I need to use levels to color correct and increase contrast on my underwater footage. I have been using AUTO LEVELS in Premiere Pro, partly because I have not figured out the crappy interface to LEVELS yet.

However, auto leves is giving my severe color shifts when the lighting changes in a scene, which it very likely to do underwater.

Is there any way to minimize or smooth out the color shifts with AUTO LEVELS?

Rick Colman

Simple... don't use it. Auto Levels averages your scene and sticks with that setting even as your scene changes. If you do a frame by frame auto, you'll still get it as the scene changes. Your can use key frames to control the color changes but it's a long process with Premiere Pro.
Btw Rick, pls don't use all caps for titles.

WHY NOT !!!

DIVE SAFE

DEANB

it hurts Drew's sensitive eyes...

rcolman - but I have to agree with Drew... don't use the auto levels. I find it similiar to trying to use auto correction in Photoshop. It rarely gets it right for underwater scenes. Try learning to use the three way color corrector or just the fast color correction tool (not sure which version of PP you are using). Also, where you have a big shift in color you could set up key frames, set the color correction for the start and another color correction setting for the end and have PP transition that change.

Was editing on Premier Pro 1.5 last night and was amazed at how well it cleans up an image.Brings the correct colours back smoothly.Minor adjustments to correct the increase in blue and the loss of red.I have other edit software like Sony Vegas and FCP but Premier Pro certainly is'nt too bad.Of course all the colour correction needs to be done manualy with a waveform to get proper colour tempature and balance.One problem im busy working on is there are some images that are in need of a sought of auto knee function.Im trying to find a way to deal with some hot spots.Playing around with different functions but they tend to soften not only the hotspots but also the whole image.Its not a big problem but because these hotspots are minute.Also i find that after the colour correction effects are manipulated the images soften a little and i find myself going into the effects tab to sharpen up the images by about 15 percent because thats how much im losing.Is that whats happening to everybody else using Premier Pro of even FCP and Sony Vegas.

I have pretty bad ocean conditions here right now, very green dirty water with lots of particulate. I used the following regimen:

1) use FCC to do manual white balance, after the fact

2) use AUTOLEVELS, increase the clip popints to 1% to increase contrast, and set the time averaging to 5 frames.

3) then, apply AUTOCOLOR.

It does not solve all the problems by any means, but does clean up a clip pretty well for an inexperienced amateur.

Rick Colman

Will try that thanks Rick.Also got some green dirty water here at the moment.

Rick, Dump Premier Pro, dump the PC, get a Mac and use Final Cut Pro...it will do your coloring for you overnight while you sleep.;-)
Steve

You cannot use auto levels on underwater footage.

I agree dump Prem pro...but get EDIUS.
It will run rings around FCP & Prem Pro for multiformat editing and the realtime ccing is quick & easy with wonderful results.

Colour Correction can be key framed to each clip or you can grab a frame from some other part of the timeline and use that as a split reference. You can also click in any part of the frame or the split reference frame and it will CC adjust your clip automatically or you can just adjust certain parts of the frame or use a Chrominance filter to hit a certain area.

Not only that but it will max out all 4 cores if you have a QUAD CPU when it comes time to rendering out m2t files or even DVD files.
http://www.hdvundersea.com/view/72/edius-d...ile-speed-test/

Wagsy---I was just playing there, and I don't know Edius, but...if it is so much better than other NLEs like FC, why then don't the major studios use it and not FC as they do? Is it a well kept secret? I thought it interesting at the Red One training day when the moderator asked the audience of about 40 who were on PCs and who were on Macs, that only one hand went up on the PC side. Had a laugh.
Steve

And here I am typing this on my PC running OSX leopard....
Well it is... they just have not caught on yet...

So you have the other software to make your PC look like a Mac then load OSX on a PC, Wagsy, face it, you are a secret Mac Fan Boy BTW how is the Leopard on PC thing going from the Apps side of things? Or are you just testing the other item you were developing?

I've been told that the Parallels application for Macs runs the PC side of things very well, I've had no experience with it however.
Steve

I have it on my Laptop and Tower (and now that I have it on the tower I may pick up Edius, it is bundled with an A/D convertor and since my other A/D boxes died I may grab that one if I find a need for it.)

Parallels runs things very well, though it is a bit disconcerting hrearing the Windows sounds (and seeing a Windows screen) on the Mac

The only reason I'm messing around with the OSX is for program development as they need to be able to install on both platforms. I have loaded up the software to make a PC look like OSX and it also works rather well. It been pretty neat though learning the ins and out of OSX.

I have run Lightroom on the Hacontosh but noting else yet.

Soon I will set up a dual boot PC/MAC on the PC.

Anyhow we should go to another thread and chat about it all....kind of taking over from the original topic here.