How to Change the Color Balance in After Effects

In After Effects, you can change the color balance of your footage primarily by using the Lumetri Color effect. This effect provides robust tools for color grading and adjustment.

After Effects provides the Lumetri Color effect, which is a versatile tool for color grading. This powerful effect allows you to make significant adjustments to the look and feel of your video clips and images directly within After Effects.

To change the color balance using this method, you need to apply the effect to your desired layer and then adjust its properties.

Applying the Lumetri Color Effect

Applying the Lumetri Color effect is a straightforward process, as outlined by After Effects documentation.

Here are the steps:

1. Select the Layer: In your composition's timeline, click on the layer (footage, graphic, etc.) that you want to adjust.
2. Navigate to the Effects Menu: Go to the top menu bar in After Effects.
3. Choose Lumetri Color: From the Effects menu, navigate to Color Correction and select Lumetri Color.

Note: Once applied, the Lumetri Color effect will appear in the Effect Controls panel for the selected layer.

Adjusting Color Balance Within Lumetri Color

From the Effect Controls panel, where the Lumetri Color effect's properties are displayed, you can modify various aspects of your footage's color and tone.

As per the reference, within the Lumetri Color effect's properties, you can specifically modify various properties such as:

• Exposure
• Highlights
• Shadows
• Color Balance

While the provided information doesn't detail how within the Lumetri effect interface you specifically adjust "color balance" (as Lumetri has multiple sections like Basic Correction, Creative, Curves, Color Wheels & Match, HSL Secondary, Vignette), it confirms that Lumetri Color is the tool where this adjustment is made. Typically, color balance adjustments can be found in sections like Basic Correction (Temperature/Tint), Color Wheels (Shadows, Midtones, Highlights), or Creative (Look adjustments).

Here's a simplified look at some properties you can adjust within Lumetri Color:

Property	Typical Adjustment
Exposure	Adjusts overall image brightness.
Highlights	Controls the brightest parts of the image.
Shadows	Controls the darkest parts of the image.
Color Balance	Modifies the color casts or shifts in different tones.

By applying the Lumetri Color effect and adjusting its parameters in the Effect Controls panel, you gain precise control over the color balance and overall look of your visual elements in After Effects.