This video is not sponsored, but it is made possible by those of you who have joined the FCP Color Grading Masterclass ❤ www.fcpcolorgradingmasterclass.com
How did I not know this?!?!?! I just tested it on a clip, and WHAT A DIFFERENCE !!! I will now go back and do this on my previous Projects, thank you !! another awesome Video. Simple but massively helpful !!
@@dylanjohndickerson I have been amending all my Projects since watching your video and I cannot quite believe the difference! You are a star. Your other tips are great don’t get me wrong but things like this no one ever tells you. Like how to white balance for Video when the A7S iii doesn’t let you use Custom, simple little things a novice just doesn’t find easily. The complex stuff is no good without these core bits and pieces and thanks to people like you, I’ll get there eventually :-) thanks again.
@@paulg3388 Thanks so much man! That feedback really means a lot 🙏🏼 It's true. You have to know the basics well first and then everything else just comes infinitely easier.
🤦🏻♂️ i knew it i was doing something wrong all the custom luts I would apply they were making my videos completely dark 😤😅😅👍🏻 thank you very much. I am getting your luts
This is Soooo Clutch Brother!! Thanks 🙏🏽 for sharing!! Have a great week!! 🔥 🔥 🔥 Also @DylanJohn Luts package is Dope… I highly recommend!! Let’s get some more 🔥 🔥 🔥 Behind that!! Take Care!
You're welcome! I'm be releasing a Final Cut Pro color grading masterclass in about a month's time if you're interested 👊🏼 www.dylanjohnmedia.com/courses
Awesome!! Thanks so much for picking them up, Jonathan. I really appreciate it 🙏 Please let me know what you think of them and which one is your favorite!
Happy to help 😊 If you liked this tip though Kristian, then you'd really love the course I just released. Check it out ⬇ www.fcpcolorgradingmasterclass.com
very helpful - thank you Dylan! One question: How is it with applying de-noise (like neat-video)? Do you apply this exposure correction first, or do you do the de-noise first?
You're welcome! I would recommend applying noise reduction as the last thing you do. And this is because applying it first might cause your computer to struggle with any other changes you make to that clip and also, exposure adjustments could introduce a change in noise into your shot so by having noise reduction first, you're overwriting it essentially.
As always Dylan......great content!!! Your videos make me want to keep using FCPX as oppose to jumping over to Davinci. All the cool kids are jumping over. hehe
Oh wow, I did not know this! - I assumed the order of adjustments doesn't matter, otherwise what's the point of shooting LOG In the first place. This is really good to know! -- Does this also apply if your LUT is applied in the clip inspector instead of as an effect?
Yep yep, it certainly does matter. Do not apply your LUT through the inspector window though. This locks in your LUT and doesn't give you the ability to make any adjustments to the original source clip. If you're interested in learning a whole lot more about color correction and grading, check out the FCP Color Grading Masterclass 🎨 www.fcpcolorgradingmasterclass.com
Thanks Benett! I appreciate it brotha 👊 I made that actually! I searched 'crumpled white paper on Google, cut the image and flipped every other one so it appears like it's animating, through them into a compound clip, and used Tap5a plugin to animate that and the text together.
Hey Dylan great Video as always, if i use a Adjustment Layer what order should it have? Is the Adjustment Layer offer the effects which are directly on the clip? Thank you for helping out my friend!
Thanks Dennis! It's actually pretty easy with an adjustment layer. Let's say you have a layer over the entire timeline with the LUT. All you'd do is click on the clip below it and bring down the global exposure on the clip. Hopefully that makes sense.
QUESTION! So, the second color wheel you used....... does that also get placed and sequenced BEFORE the LUT as well? or is the 2nd color wheel meant to sit under the LUT AND the first color wheels?
The second color wheel is tweaking the Rec 709 version of the shot (since the input LUT was applied before it). The first color wheel affects the source footage.
