Master Color Grading in After Effects | Create Stunning Visuals Like a Pro

Color grading is an essential part of video editing. It helps improve the visual mood and tone of a project. Achieving the right color balance can significantly affect how your audience experiences the content, whether a professional video or a personal project.

Thus, in this article, you will learn how to do color grading in After Effects, some of its best plugins, and the remarkable presets to elevate your content creation.

Color correction vs color grading

Color correction and color grading are separate steps in video editing. Color correction focuses on fixing issues to ensure natural and consistent colors across all footage. However, color grading involves adding a creative look or mood to the video by adjusting colors, tones, and contrasts. While color correction ensures accuracy, color grading enhances the overall style and feel.

Top 5 plugins for color grading in After Effects

When working on cinematic color grading in After Effects, using the right plugins can save time and make your workflow more efficient. Whether you need to fix colors, apply creative looks, or maintain consistency, the below-listed plugins are designed to assist you with color grading:

• Magic Bullet Colorista
• Magic Bullet Colorista is a plugin for Adobe After Effects that helps you adjust the colors in your videos. With its 3-way color corrector feature, you can control shadows, mid-tones, and highlights to get the perfect balance of colors.
• FilmConvert
• FilmConvert is a plugin that can give your digital videos the look of classic film. It comes with presets that replicate the grain and color of different film stocks, making it easy to achieve an authentic cinematic feel. Moreover, it enables you to adjust film grain separately from color grading.
• Color Finesse
• Color Finesse is a plugin for detailed color grading in Adobe After Effects. It provides precise color adjustments, from simple corrections to advanced techniques. Its color-matching function helps you maintain a consistent look across multiple clips or scenes.
• Red Giant Looks
• Red Giant Looks is a user-friendly plugin for creative and artistic color grading in Adobe After Effects. It provides over 200 customizable presets to transform your footage into different styles. It helps you adjust the color temperature, contrast, exposure, and saturation.
• LUT Buddy
• LUT Buddy is a tool for working with LUTs in After Effects. LUTs are color settings that can instantly change the look of your footage, and this plugin makes it easier to apply and manage them. It helps maintain visual consistency across different scenes or projects.

The 5 best presets for color grading in After Effects

Achieving a professional look in your videos is easier with presets for color grading in After Effects. They simplify the process of adjusting colors, contrasts, and tones, enabling you to create stunning visuals with just a few clicks. Below are the top presets available to help you make dynamic content:

• Cinematic film look
• The Cinematic film look preset is great for giving your videos a classic, movie-like feel. It enhances colors with rich contrasts, deeper shadows, and slightly desaturated tones, creating a polished, professional vibe. Moreover, it adds depth and texture to the footage, mimicking the look of traditional film stock.
• Vintage color grade
• The Vintage color grade preset gives your videos a nostalgic feel, with warm tones and faded contrasts that imitate the look of old film. It adds timeless quality to your footage by softening the colors and reducing saturation to create a retro aesthetic.
• Moody atmosphere
• The Moody atmosphere preset gives your videos a dark and emotional tone. It deepens the shadows and enhances the darker colors, adding a dramatic feel for suspenseful or mysterious movie scenes. Moreover, it helps you adjust the brightness of the videos shot in lower light.
• Bright and airy
• Bright and airy preset is designed to make your footage look light, fresh, and clean. It brightens the overall tone and enhances whites, giving it a soft, glowing feel. It is perfect for lifestyle videos, wedding films, or any project where you want to create a happy, uplifting mood.
• Cool tone shift
• The Cool tone shift preset changes the color palette of your footage by adding cooler blue and green tones, giving your video a sleek, modern look. It's perfect for creating a futuristic or high-tech feel and is often used in action films or corporate videos.

How to do color grading in Adobe After Effects

Color grading in Adobe After Effects is the best way to improve the visual appeal of your videos by adjusting the colors, contrast, and overall mood. Using built-in tools and presets, you can easily control and modify the colors to create the desired atmosphere in your footage.

Here is how to do color grading in Adobe After Effects:

Step
1. Import your footage
2. Open After Effects, click "File" > "Import", and select your video file. Drag the imported footage to the timeline to begin the editing process.
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Step
4. Apply a color-grading tool
5. Go to the Effects & Presets panel and search for "Lumetri Color". Add the effect to your footage on the timeline for access to powerful color grading tools.
6. 

