A clip that came out too dark, looks dull or feels too harsh is often one slider away from fixed. This page lets you brighten a video, add contrast or change its saturation right in your browser, with a live preview on the stage above.
It is quick video colour correction with three sliders, not a full grading suite: there are no curves or colour wheels. Your video never leaves your computer, and there is no account, no watermark and nothing to install. Below you will find what each control does, how to use the quick looks, and how to fix a dark video without overdoing it.
How to brighten a video or change its colour
The tool above works in four short steps. You can drop in one video or several, and every file gets the same settings.
- Drop a video onto the tool, or choose one from your device. A preview appears on the stage.
- Pick a look under Quick looks, or move the Brightness, Contrast and Saturation sliders yourself.
- Press and hold Hold to compare under the preview to see the original, then let go to see your version again.
- Press Apply colour. Save each result, or download them all as a zip if you added several files.
The picture on the stage is drawn with the same maths that is used to write the saved file. What you see while you drag a slider is what you get in the result.
What brightness, contrast and saturation do
Each slider changes one thing, and each starts from a neutral point where the picture is left alone. Small moves usually look best. A few points in either direction can change the mood of a clip more than you expect.
| Control | Range | Neutral value | Use it to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brightness | -50 to +50 | 0 | Lift a dark clip or tone down a bright one |
| Contrast | 50% to 200% | 100% | Separate darks from lights, or flatten a harsh picture |
| Saturation | 0% to 200% | 100% | Make colours stronger, softer, or remove them |
Brightness: lighter or darker
Brightness shifts the whole picture towards white or black. Positive numbers lift shadows and make a dim indoor shot easier to read. Negative numbers pull a washed-out, overexposed scene back.
Go gently. Push brightness too far and bright areas turn flat white, and that detail cannot come back.
Contrast: flat or punchy
Contrast sets the gap between the darkest and lightest parts. Above 100% the picture gets bolder. Below 100% it softens and looks more muted, which can suit a harsh midday clip.
If you raise contrast and the picture suddenly looks too dark, add a little brightness back. The two sliders often work as a pair.
Saturation: from grey to vivid
Saturation controls how strong the colours are. At 100% they are as shot. Drag it up for vivid colour, or down for a quiet, faded feel. At 0% all colour is gone and you are left with a grey picture. The slider labels that end "Grey" to make this clear.
Use quick looks for a fast start
Not sure where to begin? Quick looks set all three sliders at once, and you can fine-tune from there. They work like simple video filters, except that each look is a starting point, not a locked preset: moving any slider afterwards simply takes you off the look.
| Look | Brightness | Contrast | Saturation | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original | 0 | 100% | 100% | Going back to the untouched picture |
| Brighter | +15 | 105% | 105% | Dim phone footage and indoor clips |
| Punchy | +4 | 125% | 135% | Travel, food and sport clips that need energy |
| Muted | 0 | 92% | 55% | A calm, understated mood |
| Black & white | 0 | 112% | 0% | A classic monochrome look |
The Reset button puts all three sliders back to their neutral values in one click, so you can try an idea and undo it without starting over.
Make a black and white video
Choose the Black & white look. It sets saturation to 0% and adds a touch of contrast so the grey picture does not look flat. If you would rather keep contrast exactly as it was, drag Saturation to 0% yourself and leave the other two alone.
Fix a dark video without washing it out
The quickest way to brighten a video is the Brighter look: Brightness +15, with Contrast and Saturation at 105%. You can also raise Brightness by hand. If the result looks washed out, add a little contrast. Go too far and the brightest parts of the picture lose their detail, so check the shadows and the highlights in the preview before you save.
To make a video brighter and still keep it natural, these habits help:
- Change one slider at a time, then compare. Hold to compare is there so you can check your work against the original as often as you like.
- Work on a clip that is typical of the whole video. A bright moment can hide how dark the rest is.
- Keep skin tones in mind. If faces turn orange or grey, ease saturation back.
- Match clips before you join them. If two clips come from different cameras, give each a similar look first, then combine them with merge videos.
- Colour is applied to the picture only. Sound is left as it was.
- If the clip was filmed in front of a blue backdrop and you want a plain background, not just a new look, use blue screen video to swap the backdrop for a solid colour.
The result is saved as an MP4. If you need a different format for the finished file, run it through convert video afterwards, and use compress video if the size matters.
Judge the result on the screen where people will watch it. A picture that looks right on a bright laptop can look too dark on a phone turned down at night. If you are unsure, stop a little short of where you think you want to be, because a subtle change is easier to live with than a strong one.
Adjusting several clips in one go is useful when you shot a set in the same light. Drop them all in, set the look once, and the same settings are applied to each file.
Private, free and built for your browser
Everything happens on your own computer. Your video is never uploaded, and our server does no video work at all. That is why you can use it for family clips and private footage without a second thought. You can read more on the privacy page.
The tool is free, needs no account and adds no watermark. Video tools are not counted in the free daily limit, which applies to document conversions only. It works in current Chrome, Edge and Firefox.
Most videos have no size limit. Some files, such as certain AVI or WMV videos, take longer and can be up to 2 GB, but the tool still handles them. See more tools on the video tools page.
Fix the look of your video now
To make a video brighter or change its colour, you need only a clip, three sliders and a few seconds. Try a quick look, fine-tune it, hold to compare, and save when the picture feels right.
Drop your video into the tool at the top of this page and press Apply colour. If you also want smooth starts and endings, add them next with fade in and out.
