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Monitor Color vectorscope skin tones from end of tree
Had a Color question about skin tones and the order of operations. I have been reading and watching info on vectorscopes as I begin learning more and more about Resolve Color operations. I can’t seem to find how to do this one thing, which usually means I am looking for something no one else wants…lol. but here I go.
I am in Studio 18 and working with Log Footage. ( All diff flavors, Arri, Canon, Red)
When I bring in the Log Footage, I typically have a Color Transform Node at the end of the tree that is designed for the camera’s color system. Like a specific Log to Rec 709 and sometimes can also be a creative LUT that does this same operation as well with some added spices and flavors.
So when I am using the vector scope and working the color of the skin tone, it is all being done prior to the LOG to Rec709 transform.
My vectorscope is showing me what the skin looks like in LOG when I am parked on that node. So I added a temp viewer serial node at the very very end to review and monitor the skin tones results at the end after it goes out to rec709. The skin tone is not the same but close.
However, is there a way to tweak the skin tones early in the node tree, while in LOG, so it may be my fourth serial node with a skin tone layer node, I’d like to monitor what the scope would be reading after the last rec709 color transform occurs, monitor skin after that last color transform operation while working way upstream on the skin node. Like basically what your monitor is seeing, not necessarily what that specific serial node is seeing prior to the color transform.
I do this usually in comp. Monitor the Locked output while working deep in the comp upstream. I can see what red really looks like after it goes through the color transformation, out of LOG, or is sent out through the last node which may be a creative LUT.
I hope this makes sense and is a simple, ” Yeah just lock this output gizmo thingy you muffin head and the vectorscope only monitors the output results regardless of what node you are on” Something like that?
Thanks So much.
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6 Replies
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Hey Antony,
The vectorscope monitors the final output. Thus, if you have the Rec709 conversion in place, the vectorspoce is monitoring that. The only case in which you can have the vectorscope monitor the individual node signal, is by activating the highlight mode (Shift+h on the keyboard). In that case your preview will change as well and you will be previewing the signal that the specific node you are on is outputting.
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All this ti say that I believe you are currently using the highlight mode and thus you should deactivate that. As it is also common practice to preview the final rather than the individual nodes
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Thanks so much for your reply and help.
I need a hand with monitoring the final output of the isolated skin tones when I highlight a small area to check skin tones. When I isolate that area with a small mask and then click on the highlight, the vectorscope is now seeing the log skin tone and not helping me determine what adjustments to make to balance them.
I simply want to learn to isolate, or mask a part of the skin and have my vectorscope tell me where just those values falls in rec709 color space. Not the entire scene.
For example, import a LOG clip into your project. My color science is a DWG working color space. My color management is node based.
I have an input Color transform from the camera system Log to DWG. All my color decisions are completed in this DWG working space then the last node is a CST rec709.
So if you have a skin tone serial node upstream from your rec 709 CST. You place a small mask over the cheeks and highlight this area to isolate the skin tone from the rest of the shot, the vector scope shows me a small almost invisible dot in the center of the vector scope as it is reading a flat unnormalized Log clip. As I have the highlight function on so the vectorscope is only seeing the skin. If I turn off the highlight function then the vectorscope sees the entire scene.
Is there a way for me to mask and isolate my skin tones so I can see just skin tones, on my vectorscope, not the entire scene? But see them in rec709 not log.
Or can you help give me an alternative solution, I do not see anyone else asking about this so I am clearly missing something, feel free to point out the obvious if this is right under my nose here.
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Hey mate, what you can do is actually add an alpha output (right-click over the node area and select “Add alpha output”). Then create the isolation mask, as you are currently doing, and finally connect the node’s blue output to the alpha out. This way you’ll get to monitor only the isolated area but as the final out and not the log.
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This did work for me. Thank you for the suggestion. Curious if other folks do something different. Do you ever monitor skin tones this way?
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Thank you for your solve on this issue, Riccardo!
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