Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 1415)

This chapter covers the following:
• Using Color for Color Correction (p. 1415)
To work on your project in a dedicated color correction environment, you can send your
sequence to Color for professional-level color correction and grading. You can use the
Send to Color command to send your footage to Color or export your sequence to the
Final Cut Pro XML Interchange Format and import the XML file into Color.
Using Color for Color Correction
The basic stages in the Color workflow are described below.
Stage 1: Preparing Your Sequence for Working in Color
There are a couple of steps you can take to prepare your edited sequence to work in
Color more efficiently. To be safe, make a copy of your sequence before making any of
these changes.
• To simplify navigation and correction in Color, move all clips that are superimposed
for editing purposes to track V1. This does not apply to clips that are superimposed to
create a composited effect; those clips should be left alone.
• To ensure optimal performance when working in Color, it’s also a good idea to break
long sequences (such as those for feature-length projects) into approximately 22-minute
reels (the length is arbitrary, but 22 minutes is the standard length of a film reel). Each
reel should begin and end at a good cut point.
Stage 2: Preparing Your Media for Working in Color
Once you’ve prepared your sequence, you should also prepare your project’s media.
• If you’re handing your project off to someone at another facility, you may want to take
the opportunity to process your sequence using the Media Manager to trim your media
to only what’s necessary for the finished sequence.
• For the best results, you should also recapture all offline-quality media at its native
online resolution.
1415
Color Correction with Color 83