The Art of Hue, Saturation and Luminance
Welcome back to The Colour Space! Whether you're an experienced filmmaker just looking for a bit of light reading or a complete newbie who wants to understand the world of post-production, you've come to the right place. Colour Grading is the secret ingredient that transforms basic footage into cinematic masterpieces. In this blog, I will give a brief breakdown of the basics.
The Colour Wheel
The Colour Wheel is the bread and butter of Colour Grading. So it's always best to know the key terms.
・ Primary Colours: Red, Blue, and Yellow.
・ Secondary Colours: Green, Orange and Purple. You get these when mixing primary colours.
・ Tertiary Colours: These are created by mixing a primary colour and a secondary colour; Red-Orange or Blue-Green
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Grading Toolkit
・ Lift, Gamma, Gain: These are used to control shadows, mid-tones and highlights
・Curves: This part of the grade helps you get precise control. Curves allow you to tweak luminance and colour with precision.
・Scopes: Scopes are the graphs you tend to see at the bottom of the screen, these will help you get the true picture, meaning you don't have to rely on the subjectivity of your eyes.
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LUTs
LUTs (Lookup Tables) are a bit like filters. They're pre-made colour changes that you can put onto your footage for an instant change. They're a bit of a shortcut to looking professional.
Using LUTs is not cheating, it's like getting store-bought cookie dough and saying it's homemade!
You can also take your skills to the next level by creating your own LUTs. This allows you to apply a consistent look across multiple projects, giving your work a unique aesthetic. However, keep in mind that lighting can differ greatly between shots. Because of this, it's often easier to start from scratch and tailor your grading to each shot rather than forcing a LUT to fit where it might not fit seamlessly.
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Do's and Don'ts
Do:
・Start with good quality footage. Even Da Vinci can't save badly shot footage shot on a potato.
・Use references for inspiration; this will help you get an aesthetic while you're starting out.
・Learn to read scopes, this will help you while balancing colours and making sure you're within margins.
Don't:
・Go overboard. Sometimes less is more, and that's definitely the case when colour grading.
・Forget skin-tones! No one wants to look like a Smurf or a Lobster. Take time while grading Skin-Tones, if done incorrectly this can throw off the whole shot.
・Give up. Everyone has times when they just can't get it right. keep trying, keep asking for opinions and you'll get there. It takes time, but it's so worth it.
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Keeping it short and sweet today!
If you learned something new, share this blog, and don't hesitate to send me some of your grades!
See you next time in The Colour Space!
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