View Full Version : Grade this
I posted this in another thread and am really curious to see how you guys would grade this. Try going for something natural, something you would see in a comedy film, so nothing matrix like or night time.
I constantly find myself trying to go for something nice, but end up either going too contrasty or too color cast'y.
Please give it a try and post your results:
http://img813.imageshack.us/img813/7512/babirawaf100.jpg
wreck2
05-11-2011, 07:36 AM
33984
I just threw this in a 720p timeline. I'm just getting into color grading, I may have made it a bit too warm.
Bante
05-11-2011, 07:43 AM
33985
Here is my attempt!
wreck2
05-11-2011, 07:58 AM
Defiantly like yours more. It really pulls the colors out!
Zacatac
05-11-2011, 08:19 AM
Here's my attempt, very hard to give is a bloomy comedy look without a different colored background.
i agree. just going for something natural. nice skin tone. Nothing too contrasty but not too flat. Hard to explain i guess. I'm focusing mainly on the skin tone and hair. Obviously with lighting everything changes, but iw anted to see what could be done with something under natural conditions and no art direction.
keep em coming.
My go at it would be something like this:
http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/2264/babicorrected.jpg
@Bante
You gave it a bit of a reverse S curve on the blue channel?
Bante
05-11-2011, 08:47 AM
I actually have a standard S-Curve on all channels, but I added some blue/green in the blacks to make the hair seperate from her face. I see you have some green in your blacks too, nice!
David W. Jones
05-11-2011, 09:13 AM
Starting to see compression artifacts now but....
Hidef1080
05-11-2011, 09:15 AM
http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg256/hidef1080/Sequence01.jpg
natums
05-11-2011, 10:38 AM
What's with the weird shadow along the top?
Zacatac
05-11-2011, 10:43 AM
You guys have to remember to preserve her skin tone, thats the most important especially for what Papa wants as a comedy look.
You guys are either going to warm or too cold, and Papa, I like your grade, but there is too much blue in her hair, I'm not saying I'm an expert, but CC is my love.
EDIT: and I now notice even mine, because I re-jpeged it, is a lot lighter than my actual grade.
natums
05-11-2011, 10:53 AM
What's a better way to export a jpg... I did a screenshot, never really worried about pulling jpgs from video before with any precise amount of accuracy in color.
Why is nobody else severely bother by the vignette along the top from a lens hood or something?! I tried to improve it but the color is off so now it's yellow...
http://i56.tinypic.com/2m2tdgl.jpg
sorry, i wrote in the other thread that the vignette is just the top of the mattebox creeping in lol. Nothing serious.
natums
05-11-2011, 10:59 AM
shitty. that's what I figured since it's flat. Have you figured out a good balance of gradient exposure to correct it? I am at +1.8 stops and with a pretty hard drop off. looks better than my screen shot up there now but still not right... OCD.
You guys have to remember to preserve her skin tone, thats the most important especially for what Papa wants as a comedy look.
You guys are either going to warm or too cold, and Papa, I like your grade, but there is too much blue in her hair, I'm not saying I'm an expert, but CC is my love.
EDIT: and I now notice even mine, because I re-jpeged it, is a lot lighter than my actual grade.
exactly, preserving the skin tone, going for something very naturally, pleasing, not flat, but not 2006-2009 crushed black frenzy. Something smooth, pleasing.
my curves have tended to change over time too from the left to the right. I feel it's more flatering on the skin tone and delivers a closer look for what I'm going after most of the time:
http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/7353/oldcurvenewcurve.jpg
I do also play around gently with the RGB curve as well.
natums
05-11-2011, 11:03 AM
a bit warm but...
http://i53.tinypic.com/2m28bgj.jpg
exactly, preserving the skin tone, going for something very naturally, pleasing, not flat, but not 2006-2009 crushed black frenzy. Something smooth, pleasing.
How about some reference pictures / stills from actual movies of the look you think about?
William_Robinette
05-11-2011, 11:12 AM
Why do almost all of you guys bias your blacks to a green/blue hue?
Papa I think yours looks the best, but really this shot needs lighting and art direction more then color correction I think. Was this a test?
Everts
05-11-2011, 11:20 AM
+1 I feel as if her face is a stop underexposed...for comedy everyones face is lit....a clear picture.
The grade will then be just subtle changes; more a color correction then a color grade.
Zacatack's version looks great IMO !
roro20
05-11-2011, 11:41 AM
Here's my throw at it...
34010
natums
05-11-2011, 11:50 AM
+1 I feel as if her face is a stop underexposed...for comedy everyones face is lit....a clear picture.
The grade will then be just subtle changes; more a color correction then a color grade.
Zacatack's version looks great IMO !
true, but that's the price you pay with natural light.
triplej96
05-11-2011, 12:37 PM
34011
I'm not a colorist by trade I'm a VFX artist but I took a crack at it with Colorista II. I was using a still from the TV Entourage for a reference. I also removed a few distracting things from the edges of the frame. That is something I do a lot for clients being a VFX guy.
Cheers,
Josh
Why do almost all of you guys bias your blacks to a green/blue hue?
Papa I think yours looks the best, but really this shot needs lighting and art direction more then color correction I think. Was this a test?
Yes it does, I hate to repeat myself but I said what you said already. I just wanted to see how some of you do your grading with this type of shot. That's all.
+1 I feel as if her face is a stop underexposed...for comedy everyones face is lit....a clear picture.
The grade will then be just subtle changes; more a color correction then a color grade.
Zacatack's version looks great IMO !
Her face is a little under, maybe not a stop but .5 stops and there is a general lack of contrast in the shot. I just wanted to see how you guys treat skin tone under these conditions.
Noel Evans
05-11-2011, 03:06 PM
Papa I think yours looks the best, but really this shot needs lighting and art direction more then color correction I think. Was this a test?
Agree. Really very flat, but I had a crack and tried to bring something back - for comedy though? The start image makes it hard to get it where I'd be happy with it.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/attachment.php?attachmentid=34021&d=1305151546
For sure, I was just curious to see how you guys would grade this. I am aware of all of the rest.
Lumiere
05-11-2011, 03:49 PM
34027
Shooter
05-11-2011, 04:58 PM
I would like to see it a bit more "gutsy".
Not sure if "comedy" is a way to describe it though! Subject aint a larf a minute.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u262/shooterbucket/shooter-grade-babirawaf100.png
Haha, nice shooter. Night of the living Grandma.
jburke14
05-11-2011, 05:09 PM
34031
Nothing special. Just trying to make her seem gentle. and giving it a little boost of color and contrast, and some golden yellow to help make her not as 'pale'
Shooter
05-11-2011, 11:02 PM
Haha, nice shooter. Night of the living Grandma.
Well she has three eye lights so thats pretty scary to start with.! ( and I didnt do her hair)
Seriously...I graded it a little exagerated... but I was more interested to see if I could pull her out of the BG ( separate her and give the shot some depth and focus)
Looks like she has been shot with a promist or similar and tonally , she has flattened out.
hendosan
05-11-2011, 11:19 PM
I would like to see it a bit more "gutsy".
Not sure if "comedy" is a way to describe it though! Subject aint a larf a minute.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u262/shooterbucket/shooter-grade-babirawaf100.png
I like this one the best. I like really pushing those highlights and making it more contrasty, but I always get feedback from clients that forces me to go more conservatively.
Greg Smith
05-11-2011, 11:29 PM
When I saw the image, my first thought was "more contrast." I would probably dial back the color saturation a tiny bit from what Shooter has produced, but otherwise I think his interpretation is spot on.
- Greg
Steve Kahn
05-12-2011, 12:35 PM
I would like to see it a bit more "gutsy".
Not sure if "comedy" is a way to describe it though! Subject aint a larf a minute.
http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u262/shooterbucket/shooter-grade-babirawaf100.png
If this is a comedy scene this one wins. Comedy is big, loud and colorful. (Woody Allen is notorious for pushing his reds like mad)
If you're going for Ingmar Bergman-esque then Papa's flatter image is best.
The web series is going to have an ala Judd Apatow feeling.
Magnus387
05-12-2011, 01:37 PM
34070
Thought I'd give this a whirl, keeping in mind the Judd Apatow comment. Definitely not as contrasty as you were going for, but it softens up her face a bit and brings some color to her eyes.
Thoughts?
Navigas
05-15-2011, 03:17 AM
34117
Here´s my rendition :) Made a quick mask to separate the face a bit from the background.
ugafan
05-17-2011, 02:05 AM
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/dawgman1/grandma.jpg
Matthew Benjamin Canada
05-17-2011, 09:32 PM
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v435/dawgman1/grandma.jpg
Amazing.