> Kona 2ATTO 42XS <> Huge Systems 1.25 TB 4105 Fibre
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Thanks Jeremy,
The only scopes I have are in FCP, and the way I understand IRE is that it is an analog measurement of how much voltage is in a video signal. The scopes in FCP are based on luminance level percentage, so do I just bring up the black to be at 7.5%? Or are you suggesting using an external scope of some sort? Thanks for your help, this has been really frustrating.
Lance
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When going from the digital world of FCP into the analog world of BetaSP, the device that you choose to output from FCP has the “responsibility” of adding the setup level to the output. The question is, can the DSR-45 add setup when being used as a pass thru device. I have an older Sony TRV-900 camcorder that I used to use as a Firewire output converter. It did not add setup to the analog outputs and I had to compensate from within FCP by adding setup levels to all my timelines, including black and color bars.
I’m now using an AJA Io and an La for outputting. These devices will add the proper setup when going to BetaSP via the component outputs.
You need to determine whether your deck has the optional menu setting to “add setup” to the output.I’m not directly familiar with this particular deck, so you might need to poke around in the menu settings to try to find out if it’s capable of adding setup. Maybe someone out in the pasture has this information first hand? Otherwise, you might want to check into another standalone device (AJA, Canopus, Decklink, etc.) to use instead of your deck.
And…my 2 -
Great advice Tom and thanks!
I’ve been learning a ton through this, and have found a great deal of info like you had said. I did not find anything in the menus of the DSR-45. I also tried several other ideas I had read that still came up bunk. So, under the current time constraints, (as in next round of spots ship tomorrow), I am having to just add setup levels to my timelines as I am finishing them. I have figured out a way that appears to be working, but I’m curious how you did it in the past? Or at least what you think is the best way to bring the black levels up to 7.5 IRE without compromising the contrast in the spot.
Like you said, Ingnorance is no excuse, and it is certainly NOT bliss…heh.
Thanks again!
Lance
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The DSR-45 does not add setup on the analogue outputs I think. You’ll need to insert a proc amp. But the CC place adding setup should not make your end product look pasty and washed out. That’s why you need to get the tapes and analyse them to see what is happening. When dealing with analogue video you really do need an external scope to see what is going on.
I’m just trying to put my finishing touches to a massive article on video levels. Ken Stone is publishing it, so keep an eye out for it. But basically, because your DV deck does not add setup, you need insert a device that does, a proc amp. It’s “wrong” to raise your blacks in FCP because you’ll loose picture quality in doing so.
Graeme
– http://www.nattress.com – Film Effects and Standards Conversion for FCP
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Years ago, when I found that my DV camera would not add setup, I got around it by buying a relitively inexpensive Canopus ADVC-100. I went to my Betacam deck thru the S-Video output from the Canopus. It looked OK and the ADVC-100 added the setup I needed. Now days I use an Aja Io and an Aja La for the same purpose. The old Canopus is sadly sitting in it’s box on the shelf. I still use it once in a while for converting firewire to video, but the Aja boxes are now the workhorses in the studio,
Tom
BTW, I agree with Graeme. When the closed captioning house added setup, it should not have affected your video in a way that would wash it out. It should have simply raised the entire video envelope up proportionally without affecting anything else. Get the tapes to compare or drop by the CC house and ask to see just what they are doing to your spots.
Looking forward to the article, Graeme! -
Thanks Tom. The article is taking a little longer than I thought, but it should be very compreshensive!
Graeme
– http://www.nattress.com – Film Effects and Standards Conversion for FCP
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