Color Correction Handbook: Professional Techniques for Video and Cinema

The colorist working in film and video is the individual responsible for breathing life into characters, bringing a mood into a scene, and making the final product polished and professional-looking. This craft is an art form that often takes years to perfect and many trial-and-error attempts at getting it right. Here to help both the newcomer and professional who needs to brush up on their skills is the first book to cover a wide variety of techniques that can be used by colorists, no matter what system they’re using. Whether you’re using a video editing package with a color correction tool built in (Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro) of a dedicated application (Apple Color, Assimilate Scratch, Baselight, or DaVinci), this book covers it all.  From the most basic methods for evaluating and correcting an overall image, to the most advanced targeted corrections and creative stylizations typically employed, you’ll find this highly organized book a solid reference that’s easy to navigate.  The accompanying DVD contains footage as well as cross-platform exercises and project files for readers to experiment with.

After reading the techniques, readers will learn to apply the methods that all of the color correction applications use, how to problem-solve and trouble-shoot, how to maximize the effectiveness of each tool that’s available, and they will discover how to creatively combine techniques and tools to accomplish the types of stylizations that colorists are often called upon to create.