Thread: Diving video
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Old 29th May 2018, 16:48   #23  |  Link
WorBry
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Join Date: Jan 2004
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tormento View Post
To quote other programs, please suggest me something free or cheap with a good interface and output control. Premiere is not cheap
DaVinci Resolve (free version):

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/ca/...avinciresolve/

Download links at bottom of that webpage. That's for the most recent beta (4) release of DR 15. I'd go with the last official (stable) release of DR 14.3 which can be downloaded from the BMD Support page - scroll down 'Latest Downloads' on the left:

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/ca/...lve-and-fusion

More than adequate pro-level color toolset for the job...well, the 'best outcome' in this case anyway.

I don't have personal experience color correcting/grading underwater video, but my two cents on this:

1. +1 on everything Poisondeathray said above.

2. Naturally, the primary 'focus of attention' is the 'anemone fish' (? Clown Fish), and to a lesser degree the foreground anemone bed it's frolicking in. So that should be the focus of color correction.

Not at my editing/grading PC just now but If I were to go at it with Resolve, I'd likely look at applying a series of HSL Qualifiers (color key/mask).

* First zoom in and pull a qualifier (as best) on the colored fins of the fish (taking multiple samples from different frames) and use the Color Wheels (master Offset primarily) to get as close as possible to the expected tint of orange.

* Create an 'Outside Node' from that (i.e. 'inverse mask' of the fish fins = everything else) and do the same again on the anemone (?) tentacles...likely more tricky to change that 'aquamarine' tint to a warmer palish pastel. Then either turn off the key on the anemone and live with whatever color change that manipulation has had on the background, or else create another Outside Node from that and work on the 'background' separately i.e. all but the fish fins and anemone tentacles. Depends on how well the tentacles can be isolated.

* Could also try tinting with a solid warm color (Layer Mode with Composite Blend set for 'Color') or as an External Matte, but I'm not optimistic it would achieve much other than 'muddying the waters'. Total color replacement would be very difficult to pull off.

I doubt very much that you'd be able to set a white balance sampling off the (assumed) white stripes on the fish. Of course you'd also need to play around with 'exposure' levels, contrast and saturation, globally and/or on the qualifiers, maybe adding at little 'mid-tone detail' (local contrast) on the fish/anemone or sharpening to taste (denoising only available in the paid Studio version). But that's the basic strategy I think I would try. If it achieves something close to acceptable, you could then think about more refined techniques - tracking the fish (or whatever) with qualified 'power windows' and applying subtle color changes with soft key points, but it hardly seems worth it in this case.

Quote:
Originally Posted by shekh View Post
Btw your photoshop result looks good to me, I don't think I could do any better.
I'd tend to agree with Poisondeathray. OK, it achieves better rendition of the fish coloring (as assumed) and takes that aquamarine tint off the foreground anenome clump, but the effect it has on the background - that washed out pinkish tone on sea bed especially - looks unnatural and is distracting.
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Last edited by WorBry; 30th May 2018 at 05:28.
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