merrick4393

Q: What kind of filter is this?

Hi guys, I recently have been getting into the minimalism trend and really enjoy the look of pure whites and with a tad of fadedness. Here's an example of what I mean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJnOc4nSAk8

 

Can anyone tell me what filter is used here? I am looking to purchase a plug-in package that will produce a similar look. The style I like is similar to using the "faded" filter in photos on an iPhone.

 

Thanks so much!

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Jan 30, 2016 3:16 AM

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Q: What kind of filter is this?

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  • by Tom Wolsky,

    Tom Wolsky Tom Wolsky Jan 30, 2016 4:02 AM in response to merrick4393
    Level 10 (118,222 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 30, 2016 4:02 AM in response to merrick4393

    DDoesn't look like a plugin. Just been graded to look flat.

  • by Karsten Schlüter,

    Karsten Schlüter Karsten Schlüter Jan 30, 2016 4:33 AM in response to merrick4393
    Level 7 (32,703 points)
    Video
    Jan 30, 2016 4:33 AM in response to merrick4393

    if you like it more than flat but pale, give my free HighKey plugin a shot:

    http://fcpxfree.com/collections/karsten-schlutler/products/high-key-effect

  • by merrick4393,

    merrick4393 merrick4393 Jan 30, 2016 7:14 AM in response to Tom Wolsky
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 30, 2016 7:14 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

    Hi I was wondering what do you mean by flat?

  • by merrick4393,

    merrick4393 merrick4393 Jan 30, 2016 7:16 AM in response to Karsten Schlüter
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 30, 2016 7:16 AM in response to Karsten Schlüter

    I would like the skin to remain normal (yellowish-pink) but for the whites in the background to be pure white. Your plug-in seem to make skin white as well?

  • by Tom Wolsky,

    Tom Wolsky Tom Wolsky Jan 30, 2016 7:25 AM in response to merrick4393
    Level 10 (118,222 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 30, 2016 7:25 AM in response to merrick4393

    GGenerally low contrast in most of the image. Whites seem low level, desaturated, though YouTube is hard to tell what the reality is.

  • by merrick4393,

    merrick4393 merrick4393 Jan 30, 2016 7:36 AM in response to Tom Wolsky
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 30, 2016 7:36 AM in response to Tom Wolsky

    Oh I see. Any suggestions on how I can produce a look similar to this (any specific colour correcting plug in you recommend)? Or should I turn down saturation and turn up highlights in the basic colour board? I really like the clean simple bright look it gives.

  • by Tom Wolsky,

    Tom Wolsky Tom Wolsky Jan 30, 2016 7:43 AM in response to merrick4393
    Level 10 (118,222 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 30, 2016 7:43 AM in response to merrick4393

    IIt's really hard to say how to create a look because it depends entirely on the started point. Basically it looks desaturated. Don't take the whites too high or you'll lose detail in the highlights.

  • by Karsten Schlüter,

    Karsten Schlüter Karsten Schlüter Jan 30, 2016 9:29 AM in response to merrick4393
    Level 7 (32,703 points)
    Video
    Jan 30, 2016 9:29 AM in response to merrick4393

    the HIghKey plugin makes it all pale, yes.

     

    but what Tom said: no filter, grading plus smart photography, look:

     

    Bildschirmfoto 2016-01-30 um 18.10.44.jpg

     

    the location/background picks up the colors of clothing = low contrasts ...

    plus have a look at the scopes: no 0-100, more 10-75% luma .... = what's called 'flat profile' ...

     

    reverse engineering:

    Bildschirmfoto 2016-01-30 um 18.13.16.jpg

    raised contrasts, more overall saturation, lower saturation in the midths (=skin) = just a cloudy day recording ...

