Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 1342)

Once the edit has been locked and the final master tape created, the tape can be taken
to an online suite capable of tape-to-tape color correction. The master tape is run through
a color corrector, and the colorist uses the tape’s master timecode to set up color correction
settings for every shot of every scene. Once this setup is complete, the entire tape is run
through the color corrector and rerecorded to another tape.
Perform
online edit
Perform color correction
pass in online suite
Output new
master tape
Color Correction in Final Cut Pro
With as much control as they afford, telecine sessions tend to be expensive, especially
for longer projects. Tape-to-tape color correction can also be expensive, but in both cases
you’re paying to work with a professional colorist who has years of experience. Color
correction requires a practiced eye and careful attention to detail, because it is this final
step that really differentiates the look of low-budget video programs from professional
broadcast TV.
With Final Cut Pro, you have professional color correction tools at your disposal. Controls
that allow automatic adjustments of blacks and whites give even the beginner a basic
starting point from which to proceed. With patience and practice, you can learn to work
with these tools to achieve sophisticated color correction right on your desktop. With a
fast enough computer or a third-party capture card with real-time processing, Final Cut Pro
color correction filters can even operate in real time, eliminating the need to render every
color-corrected clip.
You can also color correct your footage using the sophisticated features of the Color
application. For more information about transferring your footage to Color for grading,
see
“Color Correction with Color.”
The Final Cut Pro Color Correction Process
As mentioned earlier, color correction has several goals. To outline the process of color
correction, this section focuses on two of those goals:
• Making the actors or key elements of your scene look the way they should
• Determining the overall look that you want for the scenes making up your movie
1342 Chapter 79 About Color Correction