[Alex Udell]

Hi…

If you are doing full frame color matching and not try to isolate elements within the frame, you’ll want to use the Matrox Primary Color correction filter (or the advanced one depending on your needs).

You will need to adjust your user interface so that you can see your effects controls separate from the source and record viewers.

1) On your timeline Apply the filter the clip you want to change.

2) Park your playhead on the timeline in bounds of the clip you want to change (the one with the filter).

3) Double click a clip on the timeline that you are trying to match to. (In your case Camera B). This loads it into the source viewer.

4) In your effects controls, expand the Matrox filter exposing the Color Balance>Graphical color wheels. This is broken into the wheels for Master (overall) grading, or localizing the correnctions to shadows, midtones, highlights (dark, middle, brightest) areas within the frame. (as a note, this is one of the differences between the regular and advanced versions of the matrox color correctors. The Advanced lets you define where the breakpoints between shadows, midtones and highlights occurs. In the recular CC filters, these ranges are fixed.)

5) Not seeing your images I’ll stick to the master wheel. Beneath the wheel you will see two eye droppers. Choose the Refernce dropper.
Use this in the source viewer. Click and DRAG and bounding box over a portion of the image that contains the general range of luminance (brightest to darkest) this will give you a change in the color chip next to the reference dropper in effects controls window.

6) Now choose the Match Eye Dropper fromt he effects controls and repeat the process in the RECORD Viewer. Once you let go of the mouse button, you should see the image change color, you will see the color chip in the effects controls next to the change, and the white balance dot in the center of the master color wheel will have moved out and away fromt he center of the color wheel indicating the grade applied.

Luckily you are using multicam material, so it will be easier to idetntify similar material in the source and record viewers to match.

if you are satisified, you can copy this clip on the timline and paste the attributes to other clips on from the same camera on the timeline. Careful of inadvertantly pasting other filters (like DVE’s) to the other clips on the timeline.

Remember that as you have 3 cameras this process will have to be repeated for each of the 2 cameras that you are trying to match to your refernce as they are likely different from eachother as well as the reference.

Hope this helps.

Alex

Alex Udell
Editing, Motion Graphics, and Visual FX
See My Current Reel
visit the combustion exchange ftp

[Alex Udell]

Hi Richard…

Does the Mac have the right kind of PCI slots ofr Axio?

Here is a post about the RT.X2 from the Matrox forums…

“When trying to see if I could use the Matrox .rtx2 in the Mac Pro 8 core that replaced my windows machine I could not find any info except for the fact that it was not supported. I really only use the MAtrox for it’s Chroma Key which is the best chroma key that integrates into premiere. I know some are better but they require you to open a separate program and are not good for my workflow.

Anyway I installed it and rigged a power cable to the unused 2nd DVD plug and it fit perfectly and works great in Win XP Pro in boot camp.

I am also using an Nvidea 8800 GT 512meg otherwise it is the stock 2.8Ghz MAc Pro 8 core with 6Gig RAM.

One Warning is that no matter how much ram you have XP 32bit will only see 2gb (This differs from standard Windows Pc’s as they can see 3gb in 32bit) This is a know difference in running XP on Mac Pro box as the Ram is configured differently and the 3GB switch will not work.

I assume the LE would be even better as I do not think it needs a power cable plugged into it.

Anyway just wanted to add to the knowledge base for anyone else thinking of attempting this.

I have not tested enough to say it runs perfect so proceed at your own risk as MAtrox will not support this configuration.

Gary Pranzo
Media Impact LLC”

Hope that helps….

Alex
edit*or
YoUniversity

[Alex Udell]

If this is anything like most time in dealing with EDL’s…

you will have to output and EDL for each track in premiere….

these will generate multiple sequences in FCP…

then you will have to copy and paste them all togther in one sequence in FCP.

I also suggest outputting a refernce Clip that you can import into FCP)

that way when you capture based on the new sequnce in FCP you will be able to compare and know that you have the right media.

Hope this helps…

Alex

[Alex Udell]

Hi there…

I have been all over the spectrum when it comes to this issue.

Passionate and attached to a platform only to watch it evaporate (almost twice).

Then completely agnostic and concerned with the craft alone regardless of the tools in front of me.

I had been very angry at Apple for quite a while, as I watched them take the tools and technology developed for over a decade in the industry and practically give them away as a way to sell computers…in addition to taking the rest of the market down with it. As many have found, however, it has been a necessity for me to learn (and in my case teach) FCP.

