Colour Grading and Colour Masking are great skills to have in the post-production process of Adobe Premiere Pro. Mastering these techniques can help you convey the mood and tone of your video content, whilst adding a professional and cinematic touch.
In this article, we have provided the ultimate guide to colour masking and colour grading on Premiere Pro, with step-by-step guides and video tutorials, you can start editing your own videos like a pro.
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Colour Grading Premiere Pro Tutorial
Check out this video below which takes you through the process of colour grading on Premiere Pro. This will help you visualise what you need to do when it comes to editing your own footage.
What is Colour Grading Premiere Pro?
Colour grading in Adobe Premiere Pro is the process of altering and enhancing the colour of a video or image. It’s an important post-production process that can greatly improve the look and feel of your video.
Here’s a breakdown of what you can do with colour grading in Premiere Pro:
Correcting Colour
This is the first step in colour grading, where you adjust the colours in your footage to make them look more natural. This often involves adjusting the white balance, exposure, contrast, and saturation.
Premiere Pro has several tools for this, including the Lumetri Color panel, which includes basic correction controls for things like temperature, tint, exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, saturation, and vibrance.
Enhancing Colour
Once you’ve corrected the colour, you can enhance it to create a specific look or mood. This might involve increasing the saturation of certain colours, changing the colour of specific areas of the image, or adding in a colour tint.
The Lumetri Color panel also includes creative controls for this process, such as Faded Film, Sharpen, Vibrance, Saturation, and various colour wheels. This feature can dramatically reduce or enhance the colour scheme of your video content.
Using LUTs (Look-Up Tables)
LUTs are files that transform the colours in your video to create a specific look. They’re a quick and easy way to colour grade your footage, especially if you’re not experienced with colour grading. Premiere Pro supports LUTs and includes several preset LUTs that you can use.
Secondary Colour Correction
This is where you adjust a specific range of colours in your footage without affecting the rest of the image. For example, you might want to change the colour of a person’s shirt or the sky. Premiere Pro’s Lumetri Color panel includes a secondary colour correction section where you can select a colour range and adjust it.
Using Masks
Masks allow you to apply colour corrections to specific areas of your footage. For example, you might want to brighten a person’s face or darken the background. You can create masks in the Lumetri Color panel and then adjust the colour inside or outside the mask.
Remember, colour grading is a creative process, and the “right” look depends on what you’re trying to achieve. It’s often a good idea to experiment with different settings and techniques to see what works best for your footage.
Is Colour Grading Easy on Premiere Pro?
Adobe Premiere Pro is designed to make colour grading as straightforward as possible, especially with LUTS and the Lumetri Color. This panel presents colour grading tools in an intuitive way, making it easier for beginners to start learning and applying basic colour corrections and grades.
You also needn’t worry about running your work while experimenting with different Premiere Pro tools, as any changes you make in the Lumetri Color panel are non-destructive, meaning you can always undo them or reset them back to the original if you’re not happy with the result.
However, while the tools are easy to use at a basic level, colour grading is an art form that can take time to master. Achieving a professional look often requires a good understanding of colour theory, lighting, and how different colours and tones interact with each other. It also requires a keen eye for detail and the ability to make subtle adjustments that can greatly enhance the overall look of your footage.
Adobe Premiere Pro Colour Grading Presets
Adobe Premiere Pro colour grading presets are pre-configured effects that you can apply to your footage with just a few clicks. These presets can help you achieve a specific look or style without having to manually adjust all the colour grading settings yourself.
Premiere Pro comes with a variety of built-in colour grading presets, which you can find in the Lumetri Color panel under the “Creative” section. These presets include various cinematic looks, black and white styles, vintage film looks, and more.
Save your own presets on Premiere Pro
In addition to the built-in presets, you can also create your own colour grading presets. If you’ve adjusted the colour grading settings to create a look that you like, you can save these settings as a preset by clicking on the three-line icon at the top of the Lumetri Color panel and selecting “Save Preset”.
You can then apply this preset to other clips in your project or in future projects.
Import custom grading presets
You can also download and import colour grading presets created by others. There are many websites and online communities where video editors share their custom Premiere Pro colour grading presets.
Here are some online resources where you can find custom Premiere Pro colour grading presets:
- Motion Array: This site offers a variety of free LUTs and presets for Premiere Pro. They have a wide range of styles, including cinematic looks, Hollywood LUT colour packs, and more.
