Clients often ask "can you make it look cinematic?" and just as often "why don't my colors look like they did in person?" Those are the two stages of color grading. This page explains in plain terms what grading does, and what to get right when shooting so grading has a good foundation.
Step one: color correction, getting the colors right
Correction brings every shot to "looks normal": whites are white, skin looks natural, nothing is blown out or crushed to black, and consecutive shots match. Footage shot at different times on different cameras usually differs in color temperature and brightness; correction pulls it all to one baseline. Most viewers can't tell when correction is done well, but they can always tell when it isn't.
Step two: grading, setting the mood
Only after correction do we talk about style: warmer, cooler, more contrast, a tint in the shadows. The "cinematic look" is mostly this step combined with lighting and composition at the shoot. There's no right or wrong style; it should fit the brand and the purpose. Food videos usually run warm; tech products usually clean and cool.
What grading can and can't fix
- Can fix: color temperature shifts, slight under- or overexposure, mismatched tones between shots, the overall look.
- Limited: heavy overexposure (a white sky, a white patch on a face), noise from heavy underexposure, skin tones under mixed light sources.
- Can't fix: information the camera never recorded. An area blown out to pure white will never show detail, whatever the grade.
How to shoot so grading works better
- Use the same white balance setting within a scene; don't use auto white balance.
- If in doubt, expose slightly dark rather than overexpose.
- On a phone, turn off HDR video. HDR footage often looks gray or too bright on ordinary screens and needs an extra processing step.
- If your camera shoots Log, tell us which Log profile in the file name or a message, and keep the original files.
- Send all footage as original files, not through messaging apps that compress. See the footage preparation checklist.
What references to give us
One to three links to videos whose color you like, or a few screenshots, saying that it's the color you're after. If your brand has standard colors, include them and we'll keep the picture in harmony with them.
Frequently asked questions
Can phone footage be color graded?
Yes. Phone footage has less latitude than camera Log, but correction and a moderate grade are both possible.
Can you apply a LUT I bought?
Yes, just send the file. A LUT is only a starting point; each shot still needs adjusting afterwards.
Is grading included in editing?
How far correction and grading go is assessed per video and written into the quote. Nothing appears later as an extra.
