Color Calibration (page 2)

There are a number of white balance options on camcorders today, which you choose depends upon your specific shooting environment. Manual white balance is usually your best shot at getting the most accurate color reproduction. Let's say you're shooting a child playing in her bedroom and you want the color of the scene recorded to tape just as you see it. Set your camcorder in manual white balance mode. Place a small white card, white sheet of paper or white fabric near your subject, lit by the main light source in the room. In this case probably a ceiling light or table lamp. Zoom in and fill your viewfinder with the white card and activate the white balance. The camera will give you an indication in your viewfinder when the white balance is complete, typically in just a couple of seconds. By doing this, you're showing the camera the color white, lit by the main light source in the room. When you press the white balance button, the camcorder will adjust and balance the ratios of colors, using white as a reference. Hint: Be sure the white you use is true white. The camcorder will believe whatever you point at is white during a manual white balance. If you white balance on an off-white color, you'll likely get a poor reproduction of color. Another hint: Be sure the iris of your camcorder lens is open or you may not be able to complete a manual white balance at all.

While manual white balance provides the most accurate setting, many camcorders offer presets which do a pretty good job. Most camcorders have several preset positions, programmed at the factory, to help in achieving an accurate color balance. Each preset has a stored color temperature in its memory or an internal filter activated by the flip of a switch. Often, these presets are noted on the camcorder by symbols of a light bulb and a sun. Clicking to the light bulb position sets the camcorder to read an indoor color temperature (somewhere in the 3,000 to 3,500-degrees Kelvin range). Click to the sun or outdoor setting and the camera adjusts to expect a color temperature in the 5,600 to 6,000-degrees Kelvin range. Presets are nice for saving time if you're moving in and out of different light sources and locations but, again, this is not as accurate as performing a manual white balance.

The automatic white balance setting is handy when action or time makes it impractical to white balance the camera yourself manually. Here, the camcorder's internal sensors try to measure as best they can the color temperature of the scene and then apply all of the mathematics to make the shot look good. Camera technology has come a long way, but don't expect the auto function to get your color correct one hundred percent of the time, especially if you're shooting in locations with multiple light sources. Use the automatic white balance only if time doesn't permit a manual white balance.

While it is possible to adjust color during the editing process after shooting is complete, 'fix it in post' is a poor approach to good quality video. Take the time to think about your light source, it's color temperature and get an accurate white balance. This is time well spent to capture the best possible video.

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