Some Basics about Gear for Color Grading
by Jesse Schutt
on
Aug 29, 2009 at 7:03:12 pm
Hello All!
I was wondering if someone could give me the basics of what I need to set up my office with a decent color grading suite. Currently I have a new MacPro 8 Core with the ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics card. My display is a 30" Dell Ultrasharp. We already have the latest Final Cut Studio.
Specifically, I am wondering what I need to be monitoring HD video. I will be shooting 1080 HD from a Canon XH-A1. I have read some about different PCI cards and break-out boxes, but I am lost as to what direction I should be moving.
Re: Some Basics about Gear for Color Grading by Andrew Kimery on Aug 29, 2009 at 8:17:08 pm
Many people here are partial to the Kona series of cars and FSI monitors. You'll also want to control the color and lighting in the room. Having a nice big bay window behind you and fuschia walls isn't conducive to producing a neutral environment to work in. ;)
Re: Some Basics about Gear for Color Grading by walter biscardi on Aug 29, 2009 at 9:45:53 pm
[Jesse Schutt]"What's the point of having a card?"
You cannot trust the Color Preview window for accurate color. It is just there for helping with Vignettes and such. You need to judge your color on an external monitor, hence the need for a card. We run the AJA Kona 3 in all three of our systems. The AJA Kona LHi is also an outstanding card.
[Jesse Schutt]"And what is an FSI monitor? "
Flanders Scientific Inc has come out with an outstanding line of color reference monitors and are known as FSI for short. We run the 1760W and 2 of the 2450W's in our shop for color reference monitoring. They have yellow banners throughout the Cow and can also be found here:
The two reasons I recommend them are the price and the money back guarantee. They have the lowest priced, color accurate monitors I have seen. They also offer a full 30 day money back guarantee so if you're not satisfied with their product, you simply send it back. It's like having a 30 day demo in your shop.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author.
Credits include multiple Emmy, Telly, Aurora and Peabody Awards.
Owner, Biscardi Creative Media featuring HD Post Biscardi Creative Media
Creative Cow Forum Host:
Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, Apple Color, AJA Kona, Business & Marketing, Maxx Digital.
Re: Some Basics about Gear for Color Grading by Jesse Schutt on Aug 29, 2009 at 11:49:59 pm
Thanks Walt! I really appreciate the help!
So if I understand correctly, I should look in the area of a card and display. It looks like what you are recommending would be somewhere in the 5-8k range. Does that sound right?
What would be another option that would give me a better idea of the color, but not necessarily broadcast accuracy? Maybe closer to the 1-2k range?
Re: Some Basics about Gear for Color Grading by walter biscardi on Aug 30, 2009 at 6:39:34 pm
[Jesse Schutt]"So if I understand correctly, I should look in the area of a card and display. It looks like what you are recommending would be somewhere in the 5-8k range. Does that sound right? "
AJA Kona LHi, $1,500
FSI 1760W, $2,495
$4,000 range.
As for the lower range, I can't really recommend anything as I don't use anything in that range. The panasonic 42" Pro Plasma screen is under $1,000 and can be calibrated really really close to accurate. The AJA LHi is the cheapest product I would use with Color.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author.
Credits include multiple Emmy, Telly, Aurora and Peabody Awards.
Owner, Biscardi Creative Media featuring HD Post Biscardi Creative Media
Creative Cow Forum Host:
Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, Apple Color, AJA Kona, Business & Marketing, Maxx Digital.
