Week 14 – Importance of Grading/Colour Correction

As an editor, I feel that I’m always rushing to complete whatever project I am doing. The majority of my videos are rushed but are given a ‘pass’ as watchable. Having done some reading on Paul Hardy’s ‘Filming on a Microbudget’ and following the process of this project, I’ve realised I’ve missed a huge tool that is in my advantage. Of course, I am talking about grading or colour correcting your video. This is another department where I have advanced my skills in after this module. Having worked with professional equipment and using the JVC cameras, you set yourself high standards for everything else that follows. So even when I make a short video for youtube, I colour grade it. I do this now but find it an amazing tool and therefore have fun with it. The alterations made does make it look ‘filmic’ and it’s an excellent viewing pleasure from a media student’s perspective. The only downside to this is the rendering factor and this can take a lot of time. Now that I’m recording my projects in HD, this becomes more of a lengthy journey, but the outcome is worth the wait.

Here is a screen grab of a Wolverhampton project I’ve recently worked on. Just looking at the original compared to the after effects and it amazes me how so many of my old videos are just ordinary shots!