Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
(a)
(b)
Fig. 2.24
a) The video image as it was shot. A fairly washed out, low-con image. b) The video image with the simple S curve applied. The
blacks are richer, the highlights pop more, and the contrast in the midtones is improved.
Of the colorists who participated in sessions for this topic, the biggest
proponent of using curves as the primary place for doing color correction
is Los Angeles-based Avid Symphony Nitris editor, Terry Curren of Alpha
Dogs in Burbank. Although his primary job is as an editor, Terry's correc-
tions stood up very well against those done by the full-time colorists, and
he made his corrections very quickly and efficiently using curves. Before
Apple bought FinalTouch from Silicon Color, Terry's biggest complaint about
the product was that it lacked curves, which are integral to his approach to
color correction. Under Apple's first release of Color, curves were added.
We will get into using individual color channel curves to fix color cast
issues in
Chapter 4
, page 131, but the master curve can also be easily and
intuitively used to do either quick or very complex tonal adjustments to
a picture.
Curves Tutorial
In the previous chapter, we corrected the “brian_interview_overexposed.”
Let's try this same correction again using the curves in Color Finesse HD+.
Launch Color Finesse. Start a new project or open a previous one and
import the shot “brian_interview_overexposed.” In the upper left corner,
call up the LUMA WFM, or Luminance Waveform. I recommend doing all
of these corrections looking at an external waveform/vectorscope, such as
the Tektronix WM7000 used throughout the rest of the topic, but I will
explain these corrections using the built-in scopes in Color Finesse.
Below the built-in scopes, in the lower left corner, are tabs that allow
you to select tools with which to do your corrections (
Figure 2.25
). Select
Curves. The Curves tool presents you with four graphs. As I mentioned
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