Best Post Color Correction Program?

darrin p nim · January 6, 2007

Seems even with my 4:2:2 SD image FCP does not handle the colors well, After Effects seems to handle it the better. Is there another program other than those two that are better at handling color correction/manipulation?

I think programs like Kodaks Look Manager is alittle of out of the question, something more "practical" i guess.

Chayse Irvin ASC, CSC · January 6, 2007

I have Final Touch and it is a very good professional piece of software. http://www.siliconcolor.com/

However I don't like it as much as a Da vinci 2k or Pablo system as a pro thing and I found it is very complex to use and some what expensive. I've used shake in the past and I feel its probably the most powerful in the way it can be used for compositing corrections, and the fact that it is node and perimeter based software, which is a down fall in the way its complex and hard to learn. I came across this Colorista (http://prolost.blogspot.com/2006/12/why-colorista.html) software plugin for FCP which maintains the color depth and bit of the image when you apply the filter. I've noticed in FCP, once you add any type of FCP filter over your image it degrades it. This is supposed to maintain the original quality but gives you the simple to use 3-way color corrector which i really like. I haven't tried it yet. But now that I think about it I may just buy it test it out.

Edited January 6, 2007 by Chayse Irvin

Jason Debus · January 6, 2007

For the limited DV stuff I do I've been really happy with the 'Look Suite' portion of the Magic Bullitt plugin for After Effects. The last short film I did I was able to get the colors exactly how I wanted them. It certainly much better than the color correction tools that come with Premiere Pro.

Mitch Lusas · April 4, 2007

For the limited DV stuff I do I've been really happy with the 'Look Suite' portion of the Magic Bullitt plugin for After Effects. The last short film I did I was able to get the colors exactly how I wanted them. It certainly much better than the color correction tools that come with Premiere Pro.

Not the best, but another option for nodal editing in FCP is dvGarage's Conduit: http://www.dvgarage.com/prod/prod.php?prod=conduit15

I've tested it and it seems to work pretty good. It is a plugin for FCP, so everything stays self-contained. It does not have as nice a layout or as many features as Shake, but it is almost half the price. So if price is a concern, Conduit may be your answer.

Dan Goldberg · April 4, 2007

I have Final Touch and it is a very good professional piece of software. http://www.siliconcolor.com/
However I don't like it as much as a Da vinci 2k or Pablo system as a pro thing and I found it is very complex to use and some what expensive.

Da Vinci is definitely the best when it comes to flexibility onw hat you can do. However, like Chayse said its extremely expensive. I'm still saving up for it though :D . At the moment I have After effects and that seems to do the trick, but if you ahve the money, DaVinci would be your best bet.

Lance Flores · April 4, 2007

Not the best, but another option for nodal editing in FCP is dvGarage's Conduit: http://www.dvgarage.com/prod/prod.php?prod=conduit15

I've tested it and it seems to work pretty good. It is a plugin for FCP, so everything stays self-contained. It does not have as nice a layout or as many features as Shake, but it is almost half the price. So if price is a concern, Conduit may be your answer.

Mitch - I need an application that can operate on 4K frames that we can work on in the 2K format with the meta files and generate command lines for a render farm to operate on the 4K files. I believe Apple purchased Shake, but I don't know if FCP has a plug-in that generates the resource list and the command line executable for the render engine. I'm thinking Shake and Maya to handle our 4K render. What do you think is the best solution?

Hans Kellner · April 4, 2007

Is there another program other than those two that are better at handling color correction/manipulation?

I use Autodesk Combustion. Powerful but takes a bit of learning to use it.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index...&id=5562397

Joseph Winchester · April 4, 2007

I've used Apple's Shake with great results. It's surely not the top-end of software, but it is affordable and powerful. I was able to get the results I wanted, where Final Cut and After Effects couldn't.

Jonathan Bowerbank · April 4, 2007

I've never had any issues as far as FCP's color limits go. One of the factors could also be your original footage. If there isn't much color information already there, than basic correction isn't going to get you what you want. An effects program like Shake or something should help you out though.

FCP has various different methods of color correction too though, so if you haven't used it enough or tried them all out, that could also be limiting. Play around with it a bit so you can have a better idea of what needs to be done for future projects.

Dan Goulder · April 4, 2007

I've used Apple's Shake with great results. It's surely not the top-end of software, but it is affordable and powerful. I was able to get the results I wanted, where Final Cut and After Effects couldn't.

How do you deal with the gamma shift that takes place on input to Shake? (This is a well-documented problem that is inherent in the program design.)