Color Grading 101 - Everything You Need to Know

Summary

This video script delves into the art of color grading in cinema, highlighting its evolution from black and white films to modern techniques like HDR. It explains the necessity of in-camera lighting and production design for a consistent atmosphere. The script outlines the post-production process, distinguishing between color correction for a neutral base and color grading to add character. It introduces color spaces like REC 709, REC 2020, and ACES, and discusses formats like RAW and LOG for capturing image detail. The tutorial also covers the use of LUTs for quick color adjustments and praises software like DaVinci Resolve for its advanced color grading tools, concluding with a practical example of achieving a teal and orange look.

Takeaways

• 🎨 Color grading is a crucial post-production process that enhances and alters the mood and atmosphere of a film or video.
• 🌄 Historically, color grading has been used in various film styles, from gritty looks like 'Mad Max' to the vibrant colors of 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'.
• 📹 The Italian giallo genre of the 1960s introduced bright, flamboyant colors that were almost surreal, influencing lighting and production design.
• 🔄 Color correction precedes color grading, focusing on neutralizing the image to create a balanced base for further creative adjustments.
• 🌈 Color grading involves creative manipulation of the image to achieve a specific look, using tools like curves, masks, and color wheels.
• 📊 Color spaces like Rec. 709, Rec. 2020, and Rec. 2100 define the range of colors a device can display, with HDR providing a richer color experience.
• 📹 Different recording formats offer varying levels of color information; RAW provides the most flexibility, while Log offers a balance between RAW and Rec. 709.
• 🔧 ACES (Academy Color Encoding System) is a dynamic color grading process that allows for working on original video files without conforming to a destination color space.
• 🎥 FilmConvert Nitrate is a plugin that emulates the look of actual film stocks, offering a quick way to achieve a cinematic look.
• 🛠 LUTs (Lookup Tables) are used for color space conversion, screen calibration, and applying creative looks to footage, but their effectiveness depends on proper use.
• 🖥 Davinci Resolve is a comprehensive color grading software with advanced features like nodes, masking, and tracking tools, making it a top choice for colorists.

Q & A

What is color grading in the context of film production?

Color grading is a post-production process that involves adjusting and enhancing the color, contrast, and other aesthetic aspects of an image to achieve a desired look or atmosphere in a film.

Why is it important to get as much in-camera as possible during filming?

Capturing as much detail in-camera helps create a consistent atmosphere and allows for better control during color grading. It ensures that the image has a neutral base, making it easier to apply color grading effects without compromising the quality.

What is the difference between color correction and color grading?

Color correction is the process of balancing the image to have a neutral base, correcting white balance, exposure, and matching shots. Color grading, on the other hand, is the creative process of giving character and atmosphere to the scene using tools like curves, masks, and color wheels.

What are the benefits of using a color space like REC 2020 or REC 2100 over REC 709?

REC 2020 and REC 2100 offer a wider color gamut and support high dynamic range (HDR), allowing for more vivid colors, deeper blacks, and brighter highlights compared to the older REC 709 standard.

Why might a filmmaker choose to record in RAW format?

Recording in RAW captures the maximum amount of information from the camera sensor, providing greater flexibility and control during color grading. It allows for adjustments to parameters like white balance, ISO, and exposure without degradation.

What is the main advantage of shooting in LOG over RAW or REC 709?

Shooting in LOG offers a middle ground between RAW and REC 709, preserving a wide dynamic range and rich detail in highlights and shadows without the large file sizes and complex workflow associated with RAW.

How do ACES (Academy Color Encoding System) workflows benefit color grading?

ACES workflows allow for dynamic color grading on original video files in formats like REC 709, LOG, or RAW, preserving the full range of colors throughout the process. It enables easy distribution to different platforms with varying standards.

What is a LUT and how is it used in color grading?

A LUT (Lookup Table) is a file that contains instructions for transforming one set of colors into another, acting as a color filter. It's used for color space conversions, screen calibration, and applying consistent looks across a project.

Why are scopes important when color grading?

Scopes provide visual tools to ensure that color adjustments do not degrade image quality. They help in monitoring exposure, color balance, and saturation, ensuring accurate and consistent grading.

How can software like DaVinci Resolve enhance the color grading process?

DaVinci Resolve offers advanced color grading tools such as nodes for non-destructive editing, masking and tracking for precise adjustments, and a wide array of curves for fine-tuning color and contrast.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Color Grading in Cinema History and Techniques

This paragraph delves into the historical significance of color grading in cinema, highlighting its evolution from the stark contrasts of films like 'The Matrix' and 'Mad Max: Fury Road' to the softer hues of 'The Grand Budapest Hotel.' It discusses the early chemical processes used to alter film atmospheres and the influence of the Italian giallo genre on color choices. The paragraph transitions to modern digital tools for color grading, emphasizing the importance of getting the look right in-camera and the two-stage process of color correction and color grading. It also introduces the concept of color spaces, such as REC 709, REC 2020, and REC 2100, and their roles in ensuring consistency across devices and platforms.

05:02

📹 Understanding Color Spaces and RAW vs. LOG Recording

The second paragraph focuses on the technical aspects of color grading, explaining the difference between acquisition-specific color spaces like Alexa Wide Gamut and DJI D-Gamut. It contrasts recording in REC 709, which offers immediate usability but limited grading flexibility, with RAW recording, which captures extensive detail but requires significant storage and processing power. The paragraph introduces LOG recording as a middle ground, using a logarithmic curve to maximize detail in highlights and shadows. It also touches on the practical use of LUTs for on-set monitoring and color space conversion, and the benefits of the ACES workflow for dynamic color grading across various color spaces.

10:03

🖥️ Post-Production Color Grading Tools and Techniques

This paragraph explores the practical application of color grading in post-production, discussing the use of LUTs for both technical conversions and creative enhancements. It differentiates between technical LUTs for calibration and creative LUTs for applying specific looks. The paragraph also covers the importance of software tools like Davinci Resolve for advanced color grading, highlighting features like nodes for non-destructive editing, masking capabilities, and tracking tools. It mentions the Film Convert Nitrate plugin for emulating film stocks and the use of scopes like waveform, RGB parade, and vector scope for precise color correction.

15:04

🌈 Applying Color Grading Techniques in Practice

The final paragraph demonstrates the color grading process in action, using a scene shot in LOG and imported into a REC 709 timeline. It outlines the steps for color correction, including white balance adjustment and exposure, contrast, and saturation fine-tuning. The paragraph illustrates the use of a creative LUT to achieve a specific look, in this case, a teal and orange color scheme reminiscent of blockbuster films. It concludes with a brief mention of the resources available for further learning and the importance of subscribing for more tutorials, emphasizing the ongoing nature of learning in the field of color grading.

Keywords

💡Color Grading

Color grading is the process of adjusting and enhancing the color of a motion picture, video, or still image. In the context of the video, color grading is presented as a crucial post-production step that can dramatically alter the mood and atmosphere of a film, with historical references to various film styles like the Italian giallo genre. The script mentions using tools to play with curves, masks, and color wheels to achieve a desired look, illustrating its significance in shaping the final output of a film.

💡Color Correction

Color correction is the initial phase of color grading, where the image is balanced to create a neutral base. The video script emphasizes its importance before moving on to creative color grading, highlighting tasks such as correcting white balance, exposure, and matching shots between different cameras. It is depicted as a foundational step to ensure consistency and save time in post-production.

💡ACES

ACES stands for Academy Color Encoding System, a dynamic color grading process mentioned in the script as a way to work on original video files without conforming to a destination color space. The script praises ACES for preserving the full range of colors throughout the grading process, allowing for flexibility when distributing projects across different platforms with varying standards.

💡Rec. 709

Rec. 709, referenced in the script, is a standard dynamic range for HDTV that has been widely used for broadcasting. It is described as the default color space for most screens, ensuring consistent image display across devices. However, the script also notes its limitations compared to newer standards like Rec. 2020, which offer a broader color space and are part of HDR (High Dynamic Range).

💡Log

Log, as used in the video script, refers to a gamma curve used in video recording that captures as much information as possible, particularly in highlights and shadows. It is positioned as a middle ground between the immediate usability of Rec. 709 and the extensive data richness of RAW. The script explains that shooting in Log preserves details and offers flexibility in color grading without the large file sizes associated with RAW.

