Colour Grading

What is the difference between colour correcting, colour mapping and colour grading?

Colour mapping definition: "Colour mapping is a function that maps (transforms) the colours of one (source) image to the colours of another (target) image." - Wikipedia

This means that the colours are taken from one image and are mapped onto a second image by photo or video manipulation. If one image was very cold and scary and that is what you want your second image to look like instead of having a lot of warmth, you would map and transfer the colours temperature to the image you want.

Colour correcting definition: "Colour correction by using colour gels, or filters, is a process used in stage lighting, photography, television, cinematography, and other disciplines, the intention of which is to alter the overall colour of the light; typically the light colour is measured on a scale known as colour temperature, as well as along a green–magenta axis orthogonal to the colour temperature axis." In simple terms, colour correction is what corrects the colour of the video or photo. It changes the white balance or saturation to what it should look like. It does not change the photo or video source dramatically but it may change the temperature, white balance or saturation to increase the image to how it should look.

Colour grading definition: "Colour grading is the process of altering and enhancing the colour of a motion picture, video image, or still image either electronically, photo-chemically or digitally. Colour grading encompasses both colour correction and the generation of artistic colour effects. Whether for theatrical film, video distribution, or print, colour grading is generally now performed digitally in a colour suite." Colour grading is usually used in video production but can also be done with photo manipulation too. Colour grading is different from colour correction because it changes the overall image completely. Colour grading changes the tone and look of the image instead of enhancing it. Colour correction keeps the same tone and look of the image it just enhanced the original image, whereas colour grading completely changes the tone to meet the atmosphere or feel of the film. An example of this would be horror films, horror films are edited in a black, red or dark green colour to show the fear, wrinkles of someone's face and to give the scene a very dark and mysterious look. Compared with sci-fi films, they are edited in blue. They are edited in blue to show the importance of the futuristic scene and to show the formal scary boardroom as seen in the Apprentice.

What do I learn from this video?

I learnt how hard and complex colour grading can really be. Colour grading is what gives the viewer implications and connections between times, objects, characters and symbolisations. It is important for the colour grading to be just right because the editor does not want to imply or give a symbolisation of something that is irrelevant or not on purpose as it may throw the viewer off course from the film which may lead to boredom and loss of interest. A colour grader's job can be very difficult at times as the outside natural light is blue. Our eyes naturally correct the light from outside therefore we do not have any blue filter when looking outside as our eyes have filtered the blue out for us but if we were to film outside, the video clip would be tinted blue. This can cause complications in such films as the actors outfits may contradict the blue tinted atmosphere or scenery which the editor may have to filter out.

Here is my very first experience with colour grading. The first screenshot is the natural video of how it was filmed. It has not been edited at all as you can see it is over exposed and too bright. This may mean that the camera was not on the right setting however with the power of editing, you can change this. The second image on the bottom is what I have managed to correct. I imported the video into Premiere Pro CC and had changed the levels, curves, basic corrections, temperature, tone, highlights, vector scopes and other settings which helped improve the overall feel of the image. There is no right or wrong with colour grading, it requires natural talent and understanding of how the image should look. You need to know how you want the image to look and what you want to learn or perceive from the image in order to edit it as it will help you visualise what the image is going to look like at the very end.

When editing the image or video, you should always revert and compare to the original and natural image as you want to make sure that you are improve the original image not the edited one. You do not want to keep editing and editing the image as you want to ensure you are improving the original and not overthinking it. Editing should have deep thoughts and feelings, although sometimes editing can be too much which is what you do not want. You want the film to look natural and to fit into the feel and atmosphere of the film, but sometimes editing can be over powering and too much to look at. You want the colour correction and grading to look professional and you want there to have a reason and meaning behind the colours used or there is no point. Here is one of my experiences of colour grading and correcting below:

Before:

After:

I am very passionate about colour correcting and colour grading as I have had a little experience from doing Photography and photo manipulation at school and in my own time. This is my latest edit to represent colour correction as I wanted the man to look more dramatic in a warm temperature. I wanted the natural lighting to shine through in the image and I wanted the colours of blue to represent the character as both his shirt and eyes are blue which is the colour that the audience associate with this person which as a colour grader, I was sure to enhance.

