Guide to Color Grading: How to Color Grade Video Footage

Color grading is the post-production process by which a colorist stylizes the color scheme of footage by “painting” on top of what they’ve established through color correction. During color grading, colorists use editing software to stylize the footage—emphasizing the visual tone and atmosphere of a movie, and making it look more cinematic. Colorists use color grading to adjust contrast, color balance, white balance, black level, saturation, and luminance.

Color correction is a subcategory of color grading and the first step in the color grading process. Color correction ensures that footage appears natural and unprocessed. This is necessary because cameras can't capture light in exactly the same way as the human eye. Another aspect of a color corrector's job is to correct technical color mistakes. For example, if an actor gives their best performance in a scene with compromised lighting, a film colorist can save the scene by correcting the lighting, so it appears consistent with the rest of the film’s footage. Color correction tools can also optimize the footage so any added visual effects (VFX) blend in as seamlessly as possible.

Colorists use color grading for artistic purposes to ensure that the film's color palette conveys a specific atmosphere, style, or emotion. For example, a colorist might use more red in dramatic moments to represent passion, anger, and power. Color grading can even clarify elements of a film's narrative, perhaps adding a distinct tint to flashbacks or scenes that take place in a different location to differentiate them from the rest of the film.

A LUT (look-up table) is a color grading tool that lets filmmakers, editors, and colorists save particular color grades as a template. Rather than create an entire color space from scratch every time you work on a video editing project, you can facilitate the color grading process by applying a LUT that comes with preset color profiles.

1. 1. Start by normalizing your log footage. Camera log profiles provide a wide dynamic range, but once you've transferred your footage to a video editing workstation, you'll want to switch to a standard color space. From there, you can apply creative LUTs to achieve your own distinct cinematic look.
2. 2. Proceed to color correction. While color grading is primarily creative, color correction is a technical necessity. If you're working off film footage where primary colors aren't even recognizable, you'll have no control over the color grading process. Make sure you do proper color correction before delving into the creative LUTs.
3. 3. Experiment with different color combinations. Once your footage is properly set up in a standard color space, you can begin experimenting. Simply import LUT packs into your editing software, apply them to your footage, and watch your film project transform. There is no right or wrong way to apply a color grade to your film project, but keep the basics of color theory in mind.
4. 4. Focus on the film color palette. Remember that color should serve your vision as a storyteller. You can make a cinematic world remarkably vivid with the right LUT, but you can also distract an audience if your color scheme feels random or chaotic. Serve your story and your world and reference the film’s color palette when choosing LUTs.
5. 5. Adjust the LUT when necessary. It's likely the LUT you select will require tweaking to ensure that it meets your needs. For example, maybe one color tint is slightly too strong for your tastes, or maybe the LUT doesn't look right in certain scenes. Perform a final color adjustment to fix any issues and make sure the color is consistent throughout your project.

Color grading manually takes longer than using a LUT, but the upsides are that you start with a blank slate and have total creative control. Color grading rules aren’t set in stone, but there are several helpful tips to keep in mind as you work.

1. 1. Look to your film's genre as a starting point. While it can be tempting to reinvent the wheel, certain genres of film have established looks that you can use as a starting point. For example, horror films often use dark tones and cool color temperatures, and apocalyptic films can skew toward a gray, washed-out look. To achieve the cinematic color style of Hollywood blockbuster motion pictures, try using lots of orange and teal; this look is common in action films so that fiery explosions pop against a background of blue or green.
2. 2. Let mood be your guide. Before you begin color grading, think of the emotions you want your film to evoke, and use colors that support that mood. Cool, unsaturated colors may be used to create an atmosphere of gloom, rich greens and earth tones can create feelings of balance and symbiosis, and vibrant colors on the warmer end of the spectrum can bring energy and intensity to a film.
3. 3. Use the color wheel. Using colors opposite each other on the color wheel (complementary colors) is a great way to show contrast, while using colors next to each other on the color wheel (analogous colors) can create a feeling of either tranquility or claustrophobia.
4. 4. Recognize that a little goes a long way. When working without a LUT, you might fall into the trap of changing the colors of your footage too much. This can ultimately counteract the color correction by making your video image look unnatural. Unless your goal is a more artificial look, try to achieve your desired effect using subtle color adjustments.
5. 5. Use a vectorscope to ensure your colors are accurate. All the most popular color grading software have a tool called a vectorscope that provides precise measurements of color hue, saturation, etc. Vectorscopes help colorists ensure that their colors are the intended tone since outside factors like ambient lighting conditions or monitor calibration can alter a color's appearance to the naked eye. Vectorscopes are particularly useful for making sure skin tones look natural.

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