     

    well done ... easy to copy  ... except this mega-bored face expression

  • by merrick4393,

    merrick4393 merrick4393 Jan 30, 2016 2:53 PM in response to Karsten Schlüter
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 30, 2016 2:53 PM in response to Karsten Schlüter

    Thanks for the exhibits Karsten! Sorry I'm not that proficient in video editing. When you talk about location/background, should I pick an outfit that matches the background (ex. black shirt on black wall) or should it not match (ex. white shirt on black wall). I understand the luma part but what do you mean by reverse engineering? Can you explain "raised contrasts, more overall saturation, lower saturation in the midth" please? Is this using the RBG parade?

     

    Thank you for all your help!

  • by fox_m,

    fox_m fox_m Jan 30, 2016 2:57 PM in response to merrick4393
    Level 5 (5,517 points)
    Video
    Jan 30, 2016 2:57 PM in response to merrick4393

    You can get really close "this" color grade by adding a Color Correction filter (Command-6) and going into the color board. Once there, at the bottom right side of the inspector, there's a Presets button. Try: Cold CCD, Dew, or Dry and see what gets your clips closer to your target. Tweak settings to taste. Color grading is *very* subjective and varied considerably by the qualities of the base/original video.

  • by Karsten Schlüter,

    Karsten Schlüter Karsten Schlüter Jan 31, 2016 1:12 AM in response to merrick4393
    Level 7 (32,703 points)
    Video
    Jan 31, 2016 1:12 AM in response to merrick4393

    merrick4393 wrote:

    …I'm not that proficient in video editing. …

    hobbyist speaking here …

    'grading' is more a photography (painting??) techniqué than editing, but no pic nowadays, movin' or still, without color processing (instagramming).

     

    for a start, watch the ~20 tuts (free!) from mastermind Denver Riddle:

    http://www.colorgradingcentral.com/tutorials/

     

    concerning your actual example  ...

    … should I pick an outfit that matches the background…

    the screenshot shows a - mostly - mono/duochrome pic: beige + blueish black.

    imagine same outfit on a green or red bg.... no way to make that 'flat' ...

     

    ...  what do you mean by reverse engineering? …

    I just tried to reversed the applied grading - normal contrasts, normal exposures, normal saturations = instantly a 'normal' pic on a cloudy day.

    cloudy=no harsh shadows, 'softened' ambient light, no additional lights, maybe a bouncer for close-ups ....

     

    … Is this using the RBG parade?

    use all scopes. parade is useful for balancing.

     

    there are basically two steps:

    • color correction - for a start, use FCPX' built-in balancing feature; this gives a 'normalized' base line, whites are white, blacks are black.If you forgot to white-balance your cam on shooting, this fixes it (mostly…). Most cams offer WB-presets or a super-simple 'point on white/grey, set, done!' feature…

    • color grading - now, here the fun starts; use the color board (cmd-6) and the scopes (cmd-7 … keyboard short-cuts are nearby for a good reason): you can stretch the luma to 0-100 or make it flat; you can lower saturation (the middle-puck has most effect on skin tones); you can 'color' the pic (again: the puck in the middle has most effect on skin tones)

     

    fun fact:

    all humans have, technically spoken, the same color, just different luma! Didn't know that before learning about grading

     

    Many cameras allow flattening profiles on recording; idea behind all this, in the beginning, was to stretch the dynamic range of a camera over a limited number of bits, for later use in the grading process. Then, it got fancy to use those 'flat' shots without grading .... (same story as in the analogue days with 'cross processing': a 'failure' gets fashion)

     

    'Grading' is a profession, a crude mixture of physics and art .

    Lucky us beginners, FCPX offer all the tools, knobs and sliders (and scopes) to play with. It's great fun. It's a big p**a, if you for example want to match shots (FCPX has a feature for that either!), or to re-create an existing 'look'...

     

    Plan B

    Follow fox_m's advice, and play with the built in 'looks' templates of FCPX; keep in mind, you can adjust many parameters, no need to use the canned effects 'as is' …

     

    Plan C

    There're are tons of commercial plug-ins offering all sorts of looks; you'll soon stumble upon LUTs, which, again, were meant in the beginning for something completely different, but now used as another word for 'looks' ...

     

    happy grading!