Photos to FCP- best color profile?

RGB....plain ol RGB.

Shane

Those are MONITOR profiles. In Photoshop, under IMAGE>MODE, there is only one RGB setting.

So what exactly are you asking? Because monitor profiles have nothing to do really with photos in FCP.

Shane

Maybe you're confusing Color "Mode" with Color "Profile." The correct color mode for images to be used in FCP, is, as Shane already stated, RGB. Do NOT use CMYK, Grayscale or Indexed color modes.

-DH

FCP doesn't see color profiles..that is all photo and print stuff. Just go with basic RGB.

Shane

Once in rgb and inside FCP, it's what you do with color correction against a CALIBRATED production monitor that counts.

"FCP doesn't see color profiles..."

Not everyone believes that to be a true statement. In fact, when bringing an image from Photoshop into FCP you should first convert image to APPLE RGB. Of course, I don't expect you to believe me, so try it yourself. Bring in one image with just the regular Adobe RGB (1998) profile and the same image converted to Apple RGB. Set each frame for 10 seconds in length and render yourself a 20 second QT movie. Burn to disk and watch it on the TV, you'll see a definite difference. The Adobe RGB image will look "washed out" compared to the image with the Apple RGB profile.

Before you argue with me just try it.

This whole area bugged the crap out of me until I uncovered a true gem stuffed inside a multimedia "how-two" guide written by Brian Storm, founder of MediaStorm and one of country's most sought after multimedia experts. (Disclaimer, Brian was a colleague of mine at MSNBC years ago.) Here's what Brian's "how-to guide" says:

+Final Cut will not accurately import images embedded with the Adobe RGB (1998) color profile. You must convert the images to Apple RGB. This will retain your color information while enabling Final Cut to properly read your new color profile.+

+To change your color profile, select the Image > Mode > Assign Profile... from the menu. In the dialog menu, select "Profile: Apple RGB.”+

Just try it; it works.

I totally agree that it doesn't matter which colour profile is used when importing stills into FCP (and any other video system for that matter)

FCP is unable to use the profile as it can not use Coloursync or ICC systems if it is to conform to NTSC or PAL specification.

Using RGB, again agreed, but RGB is a colour model not a colour profile.

just for fun I tried using three jpeg files each with different profiles and the output QT file shows no difference at all in colour, I have no idea how bmeeks arrives at a contrary position.

Shanes comment that Adobe 1998, sRGB and Colormatch are monitor profiles is incorrect. They are in fact Device Independant Profiles, they are used when original image files are created by cameras and scanners, to be used in a colour management workflow.

Jonathan


a domestic terrestrial or satellite broadcast TV signal transmits four things:
luma (picture brightness information)
chroma (picture colour information)
sound
data (teletext, engineering signals etc)
therefore the picture signal is Y/C; (luma + chroma) not YUV

OK guys here is a quick way to sort this, use you scopes to find out how much of your luminance and chrominance information is getting through to your video space.

In Photoshop create an image with a gradient going from pure black out to pure white, (within tile safe), bring this into FCP, bring this file into a sequence and have a look at your scopes and see how much if any is being clipped. Nil

Now in Photoshop create a file using the gradient in the presets called Spectrum, bring this in and look at you scopes, WOW. RGB has more info than video space, go figure.

To create an image that is chrominance safe you need to adjust your levels, in the output section adjust your output to 13 and 233 now bring this file in and you are colour safe.

Until I did this process this morning I thought that the same held true for the luminance but no, the full one is fine and the 13-233 adjusted files has white pegged at 93% and 8%.

I have an action set up in Photoshop that I run over all files going to video, it resizes, sharpens and then adjusts their levels, 13-233, always look good. (Fields are another issues entirely)

Whether FCP recognises profiles or not, looking at the scopes will tell you if your image is safe.

Tony

Message was edited by: Tony Gay

Tony

nope, that wont sort it at all

thanks for your contribution which warns editors that to edit without the constant monitoring of scopes would be unwise. However, while I agree that looking at a vectorscope will tell you if an image is within broadcast levels, this does not mean that the images will look any thing like the original.

What the original question asked was how do you colour manage a still image in final cut pro. The objective of colour management is to control the colour of an image so that the colour of the final output matches as close as possible the original.

in everyday speak; does the red in an image of a London Bus on your PAL/NTSC monitor look as close as possible to the red of the real London bus.

adjusting chroma level only and in your example to use the same settings for every image will not produce accurate colour.

For example, you have not addressed any of the following essential attributes of colour management:

consistency
colour purity
black point control
white point control
contrast control
mapping the colours of the output colour space to match the original
using calibrated colour monitors throughout the workflow.
.

Jim gave the solution earlier; colour correct using an accurate colour production monitor (with some help from the scopes of course)