SHOT MATCHING:

This is about individual shots and making them look and fill like the shots that sorround them, what we are looking for here is seeing this continuity.
Shot matching is an extension of what the editor was trying to achieve, to ensure that there is nothing calls out of the edit points.

The editor does this by following certain rules:
- Matching action across every point.
- Paying attention to site lines.
- No crossing the 180 degrees line.

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Then the colorist help the editor by paying attention to brightness, Luminance, Saturation and Hue as we cut from shot to shot, these elements must much each other as closely as possible.
So when you practice shot matching the program flows and washes over the audience never to draw attention to edit points.

Now here at Proline Film Academy, we have generalized a way of teaching shot matching different colors differently.
What i suggest is that you work on your Luma first and i'm talking about brightness & Contrast.
So when i'm talking about contrast, i mean where you set your blacks, where you set your highlights.
What about your Mid-tones and then mantaining that decision as you go across the shots in the scene.

The main important thing is that you intentionally set Brightness, Blacks, Contrast and Gama or Mid-tones, Once you've got those set,
what about the Hue saturation?
Well that's the next place to focus on interms of getting your shots to match.
So believe it or not one of the biggest areas that will trip younger colorists are the blacks, meaning the Shadows often time skin-tones to miss match and this problem is not fixed by adjusting Mid-tones, but by using a Lift of Shadow controls.

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The main important thing is that you intentionally set Brightness, Blacks, Contrast and Gama or Mid-tones, Once you've got those set, what about the Hue saturation?
Well that's the next place to focus on interms of getting your shots to match.
So believe it or not one of the biggest areas that will trip younger colorists are the blacks, meaning the Shadows often time skin-tones to miss match and this problem is not fixed by adjusting Mid-tones, but by using a Lift of Shadow controls.

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But generally speaking no matter what App i'm working with i start with Luma first then i move to Hue and Saturation.
By the way there are technical reasons to why we teach this order or operations because on some softwares you have to match Luma before Color, or if not you are always chasing your tail.
So i recommend this workflow because it's a good habit to develop that will rearly not let you down.

Now my suggestion to you is a 3 step process:
01- Normalize the image which is the base grade,
Here i mean working with our primaries, excuting our Secondaries, Setting our color balance, Set our highlights & Shadows.

02- Shot Matching:
So since shot matching is a new thought we shall add a shot matching Node.

03- Creating the Look:
which will be also another thought and another Node, and yes as friquently multiply Nodes that you do after the base grade and after the shot matching.
So that's the major key to shot matching loved by all advanced colorists around the world.
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