FilmConvert are demoing what they’re calling an ‘early proof of concept’ of CineMatch, a plugin that allows you to match colours and exposure across cameras of different types and from different manufacturers.
Multicam, multi colour profiles, multi headache
If you’ve ever shot a multicam project on different cameras (or maybe the same cameras with different settings) and had to edit the resulting footage, you’ll know it can be a real headache to tweak colours and exposure to make footage match between angles.
The ‘horrible problem’
FilmConvert call this a ‘horrible problem’ and have deployed similar technology to their film emulation software to try and solve it. Where FilmConvert’s film emulation matches footage to film stocks, CineMatch matches footage to cameras. After a lot of experimentation the developers have reverse engineered the colour science of various cameras from different manufacturers and plugged them into various controls.
This means when you load up your footage into the software the sliders that you can see in the video above aren’t generic – they’re specifically tuned to the camera you shot with. Eventually the manual controls will be abstracted away – FilmConvert intend using CineMatch to be a straightforward as possible, possibly even streamlining the process down to a few clicks.
Test parameters
The test in the video above was shot with a Panasonic GH5, a Fuji XT2, a Sony a7S and an iPhone mounted to the same rig. White balances were set to be the same between the cameras, and FilmConvert say this is the key to enabling a good match between the different setups. If you’re able to get in the right zone on location, you can get the rest of the way there once you’ve started post.
Pricing, availability and beta testing
CineMatch is still in development and will be going into beta testing after NAB. Pricing is yet to be determined but FilmConvert are aiming for ‘not astronomical,’ for release in November.