Interesting tip. So I’ve always had my base LUT at the bottom of the adjustments list but my exposure was one above it. So are you saying that the primary exposure edit always needs to be at the top of the list? Another way of asking where does the second color wheel sit between the first color wheel and LUT?
If your shot wasn't exposed well, you'll need to make that exposure adjustment first. Which means it'd be sitting at the top of the list since FCP does a top to bottom corrections order. Then that normalization or stylized LUT would be added and then comes contrast and sat adjustments with the second color wheels. Let me know if that doesn't make sense.
Thanks for the video Dylan. In color finale, when we either assume log or apply a LUT with their color management and then proceed to make color correction and color grading adjustments. Does color finale order everything properly? Since you cannot change the order of when the LUT and corrections are applied? Or using your method in the video, would we need to do corrections in FCP before adding our LUT/ grading in Color Finale?
This is kind of the issue with Color Finale I believe. What you could do is make the exposure adjustment with the native color wheels first and then add color finale. Or you could adjust the exposure first in Color Finale, add a normalization/technical LUT, and then proceed your color grading process.
One more thing ....After the Exposure correction and the LUT is applied under the color wheels are the 2nd color wheels placed above the first color wheel adjustment or below the LUT?
You're welcome dude! Yes it can, but Color Finale is a bottom up corrections order instead of Final Cuts top down order. Something to keep in mind. And no the second color wheel adjustments to add some more contrast are placed after the LUT. Which for Final Cut is below the LUT, since it's top down, and above the LUT in Color Finale since it's bottom up. Does that make sense? Thanks for picking up the LUTs dude!
Great explanation. I was wondering about Color Finale too. Another question concerning CF: what do you think of the ACES option for color correction of log footage? Isn’t that just like a correction LUT?
@@dylanjohndickerson Thanks for the prompt reply. The bottom up and top down filter order hurts my brain but, I get it. Thanks for the FCP tips. Keep em coming.
Transition 4 from mJourney I think! www.motionvfx.com/store,mjourney,p3651.html?irgwc=1&clickid=R3MUTAQHPxyNTtZRoSXg9zjDUkHxJGQ5Q1pQxs0 You can use the code DYLANJOHN for 10% off 🤘🏼
Dylan. Love being a subscriber. You are awesome. Wondering however in FCPX if you apply your conversion LUT in the browser (I shoot in LOG, and then Phantom LUT Neutral everything in the inspector before I even drop it in the timeline. I find it so much easier with weddings and events). So I'm already applying rec 709 conversion first. Are you saying that if I fix the actual log image in a project timeline itself before applying this conversion that it would look better? Especially if clips aren't perfectly exposed- which happens alot in dark dance halls etc. .
Thanks a ton, Alex! I really appreciate that. Ahhh yes, I would suggest not doing that. Fixing the shot before you apply the LUT makes the world of a difference. Give that a shot and let me know what you think. I think you'll be surprised.
@@dylanjohndickerson thanks mate. I played around with it, it definitely gives you a wayyyyy better starting point that way. It’s just tough with weddings and things when it’s so much easier to just apply a conversion lut to all the clips in the browser!!
hello dylan how are you? I bought the end of the color I'm training this procedure to apply LUT, will it work with Color Finale if I follow the same order?
Hey! I'm doing very well. I'm really grinding to finish this FCP and Color Finale 2 Pro color grading masterclass. I should have it finished in a 2-3 weeks. I'm excited to release it 😊 Only if you use the LUT browser in the layers panel. But remember, Color Finale works bottom up. So the bottom correction is the oldest layer added and the top layer is the newest added. So it's the opposite of FCP. If you haven't already signed up to get notified when my course is released, here's the link: www.dylanjohnmedia.com/courses It sounds like it'd answer all your questions and more.
