Color grading video 101

Whether you’re aiming for the warmth of nostalgia or the chill of suspense, mastering color grading with video is how you can make your narrative pop.
What is color grading? How to color grade video

Color grading is the difference between raw, flat footage and a film that feels alive. Whether you’re aiming for the warmth of nostalgia or the chill of suspense, mastering color grading is how you can make your narrative pop.

Let’s take a look at what color grading is, what it involves, and how you can get the most out of your color grading process.

What is color grading?

Color grading is what gives your video its final, polished look. It’s like adding a filter to set the mood or style, but with much more detail and precision. The process of color grading is an artistic step that enhances storytelling and helps you create a specific atmosphere for your projects.

But before you dive into color grading, there’s color correction. Color correction involves fixing issues with the exposure or color balance. It makes everything look natural and consistent, laying the groundwork for the creative choices you’ll make in color grading.

When it comes to understanding color grading vs color correction, think of correction as making sure the foundation of your video looks its best while color grading is the stylized overlay that sets the tone and mood.

Having these separate steps helps you focus on fixing problems first, then letting your creativity take over to craft a compelling film.

Where color grading fits in the post-production timeline

After filming wraps, post-production kicks off. This phase is about piecing together all the footage and audio elements to create the final product. Here’s a quick rundown of where color grading fits in the timeline:

  1. Initial editing and assembly. The first step is editing, where you sort raw footage into a sequence. This involves cutting, trimming, and arranging clips to lay down the structure and flow.
  2. Color correction. Before stylistic changes, color correction ensures that your footage is technically consistent. Here, you’ll fix issues like exposure, white balance, and color mismatches to make everything look clean and natural.
  3. Color grading. With the technical groundwork set, it’s time for color grading. This is where you apply creative color adjustments to establish the film’s mood and style, aligning with the story’s emotional tone.
  4. Final touches and exporting. Once grading is complete, you add the final touches like effects before exporting it in the desired format for distribution.

The color grading process

During the color grading process, you’ll adjust hues, saturation, contrast, and other properties to make the footage look the way you want it to. It often involves trial and error, even for pros, until you land on the specific look you want. 

How to accomplish the desired look with color grading

To create your desired look, you need to dive deep into the narrative and understand the emotions you want to evoke and the themes that run through the story. 

Start by assembling a mood board to represent the look you want. Include images, color palettes, and scenes from other films that capture the essence of your desired aesthetic. Look for reference materials that align with your project’s theme and mood, including stills, paintings, or photographs that convey the emotions or style you’re aiming for.

Key elements to adjust

Once you have a clear direction to work with, it’s time to do the actual grading. The key elements you’ll adjust during this step include:

  • Color temperature. This is the warmth or coolness of an image. Warmer tones (reds or yellows) create a cozy feel, while cooler tones (blues) evoke calmness or tension.
  • Tint. This balances the green and magenta hues. It’s particularly useful for fine-tuning skin tones or correcting color casts.
  • Saturation. Increasing saturation makes colors more vivid, creating a vibrant and lively look, while reducing it can give a more muted, subdued effect.
  • Contrast. This is the difference between the lightest and darkest parts of an image. Adjusting contrast adds depth and dimension, making colors more dynamic. 
  • Shadows and highlights. Managing shadows and highlights prevents over or underexposure, helping you get more detail out of your footage.
  • Specific color channels. Manipulating individual color channels (red, green, and blue) gives you precise control over specific hues within an image. 

Working with scopes and measuring tools

Color grading is as much about precision as creativity, and scopes are the tools that help ensure your color adjustments are technically sound. Most video editing software offers various scopes that help you track changes to your color and exposure. For example:

  • Waveform monitors display the luminance levels (brightness) of your image. They help you see where shadows and highlights clip (losing detail). By analyzing the waveform, you can balance exposure and tweak shadows, midtones, and highlights accurately.
  • Vectorscopes show color saturation and hue relationships. They display a circular graph that helps you judge skin tones and keep colors within acceptable broadcast standards.
  • RGB parades break down the red, green, and blue channels separately, giving a clear view of color imbalances. Comparing these channels helps you correct unwanted color casts and verify that whites and grays are neutral.
  • Histograms show tonal distribution across an image. They show you where most of your image data falls, helping you manage contrast and balance your shadows, midtones, and highlights.

