Color correction is an important part of post-production for any video project. Proper color correction can make the visuals pop and create the desired mood and tone. While professional color correction software and hardware can be expensive, there are some surprisingly capable free online video color correctors available.
What is Color Correction?
Color correction refers to adjusting the colors in a video to achieve a particular look or aesthetic. The goal is to make the video colors accurate, balanced, and aligned with the intended creative vision.
Some common color correction tasks include:
- Fixing improperly white balanced footage
- Adjusting colors that are too warm, cool, saturated etc.
- Matching colors across shots and scenes
- Stylizing the look through color grading (teal and orange, high contrast etc.)
- Fixing inconsistencies between shots
Color correction often starts with technical adjustments to make the video colors neutral and properly balanced. This is known as primary color correction. The next phase, secondary color correction, focuses on shaping the mood through stylistic color grading.
Specialized software tools give colorists intricate control over chrominance, luminance, hues, saturation and other color parameters. This allows them to achieve the exact look they (or the director) desire. However, basic color correction can be done even with limited tools.
Benefits of Color Correcting Your Video
Here are some of the top benefits of color correcting your video:
- Consistent and natural colors: Proper color balancing makes the footage colors look accurate and natural.
- Unified look: Matching colors creates cohesion between shots taken in different lighting.
- Creative stylization: Color grading gives videos a cinematic, stylized or mood-setting look.
- Professional polish: Correctly color corrected video has a professional, polished appearance.
- Emotional impact: Color adjustment enhances the mood, emotions and subtext of a scene.
- Fix problems: It can fix or reduce issues like poor white balance, inconsistencies, etc.
In short, color correction makes videos look their best. Even basic corrections with limited tools can significantly improve the visual quality of video projects. For professional results, specialized software and hardware systems give colorists total control over the end-to-end color pipeline.
Free Online Video Color Correctors
Professional color correction systems like DaVinci Resolve and Adobe SpeedGrade can cost hundreds of dollars. However, there are also some surprisingly full-featured online video color correctors available for free:
| Tool | Platform | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Adobe Color | Web app | – Intuitive Lumetri color wheels – Preview split view – Looks presets – Video upload/correction |
| Clipchamp | Web app | – Scopes – Curves – 3-way color corrector – Presets |
| Lightworks | Windows, Mac, Linux | – Professional tools – Scopes – Node-based grading – Free to use |
| DaVinci Resolve | Windows, Mac, Linux | – Industry standard – Advanced feature set – Free version available |
Here is an overview of some of the top free options:
Adobe Color
Adobe Color is a free web app that provides basic color correction tools for video. It is accessible right within your browser, allowing you to upload video clips up to 1GB in size.
The app includes:
- Intuitive Lumetri color wheels for adjusting shadows, mid-tones and highlights
- A preview split view to compare corrected and original footage side-by-side
- Numerous looks presets for quick color grading
- Curves and sliders for fine adjustments
- Video playback and monitoring while you color correct
While not as advanced as paid options, Adobe Color is surprisingly fully-featured for a free online tool. The color wheels offer an efficient way to balance and adjust clips. Presets provide nice starting points for color grading. For basic color adjustments, Adobe Color is a handy free option.
Clipchamp
Clipchamp is another free web app that lets you correct video colors right within your internet browser. It works by uploading your video, then opening up the Color adjustments tab.
Clipchamp provides:
- Waveform and histogram scopes to read and analyze color
- RGB curves for adjusting color channels
- 3-way color corrector wheels (shadows, mid-tones, highlights)
- HSL secondary adjustments for hue, saturation and luminance
- Numerous color presets and filters
For a free web app, Clipchamp packs a lot of color correction power. The scopes, curves and wheels provide quite advanced control over color. Presets offer quick grading looks. While not at the sophistication of paid software, Clipchamp has enough tools for enhancing video colors for free.
Lightworks
Lightworks is professional non-linear editing software that offers a full-featured color corrector and grader. Unlike the web apps, it requires downloading and installing Lightworks on your computer. However, the software is open source and 100% free to download and use.
Lightworks color correction tools include:
- Dedicated Color mode with wheels and curves
- Scopes for technical color analysis
- Node-based grading for isolation and succession of corrections
- Secondary adjustments through masks
- Extensive range of color effects
For completely free software, Lightworks packs serious punch when it comes to color correction. It rivals paid software with scopes, nodes, secondaries, etc. The caveat is that Lightworks has a steeper learning curve. But for mid-level and advanced corrections, it is hard to beat Lightworks free.
DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve is considered the industry standard for color correction and grading. While the paid Studio version offers the full feature set, the base DaVinci Resolve package is entirely free to use. Despite being limited compared to the Studio version, DaVinci Resolve still provides extensive professional-grade color correction tools.
Some of the features include:
- Primary correction wheels and curves
- Scopes, histogram, waveform
- Secondary HSL and RGB adjustments
- Node-based image processing
- Camera raw decoding
- 10-bit processing and video support
DaVinci Resolve is used on major films and TV shows due to its incredible power and performance. The free version gives you a taste of this legendary software. The color correction toolset allows highly advanced correction and grading, albeit with some limitations in the video formats and codecs supported. Overall, DaVinci Resolve offers outstanding color correction capabilities for a free piece of software.
Online Automatic Color Correctors
In addition to tools that provide manual color controls, there are also a number of free online color correctors that utilize automatic correction:
| Tool | Automatic Correction Method |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Video Indexer | Analyzes footage and applies algorithmic corrections |
| Wistia Learning Tools | Neural engine detects and enhances images/colors |
| Clipomatic | One-click optimization based on clip analysis |
| PicMonkey | Automatic touchups using AI technology |
The advantage of these tools is their simplicity – they do all the work for you with no need for manual correction. The trade-off is having less control compared to manual correction. But for quick automated fixes, these free options are handy.
How to Color Correct Video
Here is a general overview of the video color correction process:
Technical Correction
This first phase aims to neutrally balance the colors and fixes any errors:
- Analyze the clip and identify any errors like improper white balance, weird color casts, inconsistencies etc.
- Set the black and white points so blacks, mid-tones and whites are correct.
- Balance the colors so any color casts are removed.
- Match colors so shots have consistent tones throughout the video.
Creative Grading
With the technical foundation set, now you stylize the colors:
- Establish an overall look and mood, like warm, washed out, high contrast etc.
- Enhance colors selectively to create focal points.
- Use power windows to isolate and grade regions.
- Finesse adjustments, compare to reference and ensure consistency.
This general workflow takes you through technical and creative stages. Exact steps can vary based on project, tools and specific color goals.
Tips for Better Color Correction
Here are some tips to help you achieve better results when color correcting your video:
- Use waveform and vectorscopes to read and understand the colors.
- Start with primary adjustments before secondaries.
- Compare shots and ensure consistency throughout the video.
- Isolate specific regions for targeted corrections.
- Make any radical adjustments gradually for more natural results.
- Don’t overdo saturation which can make the image unrealistic.
- Use still frames from movies, TV shows etc. as style references.
Learning to read scopes, working methodically through primary and secondary adjustments, and referencing other media will help develop your color correction abilities.
Conclusion
Color correcting video helps unify shots, fix errors, and create stylized cinematic looks. While professional color grading suites are expensive, there are capable free online video color correctors available.
For basic corrections, web apps like Adobe Color and Clipchamp offer an easy way to balance and adjust video clips right in your browser. For more advanced grading, free software like Lightworks and DaVinci Resolve provide professional-grade color correction toolsets.
There are also automatic color correctors driven by AI technology to quickly optimize video footage. With some practice and these free tools, you can take your video projects to the next level through color correction.