Build a Creative Color Grading Look: Teal, Film and Grain

A creative look built step by step on a golden-hour clip: a neutral correction first, then teal shadows and warm highlights on the Look layer, skin protected, a film-style curve, grain, halation and a vignette, and finally the restraint of a lower Opacity.

Color grading tutorial · chapter 9 Creative Color Grading: How to Build a Look Build a look on top of a correction: complementary colour, film-style contrast and texture, split toning, black and white, and the restraint that holds it together. Read the chapter →

Key moments

1. 1 Correct first , starts at 0:00
2. 2 Build the look , starts at 0:04
3. 3 Texture and finish , starts at 0:22
4. 4 Restraint , starts at 0:30
5. 5 Try it yourself , starts at 0:42

Transcript

Correct first 0:00

1. 0:01 Auto colour sets a neutral correction first, so the look is built on balanced footage.

Build the look 0:04

1. 0:04 On the Look layer, Lift goes towards teal and Gain towards orange: complementary colours pull the subject away from the background.
2. 0:10 Protect skin tones holds the face back from the look, and its cluster returns to the skin tone line on the vectorscope.
3. 0:14 A gentle S-curve with a lifted toe and a softer top gives print-like contrast.

Texture and finish 0:22

1. 0:22 Fine grain and a touch of halation round the sun add film texture.
2. 0:27 A slight vignette guides the eye to the subject without being noticed.

Restraint 0:30

1. 0:30 Restraint: the Look layer at 75% Opacity reads as a film rather than a filter.
2. 0:37 Split compare against the original: same scene, now with a deliberate look.