VFX workflows
Relight video and re-grade the shot you already have
A video lighting editor moves exposure, contrast, and saturation across the whole frame, so an underlit shot comes back brighter and flatter instead of better lit. vfxmagia re-renders the shot with the light you describe. Say a key from frame left, dusk falling down the street, or a hard rim on a product, and the shadows and highlights move with it. The color grade lands in the same pass, on footage you already shot.
Why it works
What you get
- Lift underlit footage by adding a described light source rather than pushing the whole frame brighter.
- Match the light between two shots filmed hours apart, so the cut stops jumping.
- Ask for the lighting the shot is missing. A low golden key, a hard product rim, night practicals, an overcast wash.
- Relight video and color grade it in one prompt, and pay only for renders that complete.
If a blown-out grey sky is what makes the shot look flat, run a sky replacement first, then relight the ground to match the new light direction.
A hard backlight needs something in the air to read, so pair the rim with atmospheric haze when the room looks empty.
How it works
Three steps
- 01Upload the clip you want to relight (footage mode).
- 02Describe where the light comes from, how hard it is, the time of day, and the color the grade should land on.
- 03Render, compare it against your original, then download or refine.
Get started
A prompt to start from
“Relight this flat midday street as late golden hour: a low warm key from frame left, long soft shadows across the pavement, amber highlights on the faces and a light haze, grading the whole shot toward warm filmic tones while keeping the action and framing unchanged.”
Prompt pack
Prompts to copy for each kind of shot
Underlit interview
“Relight this underexposed interview: add a soft key from camera left at face height with a gentle falloff, a low fill on the shadow side, and separation on the hair and shoulders. Keep skin tones neutral and the background dim rather than lifting the whole frame.”
For footage that was shot too dark. Adding a key reads better than lifting exposure, but detail that was never recorded will not come back.
Match two shots
“Relight this shot to match a reference take lit by a hard low sun from frame right: same key direction, same warm-to-cool contrast between highlight and shadow, same color temperature, same shadow length. Keep the framing and action unchanged.”
For continuity when two takes were filmed hours apart and the cut between them jumps.
Day to dusk
“Push this daytime exterior toward dusk: drop the ambient level, move the key low and warm from the horizon, cool the shadows toward blue, add long shadows and a soft glow around the practical lights coming on. Keep the action and framing unchanged.”
For a time-of-day change you missed on the day. Sky and windows are where it either sells or falls apart, so check those first.
Product ad key light
“Relight this product shot for an ad: a large soft key from upper left, a hard white rim tracing the right edge of the object, a controlled specular highlight along the top surface, clean falloff into a dark background. Keep the label and the product shape unchanged.”
For a product clip filmed under flat room light. Say which edge the rim traces or it lands somewhere arbitrary.
Night exterior with practicals
“Relight this evening exterior as night: streetlamps and shop windows as the visible sources, warm pools of light on the wet pavement, deep cool shadows between them, a subtle spill on the subject as they pass each source. Keep the action and framing unchanged.”
For a cinematic night look built from lights that are already in frame rather than a blanket blue wash.
Warm to cold grade
“Re-grade this warm interior toward a cold clinical look: neutral-to-blue highlights, desaturated skin, raised black level with low contrast, keeping the existing key direction and light shape exactly as shot.”
For a mood change where the lighting is already right and only the color needs to move.
Pick the right effect
When another effect fits better
FAQ
Questions, answered
- What does AI VFX lighting actually change in the shot?
- The render places light where you say it is. You set the key direction, how hard or soft it is, its color, and how far the falloff reaches. Shadows move with it and highlights land where the new source points, instead of the whole frame getting brighter. It is a generated pass, so compare it against your original rather than trusting it blind.
- Can I fix underexposed footage this way?
- Often, within limits. Adding a described key light usually beats lifting exposure, because the shadows move instead of turning grey. Detail that was never recorded does not come back, so crushed blacks and clipped highlights stay lost. Very noisy or very dark clips are the least reliable input.
- Can I match the lighting between two shots?
- Describe the shot you are matching to, including key direction, color temperature, contrast, and shadow length, then relight the odd one toward it. Each attempt is a re-render rather than a frame-exact transfer, so put the two side by side and iterate until the cut stops jumping.
- Should I use this or DaVinci Resolve?
- Resolve is a full color suite with scopes, nodes, power windows, and tracked masks, and it is free to start. Grade a whole timeline there, and go there when you need exact control over one region of the frame. Come here when the shot is missing light that no grade can add, like a key from a different direction or a different time of day.
- How is this different from a video lighting editor like VEED, or effects in Canva and CapCut?
- Those work on the pixels you already have. Brightness, exposure, and contrast sliders, plus filter and preset looks laid over the frame. That is the right tool for a quick fix and it is far cheaper than a render. vfxmagia instead re-renders the shot from your footage with the lighting you describe, which takes about five minutes and costs credits. Use the slider when a slider is enough.
- Will my action and framing stay the same?
- That is the intent, and the prompts here say so explicitly. Keep the prompt on light, color, and time of day. The more you ask it to change beyond that, the more the underlying shot drifts.
Keep exploring
Related VFX
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Ready to make the shot?
Upload your footage, drop in the prompt, and get a rendered VFX clip back in about 5 minutes. You only pay for completed generations.