Final Cut Studio Color Correction, Part 2 Los Angeles CA

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Originally published at Internet.com

As we continue with our FCS Color tutorial, we'll show you how to make secondary color corrections. With this powerful info you'll be able to change the color of individual areas in your video.

In Part 1 of this series, we introduced you to Final Cut Studio's new Color application for performing professional color corrections. We also showed you how to make primary corrections which change the video's overall color. In this second part, we'll look at secondary corrections, which give you fine-grained control over specific objects or areas. Ernie Schaeffer

As always in our Final Cut guides, we're joined by the respected and experienced Ernie Schaeffer, a fifteen-year media industry veteran and a trainer with all4DVD.com. Schaeffer teaches classes on Final Cut Studio color correction at all4DVD's training center in Irvine, California. Visit the site for more information.

Secondary Corrections
When you're done with Color's Primary In room, click the tab along the top for the Secondary room. Click the Enable button at the top center of the screen to enable secondary color corrections. In the bottom center of the screen, you'll see other tabs, each one for a secondary correction that you can make. Color lets you make up to eight secondaries in a video, meaning that you can change eight different colors. To make a color correction, select one of the tabs and click its Enable button, as well. Think of each of these tabs as a smaller room within the Secondary tab, said Schaeffer.

To select a color for each secondary correction, you'll use an eyedropper tool. Click the eyedropper in the top right corner, then click the color you want in your video. You can also click-and-drag the eyedropper to select a range of colors. Slider controls near the eyedropper in the upper right corner let you soften and smooth your selection, to make sure you're grabbing the color you want.

In the Color interface, you'll see three screens which show you the effect you're creating. The one in the top left shows the final output, while the center two show you the original video and the matte you're creating (i.e., the area altered by your color correction). Fine tune your color selection with the controls to the right, which let you change the hue, saturation, and luminescence. Use the middle mouse button to click these values and change them. As you make your adjustments, you'll see the matte (the while area in the screen on the right) take shape. Make sure the matte encompasses all the area you want to change.

If you want to only change color values in a certain portion of your image, use the vignette feature to select an area to change. Click the Vignette button below the center screens to create a circle on your preview image. Drag this circle so that it covers the area who want changed. (You can also change only the area outside the circle.) Use the controls on the right to soften the edges of your circle. Again, use the middle mouse button to click and change the values.

When you've got your matte finished, adjust the color wheels above the center screens to change the color. These color wheels are in the same place as in the Primary room, so this should be familiar. If the color change seems too crisp around the edges, use the Blur setting to the right to soften it. Schaeffer recommends a setting of one or two.

That's all for secondary color corrections. Join us next week as we go further into Apple Color.