New NLE Color Features

digitalfilms by Oliver Peters

As someone who does color correction as often within an NLE as in a dedicated grading application, it’s nice to see that Apple and Adobe are not treating their color tools as an afterthought. (No snide Apple Color comments, please.) Both the Final Cut Pro 10.1.2 and Creative Cloud 2014 updates include new tools specifically designed to improve color correction. (Click the images below for an expanded view with additional explanation.)

Apple Final Cut Pro 10.1.2

This FCP X update includes a new, built-in LUT (look-up table) feature designed to correct log-encoded camera files into Rec 709 color space. This type of LUT is camera-specific and FCP X now comes with preset LUTs for ARRI, Sony, Canon and Blackmagic Design cameras. This correction is applied as part of the media file’s color profile and, as such, takes affect before any filters or color correction is applied.

These LUTs can be enabled for master clips in the event, or after a clip has been edited to a sequence (FCP X project). The log processing can be applied to a single clip or a batch of clips in the event browser. Simply highlight one or more clips, open the inspector and choice the “settings” selection. In that pane, access the “log processing” pulldown menu and choose one of the camera options. This will now apply that camera LUT to all selected clips and will stay with a clip when it’s edited to the sequence. Individual clips in the sequence can later be enabled or disabled as needed. This LUT information does not pass though as part of an FCPXML roundtrip, such as sending a sequence to Resolve for color grading. read more...