LAZY VS. PRO COLOR GRADING

[@curtiswindover4564]

Hardest lesson in grading (for me) has been context. Color is perceived relative to other color, so not only is this a subjective discipline, it's annoyingly relative. You saw how red Chris' clip looked after staring at Qazi's. And you said in your head "I didn't think it was so red before...". Because our eyes/brain have a built-in white balance, the colors of a scene will always be influenced by the colors of the prior scene. And also influenced by the color of the wall behind your monitor, or the lamp light on your desk.. It's a fascinating pain in the ass.

[@FlagnarBoobz]

SOMEONE HAS FINALLY EXPLAINED MY PAIN!! This is the best comment I've ever seen haha thank you for this.

[@JimRobinson-colors]

Good comment - it's called "Successive Contrast" it occurs when the perception of currently viewed stimuli is modulated by previously viewed stimuli. You'll notice that Chris didn't use scopes to judge anything which put him onto to a total display referred environment. I don't know what he uses for a display, but my bet is that it is also going through the operating system as well. Qazi does have the right gear and it is set up for color grading to standards. ( I'll give him that much credit )

[@JonJosephKuhn]

This was brilliantly written. It reminded me of Douglas Adams a little too be honest.

[@schuey323]

This is BRILLIANTLY written because it IS a fascinating pain in the ass.

[@JaymesMedia]

Yes it is bro.

[@theqazman]

Thanks for having my on your channel bro. I'm honored. ❤ Also, you're way too modest. Love your look. 😍

[@juansuar4829]

The main difference is that Qazi balanced the tint of the shot by removing the excess of red. That's what makes it look more natural in my opinion. Great video Chris!

[@Fessoid]

but overdone. Mine choise is quazi + some red for realistic tones

[@KaurH]

A few things to keep in mind, when following Qazi's workflow here: 1. He started out making a V-Gamut V-Log to Rec.709 gamma 2.4 CST, but the next moment had a node tree setup with two CSTs, one on the first (IDT - input device transform) and one on the last node (ODT - output device transform). This allows him to always work in the same "working color space" regardless of the footage (V-Gamut V-Log) or display (Rec.709 gamma 2.4). 2. Using editable splines on the top and bottom points instead of creating many points on the custom curves often leads to a smoother result when creating an S-Curve. 3. When using power windows, prefer ovals and gradients over the curve (pen) tool. This is first because of workflow speed and secondly because when the subject moves or changes shape (perspective), the precisely drawn curve can stop lining up with the subject. Also don't forget to track your power windows that need to line up with a moving subject. 4. He also skipped over adding halation, which he had on the final image (second to last node "hal" seen at 07:32). This is my 2c.

[@FernwehChronicles]

Spot on. Regarding 1. Qazi probably also jumped into Davinci Gamut as his working color space in between transform nodes.

[@arielshpitzer]

​@@FernwehChronicles that is the correct way to do this. i did not understand why he moved straight to 709.

[@arielshpitzer]

are you sure there's halation active or did he just leave the node in his default node-tree. because usualy halation is used when trying to emulate film and except for some artistic grain he didn't convert to cinetone and used a film lut in the process.

[@KaurH]

@@arielshpitzer I won't judge whether halation fits in such a look, but overly strong halation can be seen in the final image. Especially around top guitar string and necklace.

[@arielshpitzer]

@@KaurH it atcually looks like a mistake applied localy because halation should be on the edges of the brightest lights and there's none on the lamp which should be the first one affected if it was shot on ilm.

[@olindamedia]

Hey Chris, One thing when using conversion LUTS, it should always be on the top/last layer. This way you wont throw away any information in your highlights/shadows. Another tip - In Premiere rather than adding a bunch of adjustment layers in the timeline, you can instead stack Lumetri color effects in the effects panel and rename them in order to give you a layered workflow at the clip level.

[@Joshua_S]

"conversion LUTS, it should always be on the top/last layer" the first thing I was thinking...

[@spencershipman_]

This is actually not true

[@spencershipman_]

@@Joshua_S you want your conversation LUT (or CST) after temp/tint layer/node, then you can adjust primaries/contrast. Then you can add any film LUT or creative look/LUT after all of that.

[@benjamin.kelley]

The only crappy part is that Premiere automatically puts you on the last lumetri instance - so if I wanted to adjust exposure before the Transform LUT lumetri instance, I have to double check I'm on the right instance - and I never am and spend time going back and clicking the right one.

