How to Color Correct a Video?

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How to Do Video Color Correction Like a Pro

Wanted to make a colorful video with your clips but found out that they aren’t exactly that colorful? To make your videos look juicer, you need to employ color correction. Can’t quite wrap your head around this notion? Worry not. In this article, we’ll tell you how to color correct videos so that they look good.

Before we actually begin, we’ll have a look at what video color correction is all about. Once you get the idea, we’ll move onto the guide. In it, we’ll tell you how to easily color correct your video with Clipify, a free and intuitive video editor. Besides, we’ll also tackle other methods for you to have an alternative. Let’s get going!

What Is Color Correction in Video Editing?

In a nutshell, color correction implies fixing the video’s exposure, color and black and white balance. These changes need to make your clip look naturalistic or if you have multiple videos - to make them look consistent. More often than not, color correction fixes mistakes that were made due to wrong camera settings.

Color correction for videos should not be confused with color grading, which in turn is giving your video a distinct look through tampering with its overall color scheme. You can never start color grading unless you’ve performed color correction.

Color correct your videos to get polished footage
Color corrected video: before and after

This is what you are adjusting when color correcting your video:

  1. Exposure
  2. Contrast
  3. Saturation
  4. Dynamic range
  5. Brightness

How to Color Correct a Video in a Snap

Now that you know what video color correction is, it’s time to perform it. To fix your video, we’ll be using Clipify, an automatic video editor. This software is free and suitable for users of all skills. So even if it is your first time ever working with a video editor, you’ll easily get the gist of it. Let’s see how you can use Clipify to color correct your videos.

  1. Start Clipify. Run the program, then add your video file to the timeline.
  2. Move to the Edit Video module. Highlight your clip, right click it and choose Edit. Switch to the Image tab.
  3. Adjust your video settings. Drag sliders to adjust brightness, saturation, and contrast of your clip to make it look neat.
Use Clipify to color correct your videos with sliders
It only takes a few slider drags to improve your videos

And there you go - your video is fixed and looks so much better. And it only took you a couple of minutes. Still feel like there is room for improvements? Good news - Clipify has a pro-level tool for those of you who strive for perfection. Curious? Then let’s find out how to do color correction for your videos using Curves.

Step 1. Pick the Curves Tool

Highlight your clip, then click Edit. Switch to the Enhancement tab and click Correct Colors Using Curves.

Pick the Curves tool
Just click this button to get access to a pro-level tool

Step 2. Fix the Brightness

First, pick the brightness channel. Curve the line upwards or downwards, depending whether your footage is too bright or too dark. You’ll have a more precise modification if you add multiple points.

Switch to the Brightness channel to fix your video's lighting
Let's make this landscape footage a little darker

Step 3. Perform Video Color Correction

It’s time to work with the RGB channels. Pick the color channel you want to adjust from the dropdown menu. If your video has a distinct color cast, adjust the corresponding channel by curving the line up or down.

Adjust the RGB channel
Tweak the red channel to get rid of the color cast

This method is a bit more complicated, but if you are looking for a more precise fine-tuning of your video, Curves are a way to go. They allow you to give your clips a polished look. Want to improve them even further? Clipify offers you all the tools for that. With this editor, you can make the quality of a video better, get rid of ugly black bars, remove audio from videos, stabilize a shaky clip, change the speed, add a photo on top of your video, and much more.

Your footage looks too dull and dark?
Use Clipify to color correct your videos!
DownloadDownload Free WindowsFor Windows 11, 10, 8, 7

Alternative Ways of Video Color Correction

In case you want to keep your option open when it comes to color correction, we have a handful of alternative solutions for you. Let’s start with the king of the hill - Adobe Premiere. This top-tier video editor offers you comprehensive tools for color correction video editing. With it, you can perform both basic adjustments and pro-level color grading. Sadly, these nifty features come at quite a price - Premiere is notoriously expensive and confusing. Another big shark is DaVinci Resolve. This professional software provides color wheel-based color editing that grants neat results but requires experience.

Other ways to color correct your videos
Online services offer easy tools to color correct your videos

You might be wondering how to color correct a video clip without spending hours studying a program. Online services like Kapwing are a solution for you. They give you very basic tools to fix color and lighting. However you might find the result supar due to limited functionality. In case you constantly use your phone and need an app to fix your footage, then take a gander at Filmm. This application gives quite advanced tools for color correction that include both slider-based adjustment and Curves. The only downside to the application is that it takes ages to process an edited video.

Color Correcting Videos: Making the Best Choice of the Tool

And this is it - now you know how to do color correction for videos in a few doable ways. If you are not scared off by a complex workflow and confusing interfaces, then consider going with Premiere or DaVinci Resolve. If you need to fix your footage quickly with little regard for the result, then color correct your videos online. But in case you are looking for an easy way that provides a neat look for your footage, Clipify is the answer. This video editor is intuitive, feature-packed, and free. What more could you wish for?

About the author: Brought to you by the Clipify team, movie making enthusiasts. We aim to provide you with the most comprehensive tutorials and most useful tips on video editing.
Want to color correct your videos?
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