How To Prevent or Reverse the Auto Grade

Hey there:

So I'm looking to REVERSE the auto grade that FCPX automatically places onto clips.

I'm not too sure how to explain it, but I've graded footage in FCPX (without an auto grade- just raw footage), then re-opened FCPX today and it's auto graded some clips, causing the contrast to be way off.

I'm sure theres a button i can turn off to prevent this? Can I select a clip and turn off this auto grade?

Thanks in advance!

You mean Balance Color?

I never did this, but I assume this effect is automatically applied if you had checked Analyze video for Balance Color in the import window dialog.

You can uncheck every instance on every single clip in inspector (right on top).

Or you can get rid of it if you select all clips in Browser (cmd + a) and then uncheck it for all.

If you accidentally applied it in the timeline, the easiest way to delete it right away is by selecting all clips (best in timeline index) and choose Remove Attributes (shift cmd x) and click Balance off in the then appearing window. Don't use Remove Effects, because this will remove all effects.

If what you call "Auto Grade" is a problem for you it's probably because you (resp. your DP) know that there is no neutral light and that the majority of your footage has a slight color cast for a reason: a mood, an intention. You might even use what Shane Hurlbutt calls a creative WB. The extreme examples would be sunset or a candlelight dinner.

An ancient textbook on filmmaking I had to read in filmschool said you had to avoid mixed color temperatures at any costs. This is considered complete BS now. Most people spontaneously judge an image with low color contrast as dull, uninteresting and even less sharp. But the mix needs to be carefully controlled, and no AUTO filter can do that yet!

But the effect is not completely useless. Say, you had a 5600°K WB camera setting but shot exclusively with Tungsten lights (3200°K) . You just want to quickly neutralize the orange cast. Then you can type alt cmd b (Balance Color), and that can be a good starting point.