The color correction tools in Final Cut Pro X are nice. Adobe’s Lumetri controls make grading intuitive. But sometimes you just want to click a few buttons and be happy with the results. That’s where AutoGrade from Hawaiki comes in. AutoGrade is a full-featured color correction plug-in that runs within Final Cut Pro X, Motion, Premiere Pro and After Effects. It is available from FxFactory and installs through the FxFactory plug-in manager.
As the name implies, AutoGrade is an automatic color correction tool designed to simplify and speed-up color correction. When you install AutoGrade, you get two plug-ins: AutoGrade and AutoGrade One. The latter is a simple, one-button version, based on global white balance. Simply use the color-picker (eye dropper) and sample an area that should be white. Select enable and the overall color balance is corrected. You can then tweak further, by boosting the correction, adjusting the RGB balance sliders, and/or fine-tuning luma level and saturation. Nearly all parameters are keyframeable, and looks can be saved as presets.
AutoGrade One is just a starter, though, for simple fixes. The real fun is with the full version of AutoGrade, which is a more comprehensive color correction tool. Its interface is divided into three main sections: Auto Balance, Quick Fix, and Fine-Tune. Instead of a single global balance tool, the Auto Balance section permits global, as well as, any combination of white, black, and/or skin correction. Simply turn on one or more desired parameters, sample the appropriate color(s) and enable Auto Balance. This tool will also raise or lower luma levels for the selected tonal range.
Sometimes you might have to repeat the process if you don’t like the first results. For example, when you sample the skin on someone’s face, sampling rosy cheeks will yield different results than if you sample the yellowish highlights on a forehead. To try again, just uncheck Auto Balance, sample a different area, and then enable Auto Balance again. In addition to an amount slider for each correction range, you can also adjust the RGB balance for each. Skin tones may be balanced towards warm or neutral, and the entire image can be legalized, which clamps video levels to 0-100.
Quick Fix is a set of supplied presets that work independently of the color balance controls. These include some standards, like cooling down or warming up the image, the orange and teal look, adding an s-curve, and so on. They are applied at 100% and to my eye felt a bit harsh at this default. To tone down the effect, simply adjust the amount slider downwards to get less intensity from the effect.
Fine-Tune rounds it out when you need to take a deeper dive. This section is built as a full-blown, 3-way color corrector. Each range includes a luma and three color offset controls. Instead of wheels, these controls are sliders, but the results are the same as with wheels. In addition, you can adjust exposure, saturation, vibrance, temperature/tint, and even two different contrast controls. One innovation is a log expander, designed to make it easy to correct log-encoded camera footage, in the absence of a specific log-to-Rec709 camera LUT.
Naturally, any plug-in could always offer more, so I have a minor wish list. I would love to see five additional features: film grain, vignette, sharpening, blurring/soft focus, and a highlights-only expander. There are certainly other individual filters that cover these needs, but having it all within a single plug-in would make sense. This would round out AutoGrade as a complete, creative grading module, servicing user needs beyond just color correction looks.
AutoGrade is a deceptively powerful color corrector, hidden under a simple interface. User-created looks can be saved as presets, so you can quickly apply complex settings to similar shots and set-ups. There are already many color correction tools on the market, including Hawaiki’s own Hawaiki Color. The price is very attractive, so AutoGrade is a superb tool to have in your kit. It’s a fast way to color-grade that’s ideal for both users who are new or experienced when it comes to color correction.
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©2018 Oliver Peters
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