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FCPX 10.4’s Color Grading Tools Are a Game Changer

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With the recognition of flat picture profiles and the arrival of HDR workflows on the horizon, shade grading inside your NLE is extra essential than ever. With FCP X 10.4, you are able to do extra with shade grading (and do it extra shortly and intuitively) than ever earlier than. I’m going to stroll you thru the brand new instruments and present you simply how cool they’re.

Beyond the Color Board

Final Cut Pro X has not been a stranger to paint grading. Since its inception, Final Cut allowed you to paint right utilizing a software referred to as the shade board. The shade board was initially constructed right into a video clip, and by shifting via numerous panes you might regulate the publicity, saturation and shade of a picture. An enormous drawback with the colour board was should you got here from Final Cut Pro 7, had a background in picture modifying software program, or have been accustomed to skilled shade correction purposes, the colour board was fairly international to you.

Instead of the normal shade wheels, the colour board represented the identical data in a flat, horizontal subject. There have been pucks assigned to Highlights, Midtones, and Shadows that you might transfer up or down to regulate shade, saturation, or publicity as wanted. While the colour board shouldn’t be a nasty method to work together with a shade, it didn’t comply with the established shade grading paradigms.

Another situation was your incapacity to keyframe a correction (though there was a method to cheat this by blading a clip and dissolving between 2 corrections).

Not any extra

Now flash ahead to December 14th, 2017 when Apple launched Final Cut Pro X model 10.4. The most important modifications all needed to do with shade. If the modifications for shade could possibly be summed up in a single phrase, it might be flexibility. The choices you could have for working with shade have been vastly improved and expanded with the addition of shade wheels, shade curves and hue and saturation curves.

This article will check out these new additions and clarify how you need to use them with the assistance of current shade instruments. I may also clarify how one can optimize Final Cut to make use of them extra effectively. Finally, we are going to take a quick have a look at performing a shade stability correction with an eyedropper alongside along with your potential to now load customized LUTs within FCP X.

Introducing the Color Inspector

There are a number of methods so as to add the brand new shade grading results to a clip. One is to make use of the Effects Browser. Select the clip you need to apply the impact to and press Cmd + 5 to carry up the consequences browser. In the Color class are the three new shade results that use the colour correction instruments: Color Wheels, Color Curves and Hue/Saturation Curves (Please observe: the outdated Hue/Saturation impact doesn’t provide you with entry to the Hue/Saturation Curves within the Color Inspector). There can also be an impact that lets you load Look-up Tables (aka LUTs.)

If you double-click any of those shade results, it will likely be utilized to your chosen clip and present up within the video inspector. You can regulate its controls within the new shade inspector by urgent cmd + 6 or clicking the triangular Color Inspector icon.

Adding a number of results

You can apply a number of shade results to a clip. Whichever impact is chosen within the video inspector represents the set of instruments that might be displayed when the colour inspector is activated.

Besides including shade results from the consequences browser, you may add them immediately within the shade inspector. Inside the colour inspector is a drop-down that may show all the colour corrections on a clip and the flexibility so as to add extra corrections.

More efficient

A way more efficient manner so as to add these results can be to assign keyboard shortcuts to them. The default keyboard solely has shortcuts for the colour board because it’s assigned because the default impact. But you may change the default shade impact that reveals up within the inspector when no corrections are utilized. It’s presently set to paint board however will be modified in preferences.

I’ve included a hyperlink to a video describing the above and extra in how one can arrange keyboard shortcuts for quicker shade grading.

Making changes with Color Wheels

If you got here from FCP 7 (or every other conventional NLE), you’ll really feel proper at residence with shade wheels. To apply them, choose a clip within the timeline then press cmd + 6 to go to the colour inspector. In the drop-down menu the place it says “No Corrections,” click on the arrow simply subsequent to it to activate the drop-down menu. Then choose “Color Wheels” so as to add a shade wheels correction.

Inside the colour inspector, you may determine how your shade wheels are displayed. Currently, it reveals you all of the wheels without delay in a single window from prime to backside.

Or you may change this to a single view and have every wheel displayed in panes.

You can customise your keyboard to simply transfer between the colour panes with shortcuts. (The hyperlink to the video above within the earlier part demonstrates this.)

All wheels, on a regular basis

Depending on what number of home windows are open in your workspace, you may prolong your inspector and present all shade wheels in a single line as seen within the picture under.

