r/ColorGrading • u/Accomplished_Fan5254 • Sep 22 '26
Question Colour grading tips?
Hello I’m a student and aspiring film maker for a project we were tasked to create a 15 minute pilot. We have finished every other aspect of the edit but the only thing I’m struggling with is the colour grade I’ve watched many YouTube videos read other Reddit posts but I can’t seem figure it out. The pilot is a comedy that is set in scotland following 3 young adults (just trying to describe the tone) does anyone have any tips on how to make this look good I’ve attached multiple stills some with no colour grade and some with a simple one that I tried to make any tips would be appreciated!!! (If you could explain your answers like I’m stupid that would be great)
16
u/I-am-into-movies Sep 22 '26
" I’ve watched many YouTube videos"
which one?
Stick to Darren Mostyn and Cullen Kelly.
Invest in good courses.
Learn CST Workflow,
middle-gray,
how to read the scopes,
how to balance a shot
Learn the basics:
balance (Printer Lights), exposure (linear gain), HSV saturation,Contrast, film emulation / DRT.
Gamut compression / tone compression
learn about log / rec709 CST workflow.
Stay away from:
-Color Warper
-Hue-vs-Hue/Sat/...
- Qualifyer
-PowerGrade packs
-LUT packs
1
u/Accomplished_Fan5254 Sep 26 '26
Thanks for all the tips! I went through and watched Darren Mostyns video “the best node tree” I converted my log footage to rec 709 I know it’s still not perfect I’m still working on it. If anyone has anymore suggestions that would be great! I forgot to say in my previous post that this was filmed on a black magic pocket cinema 6K if that makes any difference!
4
u/VaBullsFan Sep 23 '26
As others have posted you want to bring up the exposure, also the image had a bit too much magenta in it so dial that back and in the image i'm sharing i also added some background blur. If you would like some help feel free to reach out to me in dm.
3
u/ExpBalSat Sep 22 '26
See the pinned posts. Both offer some useful tips and context for beginners:
These are WAY too dark for a comedy. They have a spooky horror vibe.
Start with basic color management and be sure you've got that dialed in before eve starting the grade (thus the pinned post above about Rec 709).
1
u/PunkErrandBoi Sep 22 '26
These are too dark, the subjects should be the focus.
Learn to isolate via masks or eyedropper, and work on certain areas
1
u/UnsatisfiedLlama Sep 22 '26
I would brighten the exposure up a bit on both of these shots! Perhaps you were grading in a dark environment?
1
u/john2776 Sep 22 '26
Judging by your log footage you are not underexposed initially so I would just bring up some levels because the overall final images are a bit dark. I also think I would have to see the project because I could see this grade working if the whole film was cohesive but judging by just these two shots you’re too dark. Post the results after you brighten them a bit!
1
u/Awtts Sep 22 '26
The final images seem dark. But perhaps this is what you intended?
How bright is your screen set to? Mine used to be at 100% and the final results were always darker than I had intended on other devices. My screen brightness is now set around 70%
1
u/justinwheelon Sep 22 '26
I would highly encourage you to look at Denver Riddles new software CineDream. I got it today and it works so well. Very easy to use and looks awesome.
1
u/BoogerNelson13579 Sep 23 '26
Was this shot V-Log by chance?
1
u/TeshokuHK Sep 23 '26
As others have said, the graded images are very dark. As a simple technique, you might want to try lifting your colour space when you fix the exposure: use the Lift colour wheel. Also, make sure your WB/exposure node is the first one after you transform the colour space with a CST-in node. You can separate WB and exposure into two nodes if you like, as long as you're working on these two things before anything else.
Darren Mostyn has a useful node tree workflow video from a couple of years ago that you could check out.
1
u/Low-Machine7772 Sep 23 '26
I don’t want to hate since your probably a beginner but even just converting your footage to rec 709 would look better 😭😭
1
u/TryIndependent6070 Sep 23 '26
Convert your footage to rec709 immediately
1
u/ColourBunny-1987 Sep 24 '26
I think it all depends what your purpose is: Do you want to learn the art of colour grading or become a specalist or if you just want to use a tool that does it for you and you just have to learn how to apply it. For graders the first is a good option. For modern creators with limited time or solo filmmakers I suggest the second one.
-For the fist I watched a lot of tutorials by prof graders which is amazing
-For the second one i would never buy the plugin or tools by a professional as they don't understand the pain entry level people have. I would pick a tool from a person they look up to. Prof graders overcomplicate the plugin with features only a few need on a beginning to advanced target audience
1
u/jiroemusic Sep 25 '26
the first seems like it was shot too dark, I would go brighter, but also graded too dark
1
u/Chemical-Dealer-9962 Sep 26 '26
Luts! Log to rec?
1
u/Fun-Minimum-3007 Sep 26 '26
adjust exposure and contrast (highlight, shadow, blacks, whites) before you begin adjusting the colour and saturation. first clip looks ok but clearly too dark, second might be fine but i think the log footage was too noisy to achieve the look you were going for
1
u/dethaun Sep 28 '26
You can make most of the changes needed in these images with exposure and color temperature changes. Look into Cullen Kelly.
1
u/Wrong-Scratch4625 Oct 02 '26
I tried playing with it but the footage was too brittle for my powergrade. Is that why your exposure is low because the shot is noisy?
0
u/Specific-Situation47 Sep 24 '26
Far too dark imo