Tutorial: Maximize Brightness and Contrast in Apple Final Cut Pro X
The histogram and the waveform in Apple Final Cut Pro X are effective, easy-to-master tools that provide the clear input you need to diagnose and fix the contrast issues in your video simply and intelligently. In this video tutorial, video editing and encoding expert Jan Ozer explains how they work.
Brightness and Contrast Maximized?
Figure 12 (below) shows how our corrected frame compares to the original-the contrast is clearly improved.
If we go back to our histogram (Figure 13, below), which first revealed the lack of contrast, we see a much greater range of brightness values across the board, with black pixels at 0 IRE and most white pixels at 100 IRE. The we can't see this in the histogram, the Waveform monitor showed that the face is now in the 70-75 IRE range.
Overall, the image has much better contrast. In summary, Final Cut Pro X's histogram and waveform scopes are simple tools that provide the clear input you need to diagnose and fix the contrast issues in your video simply and intelligently. Next time up we'll tackle the noise issue.
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