Exercise 4 · Correct, Then Grade

Project 2 · Cinematic Reveal · Week 5 · Color Correction · ~45 min

Practice goal: Balance a shot on an adjustment layer reading the scopes, then build a cohesive look (HSL secondary + vignette) and match a second shot.

Set up: New project. One flat/under- or over-exposed clip or photo (free from Pexels/Pixabay), plus a second clip to match.

Steps

  1. New composition from the footage (or 1920×1080, 30 fps); name it Main and add the footage.
  2. Add an Adjustment Layer above it (Layer ▸ New ▸ Adjustment Layer) and apply Effect ▸ Color Correction ▸ Lumetri Color.
  3. Open Window ▸ Lumetri Scopes; set it to Waveform (or Parade) to read levels objectively.
  4. In Lumetri ▸ Basic Correction set White Balance (WB eyedropper on a neutral, or Temperature/Tint).
  5. Adjust Exposure and Contrast so the waveform spreads from near-black to near-white without clipping; recover with Highlights/Shadows/Whites/Blacks.
  6. Toggle the effect on/off to compare — neutrals/skin should look natural with no hard clipping.
  7. Now grade: in Lumetri ▸ Creative choose a Look/LUT and dial Intensity to taste.
  8. Use the Color Wheels (Shadows/Midtones/Highlights) to split-tone — e.g., cool shadows, warm highlights.
  9. Open HSL Secondary; key one color (sky, a shirt) and shift only that range; refine the key (Denoise/Blur) so it's clean.
  10. Add a Vignette (Lumetri ▸ Vignette) to draw the eye inward.
  11. Bring in a second clip/photo; copy the Lumetri effect (or the whole adjustment layer) onto it and tweak to match; confirm both sit at similar levels on the scopes.
  12. Toggle before/after (not crushed or over-saturated), then save & render.

Free tutorials & references

Done when

The shot is balanced (WB, exposure, contrast) on an adjustment layer and verified on the scopes, then given a deliberate look (HSL secondary + vignette) and matched to a second shot.

Files

Pittman_Ex04_CorrectThenGrade.aep → render Pittman_Ex04_CorrectThenGrade.mov · versions Pittman_Ex04_CorrectThenGrade_001.aep

This drill is your in-class activity for the week; it ladders directly into the project. Naming: see the course's file-naming convention.