Comments on: Gamma Gamma Gamma

By: Autumn Gem - The Qiu Jin Project » Blog Archive » Final Cut Tips for Documentary Filmmakers

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 05:01:35 +0000

[...] touched on this in an earlier post, but you should set your Mac’s display to 1.8 gamma when using Final Cut. FCP adds gamma to [...]

By: Adam and Rae

Adam and Rae — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:55:49 +0000

We ended up purchasing a Matrox MXO scan conversion device. The MXO turns out 23-inch Apple Cinema Display into an accurate HD broadcast monitor. To get the look we want, we are going through each clip in each scene and applying gamma correction where necessary. Once we get things looking right on the MXO-ADC combination, we’ll work to get the right conversion to DVD.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 16:20:44 +0000

So, I calibrated my monitors to 1.8 and I see what Final Cut has been doing to “adjust” the gamma in the canvas view. I find myself enjoying the look of the film at the darker 2.2+ gamma, so what I’m doing now is applying a 1.3 Gamma Correction filter (along with a boost in red midtones) to Compressor when it makes the MPEG-2 for DVD Studio Pro. This is the closest that I can get to make the DVD look acceptable.

When I get around to doing the transfer to HDCAM, I’m sure we’ll have even more fun. Thanks for the help, Maze.

By: Maze

Maze — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:27:30 +0000

Yes, your video will look lighter and have less contrast. But, I have found it looks closer to what was being displayed on our capture devices – and ultimately has been leading to a more natural tonal range and easier color grading.

In my opinion, you still have to make a judgment call when you output to DVD. I think you will have an easier time getting there this way, though…

By: Adam and Rae

Adam and Rae — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:49:58 +0000

Thanks for the response and for posting your article. Like you, I have my computers set to 2.2 gamma. The thing is, I prefer the look of the film at the boosted gamma in Final Cut. Wouldn’t setting my monitor to 1.8 and running Final Cut make the resulting DVD look washed out still? Looks like I’ll create a custom display profile using the 1.8 gamma and see what happens.

By: Maze

Maze — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:43:26 +0000

A huge part of this problem for me is that Final Cut assumes you are working in a 1.8 gamma and boosts the display gamma of the Viewer and Canvas to 2.2 in order to approximate a broadcast monitor. This was causing a lot of grief for me since I was calibrating my displays to 2.2 already; so it was boosting it well past 2.2. That’s what the QuickTime Final Cut Compatibility preference does, boost it to 2.2 gamma…

And yes, you’re right. It has been a lot of trial and error for me. I re-calibrated our Final Cut workstation to 1.8 last week and things have been looking better when output to DVD so far.