Perfect Color Balance for Less than $7

One way to address color calibration between your angles is to use a calibration card when shooting. This is relatively easy if you just remember to put a fresh color balance card on your clapboard for each shoot.

One of our favorites is the QP Card, an affordable reference card (http://www.qpcard.se). Priced at less than $5 per card, this is a great investment in accurate color.

  1. They are small and lightweight, easily fitting in your gear bag.
  2. Relatively inexpensive and disposable, so you can use a fresh card periodically. Old cards tend to fade in the light.
  3. It’s adhesive on the back so you can easily attach it to your clapboard.
  4. With a white, black, and neutral grey surface, color correcting with Final Cut Pro’s three-way color corrector is a snap.
  5. $7 spent per shoot is well worth hours saved on color correction. In most circumstances, just three clicks per angle will calibrate across each camera.