Unlike effects created in a module, soft effects are applied and previewed directly to the timeline and can be rendered at a later stage.
We will now color correct a clip using the assembled timeline that you previously created in Smoke.

1. Continue with your timeline from the previous exercise.
2. Work in the Record Timeline view, press F5.
3. Display the Player, Press ESC.
4. Select the “3_Sandals_Left” shot on the Timeline.
5. Click on the CC Soft Effect button to enable it.
The Soft FX menu is on the left side of the timeline.
6. The LED on the soft effect button turns blue, and the soft effect indicator appears on the timeline segment (CC in this case).
7. Make sure Autokey animation is disabled, (A) button.
8. Click on the (E) button to enter the CC Editor,
9. The Overlay UI view will help you color correct large frames like this HD shot.
10.From the CC popup choose CW (Colour Warper).

To toggle the Overlay UI with the normal view, press "CTRL+ESC".

Enhance the image using the Colour Warper tools.

1. Drag the Black slider towards left, and make sure that you get nice deep blacks without losing too much detail.
Note that when dragging parameters using the Overlay UI, all other parameters disappear so most of the image is visible.
2. Drag the White slider to the right, to boost the highlights and increase the contrast.
3. Drag the Saturation slider towards right to make the colors livelier.
4. Toggle the default Warp menu (middle of UI) to Gamma.
5. Tweak the Gamma curve to bring it up slightly.
The Gamma changes the luminance of the mid tones without affecting the black point or the white point.
Note that RGB Gamma has also independent Red, Green and Blue controls.
6. You can experiment with your own settings if you want, and once you are happy with the result, click Exit.
Note that you don’t need to process now because this is a soft effect; you can process it at a later time.
7. You can click on the blue LED of the CC button to activate and deactivate the effect on the shot.

To reset a parameter to default value; hold "CTRL" and click on the field.

The next shot also needs some color correction. Instead of performing the color correction from scratch, copy the color correction settings you just created.

1. You can drag and drop any soft FX to other shots.
2. First expand the track to see the clip’s information and the soft FX.
To expand the timeline vertically, drag the track identifier (V1,L1) down.
Notice the CC icon on the shot.
3. Hold CTRL and drag and drop the CC icon to the next shot.
4. Scroll to the next shot “4_Sandals_right”; the effect has been copied.
5. If needed, you can access the CC Editor and modify the color correction for this second clip.
Notice that some color correction controls are also accessible from the Timeline Editing bar.

Alternatively, you can use a shortcut to select a soft FX and copy it. This is useful when several FX are used on a shot. Notice that the soft effects are numbered on the Soft FX tab. The Colour Correction hotkey number is "4". To copy the CC effect using these hotkeys, make sure the source shot is selected first. Press and hold "CTRL+4"; this selects the CC FX. You can see that a yellow highlight appears on the Soft Effect of the source shot. With the "CTRL" key still down, drag from the source shot to the destination shot.

You may need to process the soft effects in order to play them back in real time. You can process the full timeline or process selected clips.

1. CTRL-Click both shots to select them and hit Process.
2. Display the full screen player, press CTRL+ESC.
3. Press the Alt L key to replay the selected clips.
4. Press ESC to go back to the regular player.
5. To save the timeline; Choose Record Area in the Item Box.
6. Be sure that your “Smoke_Essentials” library is selected in the Library box.
7. Press Save.
If you followed the tutorial steps, your Record area was saved already with an existing name.
8. Press Enter to keep the same name.
Choose Replace to replace the Record Area folder with the new one.
9. The Record Area is saved in the currently active Library.

To delete a soft FX: you can drag and drop the icon to the recycle bin while holding "CTRL" or, you can hold "ALT" and click the "CC" Soft FX button.

If you want to know more about the interface and the functionalities covered in this exercise, watch the following interface overviews:


To continue with the exercises, click on the following link: