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Workflow and color consistency to DVD
ok, I’m posting this in a few of the forums because it spands a few of different programs.
So after reading the forums for a few days straight, I still have the age old question about calibrating a monitor to help maintaining color corrections in scanned images within Photoshop, and sending to DVD.
Basically, my hardware and workflow is this:
MAC Quicksilver G4, dual 1.5Ghz, 1.5 Gig Ram
Proview 19″ monitor calibrated to 6500* white point
HP scanner
PS CS2
AE 6.5
iMovie 06
DVD SP 3.0So yes, the monitor is a cheapy, and I use iMovie for the quick edit, but iMovie isn’t part of this problem….
I use this system to do animated slideshows for wedding receptions, parties, or whatever. Usually viewed on in-home TVs, or projected on a wall or screen at wedding receptions.
I scan in photos, correct the color to look perfect on screen, arrange a large PNG and import into AE. I animate the PNG to ‘move’ from slide to slide and export an uncompressed QT movie. Then do the final edit (adding a few video clips) and adding music in iMovie. Again export an uncompressed QT movie.
Encode the audio to AC3 in A.pack and put into DVDSP. Setting for video in DVDSP is 6.5 CBR.
When I play the DVD on a home system, the color in the scanned images is way oversaturated, and the blacks, or really dark areas are totally blown out, revealing the scanners compression graininess.
I mean like if someone is wearing a red shirt in one of the pictures, it glows like a neon light on the TV screen.What can I do, barring buying a monitor? Or maybe what is a good computer monitor I can switch to that will be a better preview or what I will see on TV?
Thanks for helping a newbie
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2 Replies
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[tacmedia] “I scan in photos, correct the color to look perfect on screen”
It may look perfect on your computer monitor, but if your computer monitor is imperfect or set up improperly, what would that make your perfect color correction?
Anyone performing color correction has to have a known reference from which to start. You needn’t have an expensive monitor, but it must be at least be accurate enough to display luminance and chroma at levels that approximate those of actual video.
Have you ever looked at color bars on your monitor? Do you know how to set up a monitor to color bars? If not, try Googling. Setting up a monitor to display accurate color bars is meant for broadcast monitors and TVs, but it will be a huge help to you until you can afford a better display.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY
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OK, here’s what I would try:
1. Get yourself a hardware monitor calibrator such as the Eye-One Display 2, and calibrate your monitor using the supplied software. Cost about $230.00
2. If your monitor is one of those LCD displays that get lighter and darker as you move your head up and down, replace the monitor with one that doesn’t. I’ve got an old 15″ CRT that will work ok for this. You can take it off my hands for very little if you’re in LA…
3. Quicktime on the Mac seems to assume that your monitor is set to gamma=1.8. When you calibrate your monitor, set it to gamma 1.8 / 6500k.
4. Since you’ll be viewing in gamma 1.8, set your photoshop working space to Colormatch RGB, a gamma 1.8 working space. It sounds like you’re working in Adobe RGB space and that accounts for the over saturated still images. If Colormatch RGB makes for stills that look too dark (I think) in the movie, change your photoshop working space to sRGB, a gamma 2.2 space. You’ll need to use the command “convert to profile” to change your images from Adobe RGB to another space.
The confusion here is that video is 2.2 gamma, but quicktime assumes you’re using a gamma 1.8 display and corrects the images (for computer playback) for 1.8 gamma displays which is the old Apple standard. Unlike photoshop, quicktime is not colorsync enabled.
5. If the above doesn’t fix things entirely, you’ll need to start using FCP to color correct your movies/still clips. Perhaps you can do this in after effects and skip FCP.
Let us know if this solution works out and good luck.
-bruce
Varicam/Steadicam Owner
Los Angeles, CA
http://www.brucealangreene.com
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