The technical process of fixing inconsistencies in footage: balancing exposure, white balance, and colour across shots so everything looks consistent.

Colour correction is the foundation before colour grading. If shots were filmed under different lighting conditions, correction evens them out so they feel like they belong in the same world. It is fixing problems; grading is adding style.

Colour correction in the real world

Beyonce’s Lemonade (2016), filmed across multiple days in different Louisiana locations under varying natural light conditions, required extensive colour correction before any creative grading could begin. Morning light in an abandoned plantation looks entirely different from afternoon light on a flooded street. Correction made those shots feel like they inhabit the same visual world.

Related terms

Colour grade, Colorist, Picture lock, Rough cut, Director of Photography (DP)