Many of us know we should do color correction to our footage and half the time we choose not to. I know, I’m guilty of it too. Even being the aspiring colorist I am, I do skip it. I see several main reasons for skipping this very key step: either we don’t have time, our budget doesn’t allow it, or a lack of understand of what needs to happen to a project.
Color correction implies that something initially went wrong during the shooting of your project. I prefer to refer to it as color finishing. While there is correction that has to been to some shot many shots may just need to be enhanced. The three way color corrector in FCP offers a good way to get started. Even if you are just adjusting your brightness / contrast and your saturation which many of us understand, you are well on your way. Understanding how colors works and how to correct and balance a shot may be a little more difficult.
I do believe every project, be it for the web or for DVD or broadcast, should be color finished. This will only make the viewing experience of your project easier and more enjoyable for the viewer. Stay tuned – I plan on posting more on color finishing in 2008.
