Apple Final Cut Express HD - Manual (Page 833)

Chapter 56 Color Correcting Clips 833
IX
The 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
Every video project is comprised of a series of scenes. While scenes may differ in color
and tone—one scene taking place at night, the next one happening in the midday
sun—every shot within a given scene should match. The goal is to make sure that the
transitions from shot to shot within a scene are smooth. If one shot is brighter or
redder than the one next to it, the result can be similar to a jump cut, distracting the
viewer and making your project look unprofessional.
The Importance of Using a Properly Calibrated Broadcast Monitor
When using Final Cut Express HD color correction filters to adjust the color, blacks,
and whites of clips in your sequence, it is essential to always use a properly calibrated
broadcast video monitor to view your adjustments as you’re making them. Only an
NTSC or PAL broadcast monitor allows you to see the color and brightness of your
video as it truly looks. The image on your computer display, in comparison, does not
show the color, blacks, or whites of your video clips as they will appear during
broadcast. For this reason, the color of video on your computer display should never
be used as a reference when performing color correction.
The video monitor you use should be a professional broadcast monitor, rather than a
consumer television set. Television sets have special filters that are meant to make
video coming in off the airwaves look more attractive. These filters can cause your
video to look more vivid than it really is, fooling you into making incorrect color
correction adjustments.
Important: Make sure to always calibrate your broadcast video monitor to color bars.
Otherwise, you may be incorrectly modifying the color, blacks, and whites of your
clips to compensate for an incorrectly adjusted monitor.