I keyframed both the mask and the flare so that it would track with the movement of the camera for the duration of the shot.ДЇinally, I inserted another Adjustment Layer and added another optical flare on top of my composition so that it looks like the porch light is causing a lens flare in the foreground. I added an optical flare (A plug-in from Video Copilot) to the duplicate layer to create the illusion that the porch light is on. I copied my original footage into a duplicate layer and drew a mask around the porch light. I wanted to create the illusion of moonlight overhead. I specified the Light to be Spot, and moved it to the top of the frame, so it would shine down across the center of the frame. I turned each layer into a 3D layer and added Light layer on top of everything. The rectangular masks were placed at 45-degree angles, creating a triangle shape around the center of the frame.Д«y feathering the masks, I was able to create a nice vignette for the scene, keeping detail in the center of the frame while letting some detail fall off on the edges. I then created two rectangular masks, and placed them on frame left and frame right. So, to help create the effect of blackness without completely losing detail, I added another Adjustment Layer and renamed it 'edge shadow.'ДЄfter creating this adjustment layer, I added an Exposure effect to it and brought down the level by another stop or two, making the scene blacker. But of course, your scene still needs some detail, otherwise the audience won't be able to see what's happening on screen (duh, right?). In reality, unless you have an artificial light coming from a streetlight, or storefront window, night time is super dark. I really wanted to give the scene a little more contrast overall. The base color correction looks pretty good, but it still needed a bit more. If there's too much tint in your shadows, an audience might not buy into the effect. I pulled the Shadows and Midtones more into the blue areas of the color wheel. At night, it's difficult for our eyes to see colors, so it's important to remove color from the scene to help sell the effect.

Remember, at night, there is virtually no visible detail. I boosted the contrast and tried to crush the blacks as much as possible. I pulled the Exposure level down across the entire scene until I was happy with the look. I added an Adjustment Layer to the composition and labeled it 'color grade.' I used a combination of Color Finesse and Colorista II to get a base color correction on the entire scene. I like using Adjustment Layers because it's non-destructive and I can quickly go back to the original footage, or mix and match effects to my liking. Rather than apply each effect to the original clip, I created Adjustment Layers for each effect I wanted to use on the clip. I dropped the clip into After Effects and created a new composition. Hopefully you will walk away from this post with some useful information. Rather, these are the steps I used for this particular project. I don't claim that my method is the best. Everyone's method will probably be a little bit different, but here's a run-down of my workflow for achieving this look. Video Co-Pilot also has some good tutorials. If you search YouTube for tutorials on day-for-night color correction, you will get a lot of hits. Rather, we were provided with a nice, soft, diffused light, which really helped me out when I started grading the footage. We didn't have to worry about harsh streaks of sunlight hitting the talent. The cloud cover actually worked in our favor. This particular scene was shot mid-morning on a cold, cloudy day. The frame grab below is from the raw, ungraded ProRes file from the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera: One specific shot I worked on yesterday was a scene that takes place at night, even though we shot it during the day. The producers also asked me to edit the film and I've been working on the cut over the past few weeks. Earlier this year I was hired as a cinematographer for a local short film.

Color finesse in after effects