How to Add Contrast to Video: Black, White and Mid Grey

A flat colour chart corrected step by step: Blacks and Whites set the end points on the waveform, False colour places mid grey, Contrast adds an S-curve and Highlights keeps texture near white, with a split compare at the end.

Color grading tutorial · chapter 2 Contrast and Tonal Range in Color Grading Set black and white points, place mid grey, and shape contrast without clipping either end, using the waveform and false colour. Read the chapter →

Key moments

1. 1 Flat footage on the waveform , starts at 0:00
2. 2 Black and white points , starts at 0:06
3. 3 Mid grey and contrast , starts at 0:15
4. 4 Try it yourself , starts at 0:38

Transcript

Flat footage on the waveform 0:00

1. 0:02 This flat chart squeezes every tone into the middle of the waveform: nothing reaches black or white.

Black and white points 0:06

1. 0:06 Lowering Blacks drops the bottom of the trace to 0%, so the deepest patches read as black.
2. 0:11 Raising Whites stretches the top of the trace towards 100% without flattening the white patch.

Mid grey and contrast 0:15

1. 0:15 False colour checks the middle: a small Exposure nudge puts the centre of the grey wedge in the green mid-grey band.
2. 0:21 Contrast adds an S-curve: the steps spread apart in the middle while black and white stay put.
3. 0:27 Easing Highlights back keeps texture in the lightest patches, and the top of the trace stops crowding 100%.
4. 0:32 The split compare shows the flat original on the left and the full tonal range on the right.