While working in Final Cut Pro on a new short film, I discovered that, strangely enough, the “Color Corrector” tool works far better than the “Brightness and Contrast” filter for adjusting the brightness and contrast of an image.
The Brightness and Contrast filter can be found at Effects > Video Filters > Image Control > Brightness and Contrast (Bezier). I could use the Brightness setting to lighten an image, but the image would appear washed out. And when I used the Contrast setting to fill in the blacks, the colors would begin to blow and the image would begin to look almost solarized.
The Color Corrector tool can be found at Effects > Video Filters > Color Correction > Color Corrector. Tweaking with the “Whites,” “Mids” and “Blacks” settings gave me the kind of control I needed to brighten the image and adjust the contrast without degrading the image.
System: Macintosh G4 533 MHz Dual Processor running FCP HD 4.5