(….steps down from soap box…..)

I will still fall on the side of the fact you’ve got to pay the bills, and knowing more things makes you more vaulable, not less. I’d stop short of investing in a system for a job, however, if you have plenty of other work coming in. Put it on the to do list. Apple does hold the hot hand right now.

A big question is, what does your client expect to leave with at the end of a project? An edited master tape, an output file or a project file and media set they can take with them?
If you’re not working on a platform that the client can walk away with usable assets, then this is a legitmate case for a client not wanting to give you a job, regardless of talent.

When it comes to film I have no idea what the Adobe pipeline is. But “film” is a pretty confusing term these days…..direct to DVD, offline for a negative cut, or digital print back to celluloid….FCP and avid have pretty known pipelines for getting to all destinations….as much as I love Premiere…..I’m not sure I could say the same…not that it can’t be done…but how much depth and support indutry wide do you have in doing it?

The other reason cleints demand FCP (or Avid) or anything…is that to them it’s a known quantity…..clients hate getting 85% thru a project to find out that my system “doesn’t do that.” On the other hand if people are asking for FCP but can’t tell you why……then let your reel do the talking.

My .02….

hope it helps….

Alex

Alex Udell
Editing, Motion Graphics, and Visual FX
See My Current Reel
visit the combustion exchange ftp

[Alex Udell]

Hi,

if you have a DV camcorder, most of them will allow the signal fromt he VHS to be run thru them and out the 1394 port.

then the 1394 >connects to the firewire port of your computer.

You won’t have deck contol and the timecode generated will be meaningless to the VHS source….

but you can get your material intopt he system this way.

Otherwise you will need a Analog > firewire converter.

ADS Pryo makes a pretty iexpensice one as I recall.

good luck,

[Alex Udell]

Bill….

“Even Michael Bay would have a hard time making a film with that many cuts in it. ”

This made me laugh out loud.

And now back to the discussion…

Alex

[Alex Udell]

Further testing indicates the following:

1) FCP 5 – No Kona Imported Audio sounds fine No delay
2) Import that PROJECT in to FCP 6 and the same audio exhibits the drift.
3) Take the same FCP 5 Project and export a new Audio File from FCP 5
4) Import the Audio Exported from FCP 5 into 6 and it works fine.

So we have a SOLUTION to the problem, albeit a work around, the quality is there.

But based on everyone’s thoughts….

Do I chalk this up to a FCP 6 bug?
I did my best to take the Kona out of the loop, short of conmpletely uninstalling the drivers on the fcp6 system. Using built audio abd video monitroring all the way. Could it somehow still be a factor?

They are also running QT 7.2.0 on the FCP6 station. Could this be the culprit?

Your help is greatly appreciated…

Thx..

Alex

[Alex Udell]

Hi Guys…

Another source has suggested that the difference in this case may, in fact, be the Kona Card.

The Kona may be trying to do do Pull down on the audio in the timeline, playing it at 23.98 as opposed to true 24.

It was suggested to reduce the speed of tne clip in the timeline by .1% So I set it to 99.1%

Wow, very close, less than a frame latency, so it sounds out of phase with the original. IMHO if you shut off the original it might as well be lined up perfectly as far as A/V sync in concerned.

However, this still FEELS like a work around to me.

Can’t I force the Kona NOT to do this?

If not, perhaps there is a more accurate time compression we could use in the Pro Tools stage to make this dead on.

Thanks,

Alex

[Alex Udell]

Hi…

Thanks for the feedback so far.

Every indication is that we are 24fps all the way across the board.

Updated info: This project started in FCP 5, was exported as OMF, and the resulting OMF file from Pro Tools is being brought into a FCP 6 timeline.

In fact when we bring the file back into FCP 5 system, it works fine.

The only other variable I can point to is an AJA Kona 3 in the FCP 6 system that is not present in the FCP 5 system.

However, I made project on the 6 system that ignored the Kona and the issue persisted.

Since they are primarily doing cuts only at this stage, we may be able to rescue this by taking the 6 project back to 5 via XML and importing the audio there and then bringing it forward again inot 6 once it’s all matched up.

If anyone has ANY other ideas I’m certainly open.

Thanks,

Alex

[Alex Udell]

Well here is an update…

I uninstalled Matrox RT.X2 Drivers…and PPro 2

and reinstalled just PPro.

No Change….

Whatever I did corrupted something at the OS level.

So looks like I will have to reformat and build again.

Odd…

Alex