Colour grading and colour looks
Fix brightness, contrast and saturation, then grade a clip with white balance, colour wheels, curves, HSL, LUT files and one-click colour looks.
#What it is
Colour tools change how a clip looks: lighter or darker, warmer or cooler, more or less colour. Start with three quick sliders. Go deeper with white balance, colour wheels, curves, HSL and LUT files. Or pick a ready-made colour look in one click.
#Who can use it
Everyone, on Free and Pro. The app does not check your plan for any colour tool. Colour tools work on video and image clips. The AI Editor opens on a laptop or desktop.
#Cost
Free, no credits. All colour tools run on your computer.
#Where to find it
- On one clip: click a video or image clip on the timeline. In the inspector, open the Adjust view. It has Color (the quick sliders) and Color Grading (the deep tools, closed at first).
- Colour looks: in the left bar named Editor sections, choose AI Gen, then choose Colour looks. Select a clip first.
- Auto-Color: click a clip, open the Effects view and find Quick Actions.
#Buttons and controls
| # | Name in the app | What it does | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adjust | The view in the inspector that holds the colour tools. | Both |
| 2 | Color | The section with the quick sliders. Open at first. | Both |
| 3 | Reset | In Color. Puts the three quick sliders back to zero. Off until you change one. | Both |
| 4 | Brightness | Quick slider. | Both |
| 5 | Contrast | Quick slider. | Both |
| 6 | Saturation | Quick slider. | Both |
| 7 | Color Grading | The section with the deep tools. Closed at first. It says "Colour correction for this clip". | Both |
| 8 | Reset all | Resets all grading on this clip: white balance, wheels, curves, LUT and HSL. | Both |
| 9 | White Balance | Opens white balance. Open at first. | Both |
| 10 | Color Wheels | Opens the wheels. | Both |
| 11 | Curves | Opens the curves editor. | Both |
| 12 | LUT | Opens the LUT loader. | Both |
| 13 | HSL | Opens the HSL controls. | Both |
Inside White Balance:
| # | Name in the app | What it does | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temperature | Slider from cool (blue) to warm (orange). | Both | |
| Tint | Slider from green to magenta. | Both | |
| Tungsten, Fluorescent, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade | Five preset buttons that set Temperature and Tint together. The one that matches is highlighted. | Both | |
| Reset | Sets Temperature and Tint back to zero. | Both |
Inside Color Wheels:
| # | Name in the app | What it does | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reset | Puts all three wheels and the three sliders back to normal. | Both | |
| Shadows, Midtones, Highlights | Three colour wheels. Drag to push the colour. Double-click a wheel to reset it. | Both | |
| Lift (Shadows) | Slider. Raises or lowers the darkest part. | Both | |
| Gamma (Midtones) | Slider. Lightens or darkens the middle. | Both | |
| Gain (Highlights) | Slider. Raises or lowers the brightest part. | Both |
Inside Curves:
| # | Name in the app | What it does | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| RGB, R, G, B | Four tabs. RGB changes all colours. R, G and B change one colour channel. Each tab is named like Select RGB curve channel. | Both | |
| The curve | Click on the line to add a point. Drag a point to bend the curve. Double-click a point to remove it. The end points stay. | Both | |
| Reset | Puts the curves back to a straight line. | Both |
Inside LUT:
| # | Name in the app | What it does | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Load LUT (.cube, .3dl) | Opens a file picker. While it reads it says Loading.... | Both | |
| Intensity | Slider, shown once a LUT is loaded. Mixes the LUT in. | Both | |
| Load Different LUT | Pick another file. | Both | |
| Remove LUT | The X on the loaded file card. | Both |
Inside HSL:
| # | Name in the app | What it does | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reset All | Resets every colour range. | Both | |
| Reds, Oranges, Yellows, Greens, Cyans, Blues, Purples, Magentas | Eight tabs, shown as R, O, Y, G, C, B, P, M. Pick the colour range you want to change. | Both | |
| Hue, Saturation, Luminance | Three sliders for the chosen range. | Both | |
| Reset | Resets only the chosen range. Shows once that range has changes. | Both |
Colour looks (AI Gen > Colour looks):
| # | Name in the app | What it does | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Look category | A row of buttons: Cinematic, Vintage, Mood, Color, Stylized. | Both | |
| Apply Cinematic filter preset | A card for each look. The name changes with the look. Click to apply it to the selected clip. | Both | |
| Remove all effects | Shows after you apply a look. Takes every effect off the clip. | Both | |
| All tools | The back link above the panel. | Both |
Auto-Color is a button under Quick Actions in the Effects view (the AI group). It adds a small lift to saturation, contrast and brightness in one click. While it works it says Applying....
#How to fix a clip with the quick sliders
- Click a video or image clip on the timeline.
