Lesson 4. Introduction to Color

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Lesson Files	Color Book Files > Lesson Files > Lesson 04 > IntroToColor.fcp
Time	This lesson takes approximately 90 minutes to complete.
Goals	Send a sequence from Final Cut Pro to Color
	Navigate projects in the Color Timeline
	Tour the rooms of the Color interface
	Explore Color’s task-based workflow
	Set preferences for your sequence
	Experiment with simple color adjustments

So far you’ve been working exclusively in Final Cut Pro, and it should be apparent that you can do a tremendous amount of color grading without ever leaving that program. However, Apple Color provides a whole new level of professional-quality grading tools that greatly increase the type and amount of changes you can make to your clips.

The myriad advantages of working in Color will become clear as you work through the remainder of the lessons in this book, but beware: Color looks and operates somewhat differently from the other programs in Final Cut Studio, and there is a moderately steep learning curve that you must traverse before you’ll be comfortable using it.

But don’t fear! This lesson will introduce you to this powerful program and will guide you through the most common workflow. You’ll begin in Final Cut Pro, send your sequence to Color, tour the Color interface, familiarize yourself with Color’s intuitive task-based workflow, set preferences for your sequence, and experiment with some simple adjustments while you get to know the most important tabs, or rooms, in the Color interface. Finally, you’ll send your finished work back to Final Cut Pro, returning you to that familiar interface where you can choose how you want to output your completed project.