Adjust luminance using levels

The Fast Color Corrector and the Three‑Way Color Corrector effects have Input Levels and Output Levels controls to adjust the luminance in a clip. The controls are similar to the ones in Photoshop’s Levels dialog box. In the Fast Color Corrector effect, control settings are applied to all three color channels in a clip. The Three‑Way Color Corrector effect lets you apply the levels adjustments to the entire tonal range in the clip, a specific tonal range, or specific range of colors.

(Optional) Set up your workspace for color correction. When adjusting luminance, it might be best to view the YC Waveform in a Reference Monitor ganged to the Program Monitor.
In the Effects panel, click the triangle to expand the Video Effects bin, and then click the triangle to expand the Color Correction bin.
Drag the Fast Color Corrector effect or the Three‑Way Color Corrector to the clip in a Timeline panel.
If the clip is already selected in a Timeline panel, you can drag the effect to the Video Effects area of the Effect Controls panel.
In the Effect Controls panel, click the triangle to expand the Fast Color Corrector or Three‑Way Color Corrector controls.
(Optional) Do any of the following to set preview options:
- To view only the luminance values in a clip, choose Luma from the Output menu. This option only affects the preview in the Program Monitor, it doesn’t remove the color from the video.
- To display a before and after view of the clip in one monitor, select the Show Split View option. You can specify whether the split view is horizontal or vertical by choosing from the Layout pop‑up menu. You can also adjust the relative proportion of the before and after views.
(Optional for the Three‑Way Color Corrector only) Do any of the following:
- To restrict your correction to a specific tonal range, choose Shadows, Midtones, or Highlights from the Tonal Range menu. Choosing Master applies correction to the entire tonal range of the image. If necessary, use the Tonal Range Definition controls to define the different tonal ranges. You can choose Tonal Range from the Output menu to view a tri‑tone preview of the tonal ranges in the Program Monitor.
- To restrict your adjustments to a color or range of colors, click the triangle to expand the Secondary Color Correction controls. Define the color or color range using the Eyedropper tool, slider controls or enter numeric values. See also Specify a color or range of colors to adjust.
Use the Output Levels slider controls to set the maximum black and white levels:
Black Output slider

Controls the resulting output of the shadows. The default is 0, where the pixels are completely black. Moving the slider to the right specifies a lighter value for the darkest shadow.
White Output slider

Controls the resulting output of the highlights. The default is 255, where the pixels are completely white. Moving the slider to the right specifies a darker value for the brightest highlight.

If the YC Waveform is displayed in a Reference Monitor, adjust the Black Output and White Output sliders so the maximum black and white levels of the waveform are within 7.5 to 100 IRE. This ensures that the levels are within broadcast standards.
Original image (left); blacks and whites corrected to broadcast limits (right)
Use the following controls to set the black, gray, and white input levels:
Black Level eyedropper

Maps the sampled tone to the setting of the Black Output slider. Click an area in the Program Monitor that you want to be the darkest value in the image. You can also click the color swatch to open the Adobe Color Picker and select a color to define the darkest shadow in the image.
Gray Level eyedropper

Maps the sampled tone to a medium gray (level 128). This changes the intensity values of the middle range of gray tones without dramatically altering the highlights and shadows. You can also click the color swatch to open the Adobe Color Picker and select a color to define the medium gray in the image.
White Level eyedropper

Maps the sampled tone to the setting of the White Output slider. Click an area in the Program Monitor that you want to be the lightest value in the image. You can also click the color swatch to open the Adobe Color Picker and select a color to define the lightest highlight in the image.
Black Input Level slider

Maps the input black level to the setting of the Black Output slider. By default, the Output black slider is set to 0, where the pixels are completely black. If you’ve adjusted the Black Output to 7.5 IRE or higher, the darkest shadow will be mapped to that level.
Gray Input Level slider

Controls the midtones and changes the intensity values of the middle range of gray tones without dramatically altering the highlights and shadows.
White Input Level slider

Maps the input white level to the setting of the White Output slider. By default, the Output white slider is set to 255, where the pixels are completely white. If you’ve adjusted the White Output to 100 IRE or lower, the lightest highlight will be mapped to that level.

Note: You can also adjust the Input and Output levels by scrubbing the underlined text or typing a value for Input Black Level, Input Gray Level, Input White Level, Output Black Level, and Output White Level.