Color Finesse 3.0
Plug-in User’s Guide
Copyright © 2001, 2010 Synthetic Aperture
All rights reserved. This book is protected by copyright and
distributed under licenses restricting its use, copying, distribution,
and decompilation. Except as permitted by said license, no part of
this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without prior
written authorization of Synthetic Aperture and its licensors, if any.
Color Finesse is a registered trademark, and Synthetic Aperture, the
Synthetic Aperture logo, Color Finesse, Echo Fire, LiveFire, Video
Finesse, and Test Pattern Maker are trademarks of Synthetic Aperture
in the U.S. and certain other countries. Adobe, After Effects, Premiere,
Acrobat, and PostScript are trademarks of Adobe Systems Inc. Apple,
Macintosh, Power Macintosh, the Mac logo, Final Cut Pro, FireWire
and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Avid and Avid
Xpress are regstered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. All other
brand or product names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their
respective owners.
This publication and the information contained herein is made
available by Synthetic Aperture “as is.” Synthetic Aperture disclaims
all warranties, either express or implied, including but not limited to
any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular
purpose regarding these materials.
Some Digital Imagery © copyright 2001 PhotoDisc, Inc.
This manual reflects version 3.0.2 of Color Finesse.
Document part number: 000546003, Revision B, August 2010.
Trademarks
Disclaimer
Version
Table of Contents iii
Contents
1 – Getting Started
Why Do I Need Color Correction? ...............................................1
Why Color Finesse? .....................................................................1
What’s New in Color Finesse 3.0 .................................................1
Compatibility With Previous Versions....................................... 2
About This Manual ......................................................................3
Minimum System Requirements ..................................................3
Installation ..................................................................................3
Installing Color Finesse on Macintosh ..................................... 4
Installing Color Finesse on Windows ........................................ 5
Registering Your Software............................................................7
Technical Support .......................................................................7
Please Tell Us What You Think .....................................................8
2 – The Art of Color Correction
What Is Color Correction? ...........................................................9
Why Do I Need Color Correction? ...............................................9
Why Do I Need Color Finesse? ....................................................9
Primary vs. Secondary Correction.......................................... 10
3 – Color Finesse Fundamentals
Applying Color Finesse to Your Clip ...........................................11
Adobe After Effects ............................................................... 11
Apple Final Cut Pro ............................................................... 11
Adobe Premiere Pro .............................................................. 12
Other Host Applications ........................................................ 12
Basic Plug-In Operation .............................................................13
The Color Finesse Simplified Interface .......................................13
The Color Finesse Full Interface .................................................15
Analysis Window .................................................................. 16
Image Window ..................................................................... 16
Settings Window .................................................................. 17
Color Info Window ............................................................... 17
iv Table of Contents
Navigating the Windows ...........................................................17
Selecting Window Panes ....................................................... 17
Activating Panes .................................................................. 17
Zooming and Panning Preview Panes ................................... 18
Split Screen Panes ................................................................ 18
Alternate View Modes ........................................................... 19
Navigating in Time in Preview Panes .........................................20
Realtime Playback Via Rapid Preview .................................... 20
Resetting Controls .....................................................................21
Undo/Redo .......................................................................... 21
Resetting All Controls ........................................................... 21
Resetting a Pane’s Controls................................................... 21
Resetting a Single Control ..................................................... 21
Using the Scroll Wheel .......................................................... 21
Saving and Restoring Settings ...................................................22
Using QuickGrades ............................................................... 22
Using ASC CDLs ................................................................... 22
Settings Window Options ..........................................................22
Entering Numeric Values ....................................................... 23
Color Info Window Tools ...........................................................23
Color Sampler ...................................................................... 24
Sampling Image Colors ........................................................ 24
Color Display Format ............................................................ 25
Color Matching .................................................................... 25
Image Preview LUTs ..................................................................25
Loading a Preview LUT ......................................................... 26
Creating a Preview LUT ........................................................ 26
Creating 3-D LUTs ................................................................ 26
Processing Order .......................................................................27
4 – The Reference Gallery and Analysis Window
The Reference Gallery ................................................................29
Adding Images ..................................................................... 30
Removing Images ................................................................. 30
Choosing a Reference Image ................................................. 30
Using Folders in the Gallery .................................................. 30
Using Saved Settings Presets in the Gallery ........................... 31
Customizing the Gallery ....................................................... 31
Analysis Window Displays ..........................................................31
Waveform Monitor ............................................................... 32
Vectorscope .......................................................................... 33
Histogram ............................................................................ 34
Level Curves ......................................................................... 34
Combo Display ..................................................................... 35
Table of Contents v
5 – Preferences
General Preferences ...................................................................37
Video System Settings ...............................................................38
WFM/VS Preferences .................................................................39
Previews ....................................................................................39
Control Surface .........................................................................40
Combo Display .........................................................................40
Caches ......................................................................................40
6 – HSL Color Correction
HSL Controls Pane .....................................................................41
Hue ..................................................................................... 41
Saturation ............................................................................ 42
Vibrance .............................................................................. 42
Brightness ............................................................................ 42
Contrast and Contrast Center ............................................... 42
RGB Gain ............................................................................. 42
Gamma ............................................................................... 43
Pedestal ............................................................................... 43
Tonal Corrections ......................................................................43
Luma Ranges Preview ........................................................... 44
Defining Tonal Ranges.......................................................... 44
Color Matching .........................................................................45
Hue Offsets Pane .......................................................................45
Using the Color Wheel .......................................................... 46
7 – Color Channel Correction
RGB Correction .........................................................................49
Gamma Correction ............................................................... 49
Pedestal Correction .............................................................. 49
Gain Correction .................................................................... 50
Tonal Correction ................................................................... 50
CMY Correction ........................................................................50
YCbCr Correction ......................................................................51
Color Matching .........................................................................52
8 – Curves Correction
Adjusting Curves .......................................................................54
Moving a Control Point ........................................................ 54
Adding a Control Point ......................................................... 54
Deleting a Control Point ....................................................... 54
Black, Gray, and White Balancing ..............................................55
Loading and Saving Curves .......................................................56