[@thecolorblindlefty]

@@Joshua_S Same

[@JaredHoyman]

Qazi's! After 17yrs of premier I switched 2 months ago to DaVinci Resolve and just canceled my Adobe cloud subscription. So much better on every level.

[@h2odirected]

So we’re gonna ignore the .. on the guitar

[@Sandiile]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂…I think we should ignore it

[@samueljustin3711]

🤣🤣🤣

[@MrHombre]

What?

[@Sandiile]

@@MrHombre at 6:51

[@dartthewarrior]

Pen15.

[@BeaverFernandez]

I like qazi's grade because it fits the mood, tone, & the setting. Been learning from him since 2020, his work is superb🔥😎

[@drthalasiren4411]

Qazi usually has WAY too many steps and arrives at a result that you could get with half as many nodes.

[@ddiogo.santoss]

@@drthalasiren4411 for real, he uses a huge node tree when you only need a couple of nodes

[@BeaverFernandez]

@@drthalasiren4411 Having those extra nodes available for global adjustment is just right. Too many is just right for most colorist

[@theqazman]

Appreciate the love my dude.

[@costinvaly1]

Qazi is a cringe sack.

[@dartthewarrior]

This is like a 4 producers 1 sample video but with video instead!!! Can you do this again but with other video creators / color graders? This was so educational!!

[@HVRIS]

The collab I'm so excited to see!

[@TheKillingTreeTT]

Qazi's edit looks less red and fits the mood better. I'd recommend using something like a color rite video checker to get the colors correct and go from there. Everything creative is best done from a accurate color starting point

[@TimelyAdventure]

Both look great, but I think Qazi's wins, somehow brings out the soul of the shot for me. Just looks stunning and super professional, like a film.

[@youfollow_]

color grading is like art. eventually you will see how technically it is and learnt couple tips for chris! its amazing

[@Dasher216]

color grading is more of a craft than an art

[@frankinblackpool]

I like watching Qazi's channel as he genuinely performs magic with his colour grading. I hope Qazi does well out of this little visit to your channel. Even the free version of Davinci Resolve, knocks spots off Premier Pro when colour grading or even just simple editing, doing special effects or adding sound design/narration. Why would you NOT want the best crafted product for your clients? Yes Resolve has a learning curve but so did Premier Pro, when you started out with it years ago. They are basically the same concepts. In Premier Pro, if you have a colour grading idea then you use an Adjustment clip. In Resolve, if you have a colour grading idea you use a Node. Nodes works much the same as Adjustment Clips, but rather than a load of Nodes (Adjustment Clips) hogging up your Timeline, the Nodes are on their own separate page and follow in a line from a start point to an end point, with as many or as few colour grading ideas (Nodes) as you want in between. Did I mention that Resolve is completely free, while you have to pay a monthly subscription for Adobe stuff? Even the paid for Studio version costs just under £300. Don't answer this question out loud, but how much have you spent renting Adobe Premier Pro? Take what I say with a massive pinch of salt. You have half a million subscribers while I have a couple of hundred subscribers, with an average of 50 views per personal amusement episode. However, I don't regret a single day buying the Studio version of Resolve. Noise Removal and Voice Enhancement alone justify buying the Studio version. To help you learn the everyday basics in Resolve may I suggest a KZbinr called MrAlexTech. He will get you up and running in on time and greatly reduce that learning curve.

[@RoadtrippinwithTakacs]

Nice thorough analysis, Frank. 👍 But, one thing you might want to know is he will make way more money on his affiliate commissions for Adobe. They still pay far more for people to sign up using his link vs Resolve...at least for now. 😉

[@zachcarson4]

This is amazing!! I've been watching you and Qazi for a while, I am so pumped for this collaboration!!

[@theqazman]

Thanks for the love, Zach. ❤

[@RidgewayInMedia]

I prefer your grade for your medium (KZbin) but hats off to Qazi for delivering a true movie-standard grade. It's all subjective and about creative choices in the end.

[@herrreinsch]

Qazi's one looked like I want to grab some pop corn.

[@alexcormier97]

Qazi's FCM class was a game changer for me! Strongly recommend👌 Great video, Chris!🤘

[@JaymesMedia]

Same here bro 🙏🏽👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@theqazman]

Let's go! FCM fam 💪🏽

[@alexcormier97]

@@theqazman The amount of value you get for the price you pay is ridiculous! Super grateful that you took the time to build this masterclass, and that you genuinely want help us, and see us succeed! 10/10🔥

[@justinekle]

YES... DaVinci Resolve YES, YES! It is such an amazing program. And... you only have to make a ONE time payment for the studio version!

