Primary Color Correction: Tonal Range Primer - The Art and Technique of Digital Color Correction - page 19

mode and a waveform image in RGB Parade mode. First, we'll identify the
picture elements in the video image and find the corresponding areas on
the waveform monitor. This step will help us judge the effect of our cor-
rections as our eyes move from the waveform monitor to the video image.
The images will give you a good idea of the correlation of the
waveform monitor and the video image. The image of the boxer is a
high-definition (HD) still grabbed from Artbeats' Sports1 HD collec-
tion, clip SP120H1 ( Figure 1.19 a ). The image of the waveform was
grabbed from a Tektronix WVR7100, the waveform image is simply
an enlarged portion of that same scope ( Figure 1.19 b ), and the third
image is an overlay of the boxer and the waveform done in Photoshop
( Figure 1.19 c ).
Take a look at the waveform from left to right and find the match-
ing portions of the picture itself. The large rectangular shape on the
waveform is not part of the image itself. This is the black burst. You
can ignore that as you grade. The first small rises on the left correspond
to the very shadowed boxing gloves hanging in the background. Then
there is a small ramp leading up to a steeper spike. The small ramp is
probably a little atmospheric smoke that is only barely perceptible in the
HD image behind and about half way up the punching bag. The angled
spike indicates the left highlight on the punching bag. The ramping of
the waveform is because the highlight gradually gets brighter as the

D e f i n i t i o n
grade: The act of color
correcting an image. It can
be used as both a noun
and a verb. For example:
“I like the grade you did on
this image.” “I'll pull some
of the blue out as I grade
this.” “Grade” will be a
common term used in this
book because it's easier to
type than “color correct.”
Also, this is a preferred
term used by many color-
ists because it does not
have the implication that
something needed to be
simply “corrected.” I think
it also tends to imply that
it is more art than science.
“Color correction” seems
like a very engineering-
based term. The term
“grade” seems to have
more favor in Europe, but it
is widely used throughout
the world, including the
United States.

Fig. 1.20 Full display
from a Tektronix WVR7100
showing (clockwise
from upper left) a YRGB
Parade, a composite (flat)
display of the waveform, a
vectorscope set to 5x gain
(zoomed in), and a vector-
scope set to normal gain.