Filmmakers, editors and budding colorists often ask me some variation of : How do I fix white balance issues in post? Or – What’s the best method for fixing color temperature?

We’ve all been there at some point – We’re editing a scene or reviewing raw footage and come across a clip that just doesn’t match.

All our other shots might look perfect. They have balanced color palettes and look great straight out of the camera… But this one shot or scene sticks out. It’s either far too warm or far too cold, and clearly has not been white balanced properly.

This is one of the most common issues you’ll come across as an editor or colorist. Thankfully, it can be remedied by reversing color temperature to create a more neutral baseline.

If you are working with a RAW format, this is very easy to achieve, as you simply change your white balance setting retroactively. But for those of us working in compressed formats (like H264 or ProRes), we need to take a more careful approach.

As I demonstrate in the short video tutorial below, it’s all about paying attention to skin tones, avoiding global adjustments, and following the correct order of operations –  Which is especially relevant if you plan to use color grading LUTs.

This week’s video tutorial covers all this and more. As with some of my other tutorials, I use Blackmagic’s DaVinci Resolve to demonstrate. That said, these are fundamental principles which can be applied no matter what software you use.

So sit back, relax and enjoy this quick color lesson!

If you enjoyed this tutorial, leave a comment and let me know. I’d also love suggestions for future installments. Drop me a line if you have a color related topic you want covered.

And don’t forget to check out my new color grading platform CINECOLOR.IO, which hosts all my Cinematic LUTs.

You can also access my Cinematic Color Grading Masterclass here.

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