POST PRODUCTION QUICK TIPS: Color Grading Do’s & Don’ts

POST PRODUCTION QUICK TIPS: 

Color Grading Do’s & Don’ts 

By: Roberto Cardenas 

Now that you have finished your color correction, it is time to make some more stylistic choices with regard to the coloring of your film/video project. That is where color grading comes in. The phase when you set the mood and create an environment that is unique to your vision. Whether you are embarking on this process hands-on or directing your team to your visually mind-blowing end goal, here are 6 tips for success.

     1.   Don’t Move!
First, only do work in a dedicated color grading room. These rooms are designed for color grading and are blacked out (sorry, no windows and scenic views for you, friend) to ensure that the only light effecting the color of your screen is coming from your screen. And, if possible, stay in the same color grading room in which you started. Any changes in environment can alter your perception of the light and color. Second, don’t switch monitors! It may feel super-efficient to begin a project on your office desktop, then clock a few more hours at home on your laptop to move things along. But your displays will not be identical, which will result in variances in your work. Keep it consistent.

     2.   Automation Is Your Friend
Just because you drive an automatic instead of a stick shift, doesn’t mean you aren’t driving. And the same goes for color grading. Utilizing the Auto Color or Auto Balance tools in your color grading app may not take you to the finish line, but it can give you a great roadmap to where you want your color to wind up and save you a ton of time. Test out the auto functions, then make some tweaks.

     3.   Focus on the Flesh
No one will applaud you for having correct skin tone, but they sure will find it jarring if you get it wrong. The Vectorscope is the tool in your color grading software that keeps an eye on flesh tone. A line that cuts through the Vectorscope, between the red and yellow targets, is the “Flesh Tone Line.” All humans in your frame will line up along this line. Yes, all of them. Even though people may have a different tone to their skin, we are all actually the same color. If you need help isolating skin tone in a frame, you can try scaling the image so just the skin fills the screen and all of the distractions will fall away.

     4.    Saturate to See
Sometimes things just look wrong and you can’t figure out what it is. If that happens to you, bumping up the saturation can often highlight what colors may be too prevalent in your shot. Once you see what is going on, take the saturation back down and make more informed alterations to get where you need to be.

     5.    Pick your Poison
An array of colors can be intoxicating…but too many colors can make a shot look busy. You will get more pop and clarity if you select three or less colors to focus on and desaturate the rest.

     6.    Think Small
When you are ready to check your work, it isn’t always the big picture that shows you the most. Also try reducing your image to a thumbnail size. If your image is still clear and you can see your color intention coming through clearly, you have done something right.

One final thought: If you are embarking on color grading as a novice, beware of falling down rabbit holes. As this process is subjective (compared to the more technical and real life-resembling color correction), there are endless ways to tweak your project and endless traps for winding up with visually jarring, unrealistic scenes for your audience. Remember, you can create amazing nuance with simple measures. 



Location: Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, CA, USA

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