💡RAW

RAW is a format for recording video that captures a vast amount of detail from the camera's sensor. The script describes RAW files as offering extensive color grading possibilities due to their large size and high bit depth, but also notes the challenges they present in terms of storage and workflow complexity. RAW is contrasted with Log as a more data-intensive option.

💡LUT (Lookup Table)

A LUT is a file that contains instructions for transforming colors in an image or video. The script explains that LUTs are used for both technical color space conversions, like transforming a Log image to Rec. 709, and for creative purposes, applying a specific look or style to footage. The video emphasizes the precision and utility of LUTs in both production and post-production environments.

💡Film Convert Nitrate

Film Convert Nitrate is a plugin mentioned in the script that emulates the look of actual film stocks, such as those from Kodak or Fuji. It is used to give video footage a filmic quality, with adjustable parameters for color, contrast, and grain. The script positions Film Convert Nitrate as a valuable tool for colorists to achieve a specific aesthetic with minimal effort.

💡DaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve is a professional video editing software with a strong focus on color grading. The script praises its node-based workflow, which allows for organized and non-destructive adjustments, as well as its advanced masking and tracking tools. It is presented as an accessible yet powerful option for color grading, suitable for professionals and enthusiasts alike.

💡Scopes

Scopes are analytical tools used in video production to evaluate and adjust image quality. The script discusses several types of scopes, including the waveform, RGB parade, and vector scope, which help ensure proper exposure, color balance, and saturation. Scopes are depicted as essential for achieving technical accuracy in color grading, providing a reliable guide beyond the limitations of human vision.

Highlights

Color grading plays a crucial role in setting the atmosphere in films, from gritty looks to soft atmospheres.

Even in black and white films, chemical treatments created different atmospheres.

The Italian giallo style influenced the use of bright and flamboyant colors in film.

Modern color grading is done using digital tools, unlike the chemical processes of the past.

Color grading is a post-production process that enhances the image after filming.

It's important to get as much right in-camera to create a consistent atmosphere.

Color correction precedes color grading and involves harmonizing the image to a neutral base.

Color grading gives character and atmosphere to a scene using various tools.

Rec 709 is the most common color space for screens, but it's being replaced by Rec 2020 and Rec 2100 for HDR.

Different cameras offer their own color spaces optimized for their sensors.

Recording in RAW captures the most information from the sensor for color grading.

LOG is a middle ground between RAW and Rec 709, offering more flexibility than Rec 709.

ACES is a dynamic color grading process that allows working on original video files without conforming to a destination color space.

Film Convert Nitrate is a plugin that emulates the look of actual film stock.

LUTs are used for color space conversions and as creative tools to apply looks to video clips.

DaVinci Resolve is a leading color grading software with advanced features like nodes and masking capabilities.

Scopes are essential tools for ensuring that color grading modifications do not degrade the image quality.

The process of color grading involves correcting the image, applying LUTs, and making final adjustments for a desired look.

Transcripts

from the strong and gritty looks of the

matrix mad max fury road and blade

runner 2049 to the unique pink and soft

atmosphere of the grand budapest hotel

or the famous teal and orange look of

michael bay films color grading has

always had an important place in cinema

even in the days of black and white

different chemical treatments made it

possible to give different atmospheres

to the image most recently in the 1960s

the italian giallo style a film genre

that mixed thriller and horror brought

its influence of bright and flamboyant

colors which could feel almost surreal

at times and it was immediately linked

with its lighting and production design

while back then treatment to the final

image was done through a chemical

process on the actual film today we have

robust and easy to use tools to perform

the color grading step and today that's

exactly what we are going to be diving

into starting with some important basic

concepts

[Music]

