The ultimate goal of this section is to guide your through our remote color grading project. Let’s jump to it!

project setup

Holy sh*t, why so many questions right away? Better safe than sorry, right? I usually talk through these details via email, and It’s essential to establish these parameters BEFORE I start grading. Otherwise, this could be a burdensome task for both of us.

  • What is the deadline for the current project?

  • Where your video is going to be displayed? Web? broadcast?

  • What is the length of the video? How many TBs are we talking about?

  • Are you going to provide the raw/log files or the rendered/pre-conformed file?

  • Framerate?

  • Resolution and proportions? Is it going to be HD, UHD, 4K? Horizontal or vertical?

  • Is it a HDR project?

  • What cameras and colorspace have been used in the video?

  • Will you need me to finish and master the project?

How many hours have you spent in front of the screen editing all these clips? A lot, I know! So here’s the plan. Let’s make sure we go through this as seamlessly as possible. Make sure you transfer your footage ahead of your color booking and deadline. 

FOOTAGE TRANSFER

  • Will you store my files? I usually have limited storage space in my cloud services, so keeping that in mind is fundamental. I'll do my best to handle your files in my storage space, but if you have the files stored in your own cloud service and want to share the folder with me, that's even preferable. Storage space will influence the total cost of the color grading process, so keep that in mind.

FILE TYPE

  • RAW files? Make sure all original camera footage is properly set. If transcoded files were used, ensure they maintain the frame rate and timecode of the original footage. 

  • ProRes 4444 XQ, ProRes 422 HQ files? Make sure the video is 100% locked in. Remove any temporary color correction effects, transitions, fades, wipes. Also make sure to disable titles, and graphics. 

  • Show LUTs? In case you used any LUTs during recording, make sure to include them as well.

PREPARING THE TIMELINE

  • The less, the better. Condense the video tracks, remove all audio, and leave speed ramps and any dynamic effects to be added after the color grading steps, as roundtrips could potentially result in artifacts. Export your timeline as a .XML file (Premiere, FCPX), an AAF (AVID) or a .DRT (Resolve).  

REFERENCES

  • I'm always open to color references.  Do you have a specific mood for your video? An idea of a look? Send them over, I'll evaluate if it's possible to achieve such a look with your footage. Keep in mind that color grading heavily relies on the production (lighting setup, camera angle, filters, etc), so it's not a post-production magic trick, and unfortunately, sometimes it may not be possible to achieve your expectations.

COLOR GRADING & REVISIONS

  • Bias light turned on, calibrated monitor connected to a clean feed, it's time to dive into color.  After successfully recreating your timeline in Resolve, I’ll start grading and testing out different looks based on our previous conversation and references you sent over.

  • Does it satisfy your needs? After finishing my color grading session, I'll export the review file and send it you over to you for proper evaluation (i.e. Dropbox, Google Drive, Frame.io).

  • Maybe you could highlight that a little more. Don't worry, it's totally fine if something in your footage bother your eyes, I'll do my best to correct it.

delivery & PAYMENT

  • You're all set! After the last revision round and your approval, I'll render your file and send it over to you via the cloud (i.e., Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.).

  • How can I pay you? I work on a NET 15 payment basis, so I'll send you the invoice via email.

THE TURNOVER