Adventures in Color Grading, Look Development, & Optics Simulations

A while back, I posted about my Live Streaming Studio V3.1  setup, because many people wanted to know what gear I’m using and how I get the “cinematic” look on a live Zoom call. To achieve that look, one of the things I had to learn from scratch was how to color grade.

BTW, do you need help with creating a great custom “look” for your film or video production, your camera, or your podcasting or stream? Give me a ping, and let’s talk. I wasted a silly amount of time and money making all kinds of mistakes starting out, so I’m happy to help you avoid that.

Here, I’m sharing a bit about my further digging myself into a hole adventures into color grading with Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve Studio (free download of the non-studio version). It’s an incredible piece of software, by the way. If you’re thinking about ditching Adobe Premiere – just do it! Go for it. I’ve never regretted it for a second. It’s a joy to use.

This is not a primer on color grading. It’s just me dumping writing up and sharing what I’ve learned that works best for me so far. If you too wish to start (or continue) on a color grading learning journey with DaVinci Resolve, Cullen Kelly’s YouTube channel is probably the best place for that.

The following assumes you’re already familiar some of the concepts of color grading – or at least have a faint interest in how to create a cinematic image with digital tools. (If not, this post will bore the living daylights out of you is probably not for you.)

Above, going whole hog: A different look also emulating some classic anamorphic lens traits. Added joo.works’ “Halation S” power grade, DaVinci Resolve’s native Film Look Creator FX with ultra wide gate (crop), a bit of Film Damage FX, a hint of the 2499 DTR, MTF simulation, anamorphic edge blur simulation, anamorphic chromatic aberration simulation (using Resolve’s native Chromatic Aberration Removal FX to actually ADD chromatic disharmony at the edges instead).

What started as a necessity during the lockdown era (aka building a professional-looking online tele-presence) turned into a path of rediscovery, reigniting my passion for the cinematic image. (Fun fact: Many might not know that I actually started out studying to become a film director – but I dropped out after only two years as university and studying film wasn’t really my thing. And then the commercial Internet happened.) 

And as a person most likely somewhere on the spectrum, of course I can’t, I won’t, and I don’t stop digging until I’m getting somewhere interesting, somewhere where I can feel a sense of mastery and understanding of the full stack (lighting, lenses, camera – cinematography – color grading, look development, etc), aka being able to make predictable outcomes – and making those outcomes look cinematic and pleasing – to me. It’s become sort of a new obsession hobby of mine (in addition to helping other startup founders go farther faster, of course).

I’m still digging.. .

Read on below for this long non-startup (but still full of tech geekery) post.