For video editors, a well-balanced monitor dramatically improves the outcome of the finished product. Monitor calibration ensures that your screen is displaying both gray-scale and color in their true forms, thus producing the best image and video results and minimizing the number of yours you spend working on post-production work. As a video editor, you can calibrate your monitor in one of two ways.
The first one is that you could opt to take it to a professional, and the second option is that you can do it yourself and save a couple of, hundred dollars.
Before the calibration process, it is important that you acquaint yourself with the display controls you will be minimizing for calibration and that you are working in a room whose ambient light is moderate and not overwhelming in any way.
Once you have those two things right, you can start by switching your monitor at least 30 minutes before the process so it can adjust to its usual operating conditions and temperature. Secondly, you will need to ensure that the monitor is in its default resolution settings
Calibrating Using Inbuilt Tools
Most monitors for video editing typically have several inbuilt tools designed to help users calibrate their monitors without needing any other external devices or software. The inbuilt tools vary between operating systems, but the general concept is the same.
Windows typically has a color calibration option while Mac has a Display Calibrator Assistant. Video editors can use these two options to change the settings of their monitor’s white point, gamma, brightness, etc. Once you have selected either one of the two options depending on your operating system, you simply need to follow the instructions from thereon.
Calibrating Using A Colorimeter Device
The second method through which you can calibrate your monitor for video editing is by using colorimeter devices such as the “Datacolor Spyder4Elite” or the “Spyder5Express” which work by simply installing the device’s software onto a user’s computer and then placing the colorimeter device on the monitor for it to adjust by itself.
Unlike the other two methods discussed here, the colorimeter device does not rely on a user’s perception of color, and as such, they offer users the precision required to accurately calibrate the monitor. This device is ideal for video editors who use several screens when working as it provides them with consistency as once can save their ideal settings and apply them on a different screen.
Calibrating Using Online Apps
There is a myriad of online apps/tools for undertaking different activities, including monitor calibration. These apps can be used to manually calibrate the monitor’s colors, brightness response time, contrast, and many other settings. The online apps usually have guidelines and test patterns that users can conduct and customize the monitors accordingly.
