Apple Final Cut Pro X 10.1.2 User Guide

							 Chapter 12    Color correction 3 81
 •Choose an area of the image to correct: Draw one or more shape masks, and then choose 
whether the correction applies inside or outside the masks. You can even have the position of 
the masks change as the clip plays. See  Target specific areas using shape masks
 on page 385.
You can also apply multiple color corrections to a single clip and use shape masks in 
combination with a color mask. For example, you could use one correction to set the clip’s overall 
color look, a second to target and alter a specific color, and a third to target a different color or an 
area defined by a shape mask. See Apply multiple color corrections
 on page 388  and Add shape 
masks to a color mask
 on page 387 .
You make manual color adjustments using the Color Board.
Color correct the whole image
You use the Color Board to manually adjust a clip’s color, saturation, and exposure.
Manually color correct the whole clip image
 1 Select a clip in the Timeline, and do one of the following:
 •Choose Window > Go To > Color Board (or press Command-6).
 •Choose Show Color Board from the Enhancements pop-up menu in the toolbar.
 •Click the Color Board button  in the Color section of the Video inspector. (After you make 
any Color Board adjustments, the button changes color.)
 •Click the upper-left corner of a clip in the Timeline and choose Color Adjustment from the 
pop-up menu.
Click to return to the Video inspector.
Click the Reset button to 
remove the adjustments 
in this pane.
Choose the correction 
to work with.
Drag the controls to 
change the values.
Use value sliders to 
change the values.
Use the Action pop-up menu  to create or choose a color  correction preset.
 2 If the clip has multiple corrections applied to it, choose the correction to adjust from the 
Correction pop-up menu in the Color Board’s upper-right corner.
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 3 To add or remove a color tint, click Color (or press Control-Command-C), and drag the controls in 
the Color pane.
 •To adjust the tint for the whole image: Drag the Global control (the large gray control).
 •To adjust the tint in the darker areas of the image: Drag the Shadows control (the black control).
 •To adjust the tint in the midtones: Drag the Midtones control (the small gray control).
 •To adjust the tint in the brighter areas of the image: Drag the Highlights control (the white 
control).
Dragging the controls up adds the color to the video, and dragging them down subtracts the 
color (effectively adding the opposite color). Dragging the controls left and right chooses the 
color to add or subtract.
You can also select the control and enter values numerically using the corresponding value slider. 
Tip:  To move the selected Color Board control up or down, press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow 
key. In the Color pane, you can also use the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key to move the selected 
control left or right.
 4 To adjust the clip’s chroma level, click Saturation (or press Control-Command-S), and drag the 
controls in the Saturation pane. 
 •To adjust saturation for the whole image: Drag the Global control on the left.
 •To adjust saturation in the darker areas of the image: Drag the Shadows control.
 •To adjust saturation in the midtones: Drag the Midtones control.
 •To adjust saturation in the brighter areas of the image: Drag the Highlights control.
Dragging the controls up increases the chroma level, and dragging them down reduces the level. 
These controls do not move left and right.
You can also select the control and enter values numerically using the corresponding value slider. 
 5 To adjust the clip’s luma level, click Exposure (or press Control-Command-E), and drag the 
controls in the Exposure pane.
 •To adjust exposure for the whole image: Drag the Global control on the left.
 •To adjust exposure in the darker areas of the image: Drag the Shadows control.
 •To adjust exposure in the midtones (similar to a gamma control): Drag the Midtones control.
 •To adjust exposure in the brighter areas of the image: Drag the Highlights control.
Dragging the controls up increases the luma level, and dragging them down reduces the level. 
These controls do not move left and right.
You can also select the control and enter values numerically using the corresponding value slider. 
You can use the Command Editor to assign a keyboard shortcut to turn color corrections on 
and off while making adjustments in the Color Board, and to assign keyboard shortcuts to many 
other Color Board functions. For more information, see  View keyboard shortcuts in the Command 
Editor
 on page 472 .
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							 Chapter 12    Color correction 383
Reset and turn off Color Board color corrections
 1 In the Timeline, select a clip whose color corrections you want to remove.
 2 In the Color Board, do any of the following:
 •To reset the currently selected control to its neutral state: Press Delete.
 •To reset all of a pane’s controls to their neutral state: Click the Reset button  in the pane’s 
upper-right corner.
 •To reset all three Color Board panes back to their neutral state: In the Color section of the Video 
inspector, click the Reset button 
 to the right of the Correction setting.
Click here to turn the 
correction on or off. Color Board 
Reset button
 •To turn Color Board corrections off without resetting them: In the Color section of the Video 
inspector, deselect the checkbox for the correction.
Turning the corrections off and on makes it easy to quickly see the effect of your adjustments.
Target a specific color using a color mask
A color mask isolates a particular color in the image. You can apply a color mask to a clip to 
correct a specific color, or to exclude that color from corrections to the rest of the image, or both. 
For example, you could mute a brightly colored shirt in the background that distracts attention 
from a clip’s main subject.
Using a color mask to control the color correction allows you to pick a color and then 
independently adjust that color (reduce, enhance, or change it) or adjust everything except that 
color (for example, add a tint or reduce the brightness or chroma levels).
Add a color mask to a color correction
 1 In the Timeline, select a clip with a color that you want to mute or enhance.
 2 Click the Add Color Mask button in the Color section of the Video inspector.
Click here to add 
a color mask.
The Color Mask section appears.
Selected mask color
When the button is 
highlighted, use the 
eyedropper to select the 
mask color in the Viewer.
Sets edge softness
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 3 In the Viewer, position the eyedropper on a color in the image that you want to isolate, and drag 
to select the color.
Drag to select the 
color to mask.
As you drag, two concentric circles appear. The size of the outer circle determines the range of 
variations in the selected color that are included in the color mask. As you change the outer 
circle size, the image becomes monochrome except for the color you are selecting. You can drag 
a new selection circle as many times as you like to try for better results.
Note:  When you stop dragging, the picture returns to its original look, but you’ll see the effects 
of the color mask you have created as soon as you start making adjustments in the Color Board. 
You can then return to the Video inspector and use the eyedropper to make any adjustments to 
the color mask.
 4 To change the range of color variations included in the mask, do any of the following:
 •To add color shades: Hold down the Shift key, position the eyedropper on a color you want to 
add to the mask, and drag to select the color.
 •To subtract color shades: Hold down the Option key, position the eyedropper on a color you 
want to remove from the mask, and drag to select the color.
 5 To adjust the color mask edges, drag the Softness slider.
To have the Viewer temporarily show the color mask, hold down the Option key and then drag 
the Softness control: white indicates fully opaque mask areas, black indicates areas outside the 
mask, and levels of gray indicate transparent mask areas.
 6 To adjust the color correction settings for this color mask, click the Color Board button  in the 
Video inspector. (After you make any Color Board adjustments, the button color changes.)
 7 Do one of the following:
 •To apply a color correction to the selected color: Click Inside. 
 •To apply a color correction to everything except the selected color:  Click Outside.
You can make corrections to both the inside and outside areas of the mask—each area 
effectively has its own complete set of Color Board controls. For example, you could select Inside 
Mask and enhance the targeted color, and then select Outside Mask to darken everything else.
 8 Adjust the Color Board controls to create the effect you want.
For more information about working with the Color Board, see Color correct the whole image on 
page 3 81 .
To limit the area of the image affected by a color mask, you can add a shape mask. For more 
information, see Add shape masks to a color mask
 on page 387 .
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							 Chapter 12    Color correction 385
Target specific areas using shape masks
A shape mask defines an area in the image so that you can apply color corrections either inside 
or outside that area. For example, you might want to emphasize a subject’s face by darkening the 
area around the face.
You can add multiple shape masks to define multiple areas, and you can also animate the shapes 
so that they follow an area while a camera pans or an object moves as the clip plays.
Add a shape mask
 1 In the Timeline, select a clip with an area whose color you want to mute or enhance.
 2 Click the Add Shape Mask button in the Color section of the Video inspector.
Click here to add 
a shape mask.
A Shape Mask area appears.
Click here to show or 
hide the shape mask 
onscreen controls.
 3 To adjust the default shape that appears in the Viewer, do any of the following:
Drag this handle to make the shape rectangular.
Drag the outer edge 
to control the softness.
Drag any of these 
handles to change the 
shape’s width or height.
Drag the center circle 
to move the shape.
Drag this handle 
to rotate the shape.
 •To position the shape: Drag the center.
 •To adjust the shape’s width or height: Drag any of the four handles at the 90-degree points (top, 
bottom, left, or right) of the inner circle. You can hold down the Shift key while dragging to 
force all sides to scale proportionally.
