Apple Shake 4 - Manual (Page 443)

Chapter 15 Image Processing Basics 443
5 Render out 48 frames. The Wedge macro automatically brackets your initial pick up and
down by whatever value you set as the colorStep. For a wide bracket, use a high
number (such as 90). For a narrow bracket, use a lower number (such as 22). This
process prints 48 different color, brightness, and contrast tests, then automatically
returns the image to log color with the default settings. The internals of the Wedge
macro are basically LogLin (log to lin) > ContrastRGB > LogLin (lin to log).
6 Record and print your 48 frames.
7 Compare the actual physical pieces of film to the frame of the original workprint on a
light box using a loupe. The exposure numbers are printed on the frame by the Wedge
macro. Select the frame that exactly duplicates the original print. If no frames match
up, adjust your starting points for red, green, and blue, narrow your colorStep, and
wedge again until you have a frame that looks correct.
8 For all composites that use this plate, use the values you selected in the Wedge macro in
your LogLin node, converting from log to linear color. Keep your default values when
returning to log color, with the exception of the conversion setting, which is linear to log.
This process is generally done for every shot. At a larger studio, there is likely to be an
entire department to do the color timing for you. Count yourself lucky to be in such a
wise and far-sighted studio.
The second technique to handle the color process is to not handle it at all—let the
Color Timer for the production or the developing lab handle it. While this is easier, you
do surrender some control over the process. However, this is a perfectly acceptable
technique used in many large effects houses. When you employ this technique, you use
the same values in your LogLin in and out of your color. You may adjust the numbers
slightly, but make sure the same numbers are used in both operators. For example,
because a physical piece of negative has a slight orange cast, your positive scan may
have a slight green cast. You may want to adjust for this in the LogLin node. A good
technique is to adjust your log to lin LogLin, copy the node (Command-C or Control-C),
and then paste a linked copy back in (Shift-Command-V or Shift-Control-V). Next,
adjust the conversion setting of the second LogLin node to lin to log. If you adjust the
original LogLin node, the copy takes the same values since it is a linked copy.