How color management works

Color management automatically converts the color space of every source clip you edit into a sequence to that sequence’s working color space, in which all effects and color adjustments are applied. Then, the entire sequence is converted to an output color space for monitoring and export. In the process, tone mapping may or may not be used to automatically compress highlight and shadow detail that might otherwise be clipped or distorted in order to help convert wide gamut source media (such as camera raw media) to narrow gamut output formats (such as Rec.709) without you needing to do anything.

The first transformation from the Input Color Space to the Working Color Space and the second transformation from the Working Color Space to the Output Color Space are at the heart of color management. 

COLOR MANAGEMENT STARTS WITH SOURCE MEDIA  

Color management only works correctly when the color space of each clip that’s used in the program is correctly identified. Premiere Pro can read available metadata in formats such as QuickTime, MXF, and MP4, and select camera raw formats to automatically tag the color space of various media formats. If clips lack such metadata or have incorrect metadata, you can use Modify Clip > Color to verify whether or not your media is correctly tagged and change any clips that aren’t being correctly tagged.  

COLOR MANAGEMENT IS CONFIGURED WITHIN SEQUENCES  

Whenever you create a new empty sequence, you can configure how that sequence will color manage the media you edit into it. Each sequence in your project can have its own color management settings, giving you the flexibility to accommodate multiple color workflows within the same project. Each sequence's color management settings govern how clips will appear when you edit them into that sequence and how they'll be output from that sequence during export. These settings are easily configured using the Color Management tab in the New Sequence dialog. 

After a sequence's creation, you can still modify a sequence's color management settings at any time using the Color tab in the Sequence Settings dialog or in the Sequence section of the Lumetri Color panel's Settings tab.

The default color management preset enables SDR color processing in the Rec.709 color space, input tone mapping to fit wide gamut source media into Rec.709, and Rec.709 output. This is a good preset for programs that consist mostly of SDR source media when you want to work similarly to how Premiere Pro has in the past. 

It's also easy to choose other color management workflows by choosing one of the other provided presets that’s more appropriate for the kind of media you’re working with. For example, if you’re editing primarily camera raw source media, you might choose Wide Gamut (Tone Mapped) from the Color Setup menu of the Color Management tab, which will set up Premiere Pro color management to work in the ACEScct wide gamut color space, use output tone mapping to fit wide gamut media into the output color space you choose, and defaults to Rec.709 output (though you can change this at any time). This gives you more latitude for making color adjustments and guarantees the highest quality by only tone mapping after all image effects and color adjustments have been made, keeping all highlight and shadow detail retrievable at full quality.   

If your program has special requirements that aren’t met by any of the available color management presets, all parameters governing how automated color management works are available within the advanced group of controls, so you can customize color management in Premiere Pro to work however you need it to.

MONITORING AND EXPORT DEPEND ON THE OUTPUT COLOR SPACE  

Each sequence’s Output Color Space controls the color that the sequence produces in the Program Monitor, whether as video output via Transmit or rendered for export. 

Any time you choose a color management preset, an Output Color Space that’s most typically associated with that preset is automatically assigned. However, you can change the Output Color Space whenever you want, independently of the preset. This lets you output any sequence to any supported format, depending on your needs.

Every color management preset that ships with Premiere Pro defaults to Rec.709 output, as that’s by far the most common output. However, to output to any other SDR or HDR color space, you can access the color parameters in the Sequence Settings or the Lumetri Settings panel and change the Output Color Space to whatever you need to deliver. Color management in Premiere Pro automatically does everything necessary to convert your sequence to the output color space to ensure the image is output correctly. 

When you’re exporting your sequence out to a video file, if the Format or Bit Depth you’ve selected isn't compatible with the Output Color Space of the current sequence, then an Export Color Space might be assigned to convert to a color space that can be exported. If this happens, you’ll see a warning, and you can either change to a supported format or increase the bit depth if you want to export to the Output Color Space you chose.

TONE MAPPING AND GAMUT COMPRESSION SPEED UP YOUR WORKFLOW  

Camera raw and log-encoded media have much more latitude and color than can be typically output for local monitoring or distribution via streaming or broadcast; as a result, it’s necessary to either clip out-of-range values (which looks ugly) or compress out-of-range values into the viewable range of your display. While this can be done manually, tone mapping makes it faster to compress a wide range of luminance into the signal range you choose, while gamut compression makes it faster to compress a wider range of color into the signal range you choose. 

No matter how you decide to work, either using the default SDR image processing preset or one of the optional wide gamut image processing presets, tone mapping and gamut compression are available to speed up your workflow in the following ways:  

• Input tone mapping and Input gamut compression are applied during the initial input to working color space conversion, which means that image conversion happens before imaging effects are applied. This can simplify SDR workflows, at the expense of occasionally making it difficult to retrieve highlight detail that ends up overly compressed. Also, because they’re clip-specific, these operations can be customized on a clip-by-clip basis. 

• Output tone mapping and Output gamut compression are applied after all effects are processed, as part of the working to output color space conversion. For wide-gamut workflows, this guarantees that the color adjustments you make with Lumetri are of the highest quality and that all highlight and shadow detail available in your source media will be retrievable. Since these operations are applied on output, there can be only one setting for any sequence, which guarantees that all clips being composited together are tone-mapped identically.  

Tone mapping and gamut conversion are optional. You can turn them off at any time. However, when you do so, all out-of-range highlights and shadows will be clipped rather than compressed, and bright parts of the image will appear harsh unless you make some kind of manual adjustment to deal with these levels. 

Lastly, there are different tone mapping and gamut compression algorithms that produce slightly different outputs based on the range of color and contrast you have in a given image. Because the quality of these operations is subjective, and different algorithms may produce more pleasing results depending on the media and your preferences, you have a range of choices. However, the defaults have been chosen based on giving generally good results with the widest variety of media.

More like this

• About Color Management 
• Disable Color Management
• Manage source media colors in the Program Monitor

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