 •To control the roundness of the shape: Drag the handle to the left of the inner circle’s top handle.
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 •To rotate the shape: Drag the rotation handle (extending from the center).
 •To control the softness of the shape’s edge: Drag the outer circle. Setting the outer circle close 
to the inner circle creates a hard edge and an abrupt transition to the corrections you apply, 
and dragging the outer circle away from the inner circle creates a softer edge and a more 
gradual transition.
 •To hide the mask’s controls: Click the Shape Mask onscreen controls button in the Shape Mask 
area of the Color section of the Video inspector.
 4 To adjust the color correction settings for this shape mask, click the Color Board button  in the 
Video inspector. (After you make any Color Board adjustments, the button color changes.)
 5 Do one of the following:
 •To apply a color correction to the shape area: Click Inside.
 •To apply a color correction to everything except the shape area: Click Outside.
You can make corrections to both the inside and outside areas of the mask—each area 
effectively has its own complete set of Color Board controls. For example, you could select Inside 
Mask and enhance the shape’s area, and then select Outside Mask to darken everything else.
 6 Adjust the Color Board controls to create the effect you want.
For more information about working with the Color Board, see Color correct the whole image on 
page 3 81 .
 7 To add additional shapes to the correction, click the Add Shape Mask button in the color 
correction’s area in the Video inspector again.
Another default shape appears in the Viewer, and the original shape is dimmed. You can select 
and continue configuring the original shape by clicking its center.
Delete a shape mask
 1 In the Video inspector, select the Shape Mask item you want to delete.
Select a Shape Mask 
item and press Delete.
 2 Press Delete.
Note:  If you delete all shape masks in the correction, the Inside Mask corrections are applied to 
the whole image.
Animate a shape mask
You can use keyframes to animate a shape mask so that it follows the movement of an 
onscreen object.
 1 To add a shape mask, follow the instructions in “Add a shape mask,” above.
 2 In the Timeline, position the playhead on the clip with the shape mask at the frame where you 
want the shape to begin moving.
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 3 Position the shape mask to its starting position in the Viewer.
 4 In the Video inspector, click the Keyframe button.
Click here to add 
a keyframe.
A keyframe is added at the position of the playhead. You can see it in the Timeline by pressing 
Control-V to open the Video Animation Editor. The keyframe appears in the Color section as a 
diamond at the playhead position.
Keyframe indicator
 5 Move the playhead to the next point in the clip where you want to define the shape mask’s 
position, reposition the shape mask, and add the second keyframe.
 6 To reposition the shape mask throughout the clip, continue adding keyframes until you’ve 
defined the shape movement you want.
When you’ve added all the keyframes, you can play the clip to see the shape mask move 
between them. For more information about working with keyframes, see  Video animation 
overview
 on page 258 .
Add shape masks to a color mask
Often when you create a color mask, more areas of the video are affected by it than you would 
like. For example, there might be a red car on the left side of the screen that you want to color 
correct, and a red stop sign on the right that you don’t want to affect. In this situation, you can 
add one or more shape masks to restrict the color mask to the areas defined by the shape masks.
Add a shape mask to a color mask
 1 Select a clip in the Timeline, and use the Video inspector to add a color mask to it.
 2 Apply a color correction using the Color Board, and note areas of the video that you don’t want 
the color mask to affect.
For more information about working with the Color Board, see Color correct the whole image
 on 
page 3 81.
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							 Chapter 12    Color correction 388
 3 In the Video inspector, click the Add Shape Mask button in the correction that has the 
color mask.
Click here to add 
a shape mask 
to the correction.
 4 Adjust the shape mask so that it overlaps the part of the color mask you want to use.
 5 To adjust the color correction settings, click the Color Board button  in the Video inspector. 
(After you make any Color Board adjustments, the button color changes.)
 6 Do any of the following:
 •To make color correction adjustments that apply only to the areas of overlap between the color 
mask and shape mask: Select Inside Mask, at the bottom of the Color Board.
 •To make color correction adjustments that apply outside the areas of overlap between the color 
mask and shape mask: Select Outside Mask.
If necessary, you can add additional shape masks, and even animate them.
Apply multiple color corrections
You can apply multiple color corrections to a clip to target specific issues. For example, you could 
have one color correction that mutes a bright orange shirt and a second one that enhances the 
green in the lawn.
Color masks are created based on the original colors in the clip. For example, if the first color 
correction removes all chroma from the clip, the second color correction can still create a color 
mask based on a color originally in the clip.
