A cradle can be used to capture video of an object, such as hair. That video can then be used to extract and visualize color information relating to that material using a colorcloud. The colorcloud contains all the colors that were present in one or more frames of the video. The cradle comprises a video recording device that is able to see the material through a window on the cradle. A smartphone can be used with the cradle to act as the video recording device, as well as provide lighting.