-
FCP and Color – Is this limitation real?
Hey forum…I’ve been using FCP a ton, and being an Avid guy in the past, that is saying something.
Getting ready to do another indie feature, and the thought of using FCP crossed by mind, but I have a huge dilemma:
Currently when I send a full sequence to Color and then back to FCP, but I cannot edit that returned sequence from color once it is back in FCP. All of the clips get chopped at the edit marks, and to get around this I have to go back to the pre-color sequence, edit, send to color, send it back to FCP, splice it in….freaking pain.
Is this the only way to do it? I’m used to doing color correction right in the Avid timeline. And then you can edit it as well. I can’t do an indie feature in FCP if this is the case.
It can’t be this broken…
_______________________
kyler boudreau
http://www.theatereleven.com
ph.310.425.2231 -
16 Replies
-
You are doing things wrong.
#1 – Color correction is the LAST step in the editing process. Well, second to last. Output follows. If you have more editing to do, don’t color correct. Wait until you have picture lock.
#2 – You don’t understand how Color works. When you SEND TO Color, you are sending the full clips, but when you render out from Color, what you get back are brand new clips. The COLOR RENDERS, are QT files that now link to the sequence you send back from Color. If you don’t include HANDLES on those renders, then there is no way to edit anything. I typically render with 1 second handles just so I can make minor adjustments, and so my transitions still work.
If you want to color correct in the timeline, but want better control than the 3-way Color Corrector, take a look at COLORISTA by Magic Bullet. Or save color correction until the very end.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Thanks – I was wondering if you could put handles similar to exporting OMFs for sound guys.
I’d like to argue however that I’m in fact not doing things wrong. Indie film means you have to prep for test screenings, that directors change their minds and that picture lock really doesn’t happen until you see the DVD at Blockbuster.
Oh wait…then the director’s cut comes out. =)
Whether it is wrong or right, I simply cannot use this process. But FCP is half the price of Avid, so I guess I have to lose something for that trade off.
Thanks for the tips on the other color tools.
_______________________
kyler boudreau
http://www.theatereleven.com
ph.310.425.2231 -
Then color correct for test screenings. Save all the grades, for every shot or angle. And then just add them again when you re-color correct. This is how things are done with outside color correction applications. If you took a color correction to a colorist running a DaVinci, they’d grade, then save the grades, and redo the master when done. Color is similar…it is an outside app.
There are alternatives that you can use in FCP…the 3-way color corrector, Colorista…as I mentioned.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
yeah, you’re right Shane. I get all of that….but it’s like telling a ProTools guy there was an app out there that meant he never had to conform his sound edits to new picture. everything was automatic….that’s what I had in Avid MC and it spoiled me.
_______________________
kyler boudreau
http://www.theatereleven.com
ph.310.425.2231 -
You can reconform in Color too.
But you are missing the point. You are comparing apples and oranges. Color correcting INSIDE the NLE…Avid…and color correcting in an outside application…COLOR. The workflows are very different. If you are used to color correcting in the application you edit with, the color correct in FCP. Then you can re-edit all the color corrected footage all you want.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
True, but I don’t like FCP’s color correcting. It would be different if Avid’s color sucked and Apple’s color was something they didn’t have. But you have Apple Color inside Avid – neatly combined with one application.
Saving stuff to conform later – I just don’t have time for that. Now if clients are paying me high hourly rates than sure…why not!
I think the general opinion though is Avid’s color correction is pretty high end. And I’m sure Color is too, but not FCP color.
_______________________
kyler boudreau
http://www.theatereleven.com
ph.310.425.2231 -
Avid SYMPHONY maybe…but I find Media Composer on the same level as FCP…just can’t push things as far as you can with Color. Color is higher end than Avid MC, by a lot. 8 Secondaries, vignetting, Color Effects, color wheels and curves
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
If Color is higher then this all makes more sense. But Avid has the color wheels and the curves.
I need to look into this more I guess. Maybe Color is a ton better. Thanks Shane!
_______________________
kyler boudreau
http://www.theatereleven.com
ph.310.425.2231 -
Hi,
I’ll second everything Shane is saying… and will add that if you haven’t yet seen Colorista II in action, you should take a look at this:
https://www.redgiantsoftware.com/social/colorista-ii-tutorials/In the right hands, CII is a VERY powerful in-FCP tool.
Color may be a better, dedicated grading tool in some cases, but if you want to stay in FCP this is probably the way to go.
Wayne
-
[kyler boudreau] “I need to look into this more I guess. Maybe Color is a ton better.”
Hey Kyler,
Definitely look more closely at Color… It absolutely eclipses the timeline-based CC in both FCP and Avid.
As Shane mentioned, it has a much more powerful tool set. But, more importantly, Color’s color processing is vastly more sophisticated and powerful. Even the simplest of Color’s controls have much smoother and more subtle gradations than what you’ve been using. You get a much wider range of control with more subtle control across the entire range than you will ever get with the very linear and “clunkier” controls of the less sophisticated tools.
What I find most useful and powerful is Color’s ability to store, compare, and copy versions of grades. It’s well designed, very fast, and it allows you view and make choices before your eyes can adjust. It’s all very fluid and natural, and much less mechanical than most of the simple tools, and it’s far superior for saving and showing variations of your work to your clients.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los Angeles
https://www.drwfilms.comPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Business & Marketing and Apple Final Cut Pro forums. Formerly host of the Apple Final Cut Basics, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up