For those of you familiar with my web site, you will recognize the name Andrew Balis. Andrew has been contributing FCP articles to my web site for years, including the very popular Color Correcting for FCP 3 and 4 articles. Andrew brings considerable expertise to this tutorial and he has crafted this tutorial in a manner that makes learning color correcting an easier task. For example, in most color correcting tutorials, the instruction teaches about the FCP scopes while also teaching color correcting. For someone trying to learn color correcting, melding two lessons into one does not work well. This is where Andrew excels and his experience as a teacher shows. In the first chapter we learn how to calibrate our 'client' monitors (including commercial TVs if that's what you have) an essential chore that must be accomplished before color correcting begins. He then teaches us how to use the FCP scopes, providing clips that demonstrate how the scopes work. This lesson is about the scopes and not color correcting. In other words, he teaches us how the tools work and how to use them first, and then, once we know how to use the tools, he moves us ahead to color correcting lessons in which these tools are employed. It is like this throughout the tutorial, teach the tools first and then teach their use.

As you can see by the Chapter index shown below, this tutorial is extensive. It includes, not only color correcting but substantial lessons using FCP to alter and create special moods or a stylized look, a very important ability to have for a film maker.

 

Here we're shown how to create different moods and styles by adjusting the coloring and balance of our film or video. We are also shown how to use the new multicam feature in Final Cut Pro to compare four different looks side by side.

 
Most tutorials supply video to work with, but often, the video footage used in color correcting tutorials is normal footage that has been 'tricked up' to be bad and then fixed following the provided lessons. This is not the case with this tutorial. In addition to providing real world film and video media, several days were spent shooting material that was shot incorrectly on purpose. Under and over exposure, improper color balance, too little or too much contrast, color tinting, blown out skies (and windows), washed out blacks and all of the other errors that can happen during shooting. Having 'real world' problematic footage makes all the difference when it comes to learning FCP color correcting.