Balance the white

You may not be aware of it, but what appears white in one environment is not always the same colour in a different one. Most indoor lights (with the notable exception of fluorescent light) emit a yellow hue, while sunlight has a blue hue. This means that what we consider 'white' in those environments is tinted by these colours.

Your camcorder only has a vague idea of what is actually white. To make sure the camera is picking up colours as your eyes see them, you have to focus on a white card and let the camcorder know this is true white. To work out how to do this with your specific camcorder, you'll need to consult the manual. Usually it's a simple case of pressing a button or selecting a menu option.

There are tricks you can use to change the way your footage looks. For example, white balancing to a card with a slightly red tint will give your footage a colder, blue look. However, it's not advisable to do this at the shooting stage. You'll have more control if you shoot your footage neutrally and then process the colours afterwards. More on this later.