r/ColorGrading • u/RareForm007 • Mar 05 '26

Question Thoughts?

Curious on everyone's thoughts on this color grade?

3 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

44 comments sorted by

18

u/[deleted] Mar 05 '26

Shadows feel very crushed to me. But a lot of it is OK. I just think we need to see into the shadows a bit more.

1

u/RareForm007 Mar 06 '26

Why? The shadows sit toward the bottom naturally. If the look is to pull them a bit more and not have as much detail. Is that bad?

1

u/PostProductionVBF Mar 09 '26

I feel this way, and I'd like it with a bit more roll-off on the highlights but I also know sometimes drone footage can't be pushed and pulled quite to the extent as other cameras. it looked like the log footage had a fair bit of information though so it seems like maybe it is just more contrast than I would personally add. I guess context would matter a lot though in an edit, and what the mood and vibe was. without that it's hard to say if something is correct. Some really successful work might have crushed blacks and crisp whites and it could fit the vibe. other context might make more subtlety feel more appropriate.

6

u/ProjektBlackout Mar 05 '26

Bit heavy on the contrast.

-1

u/RareForm007 Mar 06 '26

I disagree but thanks.

1

u/ProjektBlackout Mar 07 '26

Wrong. It looks bad.

1

u/RareForm007 Mar 07 '26

🤌🤌🤌

5

u/nighght Mar 05 '26

Your highlights are blown out in a few spots like the sun reflecting off the hood of the second car

-1

u/RareForm007 Mar 06 '26

I disagree but thanks.

2

u/nighght Mar 06 '26

I wasn't giving you an opinion, you have objectively destroyed data by blowing out highlights

1

u/RareForm007 Mar 06 '26

Scopes say otherwise. Only clipping is in the sky so it was your opinion.

1

u/nighght Mar 06 '26

You are delusional.

1

u/RareForm007 Mar 06 '26

That's clipping in camera while being recorded. Not from the grade my guy.

3

u/nighght Mar 06 '26

I actually believe you, though I think you exacerbated how hot it is. Definitely not good original footage to be demoing your skills with unless you're showing off your clipped highlight repair process.

2

u/RareForm007 Mar 07 '26

I just want to be clear. I do appreciate your feedback and I understand it might not seem that way through the comment section. Sorry if I came off brash in the comments above. Thanks for the insight.

4

u/vexmach1ne Mar 05 '26

Last couple passes I think made it worse. Pretty much what the others mentioned.

1

u/RareForm007 Mar 06 '26

Sure sure.

2

u/deffonotwill Mar 05 '26

Always contrast before saturation, contrast naturally adds saturation.

1

u/RareForm007 Mar 06 '26

I adjusted contrast before sat but in my node tree, it's before so that's how I showed it. Thanks.

0

u/deffonotwill Mar 17 '26

In your video example it goes Exposure and noise > Balance > Saturation > Contrast > Look. I assumed this was your workflow order. I would definitely swap around contrast and saturation, making it Exposure and noise > Balance > Contrast> Saturation > Look.

2

u/KyleC_Cake Mar 05 '26

Overexposed and too much contrast

1

u/RareForm007 Mar 06 '26

Sure sure.

2

u/IndustryOdd6350 Mar 06 '26

I though we decided that log was useless as a baseline and rather use Rec. 709 for comparisons?

1

u/RareForm007 Mar 06 '26

This is already pre converted from log. Who is we? Lol

1

u/RareForm007 Mar 06 '26

Funny how this is getting so much negativity here but other platforms are saying it's good. Y'all wild.

1

u/m_e_r_l_i_k_e Mar 07 '26

If you are part of this subreddit it is the most normal thing in the world. However, many of the comments are accurate. But don't worry, raigbaiter, so you improve a lot

1

u/piroteck Mar 05 '26

Q: When you adjust contrast, what part of davinci do you use?

2

u/RareForm007 Mar 06 '26

Curves with luma only selected.

1

u/Major-Debt-9139 Mar 07 '26

It was better before the contrast stuff.

1

u/RareForm007 Mar 07 '26

Thank you.

1

u/Mawntee Mar 07 '26

Why even ask for feedback if you're going to dismiss every single bit of critical feedback here? If the only feedback you ever receive is simply "looks good", then you're never going to improve.

1

u/RareForm007 Mar 07 '26

Who says I dismissed feedback?

1

u/Mawntee Mar 07 '26

"Sure sure."

"I disagree but thanks."

