Colorgrading

 

So... my film opening is officially done! Hooray! But, I'm not going to show you all just yet. I've actually been considering making a few adjustments. This includes colorgrading.

Colorgrading is done in post-production and involves manipulating a clip's saturation, contrast, and tone to evoke a certain aesthetic. It's basically like slapping a filter onto your film! But also, not quite. It is more complex than this. Certain elements need to be altered carefully to achieve a specific look and effect. This process often needs to be repeated throughout a scene's entirety to maintain visual cohesion.

A film that's widely recognized for its striking colorgrading is Twilight. The entire film is tinted green, making the atmosphere feel gothic and cold. This is something I plan to do for my protagonist Jillian. For her scenes, I want to add high contrast and bluish-purple tint to make it look moody and also "alternative." This is the same vibe that's achieved here, just with different colors.

To do this, I'm going to use the filters avaliable on iPhone's camera app. I'm using "dramatic cool" for Jillian to get a desaturated, cold look, which matches her moody personality. But, I'm going to use "dramatic warm" and "vivid warm" for Lihi's scenes. This matches her bright and warm demeanor.

Overall, this showed me how different colors and tints can be used to "set a mood" and portray different characters. Especially as a beginner film-maker with a limited budget, colorgrading can prove super helpful in making your film look more sophisticated and visually appealing!