Color Correct your external monitor using Spear and Munsil

After all the talk of gamma shifts and trying to balance the color on your computer monitor, really and truly the only way to really see if your video is right is to be watching it on an external video monitor. An external video monitor is the way to see what the image truly looks like, but you need to adjust your external monitor to correct balance and to really do that to the best that your TV can do you need Spear & Munsil. Of course some people use a computer monitor, but that will never show what TV delivery will look like, you need to view on something that resembles what you are delivering for.

I use a Blackmagic UltraStudio 4K to play my video out, though I wish I had the newer model with Thunderbolt 3 instead of 2, and which is smaller, quieter and cooler, but the Ultrastudio works great.

You should be viewing your video on an external studio video monitor, but for home use that is a pretty big expense. Personally I use a Samsung UHD TV, unfortunately it’s HDR capabilities are fake (I had to get it for a job and it was the right price, and it listed HDR, but unfortunately is not actually an HDR display). It is a Samsung so it has one unique bonus among consumer televisions for getting the color correction right and that is that it has a blue only mode. This helps in the calibration greatly.

The discs no longer include a getting started guide, so you will need to go online and follow the extensive instructions. It will take a little while, and your room should have the lighting that you will use when editing (I have light blocking shades on my office windows to keep a consistent color and lighting).

This is such an important step for television delivery, and should part of every editors home office.