Correcting Shots - The Art and Technique of Digital Color Correction - page 285

As Pepperman sets the levels, he's careful to keep the video levels just
under 100IRE. “We clip at 100 percent here,” he explains. “At Manhattan
Transfer, we used to clip at 103 or 104 percent. Some colorists like to see
all of the detail that's in the film element. I like to see what's important,
what's relative in the film. Meaning, if something looks good to me and
the background's clipped out, then I don't care about the background
clipping out. I care about somebody saying, 'That's visually pleasing to
me.' And that's what film is about. As far as I'm concerned, that's the
beauty of film, being able to do those things. And that's where the art of
color correction is different. I always try to look at the picture, interpret
what's the most important part of the picture in that image—especially
when it's commercial work and I want your eye to go there.
“For me, what is this picture all about? It's all about him talking. So
visually, as you're watching this, you're not going to be watching the back-
ground. You're not going to be looking at the building. You're going to be
looking at him. So let's make him the subject. Let's make him the priority.
Let's make him look good. Whatever happens in the background happens.
Now with the tools we have, I balance him, make him look good, then I work
on the things that surround him. So I start with the primary subject and
then I work my way around the picture and decide what else is important to
me. So right now, all I'm concerned about is him. Right now, I want to make
him look good. So now I'm going to start to brighten him up again and I'm
going to start adding some warmth, because I still feel that it's cooler.”

So I start with the primary subject and then I work my way around
the picture and decide what else is important to me.
- Chris Pepperman, NASCAR

“Now I feel like the warmth in the midrange would help. As I'm look-
ing at this, I'm starting to see red in the blacks, so I don't want to bleed too
much, but I like the skin tone in him.” At this point, Pepperman cuts back
and forth between the current correction and the original source footage.
Pleased with his progress, he continues, “Now, I'm taking into con-
sideration the fact that he's in a shadowed area. So you're not going to
want it to be real bright. I typically don't use high and low sat. Only when
I'm dealing with very rough film. What I mean is very underexposed or
overexposed, cause sometimes I feel like I have to add warmth overall to
the picture, but sometimes it affects the peds. So then I have to clean the
peds up, so that's when I use that tool. But primarily, I wouldn't use that
( Figures 7.34 and 7.35 ).
“So, here's where it becomes subjective. If a DP wants it on the cooler
side, I'd add more coolness. If he wanted it warmer, I'd add some warmth.
But I would like this a little bit on the warm/neutral side ( Figure 7.34 ). The

D e f i n i t i o n
sat: A common
abbreviation for saturation,
especially when describing
the application's controls
for saturation. “I lowered
the high sat so the clouds
would go white.”
peds: A common
abbreviation for pedestal
or blacks.