Video editing is an esteemed field that only professionals can oversee. Don’t you think? No, it’s wrong; video editing does not require intellectual but some skills and tools that can make your work admirable.
In my opinion, whether you are a beginner or a professional in video editing, you must not avoid purchasing a color grading monitor.
Video editing carries many aspects, but the most important is color grading, which isn’t much appreciated. It requires a lot of work and effort to get everything right.
Color grading on an uncalibrated monitor will not give you effective results. Thus you must calibrate your monitor before adjusting the colors of any scene. Fortunately, calibration is simple and quick in monitors.
Things to remember before beginning calibration
Step 1: Turn on the monitor half an hour before starting with actual calibration. This is important so that the monitor can reach its optimum temperature and color.
Step 2: Keep your monitor’s resolution to its default setting.
Step 3: Make sure the ambient light conditions in the room are moderate; the light must not be too black or glared.
Step 4: Get used to the display controls on your operating system as you would need them later during calibration.
Calibration with the help of Built-in Windows Tool
There are built-in calibration tools in Windows to help you with color grading. You can use these tools if you are running tight on budget and cannot afford to buy calibration tools. These are entirely free and calibrated moderately for videos or images. But, let me tell you, the level of calibration settings you get depends on your monitor’s display type and the model.
Jargons like gamma, white point, and black stabilizers might sound unsettling, but there is no need to worry. They are just some adjustments you have to make to calibrate your monitor.
Calibration process in Windows monitor
To access this feature on Windows OS, make sure you’re using the latest version of Windows; for now, it would be Windows 10.
Step 1: Search for Color Calibration in the Windows search bar. If you are using older versions of Windows, this tool would be located in the Display under the Control Panel section. From where you can access it.
Step 2: Once you reach the calibration tool page, you can read the on-screen instructions to correct the monitor’s display gamma range, brightness, contrast, color saturation, and many more settings.
Step 3: Choose the current calibration setting once the calibration is completed. If you are not satisfied with the calibration results, you can set the calibration setting to the previous. The new calibration changes will be stored in a .ics file and will reflect as a brand new ICC (International Color Consortium) profile under the Color Management setting.
Step 4: If you cannot locate your Color Management setting, you can go to the search box directly and type color management. The first result should be the correct one. Once you open it, choose your monitor from various devices and see your new ICC profile settings.
Calibration Process in Mac monitors
There are built-in calibration tools available in the Mac OS as well. If you own a MacBook or Apple Monitor, you can use these tools or settings.
Follow the steps given below;
Step 1: The calibration tool in Mac OS is named Display Calibrator Assistant, and it is located in the Displays section. If you have trouble navigating it like this, you can try to type calibration or calibrate in the desktop search bar box. This will show up all the files related to calibration, and you can pick them up from there.
Step 2: Once you open it, read the instructions given in the Display Calibrator Assistant and make the changes as recommended. For example, ‘White Point’ should be set to D50 or D65 points.
Then you would change the color adjustments; although Apple must have done that already, you can customize it per your needs. Do this step after calibrating White Point. If other members are using your system, you can set administrator access so that your color profile will be projected whenever you log in.
Step 3: After doing all these calibrations, a new color profile will be set up. If you want to make changes again, you can select this new profile and go to open profile. This will let you edit each tag, some will be the default, but some tags can be altered. If you have a native display, go directly to Apple to display native information and begin the process.
Calibration with the help of Online Tools
There are plenty of online tools available for calibration that you can use to adjust your monitor to the desired setting. Some of the popular calibration software are;
- Caliber 2.0
- W4zt Screen Color Test
- Lagom LCD Monitor Test
Conclusion
All the information provided in this post should help calibrate your monitor so that you can work on color grading functions. Prep your monitor well before initiating the calibration process.
No matter which operating system you have, both Mac and Windows have built-in color calibration software; you can use them or go for online tools. If neither works, you can go for extravagant calibration that can be done via colorimeter hardware.
