How to Read Video Scopes: Waveform, Parade and Vectorscope

A colour chart on the waveform, RGB parade and vectorscope. Watch the grey wedge form a staircase, a warm cast split the parade, saturation stretch the vectorscope, and false colour and clipping show where levels sit on the picture.

Color grading tutorial · chapter 1 How to Read Video Scopes Read the waveform, RGB parade, vectorscope and histogram, and check levels with false colour and clipping views. Read the chapter →

Key moments

1. 1 Waveform and vectorscope , starts at 0:00
2. 2 A cast on the parade , starts at 0:08
3. 3 Saturation and false colour , starts at 0:19
4. 4 Clipping , starts at 0:31
5. 5 Try it yourself , starts at 0:42

Transcript

Waveform and vectorscope 0:00

1. 0:02 The test chart with the Waveform and Vectorscope: the grey wedge forms a staircase from black to white.
2. 0:05 On the vectorscope, every neutral patch sits on the centre dot and the faces lie along the skin tone line.

A cast on the parade 0:08

1. 0:08 Warming the shot splits the parade: red rises, blue drops, and the neutral dot slides towards orange.
2. 0:15 Back at neutral, the three traces line up again over the grey wedge.

Saturation and false colour 0:19

1. 0:19 Saturation pushes every patch outwards on the vectorscope while the levels stay where they were.
2. 0:25 False colour paints levels on the picture: green is mid grey, yellow near white, purple crushed black.

Clipping 0:31

1. 0:31 Pushing Whites too far flattens the top of the waveform, and the Clipping view stripes the clipped patches red.
2. 0:36 Reset Whites and the scopes confirm the chart sits inside 0 to 100% again.