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ProRes and XDCAM EX matching color issues. Need advice.
Folks, I am having some chroma key work done and some content shote with a Sony XDCAM EX 1. I’ve sent the Quicktime files via ftp server to the person doing the work (to save upload time and assuming he would uncompress them on his end). The problem is, he sends back Apple ProRes files and they come back darker and more saturated than the original that I sent. So against other edits the video doesn’t match.
Can anyone advise on the processing of these files so they come back looking the same?
Tangier
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3 Replies
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Welcome to the joys of Quicktime gamma issues. You’re not going to like the workaround.
You’ll have to export your XDCAM footage as a .tif image sequence and have the compositor export his rendered comps as a .tif sequence, not a Quicktime movie.
When you get the rendered shots back as image sequences, you’ll need to open them in Quicktime and then export them as self-contained Quicktime movies. If you’re editing in an XDCAM EX sequence, export the image sequences as self-contained Quicktime movies with the XDCAM EX codec.
This is an ongoing issue that makes compositors and editors alike want to tear their hair out. Search the After Effects forum for “Quicktime gamma” and enjoy.
The only potential good news is that Apple has changed the default system gamma to 2.2 in Snow Leopard and Quicktime X. No news yet as to whether or not this will fix the issues.
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Is there any other method? There are a lot of shots to be rerendered then. Is there any way that I can match the gamma using FCP filters on his prores clips? Is there any documentation of numerical values I can apply to gamma correction filters to compensate for the differences between my XDCAM EX video and his ProRes files?
Tangier
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I think I’ve been through this before in a previous version where the difference was more stark.
Can you possibly make a 1 frame QT movie of the original and a one frame QT movie of the same frame that you got back? I could maybe make a match and send you the sequence. Then you can just apply that filter to the other clips.
You’ll have to do this from within QT player, don’t use FCP for export. And don’t export as image.If its possible let me know, we can work out how to get the files across.
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Neil Sadwelkar
neilsadwelkar.blogspot.com
twitter: fcpguru
FCP Editor, Edit systems consultant
Mumbai India
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