Beginner Question: Match Color - Doesn't work for me Any idea what I am doing wrong?

I want to use the match color feature on a long clip that was shot under the same lighting conditions that I bladed up. Maybe I am just stupid, but I don't understand the instructions in FCPX 10.1. I am not entirely sure where the source clip goes and where the skimmer should be. I found this short video on YouTube that I have watched several times:

YouTube Link

I've followed these steps exactly and the color in the destination/needs fixed clip doesn't look much at all like the my source/already fixed clip. I can a better job with my eye and the color board.

Am I expecting too much out of match color? If I do successfully match the color, will my color board in the fixed clip have the same settings as the color board for original clip that I used for color balance?

Match color is an odd thing. Sometimes it works great, sometimes it gives you crazy results. It isn't a color correction, but as far as I can understand it, it applying the color information from one image to another.

I have used it when I have had the same scene but taken at different times of day so the color temperature is slightly off. It does a great job of evening out of the shots.

Also when you would like a keyed talent to have the color of the background plate, that again works quite well.

If it works for you great, if not head to the color board and make the match correction there.

Thank you for the help.

tpayton wrote: Match color is an odd thing. Sometimes it works great, sometimes it gives you crazy results. It isn't a color correction, but as far as I can understand it, it applying the color information from one image to another.

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The two clips have to be similar enough to start with. It really is a flip of the coin feature.

Seems like it would work best with RAW footage on a flat profile to get things closer before you grade, but I've never worked with that type of footage yet so I can't say, but it makes some sense.

So in a nutshell, how it works, it analysis the original clip for contrast and tint, then matches that to the source frame you choose.

1- Click the Match Color button for the clip you want to APPLY the change TO. This is the "original" clip.
2- Skimming is automatically enabled, so skim clips in the Browser or Timeilne to find a frame you want the original to look like.
3- Click on that frame, and you'll see the two side by side in the Viewer, the changes applied to the original clip (on the right side).
4- If you don't like it, skim and click on a different frame of any clip, until you find the look you like.
5- Click the Apply button.

Again, it works best with clips that are already similar. If they're too drastically different, it does odd things. To quote the Help document for this feature:
"The Match Color feature makes it easy to ensure that all scenes that take place in the same location have the same look."

The Match Color feature makes it easy to ensure that all scenes that take place in the same location have the same look.

.. and is recorded with similar devices, I would like to add:

When I record my son's soccer-matches, it's the same scene, same light, same same .. but very, I mean: very different cams :lol: being on a shoe-string budget, my 6, 7 simultaneous running cams are from excellent (Pana hcv707) to no-name eBay-offer/30€ ...

different codecs, diff. bit-rates, diff. 'quality' ... even under bright sunlight conditions, results of a Match Color vary from 'magic!!' to 'forgettit!!'

My lil' work-around:

I guess, intended is, to match two clips/scenes which are located in the timeline front/back.
For my needs, I often find a better reference by using a different scene - THIS scene gets a marker, and any time I have to match colors, I'm using this reference... differs to my dead eyes not that much to the clip before (=all green), but gives better results. So, sometimes, you have to dig a bit in your material...