Color grading is an immensely important step in film and video production. It involves the color correction and color design of film and video material. The aim is to influence the visual mood and improve the overall image. Color grading is usually carried out after filming to determine a desired look. This creative process gives you the opportunity to enhance emotions and atmospheres. The right grading helps to visually reinforce the story you want to tell.
The eye of the recipient is strongly influenced by colors. They can evoke feelings and change the perception of a scene. For example, if you want to create a gloomy mood, you can use cool colors. Warm, vibrant colors are better suited to a positive scene. Well thought-out color grading enhances the professional impression of your video. This is especially true if the client has strict specifications for certain image elements, because the motifs depicted should appear in a clearly defined corporate design and therefore normal deviations in the colour representation must be corrected and idealized. In the case of heterogeneous material, the sensitive coloring combines the individual settings into a large whole. The result is a look that shows that you have thought about the details. This distinguishes the professional from the amateur.
Color grading is part of the post-production of a film. It is usually carried out by the editor after the rough cut has been completed. In large cinema or advertising film productions, the grading process is carried out by a specialist: the colorist - whose work consists of several steps. Here are the most important ones:
Color correction: First, the film material is checked for color errors. Brightness, contrast and color balance are adjusted.
Look development: After the initial color correction, the desired look is defined - the actual creative process. Let's take Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" as an example of the effect of a well thought-out look. The film was shot in black and white and only some scenes are in color. Spielberg wanted to direct this movie exactly this way because everything he had seen about the Holocaust was also in black and white. The only color accent - the color red (a girl in a red coat) in the otherwise completely black and white film. A symbol of the Holocaust that underlines Oskar Schindler's moral transformation.
Fine-tuning: Small adjustments are made in this step. The aim is to match the colors perfectly.
The analog color correction of negative film material is already carried out during the copying process in the copying plant. As a rule, however, color grading is carried out digitally: Software tools that are integrated into editing programs. Some of the best known are
DaVinci Resolve by Blackmagic Design: One of the most popular and professional applications for color grading.
DaVinci Resolve was first published in 2004 as color correction software by da Vinci Systems. In 2009, the software was acquired and further developed by the Australian company Blackmagic Design. The software is available free of charge as a limited version. The paid, unlimited version DaVinci Resolve Studio is enhanced with functions such as HDR color grading and proprietary plug-ins.
Adobe Premiere Pro: Frequently used, professional video editing program with good color grading functions. Particularly convenient if you already work with other Adobe products or in Adobe's Creative Cloud.
Avid Media Composer: Media Composer is a professional, software- and hardware-based program from Avid for post-production of video material.
Final Cut Pro: Final Cut Pro is an excellent choice for Mac users. FCP is a video editing software from Apple. It is distributed exclusively for its own macOS and iPadOS operating systems. It offers a user-friendly interface and excellent grading tools.
• Nutze Referenzbilder, um einen bestimmten Look zu erreichen. Das kann dir helfen, die gewünschten Farben besser zu verstehen.
• Stelle sicher, dass dein Monitor korrekt kalibriert ist. So siehst du die Farben so, wie sie wirklich sind.
• Scheue dich nicht, mit verschiedenen Looks zu experimentieren. Manchmal entstehen die besten Ergebnisse durch Ausprobieren.
• Zeige deine Arbeiten anderen und hole dir Feedback. Das kann dir helfen, neue Perspektiven zu gewinnen und deinen Look zu finden.
Color grading is an exciting and creative part of video & film post-production. It allows you to shape the visual language of your film. With the right tools and techniques, you can achieve impressive results. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced professional, color grading offers you endless possibilities and is an important part of storytelling. With the perfect color grading, you can take your stories to the next level.