Effects and transitions

More Help topics

“Blend frames for smooth motion” on page 306 “Change sequence settings” on page 148

“Choose fields in the Source and Program Monitors” on page 126

Change the field order of a clip

In the Project panel, you can change the field order of all instances of a clip in all sequences of a project.

1In the Project panel, right-click the clip for which you want to change the field order.

2Select Modify >Interpret Footage.

3Choose the desired Field Order option.

4Click OK.

Color correction and adjustment

Jeff Sengstack provides an overview of color correction and enhancement on the Pro Video Coalition website.

This blog post contains a compilation of color correction and color grading tutorials from Robbie Carman, Jeff Sengstack, Jarle Leirpoll, Karl Soule and Andrew Devis.

For a video and print tutorial about correcting color, see the Adobe website.

Karl Soule on Three-Way Color Corrector and color correction in this video on AdobeTV.

Maxim Jago explains how to correct color and exposure in a video from “Adobe Premiere Pro CS5: Learn By Video” from Video2Brain.

Steve Hoeg, software engineer for Adobe Premiere Pro, explains how colors are processed within Premiere Pro, including how and when colors are converted between RGB and YUV color models in this forum post.

Jeff Sengstack explains the Premiere Pro, color correction workflow in this movie from his lynda.com tutorial -- Premiere Pro: Color Correction and Enhancement.

Here's a link to a tutorial on www.premierepro.net that shows advanced color grading in Premiere Pro CS5.5.

Editor and colorist, Robbie Carman, explains color correction and grading techniques for Premiere Pro in this workshop presented by Adobe.

Adjusting color and luminance

In video, color correction encompasses adjusting both the hue (color or chroma) and luminance (brightness and contrast) in an image. Adjusting the color and luminance in video clips can create a mood, eliminate a color cast in a clip, correct video that’s too dark or too light, or set the levels to meet broadcast requirements or to match color from scene to scene. Effects can also adjust the color and luminance to emphasize or de-emphasize a detail in a clip.

You can find the colorand luminance-adjusting effects in the Color Correction bin inside the Video Effects bin. Although other effects also adjust color and luminance, the Color Correction effects are designed for making very fine color and luminance corrections.

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Effects and transitions

You apply the Color Correction effects to a clip the same way you apply all Standard effects. The effect properties are adjusted in the Effect Controls panel. The Color Correction effects and other color effects are clip-based. However, you can apply them to multiple clips by nesting sequences. For information about nesting sequences, see “Nest sequences” on page 154.

Jeff Sengstack explains how to analyze clips for tonality issues in this lynda.com video from his tutorial -- Premiere Pro: Color Correction and Enhancement.

Note: For more information, see “Broadcast Colors effect” on page 353.

You can use the Broadcast Colors effect to adjust a clip’s colors to broadcast standards.

When correcting color, it’s useful to use the Vectorscope or waveform scopes (YC Waveform, RGB Parade, and YCbCr Parade) to help you analyze the chroma and luminance in a clip. You can view a scope in a separate Reference Monitor that’s ganged to the Program Monitor so that you can check your video levels as you make adjustments.

For information about scopes, see “Using the Waveform monitors and vectorscope” on page 129.

Correcting exposure: Overexposed image with the waveform in the upper limits of the IRE scale (left) and corrected image with the waveform within 7.5 to 100 IRE (right)

More Help topics

“Fast Color Corrector effect” on page 356 Correct video color, easily

“Luma Corrector effect” on page 358 “Luma Curve effect” on page 359

“RGB Color Corrector effect” on page 360 “RGB Curves effect” on page 361

“Three-Way Color Corrector effect” on page 363 “Video Limiter effect” on page 365

Set up a Color Correction workspace

The following is a suggested procedure for setting up your color correction workspace. It’s meant only as a starting point so you can configure the workspace to suit your style of working.

1(Optional) Connect a calibrated NTSC or PAL monitor to your computer. If you’re creating video for broadcast, viewing the video on an NTSC or PAL monitor is essential for the most accurate preview.

2Choose Window > Workspace > Color Correction.

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Effects and transitions

To see a before and after comparison of your color correction, you can either display the master clip in the Source Monitor for comparison with the Program Monitor, or you can select the Split Screen Preview option in the Color Correction effects.

3Make sure that the Draft Quality is not chosen in the Program Monitor menu. If possible, choose Highest Quality. If your computer performance suffers, then choose Automatic Quality instead.

4(Optional) Choose Reference Monitor from the Window menu. Move the Reference Monitor where you can see it and the Program Monitor easily.

Note: By default, the Gang To Program Monitor option is enabled in the Reference Monitor menu.

5 Choose any of the following scopes from the Reference Monitor menu:

Note: You can also display a scope in the Program Monitor instead of the Reference Monitor.

Vectorscope Displays a circular chart, similar to a color wheel, that shows the video’s chrominance information. The Vectorscope is very useful when making color adjustments.

