How would you color match these two clips?

I'm tasked with color correcting a film that was shot under unfavorable

lighting conditions. How would you go about retouching these two clips for the

cut to be as unobtrusive as possible? Only global corrections are permitted;

preferably using Curves or Levels. We can not reshoot!

<p>

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/

7996/clip1ni2.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/></a>

 

<a href="http://imageshack.us"><img src="http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/

3510/clip2cp7.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosted by ImageShack.us"/></a>

well it will be hard because the dominant light source in each is completely different. you can.. in RAW set everything the same.. but then the differences will be pronounced.. or you can adjust everything to kind of LOOK similar.. but even then some shades will be off.

it's film.. sorry.. ok.. well i would try my best to get a brighter scan from the first photo, then try to match the skin colors using some form of color adjusting.. curves or whatever your preference.

Actually it's video, but that's not the point. This is the raw material, and the only option is color correction. The question is how to do it.

How do you like these? Just a curve layer on the yellow one, and a curve layer, and a Hue/Sat

layer on the other.<div></div>

Use an adjustment curve to remove the yellow from the latter clip (increase blue or set neutral point to reduce the yellow).

Here's the other...<div></div>

Here's the other...<div></div>

I do, actually! The first clip is much better, making for a smoother transition. Could you post the curves (and this applies to other people too)?

 

I hasten to add that neutrality is not an issue. You can make them both warm if you want; just make them match.

I'll try to post the curves, but I don't know if it will work the same as posting a pic...

 

Peter

Here's the hue/sat layer for the underexposed shot too..

Here's the curve for the incandescent shot...

Well, I guess that didn't work. I'll email them to you directly.

 

Peter

Breaking the "levels or curves only" spec,<br>I opened both in PSCS2, made the darker clip active, <br>Image>adjust>match color, used the lighter clip as source, checked the neutralize option, clicked OK.

Wayne, the spec is there because you can't color correct films in Photoshop! I have to use standard color correction tools, and I do not have the time to create a matte to follow the actors as they move (hence the "global corrections" constraint).

 

Thanks anyway.

<p>Great guys -- thanks to Peter and Wayne -- you both did a better

job than me yesterday -- and I thought I did a better job than

Emre :), so we're on the right track.</p>

 

<p>Let's go with Wayne's suggestion -- my experience from the way

most stores are lit tells me we should lean towards greenish yellow

rather than towards reddish yellow.</p>

 

<p>One small note: Let's increase contrast (or darken shadows) in

Wayne's #1 to make it more like Wayne's #2.</p>