3 Different Methods to Correct Color Distortion in Videos

Nothing is more satisfying than seeing the final cut of a video and realizing that everything we filmed is crystal clear, with vibrant colors and balanced light. Unfortunately, whether you are editing on your own or collaborating with a team, this can be difficult to achieve because color problems often occur. Unlike photo editors, where one photo can easily be fixed without affecting the rest of an album, video editing requires adjusting to fix one problem. We'll look at three different methods to correct color distortion in videos.

What Is Color Distortion

Color distortion, also called chromatic aberration (CA), happens when the camera's lens cannot resolve the wavelengths of light that it is recording. It occurs due to dispersion, which is when the lens elements' refractive index varies with the light wavelength.

The refractive index of transparent materials often reduces with increasing wavelength. Because a lens' focal length depends on the index of refraction, this variation in refraction index affects focusing.

There are two types of CA: transverse (lateral) and axial (longitudinal). Axial aberration happens when different wavelengths of light focus at different distances from a lens (focus shift). Essentially, longitudinal aberration is often at long focal lengths.

On the other hand, transverse aberration happens when different wavelengths focus at different places in the focal plane due to the magnification or distortion of the lens varying with wavelength. Ideally, transverse aberration is often at short focal lengths.

The two types of CA have different characteristics, and they may occur together. Axial chromatic aberration occurs throughout an image, and you can reduce it by stopping down, hence increasing the depth of the field so that although the different wavelengths are focusing at different distances, they're still in acceptable focus.

When it comes to transverse chromatic aberration, it doesn't occur in the middle of the image, and it increases towards the edge. What's more? Stopping down does not affect it.

How will Color Distortion Affect Your Videos?

Colour distortion displays itself as "fringes" of color on the boundaries separating bright and dark parts of the image in a video. Color distortion can also occur when adding effects to a video, such as the use of a green screen. By using the green screen to replace the real thing, the colors in the video can appear a little off.

Different Methods to Correct Color Distortion in Videos

There are several methods to correct color distortion in your video. They include.

Method 1: Correct Color Distortion in Videos Using Filmora

Filmora is user-friendly software with powerful tools that allow users to tweak the color settings and correct color distortion. Follow the steps below to learn how to correct color distortion in videos using Filmora.

Step 1. Download and Install Filmora

Head to the official website and download Wondershare Filmora. Once you have finished downloading the software, install Filmora on your device and launch it.

Step 2. Import Your videos to Filmora

Select the New Project option to create a new project file. Click on the Import Media Files Here to find and load your videos to the Filmora's media library. Alternatively, you can drag and drop your video file to the media library, and then put it on the timeline.

Step 3. Correct Color Distortions with Your Preferences

Navigate to the timeline and double-click your video. You'll see the video editing window. Select the Color panel; you'll see several parameters that you can tweak.

• Contrast allows you to control the difference in brightness and color in different areas of your video image. The Brightness setting lets you customize the overall darkness or lightness of the video image.
• With the Saturation setting, you can make the colors in your video image appear more inconspicuous or saturated.
• If the color in your video image is set too high, it will look oversaturated. The colors will be washed out and muted if it's set to low. The Tint control in Filmora allows you to adjust the balance between these two chroma channels.
• Additionally, you can employ Hollywood film-looking color sets for videos from Sparta 300, Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, and much more.
• Preview and Save Your Edited Video

Once you have finished correcting the color distortion in your video, you can hit the Play symbol to view the changes in the previewing window. Click the Export button if you are content with the results. You can click on Settings to change the settings if you want.

Filmora allows you to save your videos in different formats. To do this, navigate to the Format tab. The software has the option of uploading videos directly to Vimeo or YouTube. Alternatively, you can burn it to DVD or export it to a portable device.

Method 2: Correct Color Distortion in Videos Using Premiere Pro

Premiere Pro provides color correction tools that allow users to edit footage directly on their timeline. To learn how to correct color distortion in video using Premiere Pro, follow these steps:

Step 1. Import Your Video Files

Use the Import command to bring video files on your device into your project; this will make the video files available to the Premiere Pro project. This timeline-based video editing software application allows you to import an entire folder, multiple files, or a single file. You can import video files using the Import command or the Media Browser.

Step 2. Head to Color Correction Effect

Once you have imported your video, place it on the timeline. Apply color correction effects to the video you placed in the Timeline. You can also select your video and drag and drop the effect you want to the Video Effects selection under the Effects Control Panel. Here are some of the color correction effects you can apply:

Brightness and Contrast Effect: With this effect, you can adjust the contrast and brightness of your video. Using this effect allows you to make adjustments to all pixel values in your video image at once — mid-tones, shadows, and highlights.

Color Balance Effect: This effect changes the amount of blue, green, and red in the shadow, highlights of an image, and mid-tones. Preserve Luminosity preserves the average brightness of your video image and changes the color. It maintains the tonal balance in your video image.

Method 3: Correct Color Distortion in Videos Using Final Cut Pro

Developed by Macromedia and later Apple, Final Cut Pro is a non-linear video editing software that allows you to log and transfer videos onto a hard drive, where you can edit them, process them, and output the videos to various formats.

The software provides non-destructive and non-linear editing of QuickTime-compatible video formats. These include 8K, 5K, 4K, 2K, XDCAM (via plug-in), P2 MXF (DVCProHD), HDV, and DV film formats. Final Cut Pro can also import projects from iMovie for iPadOS and iOS. It also comes with multiple color correction tools, such as color wheels, video scopes, and sliders and curves.

With that in mind, let's look at how to correct color distortion in videos using Final Cut Pro.

Step 1. Open Your Video in Final Cut Pro

Click on the 'Window' tab at the top of your screen and select the video you'd like to edit from the drop-down menu.

Step 2. Switch to Color Effects Work Space

Go to the Window panel and select the Workspaces option. Then, choose the Color & Effects option. Here, you can adjust a range of scopes, including the Luma Waveform, Vectorscope, and RGB Overlay.

Step 3. Correct the Color

Head to the color panel and click the drop-down menu next to No Corrections. Select Color Wheels, where you'll be able to control various parts of your video clips individually.

The Shadows wheel allows you to control the darker shades of your footage, Highlights controls the bright shades of your footage, and the Midtones wheel allows you to adjust the Luma channels in the middle of your video clip. The Master wheel allows you to adjust hue, saturation, and Luma channel (exposure).

In addition to the color wheels, you'll find more controls below that help you adjust the white balance.

Step 4. Save Your New Video File

After you've made these adjustments to your video, it's time to save and export the file. Click on the 'File' tab at the top of your screen and choose 'Export. Once you click 'Export,' you'll be saving the file to your hard drive. Once it's done, click 'Save.' The file will automatically be saved on your desktop.

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