When making changes with any shade impact, it’s finest to have your video scopes energetic.

In the under instance, I pressed cmd+7 to carry up my video scopes. From the view menu, I selected a one-up show with the scope exhibiting in monochrome solely. From the scope menu, I selected a waveform scope set to luma, my most popular method to see distinction inside a picture.

In trying on the waveform, I can see the video clip displayed from left to proper and all of the luminance data obtainable. Usually, the aim is to develop distinction in your picture. In the world of broadcast, you need your deepest shadows to be at 0 and your brightest highlights to be at 100. If you’re going to the net, you generally is a bit extra lenient with the dimensions.

While inspecting the picture, you may see it lacks deep shadows and will use a carry in total publicity. Dragging the gray sliders on the proper of every wheel makes publicity changes. In the under instance, the grasp shade management was used to carry up the whole waveform equally.  Exposure was introduced down within the shadows and introduced up barely within the midtones and highlights.

A more in-depth look

If you look fastidiously on the luma waveform, you may see what components of the scope are being affected whereas making changes. You also can flip your impact on and off within the shade inspector to see a earlier than and after by clicking the checkbox subsequent to the impact.

After adjusting publicity, let’s look to see if the picture is correctly white balanced. Let’s swap the scope to a waveform RGB Parade and switch off monochrome below the scopes view menu.

When taking a look at this scope, the general shade grading aim is to stability (not less than initially). In the picture, you may see extra blue within the deep shadow space and a scarcity of inexperienced within the highlights. By deciding on the puck in the midst of the shadows shade wheel and dragging it away from blue, you may stability the underside a part of the scopes. You also can choose the puck in highlights and drag it in the direction of inexperienced.

Little changes often go a great distance and you’ll at all times reset a wheel by clicking on the “reset” arrow on the backside proper of the wheel. Notice how the bar on the left of the wheel modifications shade to no matter shade you’re dragging in the direction of.

The arrow on the left of the wheels lets you regulate saturation. When adjusting saturation, one of the best scope to make use of is the vectorscope. It just about is a shade wheel however has a number of extra options. It reveals you the way saturated your clip is by exhibiting you a blob of traces. With white within the middle, the additional out your blob reaches to a particular shade, the extra saturated it’s.

The pores and skin tone line

The vectorscope additionally incorporates a line generally known as the pores and skin tone line. If you could have Caucasian or lighter-skinned topics in your scene, greater than seemingly you’d desire a majority of that blob to relaxation on the road as displayed under.

You also can see an arm of the blob reaching in the direction of blue primarily based on the colourful blue shirt within the picture. With the flexibility to regulate saturation individually within the shadows, midtones, and highlights, we will higher goal saturation of muted colours as an alternative of our total picture. We also can obtain this with our Hue/Saturation curves.

Temperature, tint, and hue

At the underside of the colour wheels are methods to regulate the temperature, tint, and hue of the general picture.

While the person controls of shade wheels can’t be keyframed, proper subsequent to the phrase ”Color Wheels” is a keyframe creator. This offers you the potential to keyframe/animate your collective changes.

Lastly, there may be much more you are able to do with shade wheels than proven above. In the above instance, very fundamental shade grading changes have been made. You can mix these with extra shade wheels or shade results so as to add extra type to your tasks and even mix them with built-in form masks for secondary correction.

The fellas over at Ripple Training do an ideal job demonstrating these fundamental shade wheel changes.

Making Adjustments with Curves

Color Curves, the second shade impact to be added in FCP X 10.4, may also be added to clips by way of the consequences browser or the colour inspector. If you come from a photograph modifying background, you may really feel proper at residence with curves. The potential to control curves is one function added to FCP X that considerably ups its shade grading sport.

When you add Color Curves to a clip, you could have the flexibility regulate the luma, pink, inexperienced and blue channels of your footage.

In the under instance, a shade curves impact was added, and the view within the shade inspector was set to single. The luma waveforms are open and set to monochrome. You can see the picture is reasonably flat and missing element within the higher mid-tones.

