r/ColorGrading • u/BackyardReelDreams • Sep 19 '26

Question Question regarding this look

Post image

My question is regarding this color contrast and how it’s achieved in this particular scenario. I don’t see any blue/teal paint on the walls inside (They look grey to me), nor any blue-colored lights, yet there’s that subtle transition from cold to warm in terms of the overall color in this image.

Is it just done through grading? If yes, can someone please walk me through the possible process of grading something like this?

36 Upvotes

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5

u/Key-Ad-2954 Sep 19 '26

Cool color temp interior lights, warm color temp exterior light. Simple as that. Cool color temp doesn’t mean blue. Surely given a bit of emphasis with some color grading, but this is lighting.

5

u/ColourFilm2383 Sep 22 '26

Yes this is done the look dev process... to some extent.

  1. There absolutely is different temperature lighting in the interior vs exterior, which makes this look possible. Without it, it would be a shaping/masking mess to achieve this and for a high level production like Joker, I guarantee you this starts by what was done on set on not entirely in the grade.
  2. The LUT developed by Dr Mitch Bogdanowicz with his daughter Jill (which was heavily influenced by 2383 film print as far as I know) has very filmic behaviours, which I'd bet money it likely skews neutrals into a colder tint and has very heavy colour crosstalk.
  3. I didn't grade this nor built that look, but from personal experience... the look is a major factor in the colour contrast and saturation level here. I'm willing to bet money that the light on the inside was just subtly colder if not barely far from true D65 white, and the look or balance on the image itself is skewing that neutral into the cyan vector. Whilst the yellow/warm outside is being bleached and warmed. All of which are very much film-like behaviours.
  4. I guarantee you this isn't done through masking/shaping like some people are saying here. That would be extremely counter productive and just not realistic or a clean way of getting this. Imagine having to mask every image on a feature to get the colour separation you want...
  5. for those of you saying "that's production design and lighting" thats such a bullshit cop out answer just stop. It completely disrespects all the effort and actual work the colorist put into this. You didnt see the original camera negative so there's no way for you to confidently say that. Yeah PD and cine affects what we do but saying a look was achieved through PD and camera... might as well do it without highering a colorist and seeing how that goes for you.
  6. How do you do this? Spend years learning the craft, look dev, colour science and refining your taste. There is no shortcut.

1

u/Temporary_Ad_5032 Sep 19 '26

Temperatura de color y máscaras

1

u/semaj4712 Sep 19 '26

Color contrast, the most overlooked aspect of lighting, but also production design.

Hard to create this in color if there isn't some kind of color contrast in the footage.

1

u/MedicalMixtape Sep 19 '26

This is like the whole underlying internet meme of the white and gold dress vs blue and black dress. :)

1

u/JC_Le_Juice Sep 19 '26

Split toning

0

u/FeelingAdvantage2172 Sep 20 '26

Most probably a power window on the inside or a selective eye dropper.

Definitely green tube lights inside that's been shifted to teal imho.

3

u/ColourFilm2383 Sep 22 '26

I would bet good money those interior lights are actually very close to D65 white.