In this text, I’m going to indicate you one of many easiest and quickest methods you’ll be able to improve the visible impression of your pictures if you’re colour grading. I’m speaking about colour separation or what is usually referred to as colour distinction. It’s one thing we must always at all times be fascinated about once we’re engaged on our grades.
As an expert colorist, it’s very uncommon for me to take a look at a picture and say, “Gosh, there’s just too much color separation!” It’s way more widespread for me to need extra colour separation, which additionally offers extra fullness to my pictures. Let me present you the way I work via a grade whereas holding colour separation in thoughts.
Using the general search for colour separation
In this timeline, I’ve a clear group of pictures that I haven’t completed any grading on in any respect. I’ve already arrange my total colour administration, and I’m now able to dive into implementing an total look.
This total look will not be one thing I wish to skip proper previous. It’s our first large alternative to introduce some colour separation. To provide you with a way of what I imply, let’s go over to the Timeline part of the node graph, which is the place we will apply changes which can be going to impression each shot in our timeline.
I’ve already chosen a couple of LUTs from my Voyager LUT pack, and they’re already giving us a pleasant baseline stage of colour separation. These LUTs are principally pushing our cooler colours into the underside finish of our picture whereas additionally pushing the nice and cozy colours into the highest. If we have a look at the Vectorscope, we will see precisely how the LUT stretches our picture colours out alongside the nice and cozy/cool axis. Without this total look, we might have needed to grade every particular person shot to attain the muse.
You can use the slider to see how this LUT stretches the picture colours alongside the nice and cozy/cool axis.
Clip-level grading for colour separation
Now we will start to grade on prime of our total look. Let’s go over to the Clip part of the node graph and work our approach via it. First, we’ll navigate to the Exposure node and use the Offset wheel to tweak the general ranges. Then, within the Ratio node, we’ll management the Contrast and Pivot a bit.
This is beginning to look fairly good. And right here is our subsequent alternative to create some actually good colour separation on this picture.
In the Balance node, colour separation is the primary factor I’m fascinated about. You’ll typically hear colorists speak about balancing by way of “correcting” the picture for impartial shadows and highlights. But for me, these issues aren’t as vital. My two key priorities once I’m within the Balance node are to make pores and skin tones look nice and to max out colour separation. And you’re going to seek out that these two priorities typically go hand in hand.
I’ll begin by adjusting my Offset to try to max out our colour separation. Offset is a good basis for making stability changes. There’s a precept I at all times attempt to observe: Simplicity beats complexity and broad beats slim. Offset is straightforward and broad. So if it will get the job completed, that’s the instrument it’s best to use.
When it involves introducing colour separation, generally we will get extra separation by working our Balance node with our Lift, Gamma, and Gain. To provide you with a way for the way this could work, I’m going to modify over to my Gain and heat issues up. Then I’m going to modify again to Offset and funky the picture off. That’s going to present me a bit of bit extra colour separation than I had a second in the past.
Don’t push issues too far
It’s fairly straightforward to go too far if you begin taking part in together with your colour separation like this. You wish to ensure you’re not making your picture look odd or unnatural. Just like every thing in grading, you’ll be able to push colour separation too far, so be conscious of that.
But on the similar time, don’t be afraid to experiment with Lift, Gamma, and Gain. Try them out and see in case you can actually max out and articulate the colours and hues inside your pictures.
Using Secondaries for colour separation
I feel we’ve completed a superb job on our first picture, however let’s do another factor. Go all the way down to the Secondaries department of the node graph and flip the colour area to HSV. Then set the Channels to Channel 2 solely. That approach, we’re solely engaged on the “S” or the Saturation channel inside this colour mannequin.
Now that our Channels are arrange, let’s improve our Gamma and play the Gain towards it to see if we will get extra colour separation. We’ll go a bit of bit too far on objective to start out, till our pores and skin tones begin to look a bit of unusual. Then, we’ll return to Offset and rebalance the picture till every thing begins trying good once more.
Again, you wish to be conscious that you simply’re not overcooking the grade. But if we’re attempting to max out colour separation, generally you need to push issues too far after which again it off a bit of.