Correct me if I'm wrong -- but the best order for LUTs and color correction is actually with the LUT at the *top* of the stack, not the bottom. Just tried this test myself, and when the LUT is at the top of the stack, I have far more latitude available when pushing the colors. Whereas when the LUT is at the bottom of the stack, my highlights and shadows get clipped far earlier. Love your channel and tips, but got a different result when I just tried this test myself.
Thanks so much! So the answer to your question is not so black and white unfortunately. This video explains why it's important to make exposure adjusts/color corrections *before* the LUT (so basically having the LUT below the exposure/color correction layer in the stack) because you're in that order, you're working on the wider tonal range and color gamut that the LOG footage provides. If you make the exposure adjustment after (so having the LUT at the top of the stack) you're left working with what the values are in the converted Rec 709 shot. So basically, if the LUT happened to clip off your highlights, as mentioned in the video, any adjustment after is not going to get that detail back. It will be forever clipped. However, an adjustment before is going to allow you to access information in the LOG clip to pull your highlights down to make sure they don't clip when the LUT converts your footage to Rec 709. The reason I said it's not so black and white is because after the input LUT is applied, it's then ideal to add your contrast and tweaks to your footage once it's converted to Rec 709 so you can dial in the look easier. So often the LUT isn't going to be at the exact top or the exact bottom. It will be the top if you don't need to color correct or adjust the overall exposure of your clip. I'm going to create a video on the order of operations for LOG footage in the coming weeks, but I think you'd get great benefit out of the FCP Color Grading Masterclass. Give it a look when you get the chance 👊🏼 www.fcpcolorgradingmasterclass.com
Hi Dylan, first of all thank for your work ! I’ve a question for you, why are you leaving the log space to make your second correction? it seems to me that if we shoot in log it's to work in this space, right? The conversion lut log>rec709 must be the last step in the color grading process, right? If we compare with the davinci resolve workflow the colorgrading artists always place the cst or the lut at the end of their workflow and make all the adjustments before this conversion. Cheers from France 🤘🏻
Hey Jonathan! Thanks for the love, brotha! So as you know, the benefits of color grading LOG footage is the increase in tonal range and color information compared to a standard Rec 709 shot. If you're making big changes to your source footage, like adjusting the overall exposure, adjusting the white balance, large pushes in color for your grade, you are 100% correct. Those adjustments are best made before you transform your clip to Rec 709 via the input LUT because you're taking advantage of the huge increase in tonal range and color information that the source footage contains and not what you're left with after the input LUT transforms the clip to Rec 709. However, while trying to add contrast and make fine tuned adjustments to the color grade, it's most efficient to make corrections after the input LUT if you'll be exporting in Rec 709. Have you ever tried to add contrast to your shot by adjusting a correction before the input LUT? For one, you can no longer use your luma waveform in FCP as reference to tell you if you're within range (perhaps this is different in Resolve?). Not only because the luma waveform will show that your shot is within a good value, even though you're actually crushing your blacks or possibly blowing out your highlights, but also because any adjustments you make will cause such a large change to the footage that it's more difficult to tweak things to get them sitting how you'd like. Now you can add contrast to a shot this way. It is possible. But it's mainly done by eye. Your luma waveform is now of little help (mainly because it's meant for Rec 709 and you're grading a clip with a wider color gamut if making adjusting to the source LOG clip). So what I do is make any big adjustments I need to make before the input LUT, like what I said above, and then once the shot is within a good range, I lock it into the Rec 709 color space (although you're never 'locked in' because you can always make adjustments to those corrections before the input LUT), then I make smaller tweaks to the 'Rec 709 version' of the shot to get it adjusted how I want. It's not necessary for me to rely on the tonal range or color information outside of the Rec 709 space because the exposure and color of my shot are already sitting in a great place thanks to the previous steps before the input LUT. All you're doing at that point is molding the playdoh that you have to get the shot looking how you want for export.
Thanks for the love, brotha 👊 I'm really bummed I missed the chat last night. We'll have to do another one sometime but in the afternoon/evening for everyone.
