Apple Final Cut Pro 6 - Manual (Page 1338)

Chapter 27 Color Correction 553
III
Window Layouts for Color Correction in Final Cut Pro
There are two window layouts that are especially convenient for color correction
in Final Cut Pro:
 Color Correction: This layout arranges the Viewer, Canvas, and one Tool Bench
window displaying a Video Scopes tab along the top of your computer screen. The
Browser and Timeline are arranged beneath. This is a good layout for examining one
clip in your sequence at a time in the Canvas while viewing an analysis of that frame
in the Video Scopes tab and making color correction adjustments in the Viewer.
 Multiple Edits: This layout arranges four windows along the top of your computer
screen—the Viewer, a Tool Bench window showing a Frame Viewer tab, the Canvas,
and another Tool Bench window showing another Frame Viewer tab with a Video
Scopes tab in the background. The Browser and Timeline are arranged beneath. The
Multiple Edits layout is ideal for comparing adjacent clips in your sequence to one
another on your computer screen for a relative comparison.
You may also find it useful to create a custom layout of your own, depending on how
you like to work. You can open as many Tool Bench windows as you like, each with
different sets of Frame Viewer and Video Scopes tabs comparing different frames in
your sequence. For more information on using and saving window layouts in
Final Cut Pro, see Volume I, Chapter 10, “Customizing the Interface.”
The Importance of Using a Properly Calibrated Broadcast Monitor
When using Final Cut Pro color correction filters to adjust the color, blacks, and whites
of clips in your sequence, it is essential to always use a properly calibrated broadcast
video monitor to view your adjustments as you’re making them. Only an NTSC or PAL
broadcast monitor allows you to see the color and brightness of your video as it truly
looks. The image on your computer display, in comparison, does not show the color,
blacks, or whites of your video clips as they will appear during broadcast. For this
reason, the color of video on your computer display should never be used as a
reference when performing color correction.
The video monitor you use should be a professional broadcast monitor rather than a
consumer television set. Television sets have special filters that are meant to make
video coming in off the airwaves look more attractive. These filters can cause your
video to look more vivid than it really is, fooling you into making incorrect color
correction adjustments.
Important: Make sure to always calibrate your broadcast video monitor to color bars,
as described in “ Using Color Bars for Video Calibration ” on page 540. Otherwise, you
may be incorrectly modifying the color, blacks, and whites of your clips to
compensate for an incorrectly adjusted monitor.