What Is An Adjustment Layer?

By Kevin Graham

If you want to apply the same set of effects to multiple clips on your timeline, an adjustment layer can save you a lot of time.

Basically, any effects added to an adjustment layer in your edit will be applied to all clips below that layer. You can add as many effects as you want, and you can use multiple adjustment layers together.

For example, let’s say you want to apply the same color grade to your entire edit. You can create a new adjustment layer, place it on a new track above your clips, and then add your color effects directly to it.

All clips below the adjustment layer will now have those same effects.

This is a great way to save processing power on your computer; one instance of a color plugin is a lot less taxing than the dozens (or even hundreds) it would take to apply individually to each clip.

Adjustment layers are one of the easiest ways to add effects to multiple clips, and they can end up saving you a ton of time in the edit.

Kevin is the Music Director and Lead Composer at Filmpac.