Color Correction Tool

[Christian Favale]

I was wondering if...is there any software that allows to work on metadata in secondary correction?
(For example, having a part of the image with ISO 250, and the other ISO 500).

TY

[Vigen Vartanov]

Yes , Apple Color , Scratch .

[Christian Favale]

Apple Color? Could you just explain me how? :)

[Charles Angus]

I would think that any tool would debayer, and then colour correct, but I could be wrong.

[Vigen Vartanov]

Just edit proxy files in FC , then send to color , in new version of color , with Red Plugin installed , you will get RAW support. Read more in Apple Workflow.

[Christian Favale]

Yes i know the apple color workflow. But even with RED plugin, you can work on metadata only on primary correction, not in secondary. Correct me if i'm wrong, and tell me how to do that :)

[RED 648]

If you use Apple Color you will need to "ingest" the files using the new plug-in in order to access the metadata in the RED room of Apple's color. This is a fairly fast process, and as far as I could figure out from reading and testing the only way to fully access the metadata with Color. Also, according to Apple's white paper you can only access the metadata in the Primary In room of color which implies only one ASA correction per clip.

There is a pdf whitepaper that comes with the upgrade to the newest FCP available from Apple. I couldn't attach it here because it exceeded the size allowed for upload.

Here is the section from the pdf file that relates to color and RED files (ingested not QT proxy files)

Using RED Media with Final Cut Studio – Nov 11, 2008 20
Primary In Room Parameters for RED Media in Color
When RED QuickTime media is sent to or imported into Color, a RED tab appears in the
Primary In room, next to the Basic and Advanced tabs. There is no corresponding RED
tab in the Primary Out room.

The RED tab appears in the Primary In room whenever a RED QuickTime clip is selected as the
current shot, and provides access to RED-specific parameters.
The RED camera writes raw, linear light image data to the R3D files that are recorded.
The controls found in the RED camera’s Audio/Video menus in no way alter the way the
image data is written within each R3D file. Instead, whatever settings were chosen at
the time are stored within each recorded clip as metadata (similar to a LUT) that

Using RED Media with Final Cut Studio – Nov 11, 2008 21
determines how these media files are displayed by compatible software. This metadata
can be overridden during the Log and Transfer process.
For clips that were imported with native color metadata, the RED tab provides access to
the clip Color, Color Temp, and View metadata originally written by the RED camera.
However, this metadata can also be overwritten during ingest using a custom color
processing option in the Log and Transfer window. These parameters are provided so
that you can begin grading each clip in the state at which it was originally monitored
during the shoot, or at which it was ingested using the Log and Transfer window.
Note — Although there is functional overlap between the controls found in this tab and
those found elsewhere in Color, the Kelvin and Tint controls are specially calibrated to
provide the most photometrically accurate white balance adjustments for RED
QuickTime media.
RED Image Controls
The RED tab has the following parameters and controls:
• Enabled — Turns all of the parameters found within the RED tab on or off. Turning
Enabled off suspends the effect of these parameters on the final rendered image in
Color.
• Saturation — This parameter is available in the RED camera’s Color submenu, and
adjusts the color intensity of the image. The overall range is 0 (monochome) through
5.0 (extremely high), where 1 is unity.
• Kelvin — This value is set by options in the RED camera’s Color Temp menu, along
with Tint. This setting is designed to compensate for the “warmth” of the available
lighting to keep white elements of the scene looking neutral. Low Kelvin values will
compensate for “warmer” lighting (such as tungsten), while higher Kelvin values
compensate for “cool” lighting (such as noon-day sun or overcast days). Two user-
selectable options set Kelvin to predetermined values: Tungsten (3,200K), and
Daylight (5,600K). The Auto WB option automatically chooses a custom value for this
parameter based on analysis of a white card, while Manual WB lets the operator
choose any value. The correction made by this parameter is designed to work
specifically with RED linear light image data to provide the most photometrically
correct result.
• Tint — This value is adjustable within the RED camera’s Color Temp menu, along
with Kelvin. Tint is designed as an additional white balance compensation for light
sources with a green or magenta component, such as fluorescent or sodium vapor
bulbs. The correction made by this parameter is designed to work specifically with
RED linear light image data to provide the most photometrically correct result.
• Exposure — Available in the RED camera’s Color menu. Increases and lowers image
lightness in increments calibrated to ƒ-stops. When raising the signal up to 100 or
lowering it down to 0, the image is clipped at the boundaries of broadcast legality. The
overall range is –7 to +7, where 0 is unity.

