Color Correction in Final Cut Studio

Application(s): 
Color 1.5
Class Code: 
AC101
Class Hours: 
24
Class Cost: 
$895.00
Prerequisite(s): 

OS101 (Introduction to Mac OS X), or equivalent experience.

FC101 (Introduction to Final Cut Pro), or equivalent experience.

Class Description: 

This three day hands-on course will familiarize students with the color correcting capabilities of Final Cut Studio, with the main focus on Apple’s Color as well as exploring color correction options in Final Cut Pro. Start with the basics of color balancing and correction, and move on to the fine points of secondary grading, including scene matching, using vignettes to isolate and track regions, creating advanced color effects and “looks,” skin tone adjustments, adjusting the composition and framing of a shot, and much more.

Topics include:

  • Workflow for "roundtripping" a project into and then back out of Color
  • Using Color's software video scopes to analyze and evaluate images
  • "Primary" color correction for rebalancing contrast and color
  • Making skin tine adjustments, fixing problems, enhancing shots and altering the mood of the scene through rebalancing of the original cinematography
  • Using the Still Store for comparing and matching shots
  • Creating and saving looks to be applied to other shots
  • Using a variety of other tools to apply looks from one shot to others
  • Scene to Scene color correction- exploring the various tools to aid in matching shots to one another
  • Using " secondaries" to change individual colors and shades in the frame
  • Using "secondaries" to create vignette effects for isolating parts of the frame, for a subtle enhancement or to create a stylized look- creating effects that highlight certain areas or can be used to digitally "re-light" areas
  • Working with "curves controls" to customize regions of color or brightness in the frame
  • Using presets and creating custom, stylized looks using the Color FX room
  • Using Motion Tracking to have an effect follow a camera or actor movement in the frame
  • Using keyframes to have a correction shift over time
  • Creating Pan and Scan effects to reframe the shot over time
  • Choosing rendering settings, rendering and outputting a program

Other topics include how to adjust various user preferences and settings, importing color corrections from one project into another, re-conforming an edit, working with display LUT's, saving, auto-saving and archiving options, prepping a Final Cut Timeline for sending to Color and how various effects are handled when moving between the two applications
In addition to the previously listed topics coving Apple’s Color, this three-day course will also familiarize students with Apple’s color correction options built into Final Cut Pro.