color grading is a post-production

process a final sweetening of the image

it shouldn't be the salvation of the

image so it is essential to lock in your

look on the day getting as much in

camera as possible to create a

consistent atmosphere through lighting

production design composition and so on

but once in post there are two stages of

color work color correction and color

grading color correction comes before

our color grading step and consists of

harmonizing our image to have a neutral

base ready to be worked on during this

step if necessary we will correct the

white balance equalize the exposure

reduce the highlights increase the

mid-tones and apply noise reduction but

also we are able to match our shots

between different angles and cameras

this step is very important and when

done well we'll save a ton of time when

we shift to color grading once our image

is properly balanced we do move into

that color grading step this is where we

will give character and atmosphere to

our scene we can play with curves masks

color wheels and other very precise

tools to land the look that we're

looking for we can also apply some

effects such as grain to give an organic

look and texture to our image or glow to

create a light atmosphere or even play

with some chromatic aberrations when we

work on an image whether for color

correction or color grading we are

working in a limited color space the

most common profile that most screens

use by default is rec 709 its purpose is

to ensure that all devices display the

same image however since the standard

was created in 1990 and is now outdated

it's being replaced by rec 2020 and rec

2100 for cinema and with it we get much

more rich hdr color space hdr which

stands for high dynamic range allows for

more brightness very vivid colors and

deep blacks rec 709 rec 2020 and rec

2100 are essentially broadcast color

spaces in practice if you want to export

for editing for distribution on say

youtube you can use rec 709 for

broadcast on netflix it's going to be

necessary to use rec 2020 or more

precisely the

p3d65 a more realistic version of rec

2020 since to date no screen is capable

of displaying all the nuances that rec

2020 provides there are also acquisition

specific color spaces each camera

manufacturer offers its own color space

optimized for its sensor for example ari

with their alexa cameras provide alexa

wide gamut color spaces red offers the

red wide gamut rgb and dji the djid

gamut not to be confused with gamma

gamut relates to color while gamma

relates to brightness and contrast in

any case the best way to see the color

space is as a container with most

cameras we have several options for how

we capture our image the first and most

standard is to record in rec 709 our

image is immediately usable however we

will obtain an image with limited amount

of information and are then limited in

possibilities for color grading

highlights will tend to clip quickly and

shadows will contain only a few details

this is useful for fast turnarounds but

not when you want complete control over

your image another possibility is to

record in raw raw saves as much

information received by the sensor as

possible which gives us a very rich

image but there are some drawbacks for

the uninitiated firstly its size raw

files tend to be much larger which means

the storage and overall workflow become

much more complicated as a result but

you are getting a ton of a lot more

useful data raw images are often

recorded in 12 or even 14 bits while in

rec 709 we generally stay at 8 bits the

amount of bits refers to the number of

colors that can be obtained to give you

an idea in 8 bits we have a maximum of

16 million colors in 12 bits it is

almost 69 billion colors that we have at

our disposal the other problem with raw

which is also what makes it interesting

is that the recorded image requires

development or debayering to be

technically more exact a raw file is a

mass of information and not an image

itself during this development process

it's us who will be able to choose which

details we want to keep or not in our

image we will also be able to play with

many parameters that would normally be

baked in if we had recorded in rec 709

for example white balance tint iso or

asa exposure noise reduction and so on

so raw is definitely ideal but again

there is the trade-off of needing

enormous storage and power however there

is a good alternative to all of these

constraints which is lock unlike raw

which records all the information from

the sensor in order to develop a usable

image log uses an optimized gamma curve

to record an image containing as much

information as possible in the

highlights and the shadows so log is

sort of a middle ground between raw and

rec 709 log uses a logarithmic curve

rather than a linear curve in the way to

record the highlights and shadows the

log curve will deliberately push the low

lights up to bring out more detail and

pull the highlights down to avoid

overexposures this is done at the camera

sensor and before encoding in a video

file which usually will be 10 bits so

the details are truly preserved and when

shooting in log for the most flexibility

it's best to try to expose your image as

much as possible in the highlights just

before clipping the log image is

recognizable by its desaturated

appearance and it's very grayish low

contrast it's an image that cannot be

used as is when importing a sequence

taken in log in our color grading

software we must define a conversion

generally it's going to be a log

conversion to rec 709 which again is the

most used broadcast standard each camera

manufacturer offers its own log profile

adapted to its sensor at harry it's the

log c at sony you have s-log s-log 2 and

s-3 at red the red log film each log

must be converted in a certain way

