Making It Look and Sound Right
Two things separate a rough cut from a finished video: color (does it look good?) and sound (can you hear it clearly?).
Adjusting color
- Select a clip, then open the Adjust controls (right panel).
- Drag the sliders: Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, and Temperature (warm/cool).
- Start small — a little saturation boost and a touch of contrast usually help. Overdoing it makes skin look unnatural.
You can also apply a filter (Lesson 4) as a shortcut to a color look, then fine-tune with Adjust.
Background removal & green screen
- Auto cutout removes a background in one click — great for putting a subject over a new background.
- Chroma key (green screen) removes a solid green background and lets you drop in any background you want.
Adding music
- Click Audio → Music.
- Browse the library or upload your own track.
- Drag a song onto the audio track under your video.
Use the fade in/out handles on the music clip so it doesn’t start or stop abruptly.
Balancing sound
- Select a clip and use the Volume control to turn it up or down.
- Lower the music volume (to maybe 20–30%) when people are talking, so voices stay clear.
- Sound effects (whooshes, dings) are in the Audio → Sound effects tab.
Try it yourself
Boost the saturation and contrast on one clip, add a music track, and lower the music so a speaking voice stays clear over it.
Course on media.sacaa.org — free for any visitor, no login required. Work through lessons in order.