- Premium Beat: Premium Beat offers free colour grading presets for both Premiere Pro and After Effects. They also provide a tutorial on how to use these presets in your video editing projects.
- Premium Beat – Hollywood Looks: This page offers 14 free Premiere Pro Lumetri Looks that can give your project a cinematic look.
- RocketStock: RocketStock offers 35 free LUTs for colour grading videos in Premiere Pro and other NLEs.
- Wanderlust: This page offers 17 free LUTs designed specifically for LOG footage.
Remember to always check the licensing and usage terms when downloading presets from the internet. Some may be free for personal use but others may require a licence for commercial use.
How to apply a preset?
To apply a colour grading preset, simply select the clip you want to grade in your timeline, then go to the Lumetri Color panel, select the “Creative” section, and choose a preset from the “Look” dropdown menu. You can then adjust the intensity of the look using the “Intensity” slider.
How To Do Colour Grading in Premiere Pro Using The Lumetri Colour Panel
The Lumetri Color panel in Adobe Premiere Pro is a powerful toolset for colour correction and colour grading. It’s designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, making it accessible for beginners while still offering advanced options for more experienced users.
To use the Lumetri Colour panel, select a clip in your timeline, then go to Window > Lumetri Color to open the panel. Then, you can adjust the settings in each section to colour grade your footage. Any adjustments you make will be applied to that selected clip.
What can you do with the Lumetri Colour Panel?
The Lumetri Color panel is useful for many different functions in altering the colour of your video footage. Check out all that you can do with the feature below.
Basic Correction
This section is for primary colour correction. Here, you can adjust the white balance, exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, saturation, and vibrance of your footage. You can also input a LUT (Look-Up Table) for a quick colour grade.
Creative
This section allows you to apply and adjust creative LUTs, adjust the intensity of the look, and make adjustments to the vibrance, saturation, faded film look, sharpening, and more. It’s designed for stylizing your footage and creating a specific look.
Curves
This section allows you to adjust the tonality and colour balance of your footage using curves. There are RGB curves for adjusting the overall contrast and colour balance, and Hue Saturation curves for adjusting the saturation of specific hues.
Colour Wheels & Match
This section provides three colour wheels for adjusting the shadows, midtones, and highlights. It also includes a colour match feature that can automatically match the colour of two shots.
HSL Secondary
This section allows you to select a specific colour or colour range in your footage and apply corrections only to that selection. This is useful for changing the colour of a specific object or area in your footage.
Vignette
This section allows you to add and adjust a vignette effect to your footage.
Many of the colour effects of the Lumetri Color panel would be familiar to anyone who uses other softwares such as Photoshop and Illustrator. Our recommendation is to play around with all of the tools on the Lumetri Color panel and gain a real understanding of how they can affect the colour and tone of your video footage.
What is Colour Masking Premiere Pro?
Colour masking in Adobe Premiere Pro is a technique used in colour grading that allows you to isolate a specific colour or colour range in your footage and then apply effects or corrections to only that isolated area. This is particularly useful when you want to change a specific colour in your video without affecting the rest of the image.
How to use Colour Masking in Premiere Pro?
Check out the step-by-step guide of how you can perform colour masking in Premiere Pro:
- Open the Lumetri Color Panel: This panel is where you’ll find all the colour grading tools in Premiere Pro, including colour masking. You can open it by going to Window > Lumetri Color.
- Select the Clip: Click on the clip in your timeline that you want to apply the colour mask to.
- Go to the Secondary Color Correction Section: In the Lumetri Color panel, scroll down to the “Secondary” section. This is where you’ll find the colour masking tools.
- Use the Eyedropper Tool: Click on the eyedropper tool next to “Set colour”. Then, click on the colour in the Program Monitor that you want to isolate. You can also click and drag to select a range of colours.
- There is also a free drawing option which is useful if you want to colour mask a whole area as opposed to a certain colour group.
- Refine the Mask: Use the sliders under “Correction Matte” to refine the mask. “Denoise” will smooth out the mask, while “Blur” will blur the edges of the mask.
- Apply Corrections: Once you’ve created the mask, you can apply corrections to the isolated colour using the controls under “Correction”. You can adjust the temperature, tint, tone, saturation, and sharpness of the isolated colour.
