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What colour correction and audio cleanup mean
Colour correction fixes technical problems in footage: exposure that is too dark or too bright, white balance that makes skin look orange or blue, and differences between clips shot at different times or on different devices. Colour grading comes after correction and applies a consistent look across the whole video, whether that is clean and natural or warm and cinematic.
Audio cleanup deals with the sound: background hum, fan and traffic noise, room echo, clipping from speaking too close to the microphone, and voices that are louder in one clip than another. We reduce these problems, level the voices and balance music underneath so the viewer never has to reach for the volume.
Viewers often cannot say exactly what is wrong with poorly finished video, but they feel it. Mismatched colour looks careless, and hard-to-hear audio makes people leave. Finishing work is what turns acceptable footage into something that feels trustworthy.
Who needs finishing work
- Clinics and doctors recording patient education videos in consultation rooms with echo and mixed lighting.
- Coaching institutes recording classes in halls with fan noise and uneven light.
- Real estate agencies filming walkthroughs that move between bright balconies and darker interiors.
- Jewellery and fashion brands where accurate colour matters to the customer.
- Restaurants filming in warm, dim lighting that makes food look dull on camera.
- Anyone recording on phones in ordinary offices and homes rather than studios.
What’s included
Colour
- Exposure and contrast correction.
- White balance and skin tone correction.
- Shot matching across cameras, phones and lighting conditions.
- A consistent grade or look across the full video.
- Product colour checked against reference photos or samples you provide.
Audio
- Background noise and hum reduction.
- Echo and room reverb reduction where the recording allows.
- Voice levelling so every speaker and clip sits at a consistent volume.
- Music ducked under speech and a balanced final mix.
- Loudness suited to online platforms.
Finished videos are delivered in the same aspect ratio and resolution as your edit, usually as MP4 (H.264). If you are editing the video yourself, we can deliver cleaned audio as a separate WAV file or corrected clips for your own timeline.
How we work
- Assessment: we review a sample of your footage and tell you honestly what can and cannot be fixed.
- Reference: you share the look you want, or product reference images where accuracy matters.
- Correction pass: exposure, white balance and noise problems addressed clip by clip.
- Look and mix: consistent grade applied and the final audio mix balanced.
- Review: you watch on the devices your audience uses, typically a phone and a laptop, and give feedback.
- Delivery: final exports and any separate audio files.
Tools
Colour work is done mainly in DaVinci Resolve, which is widely used for colour correction and grading, with Adobe Premiere Pro for projects already edited there. Audio cleanup uses the noise reduction and audio tools in DaVinci Resolve’s Fairlight page and in Adobe’s audio tools. Any music added during the mix is properly licensed.
What affects timeline and cost
- Length of the video and the number of separate clips.
- Number of sources: mixing several phones and cameras takes more matching.
- Severity of problems: mild noise is quick; heavy echo or badly mixed lighting takes longer.
- Colour accuracy requirements: products where exact shade matters need extra care.
- Whether we edit too: finishing is often most efficient when combined with the edit itself.
Common mistakes
- Applying a strong filter that hides problems but makes skin tones and products look wrong.
- Leaving clips with visibly different colour side by side.
- Over-processing audio until voices sound robotic or underwater.
- Background music louder than the speaker.
- Checking only on studio speakers or headphones and never on a phone.
A few habits at recording time save a lot of cleanup later: record near a window or under soft light, use a lapel or phone microphone close to the speaker, switch off noisy fans where possible and avoid rooms with bare walls.
Frequently asked questions
Can you fix footage shot on a phone?
Yes, within limits. Phone footage usually responds well to exposure, white balance and matching corrections. Very dark or heavily compressed clips can be improved but will not look like studio footage.
Can you remove all background noise?
We can reduce most steady noise, such as fans, AC hum and light traffic, and soften echo. Loud, irregular noise overlapping speech is harder to remove without affecting the voice.
What is the difference between correction and grading?
Correction fixes problems so footage looks natural and consistent. Grading then applies a creative look across the video. Most business videos need solid correction and a subtle grade.
Can you only clean the audio and leave the edit as is?
Yes. Send us the finished video or the original audio, and we will return cleaned audio or a re-exported video with the edit unchanged.
Will colour look the same on every screen?
Different phones and monitors display colour slightly differently, so no video looks identical everywhere. We grade on calibrated settings and check on common devices so it looks right for most viewers.
Talk to us about color correction & audio cleanup
Consistent colour and clean, balanced sound that make phone footage look and sound professional.