My First Experience Color Grading a D-Log Footage for Air2s

[jojonono]

I spent well over a year looking tutorials how to do this on youtube mostly,

sadly most folks simply say increase/decrease <<<>>> whites/blacks/shadows/highlights

and it was really frustrating looking up tutorials for a complete beginners like myself how to color grade and correct while not knowing the basic principals or WTF whites/blacks/shadows/highlights do !...

I was more determined learning this rocket science and took things to my own hands, i started bookmarking the most useful color grading tutorials (mostly for D-Log) and today i download a D-Log footage for the Air 2s from here:

and starting experimenting from the many tutorials i came across from youtube

after going through all of them i think i decided on a single method to color correct explained here:

âï¸ Private

60 seconds · Clipped by Drone The World 4K · Original video "DJI AIR 2S BEST VIDEO SETTINGS - How to get CINEMATIC FOOTAGE from your DJI Drone" by Trevor Bobyk

www.youtube.com

that is play with white and black tille they are between 0-100 in the scopes
increase the saturation to something decent looking
DONT TOUCH CONTRAST
play with highlights (to make the skies look clearer) and shadows to eventually remove the washed out looks

the result was this:

and my settings:

2 hosted at ImgBB

Image 2 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

when NOT touching highlights/shadows and playing with ONLY CONTRAST results came like this (clouds are not as clear)

1 hosted at ImgBB

Image 1 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

did i finally nail it ? what do you think of my methodology ? any comments or room for improvement ?

thanks,

 

[Spartan Drones]

I spent well over a year looking tutorials how to do this on youtube mostly,

sadly most folks simply say increase/decrease <<<>>> whites/blacks/shadows/highlights

and it was really frustrating looking up tutorials for a complete beginners like myself how to color grade and correct while not knowing the basic principals or WTF whites/blacks/shadows/highlights do !...

I was more determined learning this rocket science and took things to my own hands, i started bookmarking the most useful color grading tutorials (mostly for D-Log) and today i download a D-Log footage for the Air 2s from here:

and starting experimenting from the many tutorials i came across from youtube

after going through all of them i think i decided on a single method to color correct explained here:

âï¸ Private

60 seconds · Clipped by Drone The World 4K · Original video "DJI AIR 2S BEST VIDEO SETTINGS - How to get CINEMATIC FOOTAGE from your DJI Drone" by Trevor Bobyk

www.youtube.com

that is play with white and black tille they are between 0-100 in the scopes
increase the saturation to something decent looking
DONT TOUCH CONTRAST
play with highlights (to make the skies look clearer) and shadows to eventually remove the washed out looks

the result was this:

and my settings:

2 hosted at ImgBB

Image 2 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

when NOT touching highlights/shadows and playing with ONLY CONTRAST results came like this (clouds are not as clear)

1 hosted at ImgBB

Image 1 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

did i finally nail it ? what do you think of my methodology ? any comments or room for improvement ?

thank

I spent well over a year looking tutorials how to do this on youtube mostly,

sadly most folks simply say increase/decrease <<<>>> whites/blacks/shadows/highlights

and it was really frustrating looking up tutorials for a complete beginners like myself how to color grade and correct while not knowing the basic principals or WTF whites/blacks/shadows/highlights do !...

I was more determined learning this rocket science and took things to my own hands, i started bookmarking the most useful color grading tutorials (mostly for D-Log) and today i download a D-Log footage for the Air 2s from here:

and starting experimenting from the many tutorials i came across from youtube

after going through all of them i think i decided on a single method to color correct explained here:

âï¸ Private

60 seconds · Clipped by Drone The World 4K · Original video "DJI AIR 2S BEST VIDEO SETTINGS - How to get CINEMATIC FOOTAGE from your DJI Drone" by Trevor Bobyk

www.youtube.com

that is play with white and black tille they are between 0-100 in the scopes
increase the saturation to something decent looking
DONT TOUCH CONTRAST
play with highlights (to make the skies look clearer) and shadows to eventually remove the washed out looks

the result was this:

and my settings:

2 hosted at ImgBB

Image 2 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

when NOT touching highlights/shadows and playing with ONLY CONTRAST results came like this (clouds are not as clear)

1 hosted at ImgBB

Image 1 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

did i finally nail it ? what do you think of my methodology ? any comments or room for improvement ?

thanks,

Personally I think it looks great, your time and efforts payed off. Great work. Thanks for sharing.

