In this post byMiniToolyou will find a list of color grading programs that you can use to give your videos and images a cinematic look.
Part 1: What is Color Grading
Before we get into the following color grading software, let's first clarify what color grading means.
Color grading is a post-processing process common to video editing and filmmaking that aims to adjust the color of an image to achieve a consistent hue throughout the image or video and make it look more cinematic.
Color grading is also often used in photography to create a certain mood by manipulating the hue.
Some may wonder if color grading is a necessary process. From an artistic point of view, color grading plays a crucial role as it gives your video/image a coherent hue.
In color grading, color correction must never be neglected. To better understand the two processes, let's learn about the main differences between them.
Color grading vs. color correction
Color correction corrects the colors in a video or an image so that it looks exactly like it does in real life. The goal of this process is to fix color issues in your footage to give it a natural and normal look.
In video editing, color grading is the first step to make the material look clear and natural, while color grading is the next step to make the material look stylish.
How does color grading and color correction work? They are achieved by adjusting various video/image attributes like contrast, saturation, brightness, white balance, exposure, temperature, luminance, etc.
Color correction and color grading software and tools are identical. The difference is that color grading corrects imbalances in colors to make the image/video look like it does in the real world, while color grading is a stylistic effect like adding a filter or a3D-LUT-Effect is achieved. After color correction, the added visual effects can be integrated as seamlessly as possible.
Part 2: Color Grading Software for Video Editing
Color grading is an important part of video editing because you can use this technique to change the mood and tone of your video. In order to help you create distinctive videos, we introduce the following color correction and color grading software in this post.
#MiniTool MovieMaker
MiniTool MovieMakeris one of the best video color grading software. Basically, it lets you adjust the contrast, saturation, and brightness of clips. Also, it offers a list of 3D LUT effects and various filters that you can use to create a specific hue to make the video more expressive.
Currently, MiniTool MovieMaker 2 includes 3D LUT effects like 007 Series, B&W Film and Batman. As for the filters, there are currently 56 items including artistic, Instagram-like, and ordinary filters, and more filters will be added in the future.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to adjust the colors of a video or image with MiniTool MovieMaker.
Step 1. Download and install MiniTool MovieMaker on your PC.
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Step 2. Open MiniTool MovieMaker and close the pop-up window. click onImport media filesto add your videos or pictures. Then paste them into the timeline.
Step 3. Select the video or image you want to edit and then go to the Video/Image Properties panel on the right.
On the tabBasisfind the optionsContrast,saturation,brightnessand3D LUT. To slightly correct the color of the clip, you can drag the sliders to adjust the contrast, saturation, and brightness.
As you increase the contrast level, the highlights become lighter and the shadows darker. Changing the saturation level has a greater effect on image color, particularly the rich tones of an image. Increasing the brightness makes the image brighter, decreasing it makes it darker.
If you want to add a 3D LUT effect, click the dropdown menu and select an effect. If you onApply to allclick, these changes will be added to all videos or images on the timeline.
Step 4. To add a filter to your footage, select it on the timeline and go to the tabEffect. Browse these filters and choose one. You can hover over a thumbnail to preview the filter. click on+to add the filter to your selected clip.
If you want to add the same filter to all videos and images on the timeline, right click on the filter and selectApply to all.
Step 4. To export the video, clickExportin the upper right corner to open the export window. Choose video format, output folder or other settings and clickExportto start the process.
Apart from that, MiniTool MovieMaker offers other features to create eye-catching videos, like different types of transition effects,Pan and zoom effectsand fun animated stickers. Also, this video allows you to add title/caption/credits to video, cut, split, rotate, flip, crop, speed up, reverse andchange the aspect ratio.
In addition, MiniTool MovieMaker is easy to use, especially for beginners. With it, anyone can give the video a new look and export it in 1080p with no watermark.
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Besides MiniTool MovieMaker, there are some other video color grading programs that can help you add visual tone and atmosphere to your video. Please read on!