YC Waveform Displays the luminance (represented as green in the waveform) and chrominance (represented as blue) values in your clip.

YCbCr Parade Displays waveforms representing levels of the luminance and color difference channels in the digital video signal. Users comfortable with viewing YUV waveforms might consider using this scope when making color and luminance adjustments.

RGB Parade Displays waveforms representing the levels of the red, green, and blue channels in a clip. This graph is best for comparing the relationship between the three channels.

All Scopes Displays all scopes in one monitor.

Vect/YC Wave/YCbCr Parade Displays the Vectorscope, YC Waveform, and YCbCr Parade in one monitor.

Vect/YC Wave/RGB Parade Displays the Vectorscope, YC Waveform, and RGB Parade in one monitor.

Phil Hawkins offers a hands-on introduction to the color correction workspace in this tutorial video at Infinite Skills.

Apply the Color Correction effects

The following procedure is a general overview of applying the Color Correction effects. See the following sections in this chapter for making adjustments using the specific controls.

1Set up your workspace for color correction. If possible, make sure a calibrated NTSC or PAL monitor is connected to your computer.

2Apply one of the Color Correction effects to the clip in a Timeline panel.

Note: If the clip is already selected in a Timeline panel, you can drag the effect to the Video Effects area of the Effect Controls panel.

3In the Effect Controls panel, expand the Color Correction effect.

4Move the current-time indicator to a frame that provides the best example of colors that need to be adjusted.

5(Optional) Do any of the following to set preview options when correcting color:

•To view only the luminance values in a clip, choose Luma from the Output menu. This option only affects the preview in the Program Monitor, it doesn’t remove the color from the video.

•To display a before and after view of the clip in one monitor, select the Show Split View option. You can specify whether the split view is horizontal or vertical by choosing from the Layout menu. You can also adjust the relative proportion of the before and after views.

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Effects and transitions

6(Optional) Use the Tonal Range Definition control to define the shadow, midtone, and highlight areas in the clip. You can choose Tonal Range from the Output menu to view the tonal ranges you defined. Once defined, choose from the Tonal Range menu to restrict the color corrections to a specific tonal range. See also “Define the tonal ranges in a clip” on page 323.

Note: Only the Luma Corrector, RGB Corrector, and Three-Way Color Corrector effects let you apply adjustments to a specific tonal range.

7(Optional) Click the triangle to expand the Secondary Color Correction controls if you want to correct the exposure for a specific color or range of colors. Use the Eyedropper tool or the other Secondary Color Correction controls to specify the colors to correct. See also “Specify a color or range of colors to adjust” on page 324.

Note: All Color Correction effects have Secondary Color Correction controls except the Fast Color Corrector effect and Video Limiter effect.

8 Do any of the following:

•To adjust color balance and saturation using color wheels, adjust the Hue Balance and Angle wheels or numeric controls in the Fast Color Corrector or Three-Way Color Corrector effect. See also “Color balance, angle, and saturation controls” on page 316.

•To adjust luminance or color using a curve control, use the curve adjustments in the Luma Curve or RGB Curves effect. See also “Adjust color and luminance using curves” on page 318.

•To adjust luminance by setting the black, gray, and white levels, use the levels controls in the Fast Color Corrector or the Three-Way Color Corrector effect. See also “Adjust luminance using levels” on page 320.

•See “Luma Corrector effect” on page 358 and “RGB Color Corrector effect” on page 360.

To adjust luminance or color using numeric controls, use the controls in the Luma Corrector or RGB Color Corrector effect.

Use keyframing to animate your color correction adjustment. This is especially useful when the lighting changes in a clip. See also “Adding, navigating, and setting keyframes” on page 415.

9(Optional) Apply the Video Limiter effect after you’ve made your color corrections to make the video signal conform to broadcast standards while preserving as much of the image quality as possible. It’s recommended to use the YC Waveform scope to make sure the video signal is within the 7.5 to 100 IRE levels.

See “Video Limiter effect” on page 365.

Quickly remove a color cast

The Fast Color Corrector and the Three-Way Color Corrector effects have controls to quickly balance colors so the white, grays, and black are neutral. The adjustment that neutralizes the color cast in a sampled area is applied to the entire image. This can remove the color cast in all colors. For example, if an image has an undesirable bluish cast, when you sample an area that should be white, the White Balance control adds yellow to neutralize the bluish cast. This yellow adjustment is added to all the colors in the scene, which should remove the color cast in the entire scene.

1Select the clip in a Timeline panel and apply either the Fast Color Corrector or the Three-Way Color Corrector effect. See also “Adjust luminance using levels” on page 320.

2In the Effect Controls panel, click the triangle to expand the Fast Color Corrector or the Three-Way Color Corrector controls.

3(Optional) Select the Show Split View option if you want to view a before and after comparison of your adjustment in the Program Monitor. You can specify whether the split view is horizontal or vertical by choosing from the Layout menu. You can also adjust the relative proportion of the before and after views.

Last updated 1/16/2012