Why Use a Color Chart?

Why would you use a color chart in video and film production or post production? With a color chart like the X-Rite Color Checker Passport Video, you can set your exposure and white balance quickly during your shoot, and in post you can quickly and easily color correct your footage. But perhaps more importantly, a color chart can help you learn how to produce better video and how to color correct and grade your footage more effectively. Using a chart can teach you how your camera reacts to and interprets color and light and that will help you make better decisions when shooting and editing. In this demo, we look quickly at some ways you can use a color chart in editing/post production to fix exposure and especially color balance issues. We also quickly look at using a color chart to understand how your camera interprets different colors and reacts to different light sources. The demo includes manual color and exposure correction using the X-Rite Color Checker Passport Video and automatic color and exposure correction using Color Finale, a third-party color grading plugin for Final Cut Pro X

This one is a pretty nerdy episode, so if you don’t really have the interest or 12 minutes to invest, you are now dismissed from class. ;-)