Okuzeka
Film & Television vocabulary · Editing and Post-Production

Color grading

Meaning in film & television, with examples

/ˈkʌlə ˌɡreɪdɪŋ/nounCommon term

In film & television, color grading means: The post-production process of adjusting the colors, contrast and brightness of the images to give the film a consistent and expressive look.

In Turkish: renk düzenleme, renk derecelendirme, color grading

How it is used

Done by a colorist, often in DaVinci Resolve, after the picture is locked. Color correction fixes technical problems; grading creates the creative look. People talk about the grade, a warm or cold grade and a LUT (a preset color transformation).

Example sentences

  1. The color grading gives the flashbacks a faded, yellow look.

  2. We have five days of color grading booked for the feature.

Common collocations

  • color grading session
  • colorist
  • final grade
  • color correction
  • grading suite
  • post-productionAll the work done on a film after the shoot ends, including editing, visual effects, color grading, sound design, music and the final mix.
  • visual effectsImages that are created or changed digitally after filming, such as adding crowds, removing objects, building cities or creating creatures.
  • final cutThe finished, approved version of an edited film. Final cut is also the contractual right to decide what that version will be.
  • cinematographerThe head of the camera and lighting departments, who decides with the director how the film will look: framing, lenses, camera movement and light.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Editing and Post-Production

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: