How to create the "300" Movie Effect in FCP

Well, there were so many effects in 300 that maybe you should be a bit more specific... the blood splashes were animations for starters... the rest is a bleach bypass lowering levels most likely, which you could easily do in Color...

Jerry

I Googled "bleach bypass" "final cut pro" and got loads of tutorials and how-tos.

I don't think there's really much "insight" to offer-- put on a bleach bypass, bring up the three-way color corrector, and start messing around.

The answer unfortunately is not as easy as just dropping an effect on to your clip and presto your footage looks like a multi million dollar movie. The color correction would have been done on a high end suite, with multiple layers of color selections within Each shot. You will not get the same look from a 3 way color corrector.

Try Color... there's presets in the effects room that will get you much closer than trying it all in FCP... a LOT closer.

Jerry

Try Color... there's presets in the effects room that will get you much closer than trying it all in FCP... a LOT closer.

True, but to the OP, be warned: learning Color is not for the faint of heart.

I think it's not as hard as people think, it just looks intimidating because there are no popup windows. Everything in the interface is on the top of the rooms. Just think if FCP had things this way...

I learned to use color in a class in Cupertino (I'm a certified trainer in Color and FCP) but gotta say, it's just not "Mac-like" in it's interface. It was originally written for Unix as was Shake, so they look similar... but they really aren't that hard to learn. The certified training course in Color is only a 2 day affair. I could teach anybody color on a one on one in one day. Doesn't make them a colorist just as learning FCP doesn't make them an editor... but the buttons? yep 1 day.

FCPs full training is 8 days for full level 2 certification, and even then, it doesn't cover everything you could do in FCP...

I teach a 15 week course in FCP and STILL don't have time to teach it all. So what's easier to learn? Color.

Jerry

As a guy who used to online and color correct on an Avid Symphony, and use FCP a lot for this... I can attest that yes, opening Color for the first time is very intimidating. I got a book and tutorial DVD in order to learn how to use it. Not a straighforward app when you first look at it.

Shane

True, but I think your prior experience puts you at an advantage. I agree that it may not be as hard as it looks, but you're basing your knowledge on a fundamental understanding of the underlying principles, which the OP likely doesn't have.

I can honestly say in a case like this Magic Bullet Looks is a great investment.

http://www.redgiantsoftware.com/products/categories/color-correction/magic-bulle t-looks/

Looks is great if you are unwilling or unable to put in the time yourself, but I don't think there's anything you can do in Looks that you can't do in Color (for free).

Well, yeah, but then, I never ran any grading software.... my experience is just Avid and FCP...

Jerry