Color Grading 101 - Everything You Need to Know
Summary
TLDRThis 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
🎨 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.
📹 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.
🖥️ 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.
🌈 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.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Color Grading
💡Color Correction
💡ACES
💡Rec. 709
💡Log
💡RAW
💡LUT (Lookup Table)
💡Film Convert Nitrate
💡DaVinci Resolve
💡Scopes
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
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