Using RED Media with Final Cut Studio – Nov 11, 2008 22
• Red, Green, and Blue Gain — Available in the RED camera’s Gain submenu. Allows
individual adjustment of each color channel. Adjusting any of these gain parameters
boosts or lowers the maximum value of the corresponding color channel, and scales
the midtones while pinning the bottom of the channel to 0 percent. Lowering does the
opposite. The overall range is 0 to 10, where 1 is unity.
• Contrast — Available in the RED camera’s Color menu. Raising the contrast boosts
the highlights and lowers the shadows, while leaving the midtones centered around 50
percent unaffected. As the video signal reaches the boundaries of 100 and 0 percent,
it’s compressed rather than clipped. The overall range is –1 to +1, where 0 is unity.
• Brightness — Available in the RED camera’s Color menu. Raises and lowers image
lightness. When raising the signal close to 100 or lowering it down to 0, the image is
compressed rather then clipped. The overall range is –10 to +10, where 0 is unity.
• Gamma pop-up menu — In-camera, the Gamma setting is determined by the Color
Space option that’s selected in the RED Camera’s View menu (it’s not available as an
individually adjustable parameter). There are six options for gamma available in Color.
• Linear — No gamma adjustment is applied at all, linear-to-light as captured by the
Mysterium sensor.
• Rec. 709 — The standard gamma curve as specified by the Rec. 709 standard for
video gamma.
• REDspace – Similar to Rec. 709, but tweaked to be perceptually more appealing,
with higher contrast and lighter midtones.
• REDlog – A nonlinear, logarithmic gamma setting that maps the native 12-bit RED
image data to a 10-bit curve. The blacks and midtones that occupy the lowest 8
bits of the video signal maintain the same precision as in the original 12-bit data,
while the highlights that occupy the highest 4 bits are compressed. While this
reduces the precision of detail in the highlights, this is a relative loss as the linearly
encoded data has an over-abundance of precision.
• PDLOG 685 – Another logarithmic gamma setting that maps the native 12-bit RED
image data into the linear portion of a Cineon or film transfer curve.
• Color Space pop-up menu — These options are available in the RED Camera’s
View menu (in-camera these options are tied to corresponding Gamma settings).
• CameraRGB — Identified on the camera as RAW, this mode bypasses the RED
camera matrix and represents the original, uncorrected sensor data.
• REDspace — Fits the raw RED image data into a color space that’s larger than
that of Rec. 709. Appropriate for digital cinema mastering and film output.
• Rec. 709 — Fits the raw RED image data into the standard color space specified
by the REC 709 standard for high definition video. Appropriate for HD video
mastering.
• ISO pop-up menu — A gain operation (similar to Exposure), which pins the black
point at 0 while raising or lowering the white point of the image, linearly scaling
everything in between. The range is 100–2000; 320 is the default unity gain setting (no
change is made). Raising the signal too much can result in clipping.

Important — Changing the ISO setting of your RED camera does not alter the

recorded data. However, since it changes the lightness of the image you’re monitoring
during the shoot, it will influence how you light the scene and adjust the camera’s iris.

[Uli Plank]

Metadata always work on the full frame. But since you have access to the full bit depth in Color and you can set it to 32 bit float precision, there's nothing wrong with lightening or darkening a part of the picture in the secondary room with the usual tools.

No further degradation to be expected, it's just not calibrated as "ISO".