One of the most important but often overlooked aspects of video production is color grading. Color grading can be the difference between grabbing people’s attention and making them stop watching, or making them fall in love with your brand or product and recommending it to all their friends. But what does color grading actually do? And why do you need it? Here’s what you need to know about using color grading to your advantage.
The way our brains process color information determines whether or not a particular color gives off a warm or cool feeling. When we perceive reds and yellows as warm colors and blues as cool colors, that has everything to do with how our brains process that information. We all have a unique perception of color due to cultural differences and environmental factors, which also explains why two people might interpret the same image differently. That said, there are certain standards when it comes to using color in design work; those standards have been outlined by experts who study things like color psychology.
Remember that color grading isn’t just a matter of technical skill—it’s also about evoking emotions. An expert colorist knows how to invoke a range of feelings from their audience by manipulating color and light. If you want to craft your own mood, follow these steps: choose a primary hue for your video’s atmosphere, then use complementary colors to add accents. Shades that are opposite each other on a wheel (red/green or blue/orange) will produce high contrast without clashing.
Video is a powerful medium, and color grading has a big impact on your viewers’ experience. Also remember that color doesn’t have to be static—use light changes in addition to color shifts to enhance your visuals. As you create new videos, start thinking about how colors can help make an impression on viewers; one day you might want a video that evokes sadness or another that looks warm and inviting. If you nail down color before you begin shooting, then editing becomes easier as well.
Depending on the mood of the video, good color grading can make it more intense or lighten the feeling.
It’s rare to have perfectly color balanced footage that needs no correction. We pay close attention to our color levels and work hard to correct color errors in our videos.
There’s a lot of physiological and psychological changes happening when color grading is applied to a video production project. A good editor can make the audience feel not only happy or sad, but also hot or cold, just by adjusting the colors of the footage.