- Open the Adjust view. The Color section is already open.
- Move Brightness, Contrast and Saturation. The picture updates as you move.
- Choose Reset to go back to zero.
These three sliders drive the clip's own Brightness, Contrast and Saturation effects. The effects show up in Video Effects too, so the two places stay in step.
#How to grade a clip
- Click the clip and open Adjust.
- Open Color Grading.
- In White Balance, pick Daylight, Tungsten and so on, or move Temperature and Tint.
- Open Color Wheels and drag Shadows, Midtones and Highlights. Fine tune with Lift (Shadows), Gamma (Midtones) and Gain (Highlights).
- Open Curves for contrast. Click on the line to add a point and drag it.
- Open HSL to change one colour. Pick the colour tab, then move Hue, Saturation and Luminance.
- Choose Reset all to start over.
#How to use a LUT file
- Click the clip, open Adjust, then Color Grading, then LUT.
- Choose Load LUT (.cube, .3dl) and pick a file.
- The card shows the file name and its size, for example 33x33x33 LUT.
- Move Intensity to mix the LUT in.
- Choose Remove LUT to take it off.
#How to apply a colour look
- Click a video or image clip on the timeline.
- In Editor sections, choose AI Gen, then Colour looks.
- Pick a category such as Cinematic.
- Click a look. You see "Filter Applied" with the look name.
- To remove the look, choose Remove all effects. You see "Effects Cleared".
A look replaces the effects on the clip. Applying one first removes every effect already on the clip, then adds the look's own effects. If you want to keep your effects, copy them with Copy effect stack first (see effects and transitions).
#Options explained
Quick sliders. Brightness, Contrast and Saturation each go from -100 to 100. Zero is no change. The value shows with a plus or minus sign.
White balance. Temperature and Tint go from -100 to 100. The presets are Tungsten (cooler, a little magenta), Fluorescent (a little cooler, a little green), Daylight (no change), Cloudy (warmer) and Shade (warmest).
Colour wheels. Each wheel adds a colour cast to its part of the picture. Lift runs from -1 to 1, Gamma from 0.1 to 4 and Gain from 0 to 4. Gamma and Gain are normal at 1, Lift at 0.
Curves. A straight line is the original picture. Raise a point to lighten that part, lower it to darken it. A count under the curve shows how many points it has.
HSL. Hue goes from minus 180 to 180. Saturation and Luminance go from minus 100 to 100. A small bar under the tabs shows which colour ranges you changed.
LUT files. Accepted types are .cube and .3dl. A LUT is a ready-made colour recipe from another tool, for example from a camera maker. The cube size must be between 2 and 256.
Colour looks. Five categories: Cinematic, Vintage, Mood, Color and Stylized. Each card shows its name, a short description and the names of the effects it uses, with a "+N" if there are more. The panel footer shows how many looks there are in total.
#Limits
- Colour tools work on video and image clips only. Text, shape and sticker clips do not show the Adjust view.
- The quick sliders go from -100 to 100.
- A LUT cube size must be between 2 and 256, and the file must be .cube or .3dl.
- You grade one clip at a time. With several clips selected, the inspector shows a multi-clip view without these controls.
#When something goes wrong
| Message in the app | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Select a video clip to apply filters | No clip is selected in Colour looks. | Click a clip on the timeline first. |
| Unsupported file format. Please use .cube or .3dl files. | The LUT file type is not accepted. | Use a .cube or .3dl file. |
| Failed to parse LUT file | The file could not be read. | Check that the file is a real LUT and try again. |
| LUT size not specified in file | The .cube file has no size line. | Export the LUT again from the tool that made it. |
| Could not determine LUT size from data | The number of values in the file does not match a cube. | Use a different file. |
| No valid LUT data found in file | The file holds no colour data. | Use a different file. |
#Questions
#Do colour tools change my original file?
No. They are stored on the clip in your project. Choose Reset all, Reset or Remove all effects to go back.
#What is the difference between Color and Color Grading?
Color has three quick sliders for common fixes. Color Grading has the deeper tools: white balance, wheels, curves, LUT and HSL.
#Can I use one look on many clips?
Yes. Grade one clip, then use the Copy effect stack and Paste effect stack buttons in Video Effects for the effects. You can also put effects on an adjustment layer over many clips. See effects and transitions.
#Why did my effects disappear after I picked a colour look?
A colour look replaces the effects on the clip. Add your effects again, or copy the effect stack before you pick a look.
#Can I load a LUT from my camera?
Yes, if it is a .cube or .3dl file. Choose Load LUT (.cube, .3dl) under LUT.
#Does Auto-Color use credits?
No. It runs on your computer and adds a gentle lift to saturation, contrast and brightness.
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