What precisely is the aim of a shade chart and the way can we use it to get higher grades? It’s a easy premise, when you perceive how shade charts work and the way the Color Match characteristic works inside DaVinci Resolve. But there are a few plot twists you’ll need to be careful for. In this text, I’ll cowl how I reap the benefits of this characteristic.
Understanding the colour chart
Before we dive into the Color Match characteristic itself, I need to clarify what shade charts are used for. Whether we’re utilizing the Color Match characteristic in Resolve or for every other goal, why will we shoot shade charts within the first place? This is one thing that took me a short while to grasp as a colorist.
Take a have a look at the picture above. We don’t really know what the unique scene colours on this picture must be. We can see how the colours are being reproduced and make some affordable guesses, however we don’t numerically know what all these colours must be. We don’t know precisely what they have been within the scene on that day.
But, as a result of we have now a shade chart in our body, Resolve is aware of precisely what the numerical values of the colours and grayscale steps on this shade chart must be.
Because Resolve shops these reference shade values internally, it may well use that info to check what these colours must be versus what was captured and encoded. Resolve can then calculate a match to minimize the gap between what these shade patches must be and what they’re.
By doing this, we’re theoretically going to get a extra balanced picture with extra correct shade copy. This generally is a helpful basis once we start our shade grade.
Using the Color Match software
Here’s how you need to use Resolve’s Color Match characteristic to reap the benefits of the utility of a shade chart. First, within the decrease left-hand nook of Resolve’s Color workspace, choose the Color Match palette.
Next, choose the Color Chart possibility mode from the dropdown menu within the decrease left-hand nook of the viewer to convey up the colour chart overlay. Fit the overlay so that every internal patch is crammed by its respective sq. throughout the shade chart.
Now we have now to inform Resolve what sort of shade chart we’re . But how are you aware if this can be a ColorChecker Classic? As you’ll be able to see, there are just a few totally different choices that we will choose from the drop-down menu.
In this instance, we all know that our chart is a ColorChecker Classic as a result of, if we zoom in, we will see the title of the chart within the higher left-hand nook.
ColorChecker Classic is without doubt one of the commonest charts you’re going to come across while you’re utilizing the Color Match characteristic. In normal, it’s one of many extra standard charts used on units to seize identified references for seeing colours.
Notice that there are two ColorChecker choices: the ColorChecker Classic and the ColorChecker Classic – Legacy. If you don’t know which chart you might have, I’d encourage you to go along with the ColorChecker Classic. If you exit and purchase a ColorChecker chart immediately, that’s the one you’ll get. The distinction between the 2 is kind of minor anyway. Either approach, you’re nonetheless going to get a greater basis than in case you didn’t use a shade chart in any respect.
Choosing your configuration settings
Before we inform Resolve to do its computerized bit, we have to specify just a few issues. We have to make clear what we’re making an attempt to do.
Remember, we’re working inside a color-managed pipeline proper now. So on this instance, our footage goes from the digital camera shade house (ARRI Log C4), transferring into the working shade house (DaVinci Wide Gamut Intermediate)—that’s the place we’re going to do all our shade grading—and eventually out to our show shade house (Rec. 709, Gamma 2.4).
How does what we’re about to do match into that pipeline? We’re on the lookout for a remodel that aligns the colours of the ColorChecker to what they need to be. This remodel ought to reduce the error between the colours as they need to have been captured versus how they have been captured.
We need to do all of that inside our working shade house. We don’t want to alter shade areas. Everything ought to occur inside DaVinci Wide Gamut Intermediate. That’s going to tell the best way that we arrange these subsequent couple of drop-down menus.
In the drop-down menus, we’ll set our Source Gamma and Target Gamma to DaVinci Intermediate, and our Target Color Space to DaVinci Wide Gamut. Because we’ve set issues up on this approach, every part goes to occur inside DaVinci Wide Gamut Intermediate.
Here, I’m engaged on my Balance Node in my node tree template. You can select to work in a separate node if you wish to, however this can be a completely tremendous place for us to run this Color Match.
Now let’s check out what occurs after we hit Match.
It’s nothing earth-shattering as a result of this can be a well-shot picture. It was shot beneath correctly calibrated lighting situations.
Now’s a superb time to level out one vital element: the colour chart on this picture was shot beneath the identical lighting situations because the scene. If you might have a chart that was lit utilizing a distinct mild than the scene acquired, then the colour match won’t work the best way you need it to. You’ll get a wonderfully calibrated set of colours in your chart, however that won’t translate to the colours of your precise scene—the entire level of the ColorChecker.
