Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 1346)

• Frame Viewer windows: You can use Frame Viewer windows to compare the color of
adjacent sequence clips in a single frame. See “Comparing Two Frames in the Frame
Viewer.”
Color Correction Filters
The Color Corrector, Color Corrector 3-way, and RGB Balance filters are the main filters
you use for matching color between shots and making aesthetic color changes. The
Broadcast Safe, RGB Limit, Desaturate Highlights, and Desaturate Lows filters are used to
correct illegal video levels and to correct black and white color casts. See
“Color Correction
Filters.”
Using Scopes Versus Looking at an External Monitor
There are two pieces of information that you have available to work with while performing
color correction: the readouts displayed in the Video Scopes tab, and the visual image as
displayed on your NTSC or PAL broadcast video monitor. Each has advantages and
disadvantages; you’ll want to use both equally to determine what needs to be done.
The Final Cut Pro video scopes are very good for showing you quantitative information
about the relative distribution of luma, the balance of different colors, the amount of
saturation, and the range of color that exists in your clip. This information can help you
decide how to adjust the controls of the color correction filter being used and spot details
that you may not have noticed in the picture.
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.” Otherwise, you may be incorrectly
modifying the color, blacks, and whites of your clips to compensate for an incorrectly
adjusted monitor.
1346 Chapter 80 Color Correction Features