Color Grading 101 – Defeating the Tyranny Of The First Move

Part 1 – Learning how to decide your first ‘color grading’ move

I recently got this email through the Mixing Light support channel, which is representative of many that have been coming in since we revamped our Membership levels/pricing late last year:

I want to learn Color grading and advance in it. I have taken [a] basic course … using DaVinci … [and] I want to learn from the root rather than starting with look creation from first.

Typical Mixing Light support channel inquiry

My first impression of this emailer is: Fantastic. They recognize that Looks are not the root purpose of color grading. And this emailer understands that they are missing some core skills.

Since I started teaching color grading in 2006, I’ve come to understand that there are two parts to the answer to, ‘How do I learn to color grade?’

Learning to Color Grade: Step 1 – Pick a toolset. Learn it.

This Insight series I’m starting today assumes you understand the DaVinci Resolve toolset – particularly the Color Page. For me to teach you the process of color grading, you need to understand the tools you’ll be using for color grading.