Since I am teaching color correction/grading in my Digital Editing class (PHT 274), I thought I would show a few stills from the forthcoming behind-the-scenes video series to accompany the NOVA Woodbridge film program promotional video (due in Woodbridge theaters after Thanksgiving).

These are the baseline expectation for any film student because these stills only received primary adjustments (no secondary adjustments, effects, or filters performed/applied).

These stills are examples of the most basic form of correction in balancing colors and adding contrast to taste.  Granted, these might be more over saturated than most would like but I enjoy my colors to pop.

From here, the next step is to perform secondary corrections to get the look you want. For example, do we want to further smooth out the skin of our actors to remove any blemishes, or add a sun-kissed look to their skin tone, or give a little punch to their hair color, or even blur the edges of the frame to place emphasis on the center of frame?  There are many secondary decisions to be made while color grading and each is specific to the style the filmmaker envisions.

However, we spent more time on the actual promotional video rather than these behind-the-scenes shots, so we are leaving it at the primary adjustment level and just ensuring the colors are balanced and we added an appropriate level of contrast.

Keep checking back for the videos to be on this site.  We will also be promoting them on our new Facebook and Twitter pages: NOVAFilmExposed.