Color Grading vs. Color Correction

Date published

April 1, 2023

We’ll get right to the point.

‘Color correcting’ refers to fixing colors in a video or a film to get them back to what they should look like for your project. This is more of a science than an art since there is an objectively accurate way the scene you shot looked in reality, and there’s an objectively accurate way to compare that reality with your footage.
‘Color grading,’ on the other hand, is the process of editing colors in a video or film to give them a stylistic look. This is more of an art than science, and quality color grading can help you develop and create your unique style as an editor.

While many conflate color grading with color correction, they’re separate steps in the editing process:

First comes color correction. Here, the editor is taking raw footage, which tends to be oversaturated, and balancing it so it looks compatible with how your eyes see the world. In many projects, such as a TV news report, this may end the coloring process.
In other video or film projects, however, the editor then color grades, by manipulating the intensity of the colors and light in the footage. Since colors can evoke emotions, this process helps convey a mood to the audience and is important in turning a project’s vision into reality. The result is footage that looks more stylized than how your eyes see the world, and the better your color grading, the more influential your videos will be, and the more audiences will seek out your work.

Just remember: Achieving expert color grading begins before the post-production stage and requires planning before your shoot when possible.

Keep reading about post-production