What is the easiest way to match the colors on these different sections of video, or at least make them less obviously different. I can't figure out how to tell the time they were taken, but the sunlight must have been different. Some sections are really yellow and others whiter. I figured it would be easier to ask here than spend a few hours playing with settings, only to end up asking later anyway... (Not that I know this from experience, of course... )

I don't know of any easy way to do it in Premiere Elements. But it's a matter of matching the white balance.

So adjusting the color in the color tools probably won't work then?

Of course you can do that -- but it won't be easy to get an exact match.

Don't know which direction that wall is facing, but the yellow shot looks similar to "golden hour" shots. The lighting also suggests a lower sun position. The other, whiter shot, is slightly blue and the angle of the sun is higher in the sky. Shots in shade or cloudy conditions are often bluish.

Color correction tools in Premiere Elements are basic and limited compared to those in Premiere Pro or After Effects, but you can still make basic color corrections. With a little effort and patience, you can get the two clips to match, probably not exactly, but reasonably close.

I'd suggest applying the Color Balance (RGB) effect first. This has three sliders -- red, green, and blue. The default setting for each slider is in the middle. Slide to the right increases the named color, to the left decreases it shifting towards the complementary color. Thus, the three sliders adjust for red/cyan, green/magenta, and blue/yellow. Start with the color that is off the most and adjust that until it looks good. It's likely you will need to also adjust the other sliders. Pick the next strongest color shift and adjust that. And then, if necessary, adjust the final slider. After adjusting multiple sliders, take another look and see if you need to tweak any of the sliders. With practice, you will be able to discern more subtle color variations and do the adjustments fairly quickly.

For both those clips, the main adjustment will be the blue/yellow slider. I'd start with the whiter clip and adjust that until it looked good. Then, I'd work on the yellower clip. For purposes of matching the color, I'd suggest temporarily placing one clip on a higher track then the other and position them to overlap at the frame where you want to make the match. Apply the crop effect to the top clip and adjust one of the sides to create a split screen with the upper clip on one side and the lower clip on the other. This way you can work on the upper clip and compare it directly with the clip you are trying to match as you move the sliders. After you finish adjusting the upper clip, you can delete the crop effect and reposition the clip to where it needs to go on the timeline.

In addition to the color balance, you may need to adjust the saturation, brightness, or contrast of one or both of the clips. In that case, you can use the Image controls that are already included in the applied effects.

In real life, the color casts are not uniform in the highlights, midtones, and shadows. You may have a different color shift in the shadows than you do in the highlights, for example. Premiere Elements has a three way color corrector that can adjust each of those areas independently. This is an advanced technique that I would only recommend after you have gained experience recognizing and correcting overall color shifts.

If at all possible, adjust the camera's white balance as the lighting conditions change. You'll save yourself a ton of work later.

Thanks for the detailed answer Bob!! I haven't got back to this section yet to try your suggestions, but I will. I used the Temperature control which took some of the yellow out of the first section. Yes, I believe this was shot earlier in the day with the sun lower than the other one and in a different position in the sky (obviously). But the temperature control didn't work on the whiter one to change it closer to the other. I don't need perfect but glaringly obvious isn't good. I will give you suggestions a try and will post the results when I get it done.

I have copied your answer and put it in my "how to make this program work" file. Thanks!

When you try the method I described, don't be afraid to play with the sliders to see how they change the color. At first, it may be difficult to tell the difference between some of the colors -- for example, red vs magenta or blue vs cyan. It will get easier as you gain experience. If you aren't sure, you can always try the other slider to see which gets you closer to where you need to go.

The yellow clip is more saturated then the other clip. It may be easier for you to make the match if you adjust the saturation of the clips to be closer to each other before you make the color adjustment. Comparing a more saturated color to a less saturated color can be tricky if you aren't used to it.

Give it a try and see how well you do. If you need more guidance let me know. I can probably use the images you posted to make some step by step examples.

Bob,
Thanks for your input. The "put the two together with crop effect" trick is a life saver!!

I have a number of clips of each type in this section so I want to keep things consistent. Being able to change things numerically in the percentage sections helps a lot in this respect.

I put the saturation on the yellower section to -5. Then I moved the blue to 115 and the red to 90.
In the whiter clip, I moved the blue to 85 and the red to 110.
Changing the green didn't seem to make a positive difference. I moved it back and forth and when I was happy with it, it was generally at 100, so I just left it alone.

Any more suggestions? How would you do it differently?

Thanks!

Good job. I like that you left them slightly on the warm side, I think that gave it a nice feel. The "whiter" clip is now slightly yellower then the other clip (compare the shirt or the pad). If you want, you could shift that one clip a couple of points to the blue side to see how that looks -- I think I would try that. But, taking the frame as a whole, they feel nearly matched and, if you're happy with them, you could use them as they are now.

This technique is good for correcting pretty much any kind of uniform color cast including white balance. But, it's not good where the cast can vary such as when removing a blue cast that's present only in the shadow areas. The three way color corrector is better for that type of correction.

Thanks for the comments. I was going by the color of the logs and didn't notice the shirt. Good call. I'll play with it a bit more to try to make them match.

Appreciate your good instructions. Having steps to follow - do the saturation first, try blue/yellow first - sure saved me time and gave me a decent product. I can't thank you enough!