Your preset will appear in the preset list.Create a descriptive name for the preset and choose “OK”.Click the “wheel” dropdown and choose Save Preset….When you’ve got a look you like, save it as a preset. THEN, go and tweak the buttons on each of the panes to create a custom color grade. Use the presets to let Final Cut Pro X approximate a color look for you. If you were looking to really explore FCPX color correction in detail, I’d highly recommend these free video tutorials from Color Grading Central over on Vimeo.Ĭreate Custom FCPX Color Correction Presets When you drag these buttons around each of the panes, it will effect different parts of the image accordingly. The black “button” represents the darkest parts of the video image (blacks), the dark gray represents the midtones and the light gray represents the lightest parts of the image (whites).
If you look at the color board you’ll see three buttons on each of the adjustment panes (color, saturation, exposure). Let’s break it down a bit in simple terms…. Essentially, when you choose a color preset, Final Cut Pro X has a pre-assigned value for the black, mids and highlights in regards to color, saturation and exposure. Understanding how FCPX creates these looks will give you insight into how you can further tweak them to create your own custom color settings. Understanding FCPX Color Correction Presets Choose a preset to change the look of your footage!.Click the “wheel” dropdown on the bottom right of the Color Adjustment window to reveal the FCPX built in presets.Use the shortcut COMMAND + 6 to open up the Color Adjustment window.However, you can later copy the new color attributes of a clip and paste them onto other clips in the timeline or save a custom preset. Note, initially you can only apply presets to one clip at a time. Select one clip in the timeline whose color you’d like to adjust.The FCPX presets give your footage specific color grades and looks by modifying saturation, color and exposure settings. They can give footage dynamic, highly stylized looks or provide more simple adjustments (warming or cooling the footage, adding a bit of contrast, etc). In this post we’ll take a look at FCPX color correction presets – how to take advantage of the ones that come with the application, as well as how to save your own for future use.Ĭolor presets provide a great starting point for doing basic color correction work in Final Cut Pro X.