Summary

This has been the longest chapter so far, and that’s OK because using what you’ve learned here will make a massive difference to the quality of your work. While it’s true that becoming good at color correction won’t necessarily make you a better editor, it’s part of the overall package that many clients expect. Start out with the simple auto options, then move on to manual corrections, and if you have the time and inclination, enhance the contrast and specific areas of the image with the more advanced “grading” techniques. Even the simpler corrections can benefit from the advanced ways to copy, paste, move, and re-apply corrections, though; don’t overlook these time savers.

In the next chapter, you’ll find out a whole lot more about video effects but also a little more about color, because some of the video effects are color-related. You’ll learn how to save any number of color corrections as a color preset...