fortunately current tools allow these

conversions with one click or if you

don't have that all of our lut packs

that we sell on our trying digital store

do have utility luts included that will

do this for you but thanks to log we

have an image rich enough to perform

advanced color grading but without the

huge weight of raw files and its complex

workflow so it's really ideal for a

colorist aces is a dynamic color grading

process that allows you to work on

original video files whether in rec 709

log or raw without having to conform

each sequence to a destination color

space so we can work on the full range

of colors that each shot gives us the

conversion to destination color spaces

is done at the end of the chain or at

the end of the aces pipeline this makes

it very easy to distribute a project on

different platforms with different

standards for example let's say you have

an edit that includes clips recorded in

log with a wide dynamic range and lots

of highlights if you work directly in

rec 709 you will lose this dynamic range

and your highlights will be burnt out

because rec 709 is limited for youtube

upload that's no problem but if tomorrow

you want it to export your edit for hdr

projection or netflix streaming then you

will need to rework your entire edit

however while working in aces the wide

dynamic range of your video files will

be preserved and considered throughout

the color grading process and at the end

of the chain you can choose to export

either in rec 709 hdr direct 2020 p3 and

so on with an aces workflow you benefit

from all the color capabilities of your

image right from the start and keeping

them throughout the color grading

process if there must be a limitation it

will be done on export let's pause there

to thank today's sponsor and the one

plugin that i've used on every project

i've done for about six years now and

that's film convert film convert nitrate

is a plugin that gives you the look of

actual film stock like kodak 5207 or

5213 or some fuji stocks and others you

select one and you immediately get that

look applied in your luma and chroma

which you can adjust how much of the

color and contrast are affected

independently it's also some of the best

film grain out there you can pick from

different types as presets here then can

dive in further to customize exactly how

you want it to look more or less in the

shadows or highlights the size amount

and so on you also have great controls

to dive in deeper and fully grade your

piece from this one app if you wanted

it's a very powerful tool and one that i

use as the finishing touch on every

project i grade including our latest

short century adding nitrate at the end

of the line really unifies everything

and takes it that last step to fully

feel filmic if you want to try it out

for yourself check out the link in the

notes below and use the code film riot

to get 10 off of nitrate logo you've

definitely already heard of luts but

what is a lut a lut or a lookup table is

a file containing instructions for

replacing one rgb value with another

based on hue luminance and saturation

really you can think of it as a color

filter a lut only affects colors and

luminance and cannot contain effects so

while a lut can adjust your color and

contrast a lot cannot add grain

vignettes reduce noise correct chromatic

aberrations and so on luts are often

used to facilitate color space

conversions for example converting a log

image to rec 709 like we talked about

before they're also used for calibration

of screens and these type of luts would

be called technical luts an excellent

use of luts in production is to see

something close to the final intended

image while shooting in log most

monitors do have the ability to load a

lut and many cameras do as well so you

could create a unique lut that will be

your final look or use a standard rec

709 but then of course you have creative

luts creative luts have many uses they

obviously facilitate the work of color

grading by applying a ready-to-use look

to the video clips that will harmonize

the entire edit they can also serve as a

final touch or starting point for an

intricate original look and thanks to

luts we can easily switch from one style

to another auditioning looks and moving

right along let's also act pixel by

pixel so they are extremely precise but

it's important to remember that a lut is

just a tool so its effectiveness depends

on its use a chainsaw is more efficient

than a manual saw as long as you know

how to use it correctly and don't lop

your own arm off the common mistake with

creative luts is being overdone with

their use almost all tools that support

luts allow you to play with the

intensity of the lut so for example if

we use a lut as a final touch let's

apply it to around 25 to 50 percent max

for a solid end result without pushing

it too far most video editing software

offers built-in color grading tools some

are more advanced than others but all

decent software will be good enough to

get a workable end result but the best

bit of software for post color is by far

davinci resolve davinci resolve from

blackmagic design was initially

exclusively dedicated to color grading

and reserved mainly for pro colorist but

of course the software continued to

evolve into what we have today a

complete post-production suite

accessible to everyone since you can get

it for free right now there is a studio

version that lets you get more but the

free version is loaded with everything

that you would need to take your project

all the way through post there are

several strengths that make resolve one

of the leading color grading tools the

first is its use of nodes like layers in

photoshop nodes allow you to add

adjustments and effects in an organized

and non-destructive way it's then easy

to rework upstream and downstream of

