Appendix 1

The Filmmaker’s Guide to Final Cut Pro Workfl ow
that order, RGB. So a print light of 25-25-25 would be a completely neutral print, in other words,
no color added or exposure change.
When working with negative fi lm, the color spectrum is fl ipped backwards. If the timer wants to
remove red from the print, they add red in printing. So a value of 35-25-25 would have some red
removed indicating that there may have been too much red in the original exposure or that the colorist
wants a warm look.
Color and exposure are evaluated on Hazeltine systems. This is a special viewing system where the
camera original is loaded on a fi lm transport and the image is displayed on a video monitor. Different
levels of RGB light are used to transfer the fi lm image to the video screen allowing the colorist to
try different RGB values and see the result on the video screen. The RGB value of each shot is
recorded into the printing system, which controls the print lights during the printing process.
The fi rst print, known as the fi rst answer print, is processed and projected and reevaluated for further
color correction. The RGB values are altered and a second answer print is struck. It usually takes
three or even four attempts before everyone is comfortable with the color. It is critical to screen the
print in a well maintained theater with the color and brightness of the lamp set to Society of Motion
Picture and Television Engineers (SEMPTE) standards.
On fi lms where the camera negative is conformed to the Final Cut Pro edit, this system and the
camera exposure and fi lters will be the only color correction available.
While the control available in fi lm printing is good, the control in digital grading is almost unlimited.
Many fi lms use a digital intermediate for no other reason than to gain more control over the look.
This was the case with O Brother Where Art Thou?, the fi rst fi lm to use a digital intermediate just
for color grading.
But even on fi lms using the digital intermediate process, there are still color corrections made in fi lm
printing. While the systems to predict what the DI will look like once it is shot back to fi lm work
well, the process always produces some surprises. The fi rst print from the fi lm out will more than
likely need some small adjustments as it is printed to release prints or to make an internegative.
Color Grading Film or Video when Finishing on
Compressed Video
When shooting fi lm to be fi nished on video, typically DV formats including HDV, color correction
and image control in telecine is the next step in color grading. While there well never be as much
control as there was in production, the amount of control in telecine is vast compared to the control
over the compressed video.
For this reason, some projects return to telecine for fi nal color correction. However if more of the
image information from the camera negative is recorded in telecine by recording in an uncompressed
format, then the amount of control over the digital image can be just as great as in telecine, making
return to telecine redundant.
When fi nishing compressed digital video that was shot on video, the fi rst step in color grading is still
in the camera in production. On most formats, the amount of control of the compressed video image
is very limited and extreme care must be used to get the color and image quality as close to a “clean”
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