#DaVinci Resolve 18
When it comes to video color grading software, DaVinci Resolve 18 should not be ignored by many users, especially professionals. It is an all-in-one video editing application that combines color grading, color correction, visual effects, and audio post-production.
DaVinci Resolve has a standalone color page that allows users to color manage to change the mood of the material. This page contains a wide range of tools to balance image color, adjust contrast, saturation, hue, tint, highlight, balance a group of similar shots, and more.
The DaVinci Resolve color page also includes 85 plug-ins to enhance images and apply effects. DaVinci Resolve Studio claims to contain the world's most powerful color grading tools.
#Adobe Premiere Pro
There is no doubt thatAdobe Premiere Prois one of the best software for color grading. It features a range of tools for basic color correction, includes various presets that can be added directly to your clips, and allows precise color adjustments using RGB and HUE saturation curves.
With Premiere Pro, professionals can use these tools to quickly give their videos a new look and take them to the next level.
#After Effects
To manipulate the color of your footage, After Effects is also an effective solution. This application offers professional color grading and color correction tools to adjust color, contrast and light in each sequence.
You can also use RGB curves, hue-saturation curves, color balance, and shadows in After Effects to change the overall color of your footage.
#Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Prowas developed by Apple and is a professional, non-linear video editing program for Mac users, which is also one of the best programs for color grading. With this program, you can adjust a clip's color balance, shadows, midtones, highlights, and more.
Final Cut Pro also lets you quickly color match, apply LUTs, add color masks, and more.
#Vegas Pro
Vegas Pro is a video editing software package that runs on the Windows operating system. This software offers all the tools for professional video editing, including corrections and color grading.
To make color corrections in Vegas Pro, you can add a camera LUT, correct exposure, correct white balance, and improve contrast. For color grading, you can apply LUTs or use different tools to customize the final look of your video.
#Shotcut
Shotcut is free color grading software for Windows, Mac and Linux. It allows adjusting shadows, highlights, contrast, brightness, white balance, saturation, adding 3D LUT effects and many more to change the color and tone of the video.
Shotcut lets you create professional-looking videos with its various color grading tools and other features.
Also read:How to trim and crop a video in Shotcut? - Solved
#HitFilm Express
HitFilm Express is also a powerful video color grading software that allows you to create stunning videos and movies. It has various color grading tools and effects such as Curves, Ranges, LUT Effects, Masks and Hue & RGB.
HitFilm Express also has professional presets and filters for color correction and color grading.
Part 3: Color Grading Software for Photography
Color grading is widely used not only in video editing but also in photography, and the purpose is the same: adjusting the hue of an image to express a certain mood.
After reviewing the above video color grading application, you may be wondering about a color grading photo editor tool. This part introduces 3 color grading software for photographers.
#Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a well-known image editing program. It has almost all basic and advanced tools to create, edit and shape images. Of course, Photoshop can also adjust the color and tone of an image.
In Photoshop, you can change the image color in the adjustment layer controls on the right, or edit in Adobe Camera Raw.
#Adobe Lightroom
The second color grading software for photographers is Adobe Lightroom, and the color grading works the same as in Photoshop.
There are three different color wheels in Lightroom: Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights. Each of them contains the same attributes like hue, saturation and luminance.
#GIMP
GIMP, a free and open-source image editor, is also one of the best tools for photographers to manipulate the hue of their images. This software mainly uses the Curves tool to edit the image color.
Conclusion
Color has the amazing ability to evoke emotional responses and express feelings. In both video and image editing, color grading is a common technique to create atmosphere and add style to your footage.
This post explains the key differences between color correction and color grading, although the two terms are often used interchangeably. We hope this gives you a better understanding of the two procedures.
Most importantly, this post introduces some of the best color grading software for video and photo editing. With them, you can quickly and easily adjust the hue of your video or image to show your emotions.
If you have any questions about using MiniTool MovieMaker, you can contact us at[emailprotected]to contact.
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