If you employ the slider beneath, you’ll be able to see simply how far we’ve come just by being conscious of colour separation. And that is solely our first move. If we proceed paying consideration, we will discover much more alternatives to introduce colour separation all through the remainder of our grading course of.
Use the slider above to check our picture earlier than and after this colour separation train.
Pay consideration to your quadrants
Let’s transfer on to our subsequent shot and see how we will enhance on our colour separation.
Let’s begin the identical approach we started in our first instance. First, set the publicity and distinction. (They’re each trying fairly good, truthfully.) Then go over to the Balance node and work the Offset till issues heat up a bit.
rule of thumb for introducing colour separation is to ensure you are straddling at the very least two quadrants of your vectorscope together with your sign mass. For instance, have a look at what occurs if I push the sign approach up right into a single quadrant.
We’ve bought tremendous low colour separation, proper? Everything in our picture is now some taste of yellow or purple. But what occurs if we alter our sign mass till it’s residing in two separate quadrants? There’s way more colour separation now, proper?
This picture is one other instance the place you’ll be able to attempt to play your Gamma or Gain towards your Offset adjustment to see what you’ll be able to provide you with. There’s no proper or fallacious approach to do that. It’s one thing that you may experiment with till you get some attention-grabbing outcomes.
Using saturation to extend colour separation
Let’s transfer on to shot quantity three. The very first thing I wish to do to this picture is improve its saturation.
I can do this by growing the saturation within the Balance node. Then let’s praise that by cooling issues off a bit of bit utilizing an Offset adjustment. Also, I really feel like we may pair that Offset adjustment with a Gain or Gamma adjustment, so I’ll heat issues up within the center after which use Offset to chill it off once more.
This picture is actually beginning to pop now. Those Saturation, Offset, and Gamma adjustment are beginning to create some good colour separation within the picture. This is one other good instance of how we will prioritize colour separation whereas we’re working our approach via a colour grade.
Mixing Saturation and Balance
Let’s transfer to our fourth shot for another instance. As you’ll be able to see, the publicity is a bit of off.
Just as a result of we’re centered on colour separation doesn’t imply we wish to skip over the basics. Let’s set this publicity to a more healthy place in order that we will see every thing moderately nicely.
Now that our publicity is ready up, let’s attempt to get some extra colour separation by stealing the Saturation channel trick we used on our first picture. We do this by navigating to our first shot, choosing the node we wish to copy, and hitting command+C. Then we’ll navigate again to picture quantity 4, choose that very same Secondaries node, and use command+V to stick it on.
When you’re working with saturation, you’ll uncover that the extra you saturate, the extra you’ll must finesse your Balance. That’s as a result of any imbalance goes to turn out to be actually apparent if you improve your total saturation.
In this instance, let’s begin by growing our Gamma and our Gain utilizing our new Saturation node. Then we will transfer over to our Balance node and funky issues off a bit. We’ll transfer our colours a bit of bit away from the inexperienced aspect of issues as nicely.
That’s beginning to look good. We’re undoubtedly shifting in the precise course.
Don’t overlook to be messy
That’s how I am going via the primary move of a colour grade. I at all times follow the basics, however I additionally pay further particular consideration to paint separation.
Whether we’re speaking about colour separation particularly or colour grading usually, it’s best to at all times attempt to make a large number of your first move. Throw some paint on the wall. Make your picture seem like a messy artwork studio! Don’t fear, you’ll be able to at all times pull issues again later. It’s at all times potential to reign in your colour grades after that first move.
My level is, in case you don’t strive issues, you’ll by no means know in case you may have completed one thing attention-grabbing. For instance, once I was engaged on our first picture, I actually overcooked the saturation. But I’m glad I went that far. I might moderately go too far than not far sufficient. That’s as a result of if you go too far, you create a boundary. Then you’ll be able to pull again from that boundary and work on discovering your candy spot.
So, go wild! Discover your boundaries. Hopefully these examples will make it easier to determine new alternatives to introduce colour separation into your pictures.