each step the nodes also give you great

visual workflow to facilitate the work

then you have its masking capabilities

and tracking tools in a few clicks we

can select and correct the skin tones on

an actor's face and track it to that

area we can also use power windows to

isolate a part of the image and apply

correction and effects to it but you may

not want to dive into resolve or learn

new software or get that advanced in

those cases what you have is likely more

than enough like using the lumetri panel

in premiere pro or the tools in final

cut pro x in the end the software is

just a tool when we work on the color

correction or color grading of an image

we absolutely have to control what we

are doing with the scopes scopes may

seem scary at first but they are

essentially tools that ensure that our

modifications do not degrade the image

so we can control the balance overall

scopes are more reliable than our eye so

it's perfect for that use there are many

different scopes but let's take a look

at the three main ones the waveform is a

graph that gives you important

information about your image your

highlights and low lights are

represented vertically with everything

at the top being pure white and at the

bottom pure black so here we can easily

check that our image does not include

over or under exposure areas if i

exclusively increase the brightness of

my image you can see the waveform

crashing against the top of the graph

showing that clipping and vice versa if

i reduce the brightness then we have the

rgb parade which is nothing more than a

waveform broken down into three graphs

red green and blue with the rgb parade

we can check that our image is neither

overexposed or underexposed but also

ensure that its rgb balance is correct

if our image contains a blue color cast

for example we will see that blue

graphic shift up compared to the red and

green so we can use the rgb parade to

control our white balance and finally

the vector scope it's quite a different

chart that comes in a circular form in

the center of the graph as our image all

around that we find the hues arranged in

the same way as on the wheels right at

the top yellow on the left blue on the

right green at the bottom the more we

move away from the center the more

saturation increases if i deliberately

push the blue to an extreme we can see

the graph moving away from the center

therefore a properly balanced image will

be represented by a well-positioned

graph in the center of the vector scope

the vector scope has a tool that can be

useful the skin tone indicator in theory

the skin tones of our image should be

positioned on this line otherwise they

will either be too pink or too orange to

check this we can isolate the skin tones

with a power window or a mask and look

at where they are positioned on the

vector scope as you can see the scopes

are a very important tool since after a

while your eyes may lie to you but the

scopes never will you probably already

know the rgb curve which allows us to

correct the brightness of our image as

well as its contrast either globally or

individually on each channel red green

and blue but then we have slightly

different curves the huever sat curve

allows you to modify the saturation

based on a hue for example if i wanted

to increase the saturation of the blues

i can move up just that area here or i

could use the eyedropper to select a

color directly from my image the sat

verse loom curve allows you to modify

the luminance of a color based on its

hue so if i position a point in the red

orange you can see i can lighten or

darken the skin tones of this image

right here the loom verse sat curve

allows you to reduce or increase

saturation based on luminance so we can

adjust the color saturation in the

highlights and shadows and finally the

hue vs hue curve allows you to modify

the hue based on a hue like the skin

tones if i place a point right here you

can move up or down and you see the hue

of the skin tones changed drastically

it's a very convenient and quick way to

do small adjustments and now that we've

had an overview let's take a look at the

entire process at work here we have a

scene shot and log my timeline is rec

709 so i import my log clip and apply a

log to rec 709 conversion at the last

node we place it at the end so that we

can work on the wide dynamic range of

the image before that shift for the

second step we'll do our color

correction first we will correct the

white balance and adjust the exposure

contrast and saturation my waveform and

the rgb parade tells me that my image is

properly balanced with no over or

underexposed areas on this scene i want

to create a teal and orange blockbuster

type look and i'll help that along with

a creative lut here i'm using bloodshot

from our cinematic b5 pack this lut is

profiled for rec 709 so i apply it after

my conversion node and like i said

before we are using it as a final touch

so we're going to set it to about 50

percent now we can do our color grading

using the white balance to influence how

the creative lut looks i'll push some

warmth into the highlights then reduce

the saturation a bit correct skin tones

here then i'll add a bit of glow for a

cinematic look and that is a very simple

process to quickly get a solid look for

your project and of course we are using

our luts here if you are interested in

finding out more about those check the

link in the notes below we have all

kinds of different looks from horror to

action and everything in between so jump

over to tryingdigital.com for more of

that but we're also going to be doing a

lot more color grading tutorials so if

you aren't subscribed consider doing

that and hit the bell to be notified

when we do put up new stuff until next

time don't forget to write shoot edit

repeat

[Music]

you