Seeing worldly colors might have been the most precious gift of all. Pablo Picasso used to say that the colors we use vary according to our emotions. Art emerged from using these colors to express thoughts, emotions, and feelings. While focusing on the development, different color elements were introduced in editing software to enhance video content.
The process of adding colors on a canvas might be easy, but it can be tricky when it comes to technology. The technical terms and multiple elements in color grading might be difficult to understand at once. Consequently, you have to select the right color settings to change the mood and tone of your content. In this article, we are going to learn about color grading and color-correcting elements at once.
In this article
The best editor helps you enhane the style of a media file by maintaining specific elements.
Part 1: Understanding The Language of Color Grading
Have you ever thought your videos are basic and wondered how to make them stylish? It is when color grading comes to the rescue. Color grading refers to enhancing the style of a media file by maintaining specific elements. These elements include changing tones, such as adjusting the coolness or warmness of the media file.
Color grading varies according to the demands of your videos. For example, if you're editing a cheerful video, you'll add happy and bright colors. Meanwhile, editing a sad video may require different types of color and light changes. Let’s learn the language of color grading and how you can convey your message through it:
1. Color Temperature
As the name states, color temperature is used to adjust the light tone in your content. It is driven by a temperature scale ranging between 1000K to 10,000K. Color temperature consists of two main categories named “Warm” and “Cool” tones.
The warm tones are used for creating a warm and cozy ambiance inside a house and summer vibes for outside views. You can adjust these warm tones by playing with color intensities ranging from “yellow to red.” Similarly, the cool tones help in adding chilly vibes to both the inside and outside ambiance. You can change the intensity of this tone by adjusting its color scale from “blue to white.”
2. Color Harmony
The second thing to consider in color grading is color harmony. Color harmony is the process of neutralizing or balancing color tones in a video. These are important for creating subtle visuals and creative moods. It consists of a color wheel that includes all the variations of color.
This color wheel has unlimited potential for color editing and consists of both primary and secondary colors. Primary colors are placed adjacent to each other over a specific distance. Meanwhile, secondary colors are located between the primary ones. There are “analogous” colors that are a combination of two colors. Color harmony is an important element in maintaining aesthetics in cinematography or photography.
3. Color Grading Tools
Since the visual competition among editors increased, grading tools have become very popular. These tools are a handful when it comes to removing and adjusting flaws in your content. For example, you can choose their masking option to apply a color to a specific person. You can enhance the brightness, contrast, highlights, and more in these videos.
While you can manually adjust coloring factors in your video, there’s another development. The collaboration between these color grading tools and AI technologies has made the process 10X faster. On initiating a tool and after giving a few commands, it can auto-enhance visuals of your picture and videos.
4. Color Schemes
Understanding color schemes refers to the process of knowing the color tones and moods according to your video. The major step taught in cinematography about color schemes is the knowledge of colors and art. Having knowledge about the history of art helps you in evaluating the right colors for a shot. After that, you choose the colors on a color wheel referred to as “Color Harmony.”
On the color wheel, editors apply different color schemes that compliment the overall outlook of the video. For example, in the Complementary color scheme, you select two colors present at 90 degrees on the color wheel. Similar to this, there are other color schemes, i.e., Analogous, Triadic, and more. These schemes are set as per the shot's vibe or background.
5. Color Symbolism
Color symbolism refers to the effect of a specific color on the mind. While reading about the psychology of colors, it came to the filmmakers' attention that colors impact the mind in a specific way. Specific colors represent specific emotions among cultures. Color symbolism is all about using color in shots that match the present emotion of the characters.
For example, the "Red” color is used for showing emotions of passion, lust, intensity, or danger. Similarly, the “Green” color represents fertility, nature, sickness, and healing. Moreover, the "Blue” color conveys stability, wisdom, and security. All these colors have been used in films to engage viewers’ attention more.
Part 2: Color Grading vs. Color Correction
Now that you're aware of color grading, here is how you can differentiate it from color correction. Color correction is the process of removing the flaws in an image or video. It is the first step in editing a video. In color grading, you adjust elements like Brightness, Shadow, or Highlights. The goal of color correction is to alter any imbalances that can decrease a viewer's interest in a video.
Meanwhile, color grading refers to the process of making a video stylish while keeping in view its vibe. It means doing additional settings to make a scene worthy of viewers' attention. It includes components like adjusting curves, changing tones, and enhancing skin tones. Furthermore, after color grading, you can perform color correction once again to correct the overall video.
Part 3: Wondershare Filmora Video Editing: Color Grading Feature
While we're on color grading, let's talk about how you can do it using Wondershare Filmora. It is an editing software that assists in multiple audio and video enhancement objectives. Its user-friendly interface and AI integration help in automated editing. It claims to be a worldwide platform because anyone with beginner editing skills can use it.
Moreover, Wondershare Filmora offers hundreds of free effects, filters, and stickers. It has pre-installed filters and effects that you can access from its library. Furthermore, introducing AI collaborative tools has made it more accessible than ever.
Steps to Perform Color Grading in Wondershare Filmora
While you look for a proper avenue to perform color grading, Filmora offers a unique perspective to this process. Look through the steps below to learn how to color grade your video using this video editor:
Step 1Initiate & Add Input
To start editing in Wondershare Filmora, it is necessary to download the software on your device. After that, start Filmora and locate the "New Project" button. Upon clicking this button, you'll find yourself in an editing window. From the custom toolbar, go to the "Media" tab, and under "Project Media," import your files.
Step 2Bring Media to Timeline And Start Editing
After importing your media, drag and drop it on the timeline. Click the video in the timeline panel, and a setting/editing panel will emerge at the top. Go to the "Colors" tab on that panel, and you'll see 4 sub-tabs named "Basic," "HSL," "Curves," and "Color Wheels."
Step 3Making Changes in Basic Tab
Under the "Basic" sub-tab, you can adjust the tones like White Balance, Temperature, and Saturation under the "Color" section. Under the “Light” section, you can enhance elements like Contrast, Brightness, Shadow, and more.
Step 4Look Into HSL Settings
Navigate to the “HSL” sub-tab, where you can find options to adjust Hue, Saturation, and Luminance for different colors. For example, if you want to decrease the red color in your video, you can do it by selecting red.
Step 5Make Changes in Curves and Color Wheels
Under the "Curves" sub-tab, you can change the position of the curve to adjust light exposure. Under “Color Wheels," you can see settings like Highlights, Shadows, and Midtones for your content.
Step 6Preview & Export
After you're done with color grading, go to the timeline toolbar and click the "Render Preview." By doing this, you'll be able to see the final preview of your video on the preview screen. Once the results meet your expectations, go to "Export" to download your video.
Conclusion
After reviewing this article, you must have been aware of color grading and correction. Although both are related to color, they serve a different purpose. One improves the visuals, and the other adds style. Moreover, we recommend you choose Wondershare Filmora for color grading because it is extremely simple. These color settings are free and accessible to anyone with the latest version.