Using luma curves

Using the luma curves, you may improve publicity within the clip identical to what was proven with shade wheels. If you drag the underside a part of the curve to the proper, you’ll darken the shadows. If you drag the higher a part of the curve to the left, you’ll increase highlights. You can do that whereas monitoring your waveform and analyzing the darkest and brightest spots of a picture. If you need to have an effect on extra luminance values near the shadows or decrease mid-tones, you may click on the decrease a part of a luma curve so as to add a degree to the curve and convey it down barely. When you drag it, discover how the brand new level anchors to the curve.

If you make an undesirable change, you may at all times choose a degree and press delete or reset the whole curve with the hooked arrow on the prime proper of the window.

Since we additionally need to increase midtones primarily based on the brightness of the pores and skin, we’ll use the eyedropper on the prime of the curve window and pattern the particular person’s hand. After clicking and dragging on the picture to choose, a degree will get added on the curve. By dragging the purpose up barely, you give the midtones a lift in that particular space.

If we swap our scopes over to the Waveform RGB parade, discover a scarcity of inexperienced within the shadows and decrease mid-tones.

In order to stability the picture, we’ll add a degree to the inexperienced curve and drag right down to stability out the decrease a part of the graph. You can slide that time up and down your curve till you could have the proper choice.

Blue metal

While the picture is now pretty balanced, on playback, I discover a barely blue tint to the smoke from the cigarette. By heading over to the blue shade curve pane and deciding on the eyedropper, I can pattern the smoke. While the curves present the realm you chose by a line, a degree has not been added but. Also, on this case, the curve has modified from blue to Aqua as you may see by its identify. In FCP X, curves aren’t restricted to RGB values.

What’s fascinating about FCP X’s curves is you could regulate different colours by utilizing the eyedropper. When you pattern a shade, your shade curve modifications shade to match. Alternatively, you need to use the drop-down beside the identify of the curve then choose the colour of your selection manually.

By including a degree to the Aqua curve and dragging it down, you may take away the colour solid on the smoke.

You also can use FCP X so as to add form or shade masks.  When we use FCP X masks in shade correction, we carry out secondary shade corrections that have an effect on part of the picture, reasonably than the entire. The subsequent new shade impact is all about secondary correction—Hue and Saturation Curves.

HUE vs SATURATION Curves

Hue and Saturation curves are nice for adjusting particular Hues in addition to Saturation values in a picture. In the under picture, we’ll change the colour and saturation of the ladies’s shirt.

In the colour inspector, we’ll add a Hue/Saturation curve. There are a number of curves to select from: Hue vs Hue, Hue vs Sat, Hue vs Luma, Luma vs Sat, Sat vs Sat, and Orange vs Sat. Each curve lets you pattern a picture by utilizing an eyedropper, and every lets you alter the picture differently.

With these “A vs B” curves, you’ll choose specific values in A and alter the B property of that choice. So a Hue vs Luma curve signifies that you choose sure hues, and alter their luma (brightness).

HUE vs HUE

To change the colour of the shirt, choose the eyedropper to the proper of the hue vs hue. On the picture, click on and maintain on the blue shirt to pattern a spread of the blue values.

The hue vs hue curve now incorporates 3 factors. The level within the center is the hue sampled. The factors on the surface limit the colours affected by the correction.

If you choose the center level and drag up or down, you start to alter the colour of the shirt. Click between the outer factors and new factors might be added. If you need extra hues concerned in your adjustment, you may drag the 2 outer factors farther aside to develop the vary chosen.

Cross test

When making any adjustment, it’s at all times finest to test the earlier than and after, by clicking the checkbox on the prime left of the impact. Here, you’ll have seen that the ladies’s necklace and a part of the window are included within the adjustment. This is the place including a form masks might turn out to be useful.   In the under instance, a form masks was added and a sq. masks was created across the girls’s shirt. Now the purple tint that was coming from the window is gone as a result of solely what’s contained in the masks is affected.

For the necklace, we will add a second Hue/Saturation impact and choose the necklace with the eyedropper. By enjoying with the vary, you’re capable of carry again the blue. It’s additionally at all times finest to return to the unique Hue/Sat correction and make delicate shade grading changes to compensate for the brand new change.

The above instance brings up an essential level. In Final Cut Pro X you may mix a number of shade correction results onto clips and obtain very highly effective outcomes.  The sky’s the restrict once you begin to mix corrections.

HUE vs SAT

To end this instance, let’s head again to my first Hue/Saturation impact within the shade inspector. Let’s scroll right down to the following curve referred to as Hue vs Sat and pattern a Hue with the eyedropper. By bringing down the center level, you may lower the general saturation of that hue in her shirt.

