Help with overexposure? sample attached

[Chris K]

Hey guys,

Just shot my second indie short with the RED. Footage looks great, except for one or two shots. Somehow, the color balance went completely blue and over-exposed on two exteriors.

Please see 5:02 at http://vimeo.com/10810413

I did my best in RED ALERT with what little knowledge I have, but I'm not too experienced with processing RAW images, or for coloring outside of FCP for that matter.

Any advice would be great to help deal with this awfully over-exposed shot. Should I use REDCINE? REDCINEX? 3RD Party? I'm also not sure how the DPX setting works.

[Philip Allister Anderson]

In red alert you can fix the blue by shifting the kelvin. Personally I like shooting a chip chart when I change a lighting setup. Nailing a consistent white balance helps with the color grade later. As far as overexposure goes, if you didn't outright overexpose it could be as simple as changing your iso, or playing with the curves a bit. again in Red Alert. If the image is clipped you are a little bit sunk. In the future a very important tool is the Raw clip meter. It looks somewhat like a stop light on the bottom of the camera display.

[Chris K]

If the image is clipped you are a little bit sunk.

Yeah I've used the kelvin/curves/iso/exposure combos but the posted image is my best result.

DRX help at all?

[Uli Plank]

DRX can only help if at least one channel is not clipped.

[Sidney L. Plaut]

well if the color balance went completely blue outside it is just because you set
it to 3200k on the camera. - as you are shooting RAW it is only metadata so just slide the kelvin degree to 5000k or 5600k.

As for the overexposed - yes the wall of the house looks overexposed, but just go with it and use it instead of creating a greyish mass without details... overexposing things is not always a bad thing . Give it a look that adds to the feeling of the scene - a man running into a house to help his wife, if you give the outside a slightly overexposed look (which you have to because you shot it that way) it will add to the feeling, of him getting inside quickly, simply because we as the audience feel alittle uncomfortable by the overbright image.