[@H76Pro]

2 Years ago I wouldn't understand 1% of what they were saying but after using Resolve for the last 2 years everything they said makes sense and I can follow along with them comfortably !

[@MrSHEHAN99]

Qazi just did it perfectly by separating the subject from the background by taking out the red from the skin,, that’s it 🔥🔥

[@SkylarWesley]

Been a Davinci user for a few months now and I am loving it! Never going back to PP. Qazi's takes this one. :)

[@McGowanYT]

It's wild how Qazi's note of the red tint changed my perspective of Chris' colorgrade on a second look around. So satisfying to learn as the video goes on.

[@ClaudioDesideriFilms]

Chris I'm your fan and your grading looks very nice. No offense but Qazi's one is my favourite and it's no surprise 'cause he's sooo good at what he does. I especially liked his choice for the skin tone and I'm sure we all learned a lot from this video, yourself included. Thanks a lot for such a great idea and please do more of these very educational challenges!

[@franc-o]

So great to learn something! Please more of such videos!

[@mobilefreelancer3831]

qazi just makes videos easy on the eye so much!

[@NoobieTaco]

So glad to hear you are finally moving over to davinci. Can't wait to see some color grades out of it. Honestly the editing and sound design potential is pretty solid as well.

[@liveimpossibly]

Never heard of Qazi, never seen any of his work, but in about 2 minutes flat he blew me away. What a master. Takes something so complex, like color grading, and makes it look effortless and easy. Looks like I've got a new channel to follow and learn from.

[@matteocarruozzo5595]

Took his full course a couple of years ago. His approach is... fine, I would say. If I may, I would recommend you to check out Cullen Kelly's content, I really like hia approach. Hope you'll find it useful

[@theqazman]

Appreciate you, brother. ❤

[@AnishNapper]

i like how the power windows change the mood, definitely will be using that more

[@chiranjeevis8634]

well honestly Qazi brings more of a systematic approach , he makes a living out of colouring , i really like your look .

[@ontonio]

You both took footage and made them stand out. Unless a client was looking for something specific…I think both would make a customer happy. It was great seeing the process from both of you. I learned a lot and I just subscribed.

[@EJZ8]

Love this! you gotta do more stuff on Color grading with colorists!

[@RetroRecipesKitchen]

Chris, I love you, man. But Qazi took the Gold for this. It makes me so happy when my friends link up and create!

[@JaymesMedia]

Love that you & Qazi collab on this. I took Qazi course and it changed how I graded within 30 days. You definitely should switch over to Davinci Resolve

[@theqazman]

Let's go!!! FCM Fam ✊🏾

[@polaroidsky]

I’ve watched a LOT of Qazi’s tutorials and something that he often emphasizes is separating foreground from background. This is what makes Qazi’s grade stand out here. He balanced the image well (particularly the blacks) and adjusted the lighting to define the spaces within the image. Chris’s contrast looks okay, but his colors are very monotone in comparison. This can be done well like in Bladerunner 2049, but it would require bringing down the saturation more, and adding the color after the saturation node. In the end Chris’ image looked like the colors were competing too much for the audience’s attention, leading to a muddy results.

[@studiochapters]

Hey Chris, love the video! Qazi's grade is better for 2 reasons, the first is skin tones, he kept the skin tones looking natural. The second is his relighting techniques, Qazi is phenomenal at relighting and he did a stunning job with the shot.

[@MarioSoMedia]

Qazi's grade was just exquisite! Your grade was pretty good too but there are way more controls in Resolve to really nail it. Great vid!

[@costinvaly1]

Are you a bot or fake account commenting for that cringe sack Qazi?

[@SoCalWatchReviews]

Qazi rocking that Octo Finissimo ❤️

[@theqazman]

Hell yeah! One of my fav in the collection.

[@SoCalWatchReviews]

@@theqazman 👏

[@aftvnorthamerica6318]

Qazi is my go but I like the effort you make Chris... You guys rock, thanks for the lesson.

[@DavideTravelli]

Switched to DR when I switched from Windows to Apple M1. I'm a beginner at editing and still cant mess with color grading but I think DR is a good investment, feels much better than Adobe Premiere and it keeps getting better and better.

[@techtalks94]

Qazi's color grading is awesome.