This is my second video manipulation edit. For this edit, I tried to do a more of a colour grading edit rather than a colour correction where it enhances the image. I did not just want to enhance the image within itself but I wanted to give it a more depth and dangerous feel to it. I wanted for the viewer to feel a little un-nervy as if an event has occurred for the character to moody. I wanted the colours and the atmosphere to reflect the character's mood as the dull and bleached colours have attracted the goodness within the character's mind. The moody blue and desaturated green represents danger and sorrow as if an unfortunate event has happened and the character is trying to look for an escape to resolve the problem. For this edit, I wanted to challenge myself by grading the image to a particular theme instead of just trying to enhance it. In the filming industry, colour graders will not just enhance their video's image but they will enhance and manipulate it to fit the atmosphere and scene of what is going on in that particular time. The colours will have meaning and links to objects, time, relations or events which is what I have tried to do here.

Colour Harmonies

The primary colours are: Red, Yellow and Blue. Blue and Yellow mixed together makes Green which is the first secondary colour. Red and Yellow mixed together makes Orange which is the second secondary colour, and finally Red and Blue mixed together makes purple which is the final secondary colour. We then go to the outer ring where there are Tertiary colours introduced. The Tertiary colours are both the primary and secondary colours mixed to create a new shade between them colours. For example, the first tertiary colour would be dark orange because the light secondary colour orange and the primary red are being mixed together to give an in-between shade.

Saturation is the intensity or purity in which the colour stands in. It is the exact same colour but the saturation is how vibrant or how much of the colour is shown and exaggerated. Saturation is basically just how much of that colour is there, it is just the opacity of the colour in which you can see.

The hue is the different vibrant scale of colours in which imply happiness and strength of the movie. It provides us with the implications that the characters and scene is at its brightest moment in time.

The greyscale is the intensity of the black.

The value is the brightness or darkness of the colour. Still the exact same colour and the same saturation but its just how dark or light it is which is where shading comes into. As you can see by this image below, the top colour scheme is the saturation of the green and the bottom scale is the value of it.

The tones or values of the colours are very important within art or filmmaking as the tones of the colours are what sets the atmosphere. For example, if the colours and the hue was bright, colourful and saturated, then the atmosphere and characters would seem happy, joyful and full of energy whereas if the tones and saturation was low then the atmosphere scale would be completely opposite. The characters may seem sad, un-nervy, stressed or panicked. The colour schemes not only reflect the characters mood but the viewers too.

The tint is how light the colour is. Oppositional to the tint is the shade in which is how dark the colour is. The tint lightens up the scenery or clothing, maybe even directional lighting and the shade darkens the colours to give shades from the light, depth and a dark despair feel to the scenery.

Monochromatic is using only one colour. It is shown to be very atmospheric and is best used to show one subject in depth. It uses only one colour but varies of tones and shades of that one colour to give a pleasant eye catching look to the image and scene.

Analogous is three or four of the related colours that sit next to each other on the wheel. The colours are adjacent (meaning next to each other) on the wheel, this gives the overall image a peaceful and comfortable mood. It is usually seen in nature and is easy on the eyes. What are the possible combinations with analogous colours?

RED RED ORANGE YELLOW ORANGE

YELLOW YELLOW GREEN GREEN

Triadic is three different colours that are equally distanced on the wheel. This is very hard to pull off and is used best in cartoons or surreal scenes. This can be the three primary colours, the three secondary colours or in between but they have to be equally distanced from one another. What are all of the possibilities of the triadic combinations?

