Video brightness, contrast and color correction
Light and color are changed by two pages of the STYLE section. The "Light and tone" page has four settings. The "Color correction" page has twelve more. They do not change the shape of the frame, only its tone and color. Each setting has a range, not a single value. Ranges are explained in how uniquification works.
What brightness, contrast, gamma and exposure change
These four settings are on the "Light and tone" page. They are always shown and depend on nothing.
| Label | What it does | Range and units | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Change brightness" | Lightens or darkens the whole frame | percent, from -50% to +50% | on, from -10 to 10 |
| "Change contrast" | The difference between light and dark becomes larger or smaller | percent, from -50% to +50% | on, from -10 to 10 |
| "Change gamma" | Changes the brightness of midtones. Black and white stay in place | percent, from -50% to +50% | off, from -10 to 10 |
| "Change exposure" | An overall exposure correction, as on a camera | percent, from -50% to +50% | off, from -10 to 10 |
In a new project only brightness and contrast are on. Gamma and exposure are off.
Why nothing changes on the "Color correction" page
The whole page is locked by one switch, "Use color correction". In a new project it is off. While it is off, the page body is hidden. None of the page settings is applied.
Two switches inside are in the "on" position, though. These are "Change color balance of midtones" and "Change color saturation". In a new project they are on but do not work. Their values are applied only together with "Use color correction".
Twelve color correction settings
| Label | What it does | Range and units | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Use color correction" | The main switch of the page. Opens all the settings below | switch | off |
| "Change color balance of highlights" | Changes the share of red, green and blue in the light areas | percent per channel, from -100% to +100% | off, each channel from -20 to 20 |
| "Change color balance of midtones" | The same for midtones | percent per channel, from -100% to +100% | on, each channel from -20 to 20 |
| "Change color balance of shadows" | The same for the dark areas | percent per channel, from -100% to +100% | off, each channel from -20 to 20 |
| "Change color saturation" | The strength of all colors in the frame at once | percent, from -100% to +100% | on, from -20 to 20 |
| "Allow color changes" | Rotation of the color wheel. The value is in degrees, although the labels show percent | from -180 to 180 | off, from -20 to 20 |
| "Change color temperature" | White balance: the picture becomes warmer or cooler. Brightness does not change | percent, from -50% to +50% | off, from -20 to 20 |
| "Change color vibrance" | The strength of muted colors only. Skin tones stay the same | percent, from -50% to +50% | off, from -20 to 20 |
| "Change tone curve" | Moves the middle of the tone curve. Black and white stay in place | percent, from -50% to +50% | off, from -15 to 15 |
| "Change levels" | Shifts the input black point | percent, from -50% to +50% | off, from -15 to 15 |
| "Change color component contrast" | Pulls color pairs apart: red and cyan, green and magenta, blue and yellow | percent, from -50% to +50% | off, from -15 to 15 |
| "Desaturate video" | Mixes a black-and-white copy of the frame into it | percent, from 1% to 50% | off, from 5 to 15 |
What sits inside what
- "Use color correction" opens the eleven settings below. With the switch off, they are not visible.
- The three color balance settings each expand three sliders: "Red", "Green", "Blue". That is nine sliders in total.
- The other eight color correction settings sit right under the main switch.
- The four settings of the "Light and tone" page depend on nothing and are always shown.
Saturation, vibrance and desaturation: the difference
Three settings change the same thing - the strength of color. The difference is which colors are affected.
- "Change color saturation" pulls all colors at once. At -100% the video becomes completely gray.
- "Change color vibrance" pulls only muted colors. Saturated colors and skin tones stay the same. So the same shift is less noticeable.
- "Desaturate video" mixes a black-and-white copy into the frame. The working range from the app tooltip is from 5% to 15%.
Which settings slow video creation
All settings on these two pages recalculate every pixel of every frame. The ones with a simple recalculation are cheap.
| How much it slows things down | Settings |
|---|---|
| Noticeably | "Use color correction", "Change color temperature", "Change color vibrance" |
| Moderately | "Change levels", "Desaturate video", "Change tone curve", "Change exposure", "Change color component contrast" |
| Almost not at all | "Change brightness", "Change contrast", "Change gamma" |
| No cost of their own | The three color balance settings, "Change color saturation", "Allow color changes". Their work is paid for by the main switch |
Color correction itself adds about half the work that file compression at a medium level takes. It is the most expensive setting on both pages.
What you see at the ends of the range
| Setting | What you see at the end |
|---|---|
| "Change brightness" | -50%: the frame is noticeably dark. +50%: the frame is washed out, there are almost no shadows |
| "Change contrast" | -50%: a gray picture without black. +50%: crushed shadows |
| "Change gamma" | Midtones are darker or lighter, the ends of the brightness scale stay in place |
| "Change exposure" | -50%: underexposure. +50%: overexposure |
| "Change color balance" | ±100% per channel: a strong color cast over the whole zone |
| "Change color saturation" | -100%: a completely gray video. +100%: acid colors |
| "Allow color changes" | ±180: colors are replaced with their opposites, the frame looks like a color negative |
| "Change color temperature" | -50%: a warm yellowish picture. +50%: a cold bluish one |
| "Change color vibrance" | +50%: muted colors are pulled almost to the limit |
| "Change tone curve" | Halftones are darker or lighter, black and white stay still |
| "Change levels" | The black point shift is barely visible even at the end of the scale |
| "Change color component contrast" | ±50%: the picture looks like a film color grade |
| "Desaturate video" | 1%: unnoticeable. 50%: colors are strongly muted |
FAQ
I turned on color correction settings, but the color is the same. Why?
Check the "Use color correction" switch at the top of the page. It is off by default. With the switch off, the page body is hidden and none of the settings is applied.
Why are two switches inside already on?
That is how a new project is set up. "Change color balance of midtones" and "Change color saturation" are in the "on" position from the start. While "Use color correction" is off, they are not visible and do not work. As soon as you turn it on, both settings start to apply.
"Allow color changes" is labeled in percent. Is it percent?
No. The limit labels show "-180%" and "180%", but the value is in degrees of color wheel rotation. A value of 30 rotates the wheel by 30 degrees. In the range from -10 to 10, only hues change. At 180 the colors are replaced with their opposites.
Which values will the viewer not notice?
Keep the ranges narrow. For brightness, contrast and gamma that is from -10 to 10. For desaturation, from 5% to 15%. For color changes, from -10 to 10. For more on how noticeable changes are, see result quality.
Do I have to turn on color correction?
No. It adds more work than any other setting on these pages. For a light shift in tone, brightness, contrast and gamma are enough.