[@PouyaLucky]

I absolutely loved this video, really nice and enough details in both approaches and of course the pro did a whole lot more in terms of the fine details, but the final look ... I gotten say yours is much more appealing to me, somehow it just connect better to me and more pleasing to look at

[@earthlylynx]

Both of them are amazing… I like more warmer tones in my image but Qazi’s image looks amazing… I did appreciate the process break down from Qazi because I do have Davinci and I am learning… slowly but surely🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

[@SHKBKN]

If i going with Qazi’s CG because he knew how to do all those stuff and tonality without messing skin-tone. Love this video Need more dude ;)

[@FreeAudioZone]

Both of your color grading were awesome! I wish I had all this knowledge!

[@knuterik345]

Love that you continue with the S5 bro :)

[@mike_s_media]

Definitely his grade, I mean so soooo much more depth! Now, honest question, I really don't understand why more people aren't using Resolve. I've been using it for a bit over 3 years and it seems so intuitive I can't fathom using something else.

[@rickmagnell]

I bought his color grading course the other day, excited to dive in!

[@jackb0y533]

quzi's edit was epic

[@AyushSharmaa]

Unexpected Collab!!❤️

[@joemamamia1751]

Qazi, wins. Not just in the grading, but also the subtle peni5 drop. 😏👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@ryonadcock]

I really like Qazi's color grade. It just had really good skin tones.

[@thomascokerclips]

This was so helpful, thank you. Very excited to see more DaVinci Resolve videos

[@mholyboy2010]

Before you even started I knew already that qazi was going to blow you off. He is a pro pro, not just a pro. I love the guy....

[@theqazman]

Appreciate the love my dude. ❤

[@MJupi88]

I have to say that I like your Chris a little more, for the warmer tone, but definitely Quazi knows how to do his job really well

[@StephenBell_video]

Awesome video Chris! Consistently blown away by the quality and range that comes out of the S5. Giving the nod to Qazi here, but its awesome to see how quickly you can get a decent result straight out of Premiere on a quick grade

[@BenjiSelby]

Ooooh this was dope! Yours ws more stylized and felt personal, Qazi's looks more polished as if it was for a commercial of something. I'm digging more of the personal touch

[@ZebsCorner]

I have to say I like Qazi’s. There’s a separation from the subject and the background that I love to see. But kudos to you as well Chris!!🤓

[@benjamin.kelley]

Ooof! Always do exposure corrections before the layer or node applying the transform LUT!

[@carlosrafaelcontreras2462]

Definitivamente me gustó más Qazi...el contraste de colores está genial...

[@AllThingsFilm1]

Qazi's grade FTW. To me, your grade seemed very "two-tone" and lacked depth. Whereas Qazi's had both mood and depth nailed down. Loved the collaboration. Would be cool to see you two do this again.

[@theqazman]

❤

[@Markchristiankc]

Qazi’s was nuts omg. And yes join DR🎉

[@ninoletigre]

Would love to see this experiment/comparison done again where you're both working from the same creative brief.

[@mossgatherer_]

Qazi is amazing, I've learned so much from him over the years!

[@theqazman]

Love you back bro. ❤

[@who2999]

Both grades are actually pretty darn good. I personally like the Pro version a little more just because it's more subtle, but the right choice would be based on the context of the whole piece. I work with both resolve and premiere regularly and you kinda had the same methodology. I do feel like the toolset in resolve is MUCH better for this kind of work, not because it's more powerful, but more because it reduces the friction associated with doing small incremental adjustments.

[@dirtlifemagazine]

I'm new to editing and using adjustment layers was a good idea. I've never used them before.

[@thapa357]

I was learned from qazi. Qazi thx man lots of love man happy thanksgiving and Christmas qazi and chris

[@theqazman]

Happy Thanksgiving and early Christmas to you as well. ❤

[@thetenthhouse]

Amazing styles from the pros 🌸😊💜

[@LukeRietherdp]

Qazi killed it…. He definitely won

[@WayneThePoet]

Qazi gets the nod. If you pulled out the red in your edit, it would be pretty close, because everything else looks good.

[@CoryBrunnemann]

Always love your colors, but damn Qazi laid down the hammer

[@behystudio]

both look cool but I like the skin tone on Qazi clip.🔥

[@ruyeiro]

Since I started to watch the video, I was asking myself "why Chris hasn't change to DaVinci Resolve yet?" but you answered at the end. Great option, great software with great tools. Greetings from Chile

[@flochfitness]

For those of you who have absolutely no clue what was going on in Qazi’s workflow/tools, jump on Cullen Kelly’s KZbