How to Improve Your Videos Using False Color

Looking back at my early KZbin videos, I sucked at lighting. I'm still not as good as I'd like to be, but if there's one tool that has made the biggest difference in my production workflow, it's false color. In this video, I provide examples of big-budget lighting and unpack how you can use external monitors offering false color to understand what the pros are doing.
Products featured in this video:
AndyCine A6 Plus HDMI Monitor
(What I use to view false color)
geni.us/Tce3z
Cable to connect the monitor to a Canon 5D
geni.us/HORLfsQ
Classic Color Meter
(Cheap utility to calculate HSB values in any Mac app)
apple.co/3ezSYfB
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[@bluestilling101]

Very interesting approach. I like to dissect the lighting of photographs I admire as well. That comment about your kids reminding you of how many subscribers others have was hilarious enough to make me subscribe. Your kids will inspire you to greatness LOL.

[@PatriceDEvans]

Great job. Now you have over 80k. Thanks. 👍🏽

[@ronanfinnphillips9525]

Love you Videos Todd, thank you for being so helpful and very very clear! keep up the great work please 👍🏻

[@__lewyy]

Hi todd, Thanks for this video, it's super helpful about to head into to my studio to try it out for the first time! Like you where I am struggling to get my lighting right, fingers crossed this will help!

[@matthewchute5514]

Thank for the video Todd! Really cool tip with comparing frames form our favorite scenes by using a HSB tool!

[@kiaaria.darkroom194]

Thanks a lot for shering your experiences. Its help people like me to improve and understand better about videography and photography

[@AndrewTanielian]

You explained this very well. Thank you for making this video!

[@PettyBlue1]

Your content is of incredible quality! Thank you so much!

[@InaiahLujanMusic]

Watched a ton of videos on false color tonight and your video was by far the best produced and informative. Thank you!

[@mowtown2496]

Thanks for a clear cut video on false color with the Andycine monitor, this helped me out a lot! :D

[@tonymckeage1028]

Great Vlog, False colour is not on my agenda at this point but again a very useful Vlog to refer to. Thanks again for you in depth knowledge on these topics

[@loganprofitt683]

Awesome video! Thanks for the helpful tips!

[@socialclub8007]

Hey Todd, just found your channel! This is video #4 in what is sure to be a lengthy binge. This info is invaluable and presented in such an accessible way. This particular video is a great compliment to your video on exposing C-Log 3 on the R5 and R6. I just got the R5C after shooting video exclusively on Panasonic over the past 10+ years, and your videos are the most helpful I have come across. Thank you!

[@mikelaicarpentier]

Thanks, clear explanation of how to use false color. :)

[@BadByte]

Found the very same external monitor at my local shop under the label Feelworld model F6

[@UncleJoeDunckel]

Very helpful. Thanks

[@ZvilgantisKailis]

That screenshot hunting for brightness is done on the final and graded image. These days you don't get final color tonality into the camera. Color correction also happens for lifting / lowering blacks, highlights and grays.

[@AdventuresofLuca]

This video is great Todd 👍 .

[@SrrEngenheiro]

Top level, congratulations

[@Shadow_Men]

I'm so glad I've found your video in these days. I am not even a creator myself (yet!) but certainly enjoy your narrative very much so.

[@dominey]

Thanks!

[@Inatwiztvisuals]

Thanks this help me out.

[@MrPhillipsTheChangeAgent]

Really good video. But I wish someone would talk about lighting for darker skin tones.

[@mOo84]

Helpful video! There seem to be a lot of conflicting opinions about whether false colour should be reading the LOG signal or from a REC709 LUT. I shoot in LOG on my BMPCC6K but monitor externally with the exact LUT I’ll be applying in the edit (Buttery Natural REC709). The monitor gives me the option to ignore the LUT/look and only judge the LOG signal - and I’m struggling to understand the benefits of doing that if you want to try and nail it in camera as much as possible. When reading the LOG signal, IRE values across the scene are very slightly ‘darker’ but if you are going for specific IRE values for your subject then these will not be 100% accurate once you apply the LUT.

[@vinzyvisuals6472]

Congratulations for the 5k milestone.

[@dominey]

✊

[@BrendanEReed]

On the Andycine, the pink seems like it usually shows up as a border between shades of grey, perhaps because it’s such a narrow range. It looks like it’s 58-60, have you ever checked to see exactly what the pink and the bright green are?

[@anthonypc1]

I have been enlightened.

[@chriswatson425]

I found this video extremely helpful. I just purchased an Atomos Shinobi and will be putting this useful information into application. Thank you. #NewSubscriber

[@jakir_studio]

Which lut did use to color grade your video

[@skepsys]

if the scene is low light (evening, night), do you still use 50-70 range in false color when exposing skintones, or just when it's daylight or well lit? do you go lower in lowlight for skintones, like 30-50, or still 50-70 and then drop exposure in post? when you said to use shots from film to determine how exposure was done, it seems like you indicate that the cinematographer exposed for the exact luminance you actually see in the end result, but you stated 55-65 i think, so how did it get to around 30 in that telephone scene? he either exposed for 30 on skintones, and so not to 55-65, or he exposed to 55-65 and dropped it in post, in which case looking at the shot doesnt actually tell you how it was exposed. im confused..

[@k.jmotivation7452]

How to shoot video like you , please make a video

[@FearOfMissingOutFOMO]

What about African American skin? :(

[@baqcasanke]

Whoever thumbed down is just mad cause they are false-color blind 🤣