RED YELLOW BLUE

RED ORANGE YELLOW GREEN BLUE VIOLET

ORANGE GREEN VIOLET

YELLOW ORANGE BLUE GREEN RED VIOLET

Complementary is the opposing colours on the wheel. This is very popular and is naturally pleasing to the eye. You never use the colours 50/50, you should always use one colour more predominantly than the other or this can cause confusion or unnecessary distraction. You use the weaker colour more predominantly then the stronger or most powerful colour in splashes as you want to attract the viewer into the scene or lead them through it. What are the different combinations for complementary colours?

BLUE GREEN RED ORANGE YELLOW VIOLET

BLUE ORANGE YELLOW GREEN RED VIOLET

BLUE VIOLET YELLOW ORANGE GREEN RED

In this case when using these two colours, you should use green the most such as having a green field with maybe a small attraction to red roses or a woman wearing a red dress to attract the eye from getting lost in the green.

Split Complementary is very similar to complimentary except one end is extended. Split complementary allows you to have more creative freedom in the scene. It allows the scene to be more noisy and joyous as more colours and object are happening at once. In simple terms, you have three different colour but two of the colours are next to each other and the third colour is opposite to the two on the wheel. An example of this would be blue, purple and yellow as blue and purple are next to each other and yellow is the opposite on the wheel. Here are a few other possibilities in which can work with split complementary combinations:

YELLOW GREEN VIOLET RED

GREEN RED VIOLET RED ORANGE

BLUE GREEN RED ORANGE

Tetratic, also known as double complementary is two pairs of opposing colours. A pair balances the other pair but you must not use 25% of each as this does not go well. Double complementary is best used for foregrounds and background where one pair can even out the other. This is hard to create when colour grading but it turns out to be very pleasing to the eye.

Reference Sheet

CMYK Subtractive - Created with ink

"When we mix colours using paint, or through the printing process, we are using the subtractive colour method. Subtractive colour mixing means that one begins with white and ends with black; as one adds colour. the result gets darker and tends to black."

RGB Addictive - Created with light

"If we are working on a computer, the colours we see on the screen are created with light using the addictive colour method. Addictive colour mixing begins with black and ends with white; as more colour is added, the result is lighter and tends to white."

Colour meanings

RED - blood, danger, energy, intense, fire, love, strong, passionate

RED VIOLET - royalty, power, nobility, wealth, ambition, dignified, mysterious

BLUE - sky, sea, depth, stability, trust, masculine, tranquil

GREEN - nature, growth, fertility, freshness, healing, safety, money

YELLOW - sunshine, joy, cheerfulness, intellect, energy, attention

ORANGE - warm, stimulating, enthusiasm, happiness, success, creative, autumn

The reason in which I have researched myself about colour harmonies and the different rules of which artists use them is because this can be the same with colour grading. Even though you do not mix the colours like you would with paint, the same rules still apply. When editing a particular scene, you may want the subject to stand out even in the background or you may want to lead the eye from one character to another. Or if you wanted to be even more advanced, you can keep the same colour scheme but reduce the amount and vary the tone from the beginning to the very end of the film. This can be seen in the film 'Blue is the warmest colour', the colour grader and editors of this film were very clever as they had rearranged the colour scheme rules entirely to there own interpretations. Instead of red symbolising danger or romance, they used blue as named in the title. In the beginning of the film, blue was vibrant and was everywhere when the two main subjects fell in love, you can compare this to the end of the film when the the blue began to fade and become dull symbolising the loss of love and companionship between the characters. At the very end of the film, the only subject that was blue is one character which stood out from the greyscale background. This tells us that love no longer has anything to do with that subject as she is placed in a world of greyscale. You can see how the colour schemes shift from split complementary to just just a monochromatic scale as the bluish greys have faded and only the darkest of blue was the one lady standing in the scene.

Here is another video from Youtube in which helped me understand more about colour, the grading and tones of which has helped me gather a strong understanding of which colours go with which and how I could apply them to when I colour correct or grade my own productions.

This video is just another video that has helped my basic studies of colour, I will be watching plenty more to get a stronger understanding of which colours complement each other and how I can use this in film.