Colour Grading 

You may never have heard of colour grading, what it is or the importance of it, but I bet you could tell the difference in styles across some of your favourite films. There is real art and science behind colour grading and if you’re a passionate film geek like us at Dynomite, you’ll be all over its magnitude to transform raw footage into magic.

Colour grading is the process of adjusting colours, contrast, and lighting in post-production to achieve a specific aesthetic or mood. It differs from colour correction, which focuses on balancing colours to make them appear natural. Grading, on the other hand, is where creativity comes into play, allowing filmmakers to create unique visual styles to achieve all the key components of storytelling, such as:

  • Mood & Emotion: Different colour schemes evoke different emotions. Warm tones create nostalgia, while cool tones suggest tension or melancholy.
  • Consistency: Ensures a uniform look throughout a project, even if lighting conditions vary.
  • Storytelling: Reinforces themes and atmosphere, helping to guide the viewer’s experience.
  • Professional Appeal: Enhances the quality of visuals, making them appear more polished and cinematic.

Here’s some of the popular colour grading styles in film and film examples you’ll be sure to know:

  • Vintage & Faded – Soft, nostalgic colours, as used in The Grand Budapest Hotel
  • Teal & Orange – A high-contrast, cinematic look used in Mad Max: Fury Road and Transformers.
  • Desaturated & Cool – A moody, dystopian aesthetic as seen in The Road
  • High-Contrast & Vibrant – Bold and energetic, as seen in Blade Runner 2049 

We love choosing the right tools to manipulate colour effectively to create unique visual styles for our clients’ content. Colour grading is a fundamental process in filmmaking that transforms raw visuals into stunning, emotionally resonant images.

Now, when you watch your next film, take a moment to look at the colour and the difference it’s made to the film. If you’d like to talk about colour grading, discuss your favourite style or learn more about the filming process for your production, drop us a line, we could talk about film all day – sales@dynomiteproductions.co.uk.