 

[SmilingOgre]

I like the look you have achieved. For learning the process, I recommend getting Davinci Resolve Studio and watching the tutorials that Davinci publishes on color grading. The process of becoming a colorist (which I am not but on my way) is not a shake and bake process. A proficient colorist has spent years if not decades training their eye and mind along with learning technique and software. It's an art whereby you don't "get there" rather you continue to improve. Take a deep breath, relax, and keep color grading. You have a good start.

 

[Kiwicbrthou]

I spent well over a year looking tutorials how to do this on youtube mostly,

sadly most folks simply say increase/decrease <<<>>> whites/blacks/shadows/highlights

and it was really frustrating looking up tutorials for a complete beginners like myself how to color grade and correct while not knowing the basic principals or WTF whites/blacks/shadows/highlights do !...

I was more determined learning this rocket science and took things to my own hands, i started bookmarking the most useful color grading tutorials (mostly for D-Log) and today i download a D-Log footage for the Air 2s from here:

and starting experimenting from the many tutorials i came across from youtube

after going through all of them i think i decided on a single method to color correct explained here:

âï¸ Private

60 seconds · Clipped by Drone The World 4K · Original video "DJI AIR 2S BEST VIDEO SETTINGS - How to get CINEMATIC FOOTAGE from your DJI Drone" by Trevor Bobyk

www.youtube.com

that is play with white and black tille they are between 0-100 in the scopes
increase the saturation to something decent looking
DONT TOUCH CONTRAST
play with highlights (to make the skies look clearer) and shadows to eventually remove the washed out looks

the result was this:

and my settings:

2 hosted at ImgBB

Image 2 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

when NOT touching highlights/shadows and playing with ONLY CONTRAST results came like this (clouds are not as clear)

1 hosted at ImgBB

Image 1 hosted in ImgBB

ibb.co

did i finally nail it ? what do you think of my methodology ? any comments or room for improvement ?

thanks,

It’s a journey, that’s for sure.
Looking good!

 

[TrabSeyn]

DJI D-Log to Rec 709 LUT is available on the DJI site that can get your colors to a decent baseline of correction before you start grading. In Davinci (which has DJI>709 LUTs already loaded) you can keep the LUT on one node and tweak grades in a couple other nodes. If you need to be hasty about it you could throw the LUT on an Adjustment Clip/Layer across your timeline.

 

[sduck]

Use one of the various LUTs you can get, and go from there. The free DJI one works well. I spent quite a few months last year trying to learn how to get good, consistent results color grading D-Log video, and while some of it looks ok, it's a bunch of extra steps for mixed results. One has to make a decision about how much effort is being spent vs. the expected audience, and I eventually decided that just using the built in auto settings worked as well for my needs, so that's what I do mostly now. It's still a worthy hill to conquer though.

 

[jojonono]

DJI D-Log to Rec 709 LUT is available on the DJI site that can get your colors to a decent baseline of correction before you start grading. In Davinci (which has DJI>709 LUTs already loaded) you can keep the LUT on one node and tweak grades in a couple other nodes. If you need to be hasty about it you could throw the LUT on an Adjustment Clip/Layer across your timeline.

mmmmm...

so its as simple as that ?! just shoot in Dlog with any DJi drone, hookup the LUT, and we are done ?!...

 

[jojonono]

I like the look you have achieved. For learning the process, I recommend getting Davinci Resolve Studio and watching the tutorials that Davinci publishes on color grading. The process of becoming a colorist (which I am not but on my way) is not a shake and bake process. A proficient colorist has spent years if not decades training their eye and mind along with learning technique and software. It's an art whereby you don't "get there" rather you continue to improve. Take a deep breath, relax, and keep color grading. You have a good start.

thanks a lot !... now ppl r telling me there is a one step LUT for that lol !

anyways, my question is when to shoot in DLOG and when to just shoot in Normal mode ?
is DLOG absolutely always necessary ? or we can just shoot in normal in some situations to avoid the hassle of color correcting ?!...

 

[SmilingOgre]

thanks a lot !... now ppl r telling me there is a one step LUT for that lol !

anyways, my question is when to shoot in DLOG and when to just shoot in Normal mode ?
is DLOG absolutely always necessary ? or we can just shoot in normal in some situations to avoid the hassle of color correcting ?!...

Anytime you like. With normal mode you get a "look" baked in with little to change in post. Shoot some normal and see if you like the look.

 

[hiflyer201]

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, as the old saying goes.
Atmospheric conditions and seasonal lighting are going to always be in control. Try sticking a warm lut on your footage and see what you think. I don't think you'll be very happy with the result.