Luminance vs Saturation

*new since VEGAS Pro 20 update 2*

This curve enables you to define a range of luminance levels in the video and then adjust the saturation level of just that range. You can control saturation levels that range from the entire video to very targeted areas of the video based on current luminance levels. For example, you could define a luminance range that includes everything above a certain level and raise the saturation on that range to make everything in that luminance range look more vibrant.

Using the Luminance vs. Saturation curve

1. Add a video file to the timeline and select the video event.

2. Click the Color Grading button to open the Color Grading panel.

3. Navigate to the HSL Curves tab and select Luminance vs. Saturation from the Curve Type drop-down list.

   The curve background shows a luminance spectrum that starts with dark at the left and ends with bright on the right. The white horizontal line in the vertical center of the spectrum depicts the curve.

Adjusting the saturation of the entire video

• Double-click the curve to add a control point to it.

• Drag the control point up to increase saturation or down to decrease saturation.

• Fully dragging the point down desaturates the colors, resulting in a grayscale image.

NOTE When the curve has just one point, it doesn’t matter where you locate that point horizontally—it always adjusts the entire curve which remains flat and thus effects the entire video.

Modify Saturation Based on Luminance

When you add more than one point to the curve and then reposition a control point, you alter the shape of the curve and thus affect the saturation differently at different points along the curve. For example, say you want to target the areas of the video that already have the lowest luminance then adjust the saturation of that range without affecting areas which already have high luminance.

1. Double-click the curve near the horizontal midpoint to add a control point.

2. Double-click to the left of your new point to add another point.

3. Drag the left control point up and down to observe the saturation changes in the Video Preview window.

4. Adjust the point until you achieve the desired saturation effects on specific luminance ranges.

   Bright colors remain unaffected while colors with lower luminance are impacted.

Target a specific luminance range for adjustment

1. Add three points to the curve. The two points on either side act as anchors that keep the curve flat outside of the range.

2. Drag the middle point up and down. This alters the saturation of only the range between the two end points and enables you to target your saturation adjustment in a very specific manner.

TIP When you select a point on the curve, you can check the exact value of the luminance and saturation levels at that point in the text fields above the spectrum.