Vectorscope

A vectorscope displays the chrominance (color) information of a video signal on a circular graph. The angle around the circle represents hue (the specific color — red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, yellow), while the distance from the center represents saturation (color intensity). A perfectly neutral, desaturated image would show a single point at the center. A highly saturated image would show data extending far from the center toward the edges of the scope.

The vectorscope includes target boxes marking the positions of the primary (red, green, blue) and secondary (cyan, magenta, yellow) colors. These serve as reference points for evaluating color accuracy. Perhaps most importantly for video production, the vectorscope features a "skin tone line" — a diagonal line between the yellow and red targets that represents the hue range of all human skin tones, regardless of ethnicity. If skin tones veer off this line, the image will look unnatural.

Vectorscopes are invaluable for color correction and grading. They help colorists identify and neutralize unwanted color casts (an image with a green tint would show data skewed toward the green target), ensure consistent color across shots, and verify that creative grading has not pushed skin tones into unnatural territory. When combined with waveform analysis, vectorscopes give colorists a complete, objective picture of an image's technical characteristics, enabling precise, repeatable, and standards-compliant color work.