How to Use Lumetri Color in Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects incorporates the comprehensive Lumetri Color engine directly from Premiere Pro, providing advanced color correction and cinematic grading tools inside your motion graphics and compositing workspace. This guide outlines how to apply the Lumetri Color effect, navigate its dedicated toolsets, utilize scopes for accuracy, and manage an efficient, non-destructive color workflow directly on your timeline.

Applying Lumetri Color to a Layer

You can apply the Lumetri Color effect to individual video clips or across entire compositions using an adjustment layer.

  1. Select Your Layer: Choose your footage layer in the composition timeline. Alternatively, create a non-destructive grade by going to Layer > New > Adjustment Layer and placing it above your media.
  2. Apply the Effect:
    • Navigate to Effect > Color Correction > Lumetri Color.
    • Alternatively, search for "Lumetri Color" in the Effects & Presets panel and drag it onto your target layer.
  3. Open the Effect Controls Panel: Press F3 (or go to Window > Effect Controls) to view and adjust all Lumetri parameters.

Understanding the Lumetri Color Sections

The Lumetri Color effect is divided into six specialized panels within the Effect Controls window, each dedicated to a specific part of the grading pipeline.

1. Basic Correction

This panel establishes the baseline exposure and color balance for your footage.

  • Input LUT: Apply technical Look-Up Tables to convert flat or Log profiles into standardized color spaces (e.g., Rec. 709).
  • White Balance: Use the Temperature and Tint sliders, or the eyedropper tool on a neutral white/gray area in your frame, to eliminate unwanted color casts.
  • Tone: Adjust Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, Shadows, Whites, and Blacks to set proper dynamic range.

2. Creative

This section adds stylistic treatment to your footage.

  • Look: Choose from built-in creative LUTs or import third-party .cube files.
  • Intensity: Control the opacity/strength of the applied Look.
  • Adjustments: Apply creative finishing touches like Faded Film (crushing black levels for a vintage look), Sharpen, Vibrance, and overall Saturation.

3. Curves

Curves provide precise, non-linear tonal and hue adjustments.

  • RGB Curves: Click and drag points along the composite or individual red, green, and blue curves to refine contrast and balance specific color channels.
  • Hue Saturation Curves: Target specific hues using dedicated tools such as Hue vs. Sat, Hue vs. Hue, and Hue vs. Luma to isolate and modify specific colors without complex masking.

4. Color Wheels & Match

This toolset allows independent color tinting across tonal ranges.

  • Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights: Drag the central reticle toward a color in the respective wheel to tint that specific range of your image.
  • Luminance Sliders: Use the vertical sliders alongside each wheel to fine-tune the brightness of shadows, midtones, and highlights independently.

5. HSL Secondary

Use this section to isolate a specific color or luminance range for targeted secondary corrections.

  • Set Key: Use the eyedropper tools to select the target color range based on Hue (H), Saturation (S), and Luminance (L).
  • Refine: Clean up the matte using the Denoise and Blur sliders.
  • Correction: Adjust the color wheel, temperature, tint, and contrast of only the isolated selection.

6. Vignette

Apply natural lens falloff to draw focus toward the center of your frame.

  • Modify Amount to darken or lighten edges.
  • Adjust Midpoint, Roundness, and Feather to alter the shape and softness of the transition.

Monitoring with Lumetri Scopes

Avoid relying solely on an uncalibrated monitor by using Lumetri Scopes to measure signal values accurately.

  1. Go to Window > Lumetri Scopes to open the panel.
  2. Click the wrench icon in the bottom right of the panel to enable scopes such as:
    • Waveform: Measures brightness values from 0 (pure black) to 100 (pure white).
    • Parade (RGB): Displays isolated red, green, and blue waveforms side by side to verify color balance.
    • Vectorscope: Measures hue and saturation, including the skin tone line indicator.

Tips for Better Performance

  • Set Project Bit Depth: Go to File > Project Settings > Color and set your project to 16-bpc or 32-bpc (float) to prevent color banding during heavy grading.
  • Animate Parameters: Click the stopwatch icon next to any Lumetri parameter in the timeline to keyframe grades over time, accommodating shifting light or camera movements.
  • Stack Instances: Apply multiple instances of the Lumetri Color effect to separate technical corrections from artistic grading.