Joe's Filters: Joe's Levels - Sampled Color

The Joe's Levels - Sampled Color plugin is a part of Joe's Filters, shareware utility and image processing effects for Final Cut Pro.

What it does

Joe's Levels - Sampled Color performs a semi-automatic levels adjustments based upon up to three sampled colors. The plugin's controls are similar to Photoshop's Levels eyedroppers but add additional ways of using the color samples. Final Cut Pro's built in color controls help the simple interface offer a huge range of quick color correction options.

This adjustment can be used to calculate automatic White Point correction, auto-Gamma adjustments and Black point adjustments. Each of the three color samples can be used as a color or value adjustment. When Value Averaging is unchecked, adjustments work against sampled colors, attempting to move them towards gray. When Value Averaging is on, hue is maintained and the sample is used to adjust the overall value of the image. To fine-tune a sampled color, turn down the color detail arrow and adjust the color.

Example Images

Original Image	Original Image
Joe's Levels - Sampled Color White Point : Value Average: off Gray Point : Color & Value: off Black Point : Value Average: off	Joe's Levels - Sampled Color White Point : Value Average: off Gray Point : Color & Value: off Black Point : Value Average: off
Original Image
Joe's Levels - Sampled Color White Point : Value Average: off Gray Point : Color & Value: off Black Point : Value Average: off	Joe's Levels - Sampled Color White Point : Value Average: off Gray Point : Color & Value: off Black Point : Value Average: off

Controls

• White Point

  Sampled color used as the brightest color in the levels adjustment. Red, Green and Blue values are calculated independently. No white point correction take place when the sampled color's brightness is set to 100.

• Value Average

  Tells the effect to calculate the white-point adjustment based upon the overall value of the sampled color. Value averaging calculates the mathematical average of the RGB color values and uses that value as the basis for the levels corrections.

• Gray Point

  Selects the color used to calculate the Gamma adjustment. Each primary color's Gamma curve is reversed shifting the selected color in neutral gray. No gray point correction takes place when the sampled color's saturation is set to 0.

• Color & Value

  Selects the method for determining Gamma adjustments. When Color & Value is unchecked, Gamma adjustments are based on each primary color's distance from their average color. When checked, adjustments are based on each primary color's distance from absolute gray.

• Black Point

  Switches on the blur for the checked channels, the same radius blur will be applied to the channels selected. No black point correction takes place when the sampled color's brightness is set to 0.

• Value Average

  Turns on Value Averaging for the Black Point sample.

Because each sampled color is based on the result of previous adjustments, it may be helpful to temporarily disable the filter's effect while selecting colors.