HUE vs LUMA

Similar to the Hue vs Sat curves, this curve selects hues and lets you regulate their luminance. You can manually add factors or use the eyedropper.

 LUMA vs SAT

This curve comes with two factors. The level on the left represents your shadows and the purpose in your proper is your highlights. If you drag the left level up, it should improve saturation within the shadows and down will desaturate it.  Use the eyedropper to pattern a particular luminance worth that you need to use as an anchor to regulate a saturation worth decrease or greater than it.

 SAT vs SAT

This curve additionally comes with two factors. When working with Sat vs Sat, consider your picture as divided into two components. One half incorporates values which have numerous saturation. The different incorporates values for the much less saturated components. The level on the left controls saturation for the much less saturated values. The level on the proper controls the extra saturated values. Dragging both level up or down impacts these saturation ranges respectively. If you’ve labored with Adobe Photoshop’s vibrance impact, you may obtain related outcomes. Use the eyedropper so as to add factors to make use of as an anchor.

Areas of the picture with much less saturation have been introduced up. And areas of the picture with extra saturation have been introduced down.

ORANGE vs SAT (or any shade you need vs SAT)

This curve additionally has two factors. By default, it’s set to orange as a result of it really works nice with various saturation that may happen within the pores and skin tones.

When you need to improve saturation within the orange colours with much less saturation, drag the purpose on the left up. When you need to lower saturation within the extra saturated oranges, drag the purpose to the proper down. Use the eyedropper to pattern any shade in your picture and watch the curve swap to that shade whereas including a mark the place that saturation pattern you chose lies. Adjust the road to style.

In the picture above, the eyedropper was used to pattern the blue shirt. Some extent was added by clicking near the road the place the saturation values lie. The saturated aqua colours have been introduced down barely and the others have been boosted. The level added was used as an anchor.

You also can select a special shade by clicking the downward arrow subsequent to the phrase Orange vs Sat. Drag the purpose on the outer circle in the direction of the colour you need to regulate.

Lastly, identical to shade curves and shade wheels, the general Hue/Saturation curve impact will be keyframed.

White Balance

Now let’s check out a number of different choices obtainable for shade grading in FCP X. One occurs to be Balance Color, obtainable below the “Color and audio enhancements” menu. This is the “Magic Wand” menu on the backside left-hand portion of the Viewer. Or choose it from the Final Cut Pro “Modify” menu.

When utilized to a clip, it mechanically white balances it by analyzing scope data. It doesn’t at all times work nice in some conditions. But you could have choices. In the video inspector, you may change the tactic of shade stability from automated to white stability. An eyedropper seems together with directions within the viewer telling you what to do subsequent.

Use the eyedropper to pick out a shade within the picture that’s alleged to be white. The picture will regulate accordingly. Don’t be afraid to strive deciding on a number of factors to see what shade grading impact it has in your picture. You can then toggle between automated and white stability to see which seems to be finest.

Custom LUTs

Another welcome boost is the potential to use customized Look-up Tables (LUTs). LUTs provide the potential so as to add predefined seems to be to your picture which will be tweaked to your desire. In earlier variations of FCP X, you have been pressured to make use of a third celebration plugin or use pre-installed digital camera LUTs (Note: Camera LUTs present below the General Metadata View of the inspector window). Now within the data inspector is the flexibility so as to add a customized digital camera LUT.

In the consequences browser, there’s additionally a Custom LUT impact that may be utilized to a clip within the timeline. Once utilized to a clip, you may then load any LUT you need out of your system by way of the inspector window.

Under the video inspector, selecting a customized LUT to load out of your system.

Conclusion

Not too way back I inspired you that should you had beforehand given up on FCP X, now was the time to give it another look. The addition of the colour grading options in 10.4 makes it much more thrilling. One might argue that each one the first and secondary shade grading can now all be performed in FCP X. The latest model affords flexibility for any creator to work with the colour results they’re most comfy with.

These new options construct on a listing of others not talked about on this article. Like native 360 video assist and HDR content material supply. Combine this with its already current toolset and we simply might have a game-changer.

To proceed your journey into shade grading and its mysteries, why not strive this article on ACES, or this essential guide to LUTs.

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