Classroom in a book

The Color Balance (RGB) effect
Let’s begin with Color Balance (RGB), which is probably the most intuitive color-
correction effect.
1
Load Lesson 16-2.prproj. The clip on the Timeline (Behind_the_Scenes_SD) 
looks a bit yellowish; let’s try to fix that.
2
Drag the Color Balance (RGB) effect from the Image Control subfolder in the 
Effects panel to the clip on the Timeline.
Color Balance (RGB) has a Settings window where you can manually adjust the 
red, green, and blue levels. The starting point for all clips is 100 no matter what 
the actual color levels in the clip are.
#
 Note:
The Three-
Way Color Corrector 
effect lets you make 
separate adjustments, 
using individual wheels, 
to adjust tonal ranges 
for shadows, midtones, 
and highlights.

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ADOBE PREMIERE PRO CS5 CLASSROOM IN A BOOK
297
3
Change the Red, Green, and Blue settings to give this scene a cooler appearance 
(more blue). Try 104% for Red, 95% for Green, and 106% for Blue.
4
This is a pretty subtle effect, so toggle it on and off by clicking the “on or 
off” icon. The color looks better with the effect applied, but let’s try another 
approach.
The next color-correction effect you’ll learn is Auto Color, which, according to 
Adobe Premiere Pro Help, “adjusts contrast and color by neutralizing the midtones 
and clipping the white and black pixels.”
1
Delete Color Balance (RGB) from the clip, open the Adjust subfolder in the Effects 
panel, and drag the Auto Color effect onto the Behind_the_Scenes_SD clip.
2
Try some parameters.
Auto Color is a good tool for quick-and-dirty edits, but most of the time, you’ll 
get a better result using the Fast Color Corrector effect, discussed next. If you 
do use the Auto Color effect, enable Temporal Smoothing and Scene Detection. 
Otherwise, the videos tend to flicker a bit, since the color correction is applied 
on a frame-by-frame basis, rather than over a group of clips. About five seconds 
is a good value for the Temporal Smoothing setting, but be aware that it can 
dramatically increase rendering times. Higher Black Clip and White Clip values 
increase contrast.

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298
LESSON 16
Working with Color, Nested Sequences, and Shortcuts
Fast Color Corrector is the workhorse of color-correction filters in Adobe Premiere 
Pro. It is extremely useful when correcting the color or lighting of a clip.
1
Delete the Auto Color effect from the clip, open the Color Correction subfolder 
in the Effects panel, and drag the Fast Color Corrector effect onto the Behind_
the_Scenes_SD clip.
2
Click the clip on the Timeline, and open 
the Effect Controls panel. Twirl the 
triangle next to the Fast Color Corrector 
effect to expose all parameters. Holy cow, 
that’s a lot of parameters! That’s OK, 
because it will all make sense in a 
moment or two.
3
Click the Balance Magnitude control 
point in the middle of the color wheel, 
and drag it a little away from the yellow, 
toward the lower right (east-southeast if 
you’re a geography buff or right around 
3:30 on a single-handed clock).
4
Click the Show Split View check box 
beneath the Output parameter to see the 
difference between the corrected portion 
of the clip and the original. Note that you can split the view either vertically 
or horizontally via the Layout drop-down list, and you can control the Split 
View Percent. If the split view isn’t noticeable right away, increase the Balance 
Magnitude setting to 100, and it will quickly become obvious.
If the effect is too subtle to be apparent in the split-screen view, toggle the effect 
on and off by clicking the “on or off” icon.