Volume (Post-Processing)
Unity post-processing and lighting overrides
Also known as: Unity Volume · Post Processing Volume · Volume Profile · Global Volume · Volume overrides
Definition
A Volume is a Unity component that applies post-processing and rendering settings, such as Bloom, Color Adjustments, Tonemapping, Vignette and Depth of Field, to a camera. A Global Volume affects the whole scene, and a local Volume with a collider blends in when the camera enters it. The settings live in a Volume Profile asset, and volumes with a higher priority override lower ones. URP and HDRP both use this system.
In production
Start with one Global Volume for the look of the whole game, then add local volumes for special areas such as a cave or a dream sequence. In URP, check that Post Processing is enabled on the Camera, otherwise the volume does nothing. Keep the stack small, because every effect costs performance, and preview with the Game view, not only the Scene view.
Tools that use Volume (Post-Processing)
See also
Bloom
Soft glow around bright pixels
Tonemapping
HDR → display-range remapping
Depth of Field
Cinematic camera focus blur
Motion Blur
Blur fast-moving pixels along their path
SSAO
Screen-space ambient occlusion
URP
Unity’s Universal Render Pipeline
Color Grading
Final color and contrast look of the image
Exposure
Overall brightness of the camera image