Learn how to use scopes to manage colour in your video.
Colour Correction comes before Colour Grading. This entry is about correction – to learn about grading, head here and here too.
Reading the Scopes
First off: here’s a handy four-minute explainer about the Vectorscope, which is crucial in colour correction (via LensProToGo):
Don’t let the title fool you – this is a slightly longer (but still under 10 minutes) overview of the steps in which scopes are used (via Cinecom):
Working with Scopes
In this video tutorial from Surfaced Studio, Tobias seeks to demystify Scopes, and how they, moreso than just your eyes, are used to “read” colour in image. Importantly, Tobias offer tips (in Premiere Pro, but which can be applied in any software) with a focus on the order in which to take on colour (my notes follow the video):
Premiere Pro Advanced Colour Correction Tutorial by Surfaced Studio
What to do:
- Colour Correction happens before Colour Grading
- Make each clip looks its best, individually
- Make the clips look consistent, collectively
How to do it, one tool at a time:
- Levels – highlights (Gain), mids (Gamma) and shadows (Lift)
- Waveform (Luma) – first look at the image in grayscale, to ensure it takes advantage of the full brightness/contrast range, from blacks to whites
- Parade (RGB) – the same grayscale range idea repeated, but this time in each individual colour channel
- Vector Scope (YUV) – together with the Parade scope, tells you where on the RGB spectrum the colours in your image are most distributed.
- Colour Corrector + White Balance – how to “drag” the colours of the image in the general direction you want (which, at this stage, is usually towards the most neutral, balanced point possible)
- Correcting Skin Tones – using the “skin tone line” in the vector scope
Using a Colour Chart
Caleb Pike from DSLR Video Shooter demonstrates colour correction using a colour checker:
In this demonstration, the white balance is set incorrectly:
Skin Tones
On that final point in the Surfaced Studio tutorial: once you’re more familiar with working with scopes, you’re ready to colour correct skin tones. Here’s a collection of tutorials:
Related Posts:
Film School: Colour Correction: Skin Tones Between correction and grading, there is colour correction of skin - learn with these tutorials.
Film School: Fix It In Post Ways to work with less-than-ideal footage in your edit.
Film School: VFX in Premiere Pro Ideas and tutorials for creating visual effects Adobe Premiere Pro.
Film School: Advanced Colour Grading A roundup of tutorials which dive deeper into colour in video post-production.
Film School: Intro to Green Screen A roundup of beginner tutorials on shooting and compositing.
Film School: Rotoscoping A roundup of tutorials on how to green screen without green screen.
Film School: Effects in Premiere Pro Tips for working with effects while editing in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Film School: Filming Alone Since long before lockdowns, quarantines and isolation, film-makers have had to be as independent as imaginable. Here's a roundup of tutorials to show you how: