How to color grade your video for a cinematic look, step by step

The most common mistake is to drop a LUT or a preset on top and call it done. It looks fine on one shot and wrong on the next, and skin turns orange. The film look comes from doing things in order. This is the order I use on every project as a video editor and colorist.

1. Normalize (convert the log)

If you shot log (S-Log3, V-Log, Apple Log, C-Log), the footage looks grey and washed out. First take it to Rec.709, which is what a normal screen shows:

• DaVinci Resolve: a node with Color Space Transform, from your camera's color space and gamma to Rec.709 Gamma 2.4.
• Premiere Pro: Lumetri Color › Basic Correction › Input LUT, with your camera's official conversion LUT.

Shot in a normal picture profile? Skip this step. Camera by camera: Sony S-Log3, Panasonic V-Log and Fujifilm F-Log2, iPhone Apple Log.

2. Exposure and contrast

Open the scopes (Waveform or Parade). Blacks near 0 without crushing them, highlights under 100 so the sky does not clip. Contrast is built here, not with the look.

3. White balance

Find something that should be white or grey and bring its three Parade channels to the same height. A tint you did not choose makes a video look amateur even when everything else is right.

4. Skin

If there are people, check skin on the vectorscope: it should sit on the skin tone line (the diagonal between red and yellow). If it drifts toward magenta or green, fix it with a window or a qualifier on the skin only.

5. The look

Now the style. The classic cinematic look:

• Shadows slightly toward teal and highlights toward warm. Subtle: if you can see the effect, it is too much.
• Pull back the saturation of colors that distract (loud greens, electric blues).
• A creative LUT works well here, at 40 to 70% intensity.

6. Match the shots

This is what separates a professional video from a home one: every shot in a scene should feel like the same moment. Compare each shot with a reference shot side by side (DaVinci: split screen in the viewer; Premiere: Comparison View) and adjust exposure and balance until nothing jumps at the cut.

7. Check on another screen

Watch it on your phone before you deliver. Most people will see it there, with brightness up.

Summary

1. Normalize the log.
2. Exposure and contrast with scopes.
3. White balance.
4. Skin on its line.
5. Look, subtle, last.
6. Shots matched.

Need to load a LUT first? See free LUTs for Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve.

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