How to colour grade a video
Upload your footage to Vizard Agent and describe the look you want. Vizard Agent measures the levels in the picture, tests several grades on still frames before committing to any of them, and applies the chosen one across the whole video. Asking for it warmer afterwards is one sentence, not a re-edit.
What do you type into Vizard Agent?
A direction plus an exception covers most jobs: the look in plain words, and anything that must stay true, such as skin tone or a product's colour. If you can't name a look, describe the problem instead. "Too dark and slightly green" is a better prompt than a style word you half mean, because Vizard Agent can measure both.
Prompt
What does Vizard Agent actually do?
The first half is measurement rather than taste. Then options get tested where testing is nearly free: a grade tried on a still costs almost nothing, while trying it on a whole video costs a render each time. Only the winner touches the video. In the session behind this article it:
- Read the video's technical details and pulled sample frames from across the clip into a contact sheet.
- Looked at the frames, then opened one full size to judge it properly rather than as a thumbnail.
- Measured resolution, edges and levels instead of relying on eye alone.
- Tested three grade options on stills, side by side, before touching the video.
- Applied the chosen grade across the 263.8-second clip, keeping the source's 720x1280 size, its 50fps rather than normalising to 30, and its audio.
When does this not work well?
A grade redistributes the information already in the picture. Where it was never recorded, Vizard Agent has nothing to work with: blown highlights hold no detail and crushed blacks hold no shadow. Heavily compressed footage breaks up when pushed, mixed lighting inside one shot is hard, and strong looks move skin.
Common questions
Can I just say "make it look better"? Yes, and Vizard Agent will give you a defensible neutral grade. You get somewhere faster by naming a direction.
How do I adjust it after seeing it? Say which way. "Warmer", "less contrast" and "too green" are all complete instructions, and Vizard Agent regrades from the same footage.
Will it grade several clips consistently? Yes, if you say they belong together. Ask for it explicitly, because the default is to grade each clip on its own merits.