Introduction to Color Grading
– Color grading is a post-production process in filmmaking and video editing.
– It alters the appearance of an image for different environments and devices.
– Attributes such as contrast, color, saturation, detail, black level, and white balance can be enhanced.
– Color grading and color correction are often used interchangeably.
– It is commonly performed in a controlled environment like a color suite.
Telecine and Color Timing
– Telecine is a method used to broadcast feature films from release prints.
– Color timing is the process of changing color appearance in film reproduction.
– It was performed during the printing process at a film lab.
– The intensity and color of light were varied to expose the rephotographed image.
– Telecine became a viable post-production tool after gaining color correction capabilities.
How Telecine Coloring Works
– In a cathode-ray tube (CRT) system, an electron beam is projected at a phosphor-coated envelope.
– The beam scans across a film frame, capturing vertical and horizontal frame information.
– Dichroic mirrors separate the image into red, green, and blue components.
– Each beam is reflected onto a photomultiplier tube (PMT) to convert photons into an electronic signal.
– In a charge-coupled device (CCD) telecine, white light is shone through the film image onto a prism.
Color Correction/Enhancement
– Color correction reproduces what was shot accurately.
– It compensates for material variations and intended viewing environments.
– Color grading optimizes the base appearance for special visual effects.
– It establishes a desired artistic look and enhances the mood of a scene.
– Traditionally, color grading was done for practical goals, but it has shifted towards creative goals.
Color Grading Techniques and Tools
– Primary and secondary color grading control the color density curves and allow adjustments to specific ranges of hue, saturation, and brightness values.
– Geometric shapes like masks and mattes can be used to isolate color adjustments to specific areas of an image.
– Motion tracking software automates the process of following a moving subject for color adjustments.
– The digital intermediate process allows scanned film information to be transferred back to film.
– Popular software options for color grading include DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Final Cut Pro X. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_grading
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Color grading is a post-production process common to filmmaking and video editing of altering the appearance of an image for presentation in different environments on different devices. Various attributes of an image such as contrast, color, saturation, detail, black level, and white balance may be enhanced whether for motion pictures, videos, or still images. Color grading and color correction are often used synonymously as terms for this process and can include the generation of artistic color effects through creative blending and compositing of different layer masks of the source image. Color grading is generally now performed in a digital process either in a controlled environment such as a color suite, and is usually done in a dim or dark environment.
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The earlier photochemical film process, referred to as color timing, was performed at a film lab during printing by varying the intensity and color of light used to expose the rephotographed image. Since, with this process alone, the user was unable to immediately view the outcome of their changes, the use of a Hazeltine color analyzer was common for viewing these modifications in real time. In the 2000s, with the increase of digital technology, color grading in Hollywood films became more common.
