Apple Final Cut Pro 6 - Manual (Page 1372)

Chapter 27 Color Correction 587
III
Because the clip was tinted toward the reds, when you click the eyedropper in the
white piece of scenery outside the window, the Whites color balance indicator moves
into a mixture of blue and cyan and turns the whites of the image into true white.
You can see the correction in the Canvas.
Note: When using the Whites Auto-Balance eyedropper, it’s important to recognize that
the color temperature of the light illuminating the white area you select will affect the
hue of the compensation that is made. If the picture is lit with a combination of
daylight and tungsten sources, selecting a part of the picture illuminated by daylight
will result in compensating the overall color temperature of the image by adding more
reds, whereas selecting a part of the picture illuminated by tungsten will result in
adding more blues. In such a case, you need to simply pick the best possible
compromise that looks right to you.
Next, you’ll focus on the blacks in your image, making further adjustments for more
accurate colors.
The Whites color balance
indicator moves to
correct the whites.
Before After