We don’t care about seeing the colour patches themselves reproduced precisely. We care about them offering a reference for getting a extra correct copy of the scene itself. You need to be certain that your ColorChecker was lit by the identical mild that was lighting the scene.
We don’t care about seeing the colour patches themselves reproduced precisely.
This is a mistake that always occurs on set. Sometimes, a shade chart is lit up by a digital camera assistant’s flashlight or another secondary mild supply. But if you wish to use the chart to get higher copy of all of your scene colours, then it must be lit by the identical supply that’s illuminating the scene itself. Otherwise, you’re simply getting a copy of the ColorChecker chart itself.
Applying a shade match to the picture
Two issues have occurred because of hitting that Match button. First, we’ve remapped these hues. We can see that issues within the scopes have moved round.
Resolve has aligned the hue and saturation of the colour patches to what it is aware of they need to have been if they’d been captured by a wonderfully correct digital camera beneath ideally suited lighting situations. Resolve is becoming what was captured into what ought to have been captured by a theoretical, excellent system.
But one thing else has occurred, hasn’t it? The picture has dropped in publicity, only a hair. The shade match has made it just a bit bit darker.
Our picture is getting darker as a result of the ColorChecker believes that’s what we have to do to match our grey patches. In specific, the grey sq. is being dropped right down to one thing nearer to 18% grey, in linear phrases.
Things to look out for whereas shade matching
Now that we all know what a shade chart is and the best way to make use of it inside Resolve, let’s check out just a few issues to be careful for.
In this new instance, we have to pay specific consideration as a result of there’s an occlusion that we have now to work round. As you’ll be able to see, a silver C-Stand knuckle is reducing into the higher left nook of our shade chart.
We need to make it possible for we’re not getting any of that knuckle inside our shade pattern area as a result of that may skew the evaluation. We don’t need any of these pixels to be included within the evaluation of the place the colour is encoded onto the sensor.
After we’ve made positive that the little sq. is nothing however the shade patch itself, we have now to decide on our Source Gamma, Target Gamma, and Target Color Space, similar to we did earlier than.
By the best way, it’s completely tremendous to go away the colour temperature at 6500 Kelvin, as a result of that’s the native white level of the DaVinci intermediate house that we’re working in. Now, let’s hit Match.
As you’ll be able to see from the variations between the colour chart earlier than and after, Resolve arrived at a distinct answer right here than within the first shot, however we’re doing a superb job of getting issues again to impartial.
Making the colour chart be just right for you
And that brings up an fascinating level that I need to emphasize. Sometimes if we’re pure aesthetics, we’d want the unique picture over the adjusted picture.
If I toggle between these two pictures, I would personally want the unique picture over the adjusted picture. Maybe you do too.
So, when ought to we use a shade chart and do we have now to make use of the chart if it’s within the body? The reply is not any, we completely do not need to make use of it.
Here’s the prescription I take advantage of on the subject of shade charts: If you might have a chart and it’s shot beneath lighting situations that match the scene, then go forward and run the colour match simply to see what it offers again to you. You can select to both take a bit little bit of it, you’ll be able to toss it out fully, or you’ll be able to say, “This gives me a better, more balanced starting point for my image.”
You don’t have to make use of all and even any of your shade match.
You don’t have to make use of all and even any of your shade match when you pull it, however now you might have the benefit of seeing the picture balanced to the colours within the shade chart. You can see what the picture appears like if the colour chart was captured beneath excellent lighting situations by a wonderfully correct digital camera.
With a picture like this, splitting the distinction can be an possibility. We can use our Key palette to set the Key Output Gain to 0.5.
Now we’re solely getting half of that shade rebalance. You can have all of that shade match, none of it, or only a proportion of it.
Always bear in mind the intention
But what are the foundations? How are you aware what to do when? Ultimately, it simply comes right down to your eye. It additionally comes right down to the inventive intent of your collaborators. Maybe the nice and cozy look that we began with is the precise intent of the filmmakers.
This intent is one thing else that you just need to ensure of. As a colorist, you need to talk about creative intent with the individuals that you just’re working with. If your collaborators see that you just’ve balanced every part to be impartial, however they supposed the picture to be heat, then they’ll be shocked. They’re going to say, “What did you do?”
I need to be clear: the ColorChecker is there to help you, however you don’t owe something to the ColorChecker. It’s there to be just right for you. If it’s working, then you need to use it. But if it’s not working for you, be happy to throw it away.
Now you understand how shade charts work normally and the way the Color Match characteristic works inside DaVinci Resolve. You can select when and the way you may need to use it to get higher grades in your pictures.
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