- Check the Mask: You can check the mask by clicking the “Color/Gray” checkbox under “Show Mask”. This will show the isolated colour in colour and everything else in grayscale.
Remember, colour masking is a powerful tool, but it requires a careful touch. It’s easy to go overboard and create unnatural-looking colours, so it’s often best to make subtle adjustments.
Colour Grading in Premiere Pro for Beginners
If you’re a beginner to colour grading in Premiere Pro, then LUTs are going to be your best friend. They can apply a colour theme to your footage without you having to manually adjust each colour preference.
LUTs, or Look-Up Tables, are a type of colour grading tool used in post-production on Premiere Pro. They are essentially a preset that applies a specific colour grade to your footage and you customise the strength to suit your objective.
LUTs can be used quickly and easily in order to achieve a particular look or style, such as a vintage film look, a high-contrast black and white look, or a cinematic colour grade. They are a great feature that can save you time without compromising on quality.
How to use LUTs in Premiere Pro?
In Adobe Premiere Pro, you can apply LUTs using the Lumetri Color panel. Here’s how:
- Open the Lumetri Color Panel: You can open it by going to Window > Lumetri Color.
- Select the Clip: Click on the clip in your timeline that you want to apply the LUT to.
- Go to the Creative Section: In the Lumetri Color panel, go to the “Creative” section. This is where you’ll find the controls for applying LUTs.
- Apply a LUT: Click on the drop-down menu next to “Look” and select a LUT from the list. Premiere Pro comes with several built-in LUTs, but you can also import your own.
- Adjust the Intensity: Use the “Intensity” slider to adjust the strength of the LUT. A higher value will make the effect of the LUT more pronounced, while a lower value will make it more subtle.
LUTs can provide a good starting point and can help you achieve professional-looking results quickly and easily. However, it’s also important to learn the basics of colour grading so that you can make more precise adjustments and create your own looks.
Top Tips for Colours Grading Premiere Pro
Colour grading is an essential part of video editing that can greatly enhance the look and feel of your footage. Here are some top tips for colour grading in Adobe Premiere Pro:
Correct Before You Grade
Before you start colour grading, make sure your footage is colour corrected. This means adjusting the exposure, contrast, white balance, and saturation to make the footage look as natural as possible. You can do this in the “Basic Correction” section of the Lumetri Color panel.
Use the Lumetri Scopes
The Lumetri Scopes provide a visual representation of the colours in your footage. They can help you make more precise adjustments and ensure that your colours are balanced. You can open the Lumetri Scopes by going to Window > Lumetri Scopes.
Start with a LUT
A LUT (Look-Up Table) can provide a good starting point for your colour grade. You can apply a LUT in the “Creative” section of the Lumetri Color panel, then adjust the intensity to control the strength of the look.
Use Masks for Selective Adjustments
If you want to adjust the colour of a specific area of your footage, you can use a mask. This allows you to apply colour corrections to only the area inside the mask.
Work in the Right Order
When colour grading, it’s generally best to work in the following order: basic correction, creative, curves, colour wheels, HSL secondary, and vignette. This allows you to build up your colour grade in a logical and organised way.
Be Subtle
When it comes to colour grading, less is often more. Subtle adjustments can often have a big impact, while heavy-handed adjustments can make your footage look unnatural.
Keep Consistency
Try to maintain consistency in colour grading across your entire project. This helps to maintain a uniform look and feel.
Save Your Grades as Presets
If you’ve created a look that you like, you can save it as a preset in the Lumetri Color panel. This allows you to easily apply the same look to other clips or projects.
Learn and Practice
Colour grading is a skill that takes time to learn. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different settings and techniques, and take the time to learn about colour theory and how different colours interact with each other.
Monitor Calibration
Make sure your monitor is correctly calibrated. The colours you see during editing will be the colours you get in the final video. There are various tools available online to help with monitor calibration.
Remember, the goal of colour grading is to enhance the story you’re telling with your footage. Always keep the mood and tone of your story in mind as you grade.
Discover more about Premiere Pro
Mastering Premiere Pro is a learning curve, requiring a lot of practice and patience. The best way to become an expert is to delve deep into it, using the resources and tools available to you to learn more.
Check out these articles and develop your expertise as a Premiere Pro wiz: Transitions, Titles and Effects | Colour Grading and Correcting | Using Timeline and Workflow | Video Editing | How to Render and Export | Audio Effects | Video Editing Tutorial.
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