Like every shot sequence colour grading is key, Colour Grading London (2024) make the point that :-
"Colour grading can be used by documentary filmmakers to help highlight changes in seasons and weather, or to exaggerate the natural colour and hues found in animals, birds, or plants."
As my reel is focused on nature, and final submission will be a documentary it's key to remember the importance of colour grading.
I mentioned earlier that the lighting wasn't great, with it being a dull and overcast day the original shots looked something like the below
As you can see they are quite dull, in the first one the squirrel is barely noticeable, yes there's a bit of light and colour either side of the tree but that's not the focal point, the squirrel is !
In the second one the varying colours of the leaves and texture of the ground etc is hardly noticeable. I sort of like this shot though as the fore and background are out of focus drawing you in to the centre of the image.
So let's apply some colour grade....
So we now have a vibrancy, the squirell ( the actual subject) is the first thing you see. The definition on his tail is clearer, the slight ginger tint to his grey fur is visible. The tree bark has shape, texture and shadows. In short the subject the focal point! It now gives a perspective, almost 3 dimensional feeling and all achieved via sensible and not too dramatic grading.
On to the second one
Not overly done here either, you can now get a sense of the texture and variations in the leaves and ground. The foreground blade of grass pops a bit more, it's almost translucent in the frame creating a sort of lens flare effect. I think this is just down to motion movement but not too sure. However, it draws your attention to the mid section of the image.
Colour grading can make or break an image or shot if not applied sensibly, I like the output here, but always learning is a constant!
References
Colour Grade Quotation Cinematic Colour Grading for a Nature Documentary - Colour Grading London
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