Removing color profile (if any) from over-exposed Canon 5D mov file's

SandraLAVixen wrote:

I am working with some footage from a cameraman's Canon 5D, they are in mov format,

Mov is a container and tells very little about the files it contains. In the FCP Browser, select a problematic source file by clicking on it, and once it is selected, type Command + 9 to see the item properties for the clip. Either report those properties here, or take a screen shot of the item properties and post that screen shot here.

I am having a problem when I import them to FCP (they look the same way when I play them in QT too).

Not a good sign.

The color saturation is extremely high, and I know it was not filmed that way on set,

How do you know this?

Basically everything looks way over-exposed and I know the 5D is not that poor of quality.

Unless the files were recorded over-exposed.

How did you get the files from the camera to your computer, and ingested in FCP?

Is the problem specific to one camera?

Do you have other material from the shoot that looks normal?

MtD

>Basically everything looks way over-exposed and I know the 5D is not that poor of quality.

The camera isn't responsible for the quality...the camera operator is. Put a RED camera, or high end film camera in the hands of an amateur, and you'll get poor quality imagery. Put a DV camera in the hands of a skilled DP, and you get great images (see 28 DAYS LATER...it was shot on DV). If the image is over exposed...the DP could have shot it over exposed.

Hi Sandra,

Convert your footage to Pro Res and then import into FCP, H264 doesn't work too well with FCP. Which 5D did you use? ml1 mk2 m111? I.m not sure if Log and Transfer works with the Mk111 maybe someone will chip in here.

Having said all this, the original footage should look ok in Quicktime Player if indeed it was shot correctly, are you using QT7 player ?

DM

The H.264 codec is not helping anything, and as Mr. Mclaine suggests, should be converted to an FCP friendly format such as ProRes for use in FCP7.

As to your color problem, I am wondering if you are using the incorrect term when describing the video as appearing "over exposed". Does it look like the color is very saturated, and extremely contrasty (solid, opaque blacks)?

If so in FCP7 go to the Final Cut Pro > System Settings and on the Playback Control Tab, set the Gamma Correction to Approximate.

MtD

SandraLAVixen wrote:

Yes I did convert to prores 422, I always convert to that before working on it in FCP.

The screen shot show a clip that is H.264, not ProRes.

MtD

There are (at least) two issues here.

1. On set, was the material reviewed on a calibrated monitor? Or the view screen of the camera?

2. Your computer screen is not really all that wonderful a vehicle for judging color fidelity. Do you have a reference monitor (FSI, Sony, Panasonic, etc) being driven by a qualified output device (Blackmagic Intensity, AJA Kona, Matrox Mxo, etc) ?

Unless you are viewing material on screens that are accurate (meet reference standards), you can be chasing your tail on this.

x

I'd be interested in seeing a screen grab of the vectorscope display on one of the clips

OVER exposure? By the looks of it (the bottom one), it is UNDER exposed. Looks like the image would be dark...not even approaching 100IRE.

Are you sure you have these in the right order?

Can you post a 5 second clip of the video somewhere so that it can be downloaded?

I am having a hard time with your terminology, If you could post a short section of the problematic camera file it would be a great help.

MtD