Color grading

[Steve Grisetti]

Lately I've been studying color grading in video and motion picture production. I never realized before how powerful a tool it is! Even if you just use Hollywood Looks in Premiere Elements of Magic Bullet QuickLooks in Sony Movie Studio.

Here's a terrific video showing what a difference good film grading can make.

[Dave McElderry]

I first really became aware of this while watching the extra features on the Blu-Ray disc set of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Peter Jackson used it extensively in those films and they described how and why it was done. Of course filmmakers have been using it for many years and, as you already know, it's one of the things that really sets the tone for a movie. One particular example that sticks out in my mind was "Hugo." Very distinctive. Several other films have gone for that "Hugo" look since. I just saw one upcoming release advertised on TV the other day and it had that same look. It's an interesting topic that I don't recall discussing before, Steve. As you learn more, please share.

[Ron Hunter]

That is amazing. It is as if a dingy film is on top of the image, and color grading peels that film back to show how beautiful the image is.

But what exactly is "color grading"? Are we talking about any color adjustment in post-production? For example, is applying "Hollywood Looks" in Premiere Elements an example of color grading?

If I adjust color/saturation/exposure in FCPX to make my image look as good as I can, does that mean I "graded" it?

Or does "color grading" by definition mean the use of a color-focused software package like DaVinci Resolve?

[Bob]

Perhaps it's time to return to an oldie from 2009: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5649&p=49859#p49859

[Steve Grisetti]

No, you can certainly make the adjustments manually by yourself, Ron. That's usually how the pros do it in Hollywood.

But quite often it is about defining the mood of a scene or simply making it look more interesting. And often, for us non-color-artists, a preset or a package is simpler than, say, manually tweaking the color balance, vibrance, blend settings, graininess and exposure.

Good color grading is often the difference between a cool-looking film or TV series and something that looks like it was shot on video and tossed up on YouTube.

[_Paz_]

The most dramatic (to me) is taking a daylight scene and making it look as if it was shot at night!

Bob, thanks for the link! I'll watch it later.

Isn't the 'film look' the dull, unsaturated one?

[Ron Hunter]

I thought the flat, dull video is from the camera. I've read a lot lately about how directors want camera footage flat so the editor/colorist has more flexibility in post.

[Ron Hunter]

Thanks Steve, and thanks Bob for the link to the earlier discussion. I think I "get it" now.

[momoffduty]

The color grading sets the mood. I saw a how to video that had the actors wear certain colors to help the color grading later in post. I think it was the blue & brown theme. Are movies shot all in raw? You would at least have to add contrast, etc.

[Kent Frost]

This is something I'm incredibly fascinated with. Unfortunately, to really get into it, I need to upgrade to a CUDA graphics card. I've tried doing stuff in Vegas, but I just don't feel like I'd have the control that a program like DaVinci Resolve might give me.

[Kent Frost]

Are movies shot all in raw? You would at least have to add contrast, etc.

You should take a look at http://www.red.com. That's a system that Peter Jackson supports and uses for his movies these days. It's a huge system that can be customized any way you want, and shoots entirely on large solid-state drives. Everything is shot in RAW and then decoded and edited in Red's software. And this software and footage requires a beefy system to run it.
It's like 5K video + premiereaftereffectsphotoshopvegas + steroids + Zeus Lightning x crazy-awesome = The Red System.

[Kent Frost]

I thought the flat, dull video is from the camera. I've read a lot lately about how directors want camera footage flat so the editor/colorist has more flexibility in post.

Truth. The flatness is so that as much of the information of the images is preserved within the boundaries of the limits of the histogram. This way not only can the color be controlled to maximum ability, but so can the contrast levels.

[momoffduty]

It's like 5K video + premiereaftereffectsphotoshopvegas + steroids + Zeus Lightning x crazy-awesome = The Red System.

Monster cam! Great description.

[momoffduty]

I thought the flat, dull video is from the camera. I've read a lot lately about how directors want camera footage flat so the editor/colorist has more flexibility in post.

Truth. The flatness is so that as much of the information of the images is preserved within the boundaries of the limits of the histogram. This way not only can the color be controlled to maximum ability, but so can the contrast levels.

Great explanation.

[Peru]

You should take a look at http://www.red.com.
It's like 5K video + premiereaftereffectsphotoshopvegas + steroids + Zeus Lightning x crazy-awesome = The Red System.

My wife said it's not on her Xmas list for next year.