Apply multiple color corrections to a clip
 1 Select a clip in the Timeline.
 2 To add an additional color correction item, click the Add Correction button in the 
Video inspector.
Click here to add a correction.
By default, the Color section contains the first manual color correction item (Correction 1) 
along with the Balance and Match Color items. Color correction items that you add are named 
Correction 2, Correction 3, and so on. Each correction item has its own Color Board button—
clicking one of these opens the Color Board with that correction’s settings. You can also choose a 
correction in the Color Board using the pop-up menu in the upper-right corner.
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Note:  If you have applied multiple corrections to a clip, you can drag them in the Video inspector 
to change their order. Rearranging the processing order can provide different results.
View color correction keyframes in the Timeline
If a clip has multiple corrections with animated shape masks, you can view a correction’s shape 
mask keyframes in the Video Animation Editor above the clip in the Timeline.
 1 In the Timeline, select a clip that has multiple color corrections with animated shape 
masks applied.
 2 Choose Clip > S how Video Animation (or press Control-V ).
 3 Choose the color correction you want to view from the Color pop-up menu:
 •To see a composite of keyframes from all corrections: Choose the correction, and if it contains 
multiple shape masks, choose the one you want to see.
 •To see keyframes from a specific shape mask in a correction: Choose the correction, and if it 
contains multiple shape masks, choose the one you want to see.
When you choose a specific correction, such as Correction 2, you see its keyframes in white 
and the keyframes of other corrections in dark gray.
Add a transition between color corrections
You can have a video clip change from one color correction to another using a transition. 
For example, if you want a scene to gradually highlight the two main characters, you can use 
a transition to dissolve between the normal clip and the clip with shape masks and a color 
correction applied that darkens the image outside of the masks.
Important:  Make sure that Available Media is chosen from the “Apply transitions using” pop-up 
menu in the Editing pane of Final Cut Pro preferences. For more information about this setting, 
see How transitions are created on page 212.
Configure a clip to change transitions
 1 Temporarily switch to the Blade tool by holding down the B key.
 2 In the Timeline, click a video clip at the point where you want to change between 
color corrections.
The clip splits into two clips.
 3 Apply a different color correction to each clip.
You can also leave one clip uncorrected and apply a color correction to the other. 
The color correction could be an exaggerated tint, an exposure change, or any other 
noticeable adjustment.
 4 Select the edit point between the two clips, and press Command-T to insert a cross dissolve.
When you play the clip, one color correction dissolves into the other as the edit point is passed.
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Save and apply color correction presets
With Final Cut Pro, you can save a clip’s color correction settings as a preset, making it easy to 
apply those settings to other clips in the same project or a different project.
Final Cut Pro includes several presets you can use in addition to any that you create.
Note:  Color correction presets save the current Color, Saturation, and Exposure settings only. 
They do not save the mask settings, including whether you have Inside Mask or Outside 
Mask selected.
Save a color correction preset
 1 In the Timeline, select a clip that has the color correction look you want to save, and open the 
Color Board.
 2 Choose Save Preset from the Action pop-up menu  in the lower-right corner of the 
Color Board.
 3 Type a name for the preset and click OK.
Apply a color correction preset
 1 Select a clip in the Timeline, and open the Color Board.
 2 Choose a preset from the Action pop-up menu  in the lower-right corner of the Color Board.
The preset’s adjustments are applied to the selection. After the preset has been applied, you can 
modify the settings using the Color Board.
Turn iMovie adjustments on or off
When editing a project in iMovie, you can adjust several video attributes, such as exposure, 
brightness, and saturation, in the Project Browser. If you import an iMovie project that has these 
adjustments into Final Cut Pro, the adjustments are retained and appear in the Color area of the 
Video inspector as an iMovie item.
Although you cannot modify the adjustments added in iMovie, you can choose whether they are 
applied to the clip or not.
Note:  Video adjustments you make to clips in the iMovie Browser are not retained and do not 
appear in Final Cut Pro.
Turn a clip’s iMovie adjustments on or off
 m In the Timeline, select a clip with iMovie adjustments applied, and select or deselect the iMovie 
checkbox in the Color area of the Video inspector.
Click here to turn the iMovie adjustments on or off.
Note:  The iMovie adjustments appear only in the Timeline, not in the Browser.
For more information about importing iMovie projects, see Import from iMovie
 on page 36.
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