Using curves to fine-tune colors

Aside from the basic video editing sliders, most software includes curves—powerful tools that give you precise control over tone and color channels by moving points on a graphed line.

RGB curves let you adjust overall image brightness and contrast. You can create contrast-rich or flatter images by bending the curve in different ways. These curves can be split into individual color curves, letting you target specific color channels and correct casts or balance your whites.

Finally, there are also hue vs. hue and saturation curves. These let you control specific hues by changing their color or saturation. They give you even more control when you need to isolate a particular color area—for example, making a blue sky pop without affecting the rest of the scene.

Adding LUTs to speed up color grading

LUTs (Look-Up Tables) are pre-made templates that quickly transform your image’s color. They can simulate specific film stocks or styles with the click of a button, giving you a better starting point and cutting down on the amount of manual work you need to do.

While LUTs speed up the grading process, they often need additional fine-tuning to match your project. But they’re especially handy when you want to keep multiple shots or projects consistent.

Color grading with video editing software

When choosing software for color grading, the tools you use can make a big difference in your workflow. 

DaVinci Resolve is the top-tier solution for color grading, with a complete suite of advanced tools that give you ultra-fine control over your footage. To learn the ropes, check out our color grading tutorial for DaVinci Resolve.

On the other hand, Adobe Premiere Pro is a solid alternative. Its Lumetri Color panel offers a decent set of capabilities that can handle basic to advanced grading tasks. Here’s a tutorial to guide you through how to color grade with Premiere Pro.

Color grading best practices and tips

Video color grading is an art and a science. Here are some key tips and best practices to help you get the most out of this intricate process:

  • Start with a clean slate. Before diving into color grading, make sure your footage is properly color-corrected. Fix the exposure, white balance, and color issues to lay a solid foundation for your creative styling.
  • Reference material is key. Use reference images or footage to guide the grading process. It’ll help you stay consistent and achieve the cinematic look or emotional tone you’re aiming for.
  • Balance is everything. Avoid overdoing adjustments like saturation or contrast. Aim for a balanced look that enhances the story without distracting the viewer.
  • Focus on skin tones. Keep an eye on skin tones—they’re crucial for a natural look. Use tools like vectorscopes to ensure they remain accurate.
  • Use LUTs wisely. While LUTs can speed up your workflow, remember they are only starting points. Once you apply a LUT, tweak it to get the perfect colors.
  • Trust your eyes, but verify. View your work on calibrated monitors so that the colors remain accurate across different screens. It’s also a good idea to check your grading in different lighting conditions to see how it holds up.

Here’s a quick look at some trendy styles and genre-specific approaches to color grading.

Teal and orange

This look creates eye-catching contrast by using teal shadows and orange skin tones. It’s popular in action films because it makes characters pop.

Bleach bypass

Known for high contrast and reduced saturation, this style gives films a gritty, dramatic feel— perfect for war movies or thrillers.

Vintage or film emulation

Mimicking old film stock, this style adds nostalgia and authenticity, often used in period pieces or to create a retro vibe.

High key

Emphasizing brightness while minimizing shadows, high-key grading creates a cheerful and light atmosphere, often seen in comedies or feel-good movies.

Horror

Horror films often go for cooler, desaturated tones with deep shadows to build tension. 

Documentary

Documentaries usually stick to natural colors for a real, true-to-life feel, enhancing focus on clarity and detail but subtly adjusting tones to highlight emotions when needed.

Final thoughts

Color grading plays a crucial role in filmmaking, helping you transform raw footage into vivid and emotional experiences. Mastering color grading helps you balance technical skills with your artistic vision, meaning you can easily craft films that resonate with viewers.

If you’re looking to streamline your color grading process, consider a Storyblocks subscription. With access to a vast library of LUTs and presets, you can speed up your workflow and achieve professional looks in no time. Sign up today and unlock the creative tools you need to bring your vision to life!