[ This is an excerpt from a recent webinar: “Apple Final Cut Pro 11 Power Tips” which is available as a download in our store, or as part of our Video Training Library. ]
VIDEO DESCRIPTION
In this short video, Larry Jordan illustrates three key terms which directly affect the quality of video images: Color space, bit depth and chroma-subsampling. It is very easy to pick the wrong format, only to discover that nothing you do in post will make green screen keys, color grading or gradients look any better.
What are Color Space, Bit Depth & Chroma Sub-sampling and why should we care?
TRT: 8:04 — MPEG-4 HD movie
WEBINAR DESCRIPTION
In this session, we go deep inside Apple Final Cut Pro to discover tips and techniques that can help you work faster, understand the interface better, and use effects more, um, effectively.
Join host Larry Jordan as he illustrates:
If you are looking for ways to take your Final Cut skills to the next level, this session will give you a great start.
AUDIENCE LEVEL
This advanced-level session benefits from knowledge of how FCP works, but even new users will learn valuable techniques.
2 Responses to What are Color Space, Bit Depth & Chroma Sub-sampling and why should we care? [v]
Hi Larry,
I think my question is, how do we determine what color space to work in (in Premiere Pro)?
I ask because, I normally edit footage from a Sony AS7III, but I was also given iPhone footage and when I exported it, I got a warning listed below:
“Source Color Space (Rec. 2100 HLG) cannot be exported with current export settings of the selected format. Export color space (Rec. 709) will be used instead. Update the video encode settings to export in source color space.”
I wasn’t certain what to do, so I just exported as normal (Sony A7SIII format), but the video levels were all over the place, mainly the highlights were blown out. I had to redo the color with Lumetri. Can you explain when, where, which or how to select the “correct” color space? Thanks for any help!
Cheers
Jason:
Color space is determined by your deliverable and set as a timeline setting. Regardless of the media you are editing, if your final output is HD, color space for your timeline must ALWAYS be set to Rec. 709. For final HDR output, always set the timeline to Rec. 2020 (or 2100 same thing). For SD, set the timeline to Rec. 601. Always. No options.
Source media can use a variety of color spaces, but, once they hit the timeline – just like frame rate – color space is conformed to timeline settings.
Larry