Hello
I have just purchased Vegas 5 and realized that the colour correction tools are not as advanced as I thought they should be. Therefore I would appreciate some enhancements in the upcoming version of Vegas.
SOME COLOUR THEORY
In the RGB colour system, pure black is described by the RGB vector (000, 000, 000), pure white is described by the vector (255, 255, 255). And “pure” grey can be described by the middle point vector (127, 127, 127), although in Vegas it is defined by the vector (128. 128, 128) – look at Media Generators, Solid Colour.
I believe that a black and white photo / frame can be described by a continuum of all “parallel” vectors such that each point / pixel can be described by the vectors (000, 000, 000), (001, 001, 001), …, (254, 254, 254), (255, 255, 255).
Here are the mathematical vector values defining the main colours in the RGB and the CMYK colour systems.
Primary colours in the RGB colour system are defined by:
Red = (255, 000, 000)
Green = (000, 255, 000)
Blue = (000, 000, 255)
In the CMYK colour system the complementary colours to the primary colours in the RGB colour system are defined by (look at the colour wheel):
Cyan = (000, 255, 25 5) complementary to red
Magenta = (255, 000, 255) complementary to green
Yellow = (255, 255, 000) complementary to blue
The grey scales is a continuum, but the main “colours” can be defined by the end points black and white and the middle point “pure” grey:
Black = (000, 000, 000)
White = (255, 255, 255)
Grey = (128, 128, 128)
These values are helpful when you want to correct colours in your videos. Therefore I’ve specified them here. For example, if you want to reduce a yellow colour cast, which is a frequently occurring problem, you can simultaneously reduce the values of red and green if you are using the RGB colour system.
THE PROBLEM WITH “GREY” COLOURS
In many or most pictures / videos there are some areas that can be defined as “grey”, where the “colour” grey in principle is ranging from (001, 001, 001) up to (254, 254, 254) in the RGB colour system.
In the real world, subjectively we will perceive a RANGE of vectors as white, respectively black. You can hardly see the difference between the pure white vector (255, 255, 255) and the “grey” vector (240, 240, 240). Nor can you se any difference between the pure black vector (000, 000, 000) and the “grey” vector (010, 010, 010). In Vegas you can check this using Media Generator, Solid Colour, and plotting in the values above.
If the pure white points / areas in your pictures (real world), actually has the vector value (240, 240, 200) in the video you are editing, the same areas – or more likely: the whole video / picture – has a yellow cast / tint. When you adjust the white balance, the colour values of these areas are (in principle) adjusted to the true white vector value (255, 255, 255) – at the same time as ALL the other colour values are changed. Therefore ALL THE COLOURS IN THE PICTURE ARE CHANGED WHEN YOU ADJUST THE WHITE BALANCE. The same happens when you adjust the black balance. Therefore, when you adjust the black balance, all the colours in the picture are changed.
PROBLEMS WITH THE COLOUR CORRECTING TOOLS IN VEGAS 5
What I’m missing in Vegas 5, is a feature that can adjust the “grey balance” – or any colour that is erroneous – in the same way as it is possible to correct the white and black balance. For example, an area that in the real word is “pure” grey, may in your video be described by the vector (128, 128, 160). In other words, the areas that should be “pure” grey are rather bluish. This creates a colour cast to the whole picture, not just the parts that should be “grey”. And to perform the “grey” balance adjustment, all the colours must be changed. In the same way as all colours are changed when the white and black balance is corrected.
As a consequence of the above mentioned problem, I miss an EYEDROPPER feature / tool where I can map the correct colour (for example grey) in ONE image (a frame in a video shot by another camera or a still image) into ANOTHER corresponding area of the frame (video) I’m actually editing. In this way I can (in principle) correct the white balance, the black balance, the grey balance and all other colour casts that might exist in the video I’m editing.
In principle I can perform this operation in Adobe Premiere Elements, but in practice it’s hard to accomplish. So I’m looking forward to the day when Sony is coming up with a similar, but much better functioning feature, in the next version of Vegas. Or do I have to bye a separate colour correction tool that costs more than Vegas…?
Regards,
Joran – Norway
PS. I hope you apologize if my English isn’t as good as it should be, but I hope you understand the essence of my contribution. I’ve deliberately used capitals to emphasize important points and in headings.
