Make color adjustments in Final Cut Pro for iPad
In any post-production workflow, color correction (also known as color grading) is generally one of the last steps in finishing an edited video. Final Cut Pro includes powerful and easy-to-use tools for color grading clips in your video.
You can adjust color in your clips in several ways:
Manually adjust color: Apply the Color Adjustments effect from the browser or inspector, then adjust a wide variety of settings to achieve the look you want. You can adjust exposure, contrast, brightness, saturation, and more, and you can independently adjust the image’s highlights, shadows, and midtones.
Adjust color using a color-grading preset: Apply a preset from the browser—such as Green Muted Wash or Cool Shadows with Warm Highs—to quickly give your clips a particular look. Color-grading presets are based on the Color Adjustments effect and have the same controls, so you can start by applying a preset and then adjust its settings to create a custom look.
Add a color effect: Add a color effect from the browser to quickly change an image to black and white, add a tint, create a film-negative effect, and more.
Note: For the most precision and control in color grading your clips, use the Color Adjustments effect or a color-grading preset.
Manually adjust color
In Final Cut Pro for iPad, open a project.
Tap a clip in the timeline, then drag the playhead over the clip (to see the effect of your changes in the viewer).
Tap Inspect in the lower-left corner of the screen, then tap
at the top of the inspector.Tap
next to Effects, tap Color Adjustments, then tap 
next to the color adjustment you added.Note: You can also add the Color Adjustments effect from the browser. See Add a color effect, below.
To change settings for a color adjustment (or color-grading preset) you added previously, tap
next to the adjustment in the inspector.Drag the dials to make your adjustments:
Exposure: Lightens or darkens the image, with highlights typically affected more than the other tones.
Contrast: Sets the relative amount of contrast between light and dark areas.
Brightness: Adjusts the overall brightness of the image.
Saturation: Adjusts the color (chroma) intensity.
Highlights: Adjusts the detail in the lightest areas of the image.
Black Point: Adjusts the point at which black areas become completely black (no detail can be seen).
Shadows: Adjusts the detail that appears in the darkest areas of the image.
Highlight Warmth: Adjusts the color temperature of the lightest areas of the image. Increase the value to add warm (orange) tones to the image, or decrease the value to add cool (blue) tones.
Highlight Tint: Fine-tunes the white-balance adjustment by neutralizing a remaining green or magenta tint. Increase the value to add a magenta tint to the image, or decrease the value to add a green tint.
Midtone Warmth: Adjusts the color temperature of the midtone areas of the image. Increase the value to add warm (orange) tones to the image, or decrease the value to add cool (blue) tones.
Midtone Tint: Fine-tunes the white-balance adjustment for the midtones only by neutralizing a remaining green or magenta tint. Increase the value to add a magenta tint to the image, or decrease the value to add a green tint.
Shadow Warmth: Adjusts the color temperature of the darkest areas of the image. Increase the value to add warm (orange) tones to the image, or decrease the value to add cool (blue) tones.
Shadow Tint: Fine-tunes the white-balance adjustment in the darkest areas of the image by neutralizing a remaining green or magenta tint. Increase the value to add a magenta tint to the image, or decrease the value to add a green tint.
Mix: Sets the amount of the original image to be blended with the adjusted image.
To temporarily turn the adjustment on or off, tap Enable or Disable at the top of the inspector. To reset the controls to their default values, tap Reset.
You can add additional color adjustments to the same clip, and customize their settings using the steps above.
Adjust color using a color-grading preset
In Final Cut Pro for iPad, open a project.
In the timeline, tap the clip you want to adjust, then drag the playhead over the clip (to see the effect of your changes in the viewer).
Tap
in the toolbar, tap Effects at the top of the browser, then tap Video (if it’s not already selected).In the Color Grading Presets section, tap presets to preview their effect on the image.
To turn off the preview, tap the preset selected in the browser.
To apply a preset to the timeline clip, do one of the following:
Touch and hold the preset, then drag it to the clip in the timeline.
Tap the preset, then tap Apply under the browser.
To temporarily turn the adjustment on or off, tap the clip, tap Inspect in the lower-left corner of the screen, then tap at the top of the inspector. Tap the preset name below Effects, then tap Enable or Disable at the top of the inspector.
To customize the settings for the preset you added, see Manually adjust color, above. To reset the preset’s settings to their default values, tap Reset.
Add a color effect
In Final Cut Pro for iPad, open a project.
In the timeline, tap the clip you want to modify, then drag the playhead over the clip (to see the effect of your changes in the viewer).
Tap
in the toolbar, tap Effects at the top of the browser, then tap Video (if it’s not already selected).In the Color section at the top of the browser, do one of the following:
Drag an effect thumbnail over the selected clip in the timeline; when the clip becomes highlighted, release your finger.
Tap an effect thumbnail, then tap Apply below the browser.
To make changes to a color effect, see Adjust a video effect in the inspector. To manually adjust color using the Color Adjustments effect, see Manually adjust color, above.
Tip: Because the video effects that come with Final Cut Pro for iPad are based on the effects filters in the Motion app on Mac, you can learn more about them in the Motion User Guide.
Remove color adjustments, presets, or effects
.Tip: To work with a larger viewer while you’re adjusting color, you can hide the browser by tapping the highlighted browser button (
or ) in the toolbar to deselect it. When both browser buttons are deselected, the browser is hidden.
You can use a mask to isolate and control which areas of the image are affected by a color adjustment preset or effect. See Mask part of a video effect.