Because I don't like how my film is looking currently, I physically won’t be happy handing it in looking the way it does right now. I have also finished all of the promotional work on my film quicker than expected, so I technically have the rest of this week to try and make my film look as good as possible.
So instead of handing in work that I am unhappy with, I thought I would practise more grading on other log footage I found online. By doing this I’m hoping I can get back to my film with a fresh mind and try again.
There is a YouTube account that uploads log footage for people to practise grading. They also mention what log profile they used on the clips, so it makes it easy for me to turn them into Rec.709 using the built in LUTs in Resolve, essentially meaning I don’t have to correct the clips.
^This is something I wish was possible when editing ’The Split’, as I would have saved a couple days editing. But due to lack of actual film cameras at UCA, and my lack of money to buy my own film camera with Log settings, it wasn’t possible.
Below shows the clips I used, before I edited them:
Log footage before editing.
Editing - Responding to previous research:
I used the exact same process as I did with my film footage (shown in my 10/5 blog post), because I want to see whether it’s my lack of ability that has made my film footage look bad, or whether it’s the footage itself.
I have previously made a blog post responding to the colour grading work in Joker (2019), and it was really fun, so I tried again, along with more response to 2 other films.
Joker (2019):
I used a split screen and imported screenshots from the films so could compare the scopes of the footage I was using, compared to the screenshot.
Time-lapse of editing process.
Joker has a very teal and orange theme to it, so that was the effect I was trying to achieve when editing my footage.
Before footage of the video.
Final graded video.
The Lion King (2019):
I would have used the cartoon Lion King as inspiration, but the 2019 version is a ‘real life version’ so comparing the grading to my own would make it a lot easier.
Time-lapse of grading process.
I used the same technique I used for the Joker grade, comparing the scopes of the inspiration grade to my own.
Below shows the scopes at different stages of editing, the split down the middle shows the split screen I used to compare both of my clips.
Scopes before editing, Scopes after adding LUT, Scopes after grading.
I didn’t particularly like how this specific clip turned out, but I think it was quite similar to the reference I used.
Video before grading.
Video after.
Amelie (2001):
The final film I chose to colour grade like was Amelie, well known for it’s use of complementary green and red colours. I thought it would be an interesting choice, and although I messed up the mask of the statue, I think it turned out alright.
Time-lapse of grading process.
Video before grading.
Video after.
Final Footage:
In the end, this is how the videos turned out. I think they turned out pretty well and I’m proud of how I have corrected/graded them. It has made me feel a lot more confident in how I feel about grading things, as I started to doubt my ability.
Final graded footages, showing before and after.
Conclusion:
Overall, now I have practised grading with these log videos, I want to go back and try again with my film footage, to see whether I can improve it from how it looks right now.
Because I used the same process for both my film and the practise I have done today, I’ve got a feeling it’s because of how I shot the film, that it didn't turn out very well.
Either way, I am going to try editing my film again tomorrow, as I still have the weekend left and have nothing else I need to do.
Video References:
Playlist of log footage:
Amara, A (2021), YouTube, Colorgrading Practice Footage, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3FmF-b5bDOYlPiK2KrmJn5OfXYjkhjEQ (Accessed 13/5/22)
Link to separate videos:
Amara, A (2021), YouTube, Sony Alpha A7s Mark II 4k UHD, S Log 2 | Ungraded log footage Free Download Link, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axTk8tZqOf8&list=PL3FmF-b5bDOYlPiK2KrmJn5OfXYjkhjEQ&index=16 (Accessed 13/5/22)
Amara, A (2021), YouTube, Sony Alpha A6300 4k UHD, Picture Profile 8 & 7, S Log 3 | Ungraded log footage Free Download link, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4pdvTR3PIc&list=PL3FmF-b5bDOYlPiK2KrmJn5OfXYjkhjEQ&index=17 (Accessed 13/5/22)
Amara, A (2022), YouTube, Z Cam E2-F6 | 60fps Prores 422 LT C4K 2.4:1 Ungraded footage | Free Download | Practice Colorgrading, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkJLrycv4gg&list=PL3FmF-b5bDOYlPiK2KrmJn5OfXYjkhjEQ&index=50 (Accessed 13/5/22)
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