   

Step
7. Adjust the colors and tones
8. In the Lumetri Color panel, use sliders to adjust brightness, contrast, and color balance. Fine-tune the look with curves, color wheels, or vignettes to match your desired style.
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An alternative way to do color grading on a PC: CapCut desktop

While Adobe After Effects offers powerful and highly customizable tools for color grading, it can be resource-intensive and may have a steeper learning curve for some users. For those looking for a more straightforward and lightweight option, there are alternative video editors that provide effective color-grading capabilities. One such alternative is the CapCut desktop video editor, which simplifies the process while still delivering professional results.

CapCut is a free and easy-to-use tool that adjusts brightness, contrast, and saturation. You can use preset filters for quick edits, customize color wheels for fine-tuning, and utilize advanced tools like curves to improve your footage's visual quality. CapCut also equips you with AI relight, transitions, and audio adjustments, making it a comprehensive video editing solution for PC.



Key features

The CapCut desktop video editor offers several features for color grading that make video editing easier. Below are some of the best ones:

• Automatic color correction
• This feature automatically adjusts the color balance and exposure, saving time while ensuring consistent results across your video.
• Color wheel options
• CapCut provides color wheels for fine-tuning shadows, mid-tones, and highlights, providing precise control for achieving the perfect mood.
• Quick color matching
• Easily match the color grade of merged clips with this tool for a cohesive feel throughout your project without manual editing.
• Customizable LUTs for video projects
• Import and adjust LUTs to apply professional-grade color styles, providing creative flexibility and consistency across video projects.

How to do color grading in CapCut

To start color grading like a pro, first download the CapCut desktop video editor. After installation, open CapCut to edit and color grade your videos using its user-friendly tools.

Step
1. Import the video
2. Open the CapCut desktop video editor and upload the video you want to edit. You can do it by clicking "Import" or dragging and dropping the video onto the workspace.
3. 

   

Step
4. Modify and fine-tune the colors
5. Start by dragging your footage onto the timeline to begin editing. Click on "Adjustments" to access various color grading tools. Use the "Color wheel" to precisely adjust shadows, mid-tones, and highlights, allowing you to set the desired mood for your video. You can also tweak brightness, saturation, and hue to further refine the look. For example, increasing brightness can make the video appear more vibrant, while reducing saturation adds a more dramatic, subdued tone. These adjustments help bring your creative vision to life with a professional finish.
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Step
7. Export and share
8. Once satisfied with the color grading, press the "Export" button at the top corner and set the resolution and frame rate to save the video to your PC. Then, share the video directly across social media platforms.
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Conclusion

Color grading in After Effects is an easy way to improve the quality and mood of your videos. By adjusting colors, contrast, and brightness, you can create a professional look that grabs the audience's attention. While After Effects has advanced color grading tools, it may seem complicated for beginners.

For those looking for a simpler option, the CapCut desktop video editor is a great alternative. Its easy-to-use features and color grading tools enable you to achieve impressive results without any complexity, making it accessible for all video creators.

FAQs

1. Can I do color grading in After Effects?
2. Yes, you can perform color grading in After Effects using various tools like the Lumetri Color panel, curves, and color wheels. These features allow you to adjust color balance, contrast, and brightness to enhance your footage. For those looking for a simpler option, consider trying the CapCut desktop video editor, which also offers effective, user-friendly color grading tools.
3. Is color grading different from color correction?
4. Yes, color grading and color correction are different processes. Color correction involves fixing color balance, exposure, and contrast issues to make your footage look accurate, while color grading adds a specific style or mood. If you're looking for an easy way to achieve color correction and grading, the CapCut desktop video editor provides intuitive features to help you accomplish this effortlessly.
5. What are the best plugins for color grading in After Effects?
6. Some of the best plugins for color grading in After Effects include Magic Bullet Colorista, FilmConvert, and Red Giant Looks, which offer advanced options for professional results. These plugins enhance the color grading process with additional tools. However, if you want a straightforward and efficient solution for color grading, the CapCut desktop video editor is an excellent alternative.