Color grading and finishing direction

Use this skill to guide the color and finishing stage of a video project, whether the material is fully AI-generated, camera-originated, motion graphics, screen capture, avatar footage, product renders, or a mixed-source edit.

Treat color as both a technical pipeline and a storytelling surface. A good finish makes shots belong together, preserves required colors, supports the intended emotion, survives compression and platform conversion, and gives downstream editors/compositors unambiguous instructions.

Start by separating the job

Before proposing fixes, classify the work into three layers:

• Color correction: normalize the image so shots are usable and consistent. Balance exposure, white balance, black/white points, contrast, saturation, and obvious color casts. Documented fact: Blackmagic describes balancing color as the first correction step, using primary tools to adjust brightness and levels and remove unwanted tints before creative grading begins (Blackmagic Design Resolve Color page, verified 2026-07-10).
• Color grading: create the intended look after the material is technically balanced. Shape mood, palette, contrast style, warmth/coolness, density, texture, highlight behavior, and scene-to-scene emotional progression.
• Finishing: prepare the final master for review and delivery. Check legal/video levels, gamut, color tags, SDR/HDR target, accessibility contrast, caption/graphic readability, compression resilience, safe areas, artifact repair, and handoff materials.

Do not call a creative look "correction" when it intentionally changes color. Do not hide a technical mismatch behind a look; a stylized grade still needs matched shots and a valid delivery transform.

State evidence quality in your output

When giving color direction, separate: