HD
Table Of Contents
- Final Cut Express HD User Manual
- Contents
- Final Cut Express HD Documentation and Resources
- Part I: An Introduction to Final Cut Express HD
- Part II: Learning About the Final Cut Express HD Interface
- Overview of the Final Cut Express HD Interface
- Browser Basics
- Viewer Basics
- Canvas Basics
- Navigating and Using Timecode in the Viewer and Canvas
- Timeline Basics
- Customizing the Interface
- Part III: Setting Up Your Editing System
- Connecting Your Equipment
- Determining Your Hard Disk Storage Options
- External Video Monitoring
- Part IV: Capturing and Importing
- Capturing Your Footage to Disk
- Overview of the Capturing Process
- Overview of the Capture Window
- Preparing to Capture
- Capturing Individual Clips in the Capture Window
- Using Capture Now
- Adding Markers to Clips in the Capture Window
- Recapturing Clips
- Finding Your Media Files After Capture
- Modifying a Media File’s Reel Name Property
- Avoiding Duplicate Timecode Numbers on a Single Tape
- Importing Media Files Into Your Project
- Working With HDV
- Capturing Your Footage to Disk
- Part V: Organizing Footage and Preparing to Edit
- Organizing Footage in the Browser
- Using Markers
- Learning About Markers
- Working With Markers
- Viewing Markers in the Viewer or Canvas
- Viewing Markers in the Browser
- Adding Markers in Clips and Sequences
- Deleting Markers in Clips and Sequences
- Navigating With Markers
- Renaming Markers, Adding Comments, and Changing the Kind of Marker
- Moving a Marker
- Aligning Items in the Timeline by Their Markers
- Extending a Marker’s Duration
- Editing Markers Into Sequences
- Exporting Markers With Your QuickTime Movies
- Creating Subclips
- Part VI: Rough Editing
- Working With Projects, Clips, and Sequences
- Specifying Preferences Before You Start Editing
- Working With Projects
- Learning About the Different Types of Clips
- Viewing and Changing the Properties of a Clip
- Creating and Working With Sequences
- The Fundamentals of Adding Clips to a Sequence
- Setting Edit Points for Clips and Sequences
- About In and Out Points
- Setting Clip In and Out Points in the Viewer
- Setting Sequence In and Out Points in the Canvas or Timeline
- Navigating to In and Out Points
- Moving In and Out Points
- Clearing In and Out Points
- Working With Tracks in the Timeline
- Drag-to-Timeline Editing
- Three-Point Editing
- Finding and Selecting Content in the Timeline
- Understanding What’s Currently Selected
- Direct Methods for Selecting Content in a Sequence
- Finding and Selecting Based on Search Criteria
- Selecting a Vertical Range Between In and Out Points
- Using Auto Select to Specify Tracks for Selections
- Arranging Clips in the Timeline
- Cutting Clips and Adjusting Durations
- Linking and Editing Video and Audio in Sync
- Linked Sync Relationships Between Video and Audio Clips
- Linking and Unlinking Video and Audio Clip Items in the Timeline
- Selecting Individual Clip Items While They Are Linked
- Getting Clip Items Back in Sync
- Establishing a Different Sync Relationship Between Linked Clip Items
- Learning About Linking Behavior in Audio Channel Pairs
- Split Edits
- Audio Editing Basics
- The Goals of Audio Editing
- Using Waveform Displays to Help You Edit Audio
- Learning About the Audio Controls in the Viewer
- Editing Audio in the Viewer
- Opening Audio Clips in the Viewer
- Viewing Audio Tracks in the Viewer
- Zooming In or Out of the Waveform Display Area
- Scrolling Through a Zoomed-In Audio Clip
- Using the J, K, and L Keys to Hear Subtle Details
- Turning Off the Audio Scrubbing Sounds
- About Setting Edit Points for Audio
- Dragging an Audio Clip to the Canvas, Browser, or Timeline
- Trimming Audio Clips in the Viewer
- Editing Audio in the Timeline
- Creating or Separating Stereo Pairs
- Working With Audio at the Subframe Level
- Examples of Ways to Easily Edit Audio
- Working With Projects, Clips, and Sequences
- Part VII: Fine-Tuning Your Edit
- Performing Slip, Slide, Ripple, and Roll Edits
- About Trimming With Slip, Slide, Ripple, and Roll Tools
- Sliding Clips in the Timeline
- Slipping Clips in the Timeline
- Using the Ripple Tool to Trim an Edit Without Leaving a Gap
- Using the Roll Tool to Change Where a Cut Occurs
- Learning About Trimming Clips
- Trimming Clips Using the Trim Edit Window
- Adding Transitions
- Refining Transitions Using the Transition Editor
- Sequence to Sequence Editing
- Matching Frames
- Working With Timecode
- Performing Slip, Slide, Ripple, and Roll Edits
- Part VIII: Audio Mixing
- Overview of Audio Mixing
- Setting Up Audio Equipment
- Audio Fundamentals
- Audio Levels, Meters, and Output Channels
- Mixing Audio in the Timeline and Viewer
- Using the Voice Over Tool
- Using Audio Filters
- Tips for Better Audio
- Part IX: Effects
- Video Filters
- Different Ways to Use Filters
- Applying a Filter to a Clip
- Applying Multiple Filters to Clips
- Viewing and Adjusting a Filter’s Parameters
- Displaying Filter Bars in the Timeline
- Enabling and Rearranging Filters
- Copying and Pasting a Clip’s Filters
- Removing Filters From Clips
- Video Filters Available in Final Cut Express HD
- Changing Motion Parameters
- Adjusting Parameters for Keyframed Effects
- Reusing Effect and Motion Parameters
- Changing Clip Speed
- Working With Still Images and Photographs
- Using Still Images and Graphics in Your Sequences
- Creating Freeze Frame Stills From a Video Clip
- Considerations Before Creating and Importing Stills
- Creating Graphics With the Correct Frame Size for Video
- Working With Graphics Clips of Different Resolutions
- Video Is Not 72 Dots per Inch
- Bit Depth of Imported Graphics
- Scaling a Graphic to Fit the Frame Size
- Creating Graphics With the Correct Color Settings for Video
- Flattening Graphics With Layers
- Using Alpha Channels
- Selecting Fonts and Creating Line Art for Video
- Scaling Images and Video Clips to Match a Sequence
- Changing the Duration of Still Images
- Compositing and Layering
- Introduction to Compositing and Layering
- Adjusting Opacity Levels of Clips
- Working With Composite Modes
- Working With Layered Photoshop Files
- Using Video and Graphics Clips With Alpha Channels
- Temporarily Excluding Clips From Playback or Output
- Keying, Mattes, and Masks
- Color Correcting Clips
- Using Built-in Generated Clips
- Creating Titles
- Video Filters
- Part X: Real Time and Rendering
- Using RT Extreme
- Rendering
- What Is Rendering?
- Render Indicators in Final Cut Express HD
- The Rendering Process
- Rendering Effects in Sequences
- Commands for Rendering Effects
- Rendering One or More Sequences
- Rendering Part of a Sequence
- Rendering Audio Items in a Sequence
- Using the Mixdown Command
- Temporarily Disabling Rendering
- Auto-Rendering While You Are Away From Your Computer
- Changing Settings in the Render Control Tab
- Preserving Render Files
- Tips for Avoiding Unnecessary Rendering
- Part XI: Project Management and Settings
- Media Management
- Backing Up and Restoring Projects
- Elements of a Final Cut Express HD Project
- Working With Master and Affiliate Clips
- Using Master and Affiliate Clips
- How Master Clips Connect to Media Files
- Identifying Master Clips
- Creating Master and Affiliate Clips
- Breaking the Relationship Between an Affiliated Clip and Its Master
- Independent Clips
- Using Keyboard Shortcuts to Modify Master-Affiliate Relationships
- Finding a Clip’s Master Clip
- Master-Affiliate Relationships With Subclips and Freeze Frames
- Master-Affiliate Clip Properties
- Using Master and Affiliate Clips
- Reconnecting Clips and Offline Media
- Choosing Settings and Preferences
- Part XII: Output
- Preparing to Output to Tape
- Printing To Video and Output From the Timeline
- Exporting Sequences for DVD
- Learning About QuickTime
- Exporting QuickTime Movies
- Exporting QuickTime-Compatible Files
- Exporting Still Images and Image Sequences
- Exporting Audio for Mixing in Other Applications
- Part XIII: Appendixes
- Video Formats
- Characteristics of Video Formats
- Types of Video Signals and Connectors
- A Brief History of Film, Television, and Audio Formats
- Frame Rate and Timecode
- Working With Anamorphic 16:9 Media
- Solving Common Problems
- Video Formats
- Glossary
- Index
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.