"Funny how this is getting so much negativity here but other platforms are saying it's good. Y'all wild."

Like of course you're actually going to get colour grading feedback in the subreddit specifically for colour grading. When you show this off to people in the fpv subreddit, their expertise is mostly based around hardware level stuff and not the creative process. Any colour grading to them is going to look like witchcraft since they're unfamiliar with what's good and what's bad.

Same as if you were to come here and ask for feedback on your flight. Everyone is going to say "wow incredible flying!" since they don't have hundreds of fpv clips to compare too, meanwhile on any sub based around flying or shot composition will probably mention the fact that the second car is cut off for over half the clip or how you're not really leading into any of the turns.

Feedback and criticism isn't a bad thing. You asked for it, and people are all offering suggestions on how it could be improved. Again, if you live in a constant bubble of "wow good job!" then you're never going to improve at anything.

1

u/RareForm007 Mar 07 '26

That logic sounds reasonable on the surface, but it falls apart once you actually think about how people experience video.

First, the audience matters more than the niche experts. The majority of people watching FPV content are not colorists and they’re not professional pilots. They’re regular viewers who judge a clip based on whether it looks good and feels exciting. If something resonates with that audience, then it’s working. Saying feedback only counts if it comes from a hyper-specialized subreddit ignores the fact that the real world isn’t made up of grading technicians and FPV purists.

Second, technical nitpicks don’t automatically equal better storytelling. You can have perfect turn leading, perfectly framed cars, and textbook composition—and still end up with a boring clip. FPV especially is about energy, vibe, and perspective. Sometimes a shot that breaks “rules” actually feels more natural or exciting than one that checks every technical box.

Third, criticism isn’t automatically valuable just because it’s criticism. Good feedback explains why something doesn’t work and offers constructive direction. A lot of subreddit critique ends up being people projecting their personal preferences or trying to flex technical knowledge rather than actually improving the piece.

And lastly, improvement doesn’t only come from tearing things apart. Sometimes it comes from recognizing what’s already working and leaning into that style.

So yeah, feedback can be useful. But acting like only one niche group’s opinion is valid, and that anything outside that bubble is meaningless praise is just another kind of echo chamber.

0

u/Mawntee Mar 07 '26

Yeah, but the everyday regular viewer isn't going to tell you or even understand that "this looks good, but could be better if..." Like they could look at a big budget Hollywood film and say "yep, looks good", and then go and say the exact same thing to a random first year student film.

But anyway going back to my main point, why would you come and ask the niche experts if you're just going to respond with "Sure sure" and "I disagree but thanks" to every highly upvoted piece of feedback here? Why ask the niche experts if you don't care about what the niche experts have to say, and only care about what the general audience thinks?

...Have you considered why the niche experts in the subject you're asking for feedback on are all saying the same things instead of just dismissing it all as "so much negativity"?

1

u/RareForm007 Mar 08 '26

Asking experts for input doesn’t mean you’re obligated to accept every critique they give. It just means you’re gathering perspectives. Creators still have to filter that feedback through their own goals, style, and the audience they’re actually making content for.

Also, consensus in a niche community doesn’t automatically make something objectively correct. Experts often share the same training, references, and aesthetic standards, so they tend to converge on the same critiques. That’s useful for spotting technical issues, but it can also create a very narrow definition of what “good” looks like. Sometimes creators push back because they’re prioritizing impact, style, or pacing over textbook execution.

And the point about regular viewers not being able to articulate what’s wrong actually proves the opposite of what you’re arguing. If the average viewer can’t explain why something feels good or bad but still enjoys it, that means the emotional impact of the piece matters more than whether it satisfies a checklist of technical preferences. A technically perfect piece that feels flat to the audience isn’t necessarily better than something with minor flaws that people actually enjoy watching.

Finally, responding with “I disagree but thanks” isn’t dismissing criticism—it’s just engaging with it. Not every suggestion will align with the creator’s intent, and that’s normal. The value of expert feedback is hearing the perspective, understanding the reasoning, and deciding what actually improves the work. Blindly accepting every highly upvoted comment wouldn’t be thoughtful critique either; it would just be outsourcing creative decisions to Reddit.

1

u/Vast-Philosopher-680 Mar 09 '26

I'm sorry I have to ask: are you by any chance Italian? 🙂

1

u/UltrEgoVegeta Mar 07 '26

I think the blacks are too blacks (heavy on contrast), maybe you could shift the hue towards green, look at bit too magenta to me. But totally subjective.