Open Paraplex

Adjustment layers

An adjustment layer is a color grade you put in the Layers list. It treats every layer below it and none above it, so you can cool and darken a background while the title on top stays crisp and white.

A picture with the title Midnight over it, then the same with the picture graded cooler and less saturated while the title stays white

Where to find it: the dock's Adjustment layer button, in the Organize group at its right end.

Add an adjustment layer

  1. Click Adjustment layer in the dock. It's added to the Layers list.
  2. Drag it in the Layers panel to sit just above the layers it should treat. Everything below it is graded. Everything above it isn't.
  3. Set its grades in the Adjustment Layer section.
The Layers panel: Text at the top, the Grade adjustment layer under it, and the picture's Panel below that

The section says how many layers it treats, so you can check its place without guessing.

Settings

The Adjustment Layer section: Strength, the six grades and the Wash
SettingWhat it does
StrengthHow much of the treatment shows, from 0 (off) to 100
ExposureBrighter or darker, in stops, from -2 to 2
ContrastMore or less contrast, from -1 to 1
SaturationMore or less color, from -1 (gray) to 1
TemperatureCooler (negative) or warmer (positive)
Highlights and ShadowsBrighten or darken the light and the dark parts on their own
Wash color, Wash opacity, Wash blendA color laid over everything below, as strong as its opacity, mixed with a blend mode

Reset puts every setting back. Every setting has a ◆, so a grade can change over time, such as draining the color as a scene ends. See Animation basics.

Things to know

  • Use several to grade in steps: one under the title for the background, another higher up for the whole frame. Up to six work at once. A seventh is set aside, starting from the top of the list, and the section says so.
  • An adjustment layer inside a group does nothing. Keep them at the top level of the Layers list.
  • To grade a single layer, its Layer Filters are simpler. See Layer effects. To grade the whole frame, use the Scene's filters. See Filters and film.

Important

What counts is the order in the Layers list, not what's in front on the canvas. A title that sits in front of the picture but below the adjustment layer in the list is graded too.