Blackmagic Forum

I always check the color skin by adding a node and masking some skin parts,
so that the scope only reflects the skin. Too much workaround during edit.

I wished there was a way to select a "scope area" which I could draw into the image with a rectangle or freehand and also switch between that selection and the entire image back and forth.

This would be useful. In Premiere Pro you could draw an Opacity mask and the scope would only show what was in the masked area. Very easy way to check skin tones (if you draw the mask right).

JeffreyWalther wrote:I always check the color skin by adding a node and masking some skin parts,
so that the scope only reflects the skin. Too much workaround during edit.

I wished there was a way to select a "scope area" which I could draw into the image with a rectangle or freehand and also switch between that selection and the entire image back and forth.

What would be the difference between this and making a mask or qualifier around someone's skin and then turning on Highlight in the viewer options?

Mark Grgurev wrote:

JeffreyWalther wrote:I always check the color skin by adding a node and masking some skin parts,
so that the scope only reflects the skin. Too much workaround during edit.

I wished there was a way to select a "scope area" which I could draw into the image with a rectangle or freehand and also switch between that selection and the entire image back and forth.

What would be the difference between this and making a mask or qualifier around someone's skin and then turning on Highlight in the viewer options?

The different would be: saving time.
You have to manually create a node for each clip, for each project,..... do the math.
It was easier und way faster, if you just set the "scope area" in the image to check the result and scope without adding some nodes which you again have to delete.

This is obviously a standard task so I think this should turn into a standard tool to save time.

Mark Grgurev wrote:making a mask or qualifier around someone's skin and then turning on Highlight in the viewer options?

That works. Thanks. (I still haven't completed my training.)

I requested something like this a while back, but to be more like how scopes work in Redcine Pro. In that program you move your mouse pointer to anywhere on the image, and that area gets highlighted in the scopes. Very quick for checking skin tones.

Roger Singh wrote:I requested something like this a while back, but to be more like how scopes work in Redcine Pro. In that program you move your mouse pointer to anywhere on the image, and that area gets highlighted in the scopes. Very quick for checking skin tones.

Great idea, but color picker samples only one color which may not that good idea for skin tones.

JeffreyWalther wrote:
Great idea, but color picker samples only one color which may not that good idea for skin tones.

From what I remember, it didn't just pick the one colour, it highlighted a range around where your mouse pointer was located.

JeffreyWalther wrote:The different would be: saving time.

I guess the advantage is that you wouldn't have to worry about other windows conflicting with the selection.

Because otherwise the process you stated involves selecting a rectangular or free hand part of the image (a Window) then using a toggle to switch between the selection and the entire image (Highlight button) and you'd be able to do it on the current node.

Roger Singh wrote:I requested something like this a while back, but to be more like how scopes work in Redcine Pro. In that program you move your mouse pointer to anywhere on the image, and that area gets highlighted in the scopes. Very quick for checking skin tones.

That would be cool, too.

Mark Grgurev wrote:

JeffreyWalther wrote:The different would be: saving time.

I guess the advantage is that you wouldn't have to worry about other windows conflicting with the selection.

Because otherwise the process you stated involves selecting a rectangular or free hand part of the image (a Window) then using a toggle to switch between the selection and the entire image (Highlight button) and you'd be able to do it on the current node.

Roger Singh wrote:I requested something like this a while back, but to be more like how scopes work in Redcine Pro. In that program you move your mouse pointer to anywhere on the image, and that area gets highlighted in the scopes. Very quick for checking skin tones.

That would be cool, too.

You didn't get the point. It is not only addressed to the ability to switch back and forth a skin mask, it is about to select a portion of the image that includes skin tones and that only this part is reflected in the scopes.

That way you could scrub through and check dozens of clips for skin tones quite fast without having to dive into each node setting and add a new node - for each clip.

JeffreyWalther wrote:You didn't get the point. It is not only addressed to the ability to switch back and forth a skin mask, it is about to select a portion of the image that includes skin tones and that only this part is reflected in the scopes.

That's what the highlight button does. It only shows what is in the masked area in both the viewer and the scopes.

JeffreyWalther wrote:That way you could scrub through and check dozens of clips for skin tones quite fast without having to dive into each node setting and add a new node - for each clip.

Why would I assume it could do that? You mentioned selecting a rectangular area of a clip to check skin tones. How often is that same exact area of the frame representative of skin tones in multiple clips when people can be in different places in different clips or within the same clip? A qualifier selection would make more sense if you wanted to select skin tones between a bunch of clips but skin tones would already have to be pretty close between clips or they won't qualify.

You can see for yourself by adding a bunch of clips to the timeline, going to Color page, clicking the second dot above the Node graph to switch to the node tree for the Timeline, then add a node that does a skin qualifier or window, press the Highlight button, and then scroll through the timeline or jump to clips. This would work do the exact same thing you're suggesting even if the implementation is different.

I don't know why you're rolling your eyes. Your original post didn't really describe the advantage of your idea very well to me. The process you describe is identical to making a mask and turning on highlight, and suggested the advantage would be that you wouldn't have to create a new node to do it. You don't have to create a new node to do it though which is what confused me. I wasn't considering that someone might already have several masks on that node already and that they would also be highlighted which would require someone to make a new node. This thing about it the selection being active for multiple clips was never even hinted at in your original post though.

Hey Jeff,

I use a Timeline node to do a selection on skin tones, which will show skin tones only on every clip in the timeline. After I'm finished adjusting clip grades, I delete the node.

Peter Cave wrote:Hey Jeff,

I use a Timeline node to do a selection on skin tones, which will show skin tones only on every clip in the timeline. After I'm finished adjusting clip grades, I delete the node.

That's rather cumbersome, isn't it?
The scopes are available in all tabs, including the Edit tab.

I don't necessarily want to switch to the Color tab to select skin tones over a node. Especially I would have to reset the (imteline) node if I wanted to mask other colors.
That's too much work, don't you think?!

I just want to be able to quickly define the scope area anytime and anywhere (in all tabs).

JeffreyWalther wrote:That's rather cumbersome, isn't it?

Not really, it takes about 5 seconds

JeffreyWalther wrote:The scopes are available in all tabs, including the Edit tab.

Only when they're floating. Otherwise they're only available in the Media page (in a two monitor set up) and the Color page. They don't really have much purpose in any other page except for maybe the Fusion page but that's the only page where floating scopes don't work.

JeffreyWalther wrote:I don't necessarily want to switch to the Color tab to select skin tones over a node.

Is the whole idea that you're checking the skin tones so that you can tweak them if they're off? You'd have to switch to the Color page anyway for that.

JeffreyWalther wrote:Especially I would have to reset the (imteline) node if I wanted to mask other colors.
That's too much work, don't you think?!

Not really, just click a different color. It's not like you can stack qualifiers on a node. One just replaces the other. Plus the Timeline node would just a be mask with no grade so you can just switch to the clip view to grade without worrying. In fact, using Timeline nodes would allow you to select different colors per node and switch between them just by clicking the nodes. Try it out.