What is White Balance & How to Set White Balance for Video

White balance is one factor contributing to natural and professionally made videos. It assists in giving the colors of your video a balance that reflects what we see in everyday life regardless of changes in lighting. Whether you are using yellow light indoors or direct sunlight outside, maintaining a white balance makes a huge impact on what you get in the end. This tutorial will define video white balance and explain how users can effectively use it in their videos. We recommend AnyEnhancer, an AI tool that helps with color adjustment for amazing results.

Also Read: AI Video Color Grading: What is & How to Do It Effectively >

What is White Balance?

White balance is a method of equalizing the gradations of tone in your video to provide a natural appearance under various illuminations. It makes whites look white, and other colors remain as they are in real-life situations. Here is how white balance is important for your videos:

• Color Accuracy: Check whether artifacts have the right tone or are too light or dark as if seen in real life.
• Consistency: Maintains color balance when switching between scenes or transitioning from indoor to outdoor lighting.
• Professional Look: Enhances the visuals of your videos to make them look more professional.
• Avoid Color Casts: Eliminates color of the color cast, which may be yellow or blue, from the shot.
• Improves Viewer Experience: The right colors make the audience’s view appealing.

How to Set White Balance for Video

White balance for video should be set correctly to make sure the colors do not appear to look strange depending on the kind of light being used. No matter if you’re using your smartphone or a professional video camera, changing the white balance mode will improve the quality of your video. Occasionally, a camera sets the white balance for you; this may not always be the best one. Knowing how to do it manually is sometimes beneficial, and this guide will allow you to perfect your video.

Method 1. Via White or Grey Balance Card

Here are the steps for setting a white balance for video using a white or grey balance card:

Step 1. Open the custom white balance setting in your camera’s menu.

Step 2. Position your white or grey balance card in front of the camera so it fills most of the screen under the same lighting where you’ll be shooting.

Step 3. Record a short clip of the card to let the camera read the color information.

Step 4. Apply the custom white balance using the recorded data from the card to adjust the video’s color.

Step 5. Re-adjust the white balance if the lighting changes during filming.

Methods 2. Via Kelvin Method

Kelvin is a way to measure color temperature, which helps adjust the white balance in video. Lower Kelvin numbers (around 2500K-3000K) produce warm, yellowish light, while higher numbers (6000K-7500K) give cooler, bluish tones.

Consider the lighting you’re shooting in to set a white balance using Kelvin. If the scene looks too yellow, use a lower Kelvin setting. If it appears too blue, increase the Kelvin value. For example, if you’re filming under warm indoor lights, start around 2800K and adjust up or down to achieve a more neutral look. Experiment until the colors appear naturally on your screen.

Method 3. Via Camera Menu

Here are the steps for adjusting the white balance on your camera:

Step 1. Access your white balance setting through the camera’s menu or by pressing the “WB” button.

Step 2. Press or hold down the “WB” button to see different icons representing various lighting conditions.

Step 3. Scroll through the icons to choose the one that matches your current lighting.

Step 4. Select the appropriate setting to adjust the white balance for your video.

Pro Tip. How to Colorize Black and White Videos on Mac & PC

Are you still wondering how to achieve the perfect white balance when shooting your videos or boost color improvement? AnyEnhancer is a great and multifunctional program that extends the possibilities of AI and helps make the video brighter and more professional. It uses advanced models like Colorize and Color Enhancement to adjust white balance. The Colorize Model adds color to black-and-white videos, while the Color Enhancement Model boosts and corrects colors in low-quality videos, making them brighter and more saturated.

In addition to these AI models, AnyEnhancer offers other useful features. The Face Restoration Model can recognize and restore faces in blurry videos, improving facial details. The Resolution Enhancement Model enhances video quality to 2K or 4K, adding vibrancy and clarity. The Denoise Model reduces visual noise, further improving video quality.

Key Features:

• Intelligent Enhancement combines super-resolution and facial Enhancement to clarify details and improve overall video quality.
• Face Restoration restores and enhances facial details in blurry videos.
• Frame Interpolation increases the video frame rate for smoother motion and better visual quality.
• Color enhancement brightens the color and sharpness, and this helps make the videos colorful.
• Resolution Enhancement enhances the Video Quality to 2K or 4K for better quality in the displayed video.

Now, let’s explore the simple steps to colorize black and white videos on Mac & PC:

Step 1. Free download and install AnyEnhancer on your computer.

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Step 2. Open AnyEnhancer and click “Upload Video,” or drag and drop your video into the main window to upload it.

Step 3. Choose the “Colorize Model” to add color to black-and-white videos or the “Color Enhancement Model” to enhance the colors in your existing video.

Step 4. Click “Preview” to compare the original and enhanced video side-by-side.

Step 5. If you’re satisfied with the preview, click “Export” to save your enhanced video. Complete the export settings and click “Export” once more to finalize.

FAQs on Video White Balance

What are the options for white balance on my camera?

White balance can be turned on or off in your camera by going into the settings and choosing a particular setting to match your lighting or by manually setting the mode of the white balance.

Is it possible to change the white balance afterward?

Yes, you can adjust the white balance during editing using software and tools. For an easy solution, we suggest using AnyEnhancer, which helps correct white balance and enhance video colors effectively.

What should I do if my video colors look off?

If you are unsatisfied with your video’s colors, your camera’s white balance is probably not properly set. This means that you can fine-tune it in post-production by using editing tools to solve any color problems.

Final Words

In conclusion, the white balance is a significant factor while shooting videos that do not contain any color casts and whose colors are properly balanced relative to the light used, whether natural or artificial. In this way, you can eliminate color cast in the clip and make the shooting look more professional when enlarging the areas of the color in the clip. Finally, regarding the white balance, adjusting this parameter on your camera or later in the post-production can contribute significantly to your videos. However, AnyEnhancer is recommended for those who want to go the extra mile to enhance their videos.