Basic workflow

Locate content using the Media Browser. Use the folder browser on the left side to navigate to the folder containing your content. Thumbnails of the clips appear in the Media Browser.

If you have many clips, you can manage them as follows:

• Sort alphabetically.
• Sort by time code range, resolution, or date modified.
• Filter to display only certain file types.
• Search for specific filenames or filename extensions.

Add clips to the Timeline by double-clicking or dragging them to the Timeline.

• Drag clips by their handles to reposition them on the Timeline.
• Set in- and out-points and switch between Timeline views as you review or color grade your content
• You can add up to nine separate playheads. See Compare frames with multiple playheads.

If you want, load Edit Decision Lists (EDLs) on the Timeline. See Color grade a sequence.

• To add an EDL, double-click the EDL in the Desktop view.
• To add the clips to the EDL, choose Reels in the Timeline panel and click Load from Desktop.

Apply color correction to balance blacks and whites and to match shots. See Color grade a clip.

• Apply primary color adjustments to the whole image, the shadows, the midtones, or the highlights.
  
• Select color ranges to apply secondary color adjustments.
  
• Use the waveform, histogram, and vectorscope to ensure accurate color adjustments, such as balancing blacks and highlights. 

Use effects, film-style filters, and masks to design creative looks.

• Add new grading layers to build your look.
• Apply masks to individual layers, for example to create a vignette.
  
• Add unlimited layers and reorder as required. Changes are applied non-destructively.
• Each layer has its own opacity slider where its influence on the overall look can be adjusted.

Match the color grading between two video shots using the Continuity Checker and Automatic Shotmatch features.

• Quickly correct underexposed or overexposed footage by using another shot as reference.
• Match the grading of an external image. For example, apply a color grade that you create in Adobe Photoshop to your video clip.

For more information on these features, see Continuity Checker and Automatic Shotmatch.

Animate masks or grades to match movement and changing light in your frames.

• Add keyframes to your masks or grading tracks.
• Adjust masks or grading at keyframe positions.
• SpeedGrade animates transitions smoothly between keyframes.
  

Save grades as Look files and apply those looks to footage. To apply a look to footage, select the footage and then click a Look file.

• The Look file preserves all the layers and settings of the grade.
• Click a Look file to apply it to selected footage on the Timeline.
• Edit existing looks in the Look panel.
• Export looks as LUTs for use in other applications or devices.

The Look tab has a Look Management Browser to effectively organize, view, or minimize the Look presets that you save.

While working on a project, save your Timeline, including all clips and grading settings, as a SpeedGrade project.

Press Ctrl+S (Windows) or Cmd+S (Macintosh) to bring up the Save Timeline As dialog box.

Start with the content you want to render on the Timeline and click the Render tab to display the Output panel.

Proceed from the top to the bottom of the panel to apply settings for your render.

• Select a location and create a filename for the rendered content.
• Choose output format and whether to include burn-in information. See Display burn-in information on frames.
  
• Choose Online Quality for final masters or Offline Quality for proxies and dailies.