[Keith Maloy]

Hey Andy, Today I found a nifty button that allowed me to see the “parade’ vector scope which revealed a portion of the problem with the coloring/luminance. The original clip shows a wider spectrum of the luminance pattern from 0 up to 109. The same clip coming through Motion has the luminance clamped down at 100 It’s like anything above 100 is squished down to the 100 level. So my original clip goes to 109 as a normal range and looks better than the clamped 100. Did your study clip have a luminance above 100? In the FCP Project properties there is a setting to use the extra white ( 110 mode ) but I’m just using the standard white ( 100 ) configuration. Thanks again, please let me know what things I might look for to understand what’s happening.

[Keith Maloy]

Thanks Andy for your checking this item out. I’m glad it’s not a wide spread problem in the Motion program I’ll look at a few things I can change in the configs etc. to hopefully clear up the matter. It sounds like a case of the severely complex computer language disagreeing with itself.

[Keith Maloy]

Thanks Andy for checking up on this coloring issue. It could be that my original footage shot on an XL-1s was a little more vivid than it should be however the colors should not be bothered by the programs and it perhaps is just isolated to my configurations. Did you happen to view the clips side by side as seen through a fire wire external video out monitor? That’s part of my configuration I do my color corrections based on a regular Sony studio CRT monitor fed out from the computer via fire wire. It’s only on this third monitor I see the color change. Viewing on the cinema displays does not reveal the change. Again it isn’t a comparison from the cinema display to the CRT either. I view both clips on the CRT one image is better than the other. Thanks again though for helping me out.

[Keith Maloy]

Hi Andy, True I’ve not gone about the use of the programs very efficiently and there is the possibility of a slight compression interference. However that is not what is occurring here. Case in point, I open a FCP project and install a clip on it’s time line. I open Motion and install the same clip on it’s time line. I then import the motion sequence into the FCP time line. Now the same original clip is on the FCP time line twice. So far the clip from Motion has not been exported it’s just being supplied from Motion to appear in the FCP time line. I now view the “two” clips on my video out monitor. The FCP clip is vibrant the same clip coming through Motion is less vibrant. Just by sitting in the Motion time line, the clip is being affected. The original source file is not changed but when it is viewed in Motion and or consequently exported it loses some color intensity. Also I can view the clip unaltered on my video out screen from Motion and the same thing occurs. Again just by having the clip viewed from the Motion interface the original vibrant clip becomes diminished. Is there some sort of preset in the preferences I’m overlooking? Thanks

[Keith Maloy]

Hi Andy, No in all my efforts to trouble shoot I haven’t tried that one. I am used to exporting a self contained QT movie to work on in Motion and then export it back out as a self contained QT movie from Motion. I have tried importing the Motion file (which contains an original correctly colored clip) into FCP but with the same results, diminished luminance. As soon as any clip is put in the Motion program it immediately affects the coloring. By “correctly colored clip” I mean one that has a more vibrant color. I’ve been able to mimic the behavior in FCP by either throwing on a broadcast safe filter or exporting a DVCPRO50 422 file. These both will show me the same muted color schemes In FCP like I see when I’m in Motion. Again I only notice the shift in color on my video output monitor. Thanks for getting back with me.