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linear footage start points
I’m getting a bunch of footage lately from shooters using Alexas in linear space. I’m wondering what other pro editors use as start points for color grading in Pr. I prefer to use accelerated effects, when possible. So, I skip the Cineon converter effect. Generally I start with either the Levels or the RGB curves effect, and set the blacks to zero and the whites to 100 on the scopes, and continue from there.
What about you? Any better or different ideas you’d care to share?
Jim Curtis
jamesphilipcurtis.comMacPro 3,1; 2×4 3GHz; 32G RAM all the same brand; 10.6.8; QT 7.6.6; Kona LHi in PCI slot 3 (9.0.3); Primary display: 30″ ACD; Monitoring: Kona LHi SDI to AJA HDP2 converter to HDMI on the HP DreamColor.
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1 Reply
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Here are my preferences and lessons learned:
I start with Fast Color Corrector, Three-way Color Corrector (for saturation adjustments with the secondary color corrector) and Luma/LRGB Curves when appropriate. Zero IRE is fine for web, but if you plan to create broadcast or DVD content keep it between 7.5-92 IRE (e.g. 16-235). I prefer to keep the white point below 100 (typically 92 IRE) to leave some headroom for the individual RGB channels. Otherwise any high channels will be clipped and there could be a color cast in the highlights. Use the vertical bars on the side of the YC scope and RGB Parade as a guide. Check out the Cow tutorials for more info.
Try to keep the reference black and white points consistent. Within a clip use keyframes to counteract or smoothen any unwanted variations in the levels (for example, a camera’s auto brightness control will sometimes create problems). Also keep the luma levels appropriate across different clips; don’t set the brightest point to 100 IRE and the darkest point to zero on every clip if the levels really should be somewhere in between.
Finally, when working in 32-bpc or Y’CbCr color, it is better to only use effects marked 32-bit or YUV, respectively. Mixing in 8-bit or RGB effects might or might not affect your final results depending on the source footage, workflow, and export settings.
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