I have just purchased Vegas 5 and realized that the colour correction tools are not as advanced as I thought they should be. Therefore I would appreciate some enhancements in the upcoming version of Vegas.
SOME COLOUR THEORY
In the RGB colour system, pure black is described by the RGB vector (000, 000, 000), pure white is described by the vector (255, 255, 255). And “pure” grey can be described by the middle point vector (127, 127, 127), although in Vegas it is defined by the vector (128. 128, 128) – look at Media Generators, Solid Colour.
I believe that a black and white photo / frame can be described by a continuum of all “parallel” vectors such that each point / pixel can be described by the vectors (000, 000, 000), (001, 001, 001), …, (254, 254, 254), (255, 255, 255).
Here are the mathematical vector values defining the main colours in the RGB and the CMYK colour systems.
Primary colours in the RGB colour system are defined by:
Red = (255, 000, 000)
Green = (000, 255, 000)
Blue = (000, 000, 255)
In the CMYK colour system the complementary colours to the primary colours in the RGB colour system are defined by (look at the colour wheel):
Cyan = (000, 255, 25 5) complementary to red
Magenta = (255, 000, 255) complementary to green
Yellow = (255, 255, 000) complementary to blue
The grey scales is a continuum, but the main “colours” can be defined by the end points black and white and the middle point “pure” grey:
Black = (000, 000, 000)
White = (255, 255, 255)
Grey = (128, 128, 128)
These values are helpful when you want to correct colours in your videos. Therefore I’ve specified them here. For example, if you want to reduce a yellow colour cast, which is a frequently occurring problem, you can simultaneously reduce the values of red and green if you are using the RGB colour system.
THE PROBLEM WITH “GREY” COLOURS
In many or most pictures / videos there are some areas that can be defined as “grey”, where the “colour” grey in principle is ranging from (001, 001, 001) up to (254, 254, 254) in the RGB colour system.
In the real world, subjectively we will perceive a RANGE of vectors as white, respectively black. You can hardly see the difference between the pure white vector (255, 255, 255) and the “grey” vector (240, 240, 240). Nor can you se any difference between the pure black vector (000, 000, 000) and the “grey” vector (010, 010, 010). In Vegas you can check this using Media Generator, Solid Colour, and plotting in the values above.
If the pure white points / areas in your pictures (real world), actually has the vector value (240, 240, 200) in the video you are editing, the same areas – or more likely: the whole video / picture – has a yellow cast / tint. When you adjust the white balance, the colour values of these areas are (in principle) adjusted to the true white vector value (255, 255, 255) – at the same time as ALL the other colour values are changed. Therefore ALL THE COLOURS IN THE PICTURE ARE CHANGED WHEN YOU ADJUST THE WHITE BALANCE. The same happens when you adjust the black balance. Therefore, when you adjust the black balance, all the colours in the picture are changed.
PROBLEMS WITH THE COLOUR CORRECTING TOOLS IN VEGAS 5
What I’m missing in Vegas 5, is a feature that can adjust the “grey balance” – or any colour that is erroneous – in the same way as it is possible to correct the white and black balance. For example, an area that in the real word is “pure” grey, may in your video be described by the vector (128, 128, 160). In other words, the areas that should be “pure” grey are rather bluish. This creates a colour cast to the whole picture, not just the parts that should be “grey”. And to perform the “grey” balance adjustment, all the colours must be changed. In the same way as all colours are changed when the white and black balance is corrected.
As a consequence of the above mentioned problem, I miss an EYEDROPPER feature / tool where I can map the correct colour (for example grey) in ONE image (a frame in a video shot by another camera or a still image) into ANOTHER corresponding area of the frame (video) I’m actually editing. In this way I can (in principle) correct the white balance, the black balance, the grey balance and all other colour casts that might exist in the video I’m editing.
In principle I can perform this operation in Adobe Premiere Elements, but in practice it’s hard to accomplish. So I’m looking forward to the day when Sony is coming up with a similar, but much better functioning feature, in the next version of Vegas. Or do I have to bye a separate colour correction tool that costs more than Vegas…?
Regards,
Joran – Norway
PS. I hope you apologize if my English isn’t as good as it should be, but I hope you understand the essence of my contribution. I’ve deliberately used capitals to emphasize important points and in headings.