The Easy Guide to Color Grade & Correct Video

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I constantly see training on how to get the "film look" while color grading and color correcting footage, the problem is most people go about the process the wrong way. Instead of a filmic look, they end up with crushed blacks and blown out whites.

While down at Cine Gear Expo, I interviewed Technicolor about their CineStyle preset for the Canon 5D MkII. While getting setup for the interview, I asked one of the guys his technique for color grading. He showed me a new way to manipulate video that I think is much better for filmmakers.

In this video I grade the footage in Adobe After Effects with Red Giant's Colorista Free. You can find links to all the software here: http://nextwavedv.com/the-easy-guide-to-color-grade-correct-video

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Category:

Education

Tags:

• color
• grade
• grading
• correction
• correcting
• correct
• Video Camera
• technicolor
• preset
• Canon
• 5D MkII
• After Effects
• Red Giant
• Colorista

[StudioGoldsmith]

Hey, Do you have any tips on maintaining a consistent color grading and style through a big project. I'm talking many re-rendered element's (some set extending). Obviously I cannot work with the whole one huge (1hour 20min) timeline stuffed to After Effects, so I would have to maintain the style through the whole thing. If I can't get away without rendering in between editing, what it the codec to use in that situation. (very little compression but reasonable size)

[NextWaveG]

@StudioGoldsmith I usually try doing a lot of my color correction and color grading in my NLE (Premiere for me). Most of the Red Giant plugins such as Colorista and Magic Bullet Looks work in Premiere as well as After Effects.

[CollinsHD]

Can you make another tutorial on the shadow colouring? you mentioned it near the end.

[soyusunk]

Thank you for tips.

[alecex]

on the last one you crushed ti whites alot the mids too... the shot looked best without it best as you said

[geoffpeterstrio]

Thanks for the tips. I tried the exact same steps, and then my whites became blown out similar to @thejerrymobile . Do you have any suggestions on how to get correct exposure without blowing out the whites? How about using the Luminance levels tools in the color corrector? thanks!

[thejerrymobile]

Interesting. This definitely helps the blacks. But it looks like it suffers a little on the other end as a result, blowing out the upper whites.

[HueRizen]

Nice video! I've practiced colour grading in my first visual effects video on my channel, I would really appreciate it if you checked it out and gave me some advice about it, the colour grading in it and any other directing/filming-related things. Your help will be much appreciated! :D

[kiamaz254]

i subd yall!!! awesome tut!

[DigitalCable]

That was really helpful, thank you.

[ReelFilmGeek]

So would I want to color correct all my footage before apply contrast and color grading? Also any tips on color correction, like maybe some of the plugins you like to use or maybe even default tools in adobe products for color correcting video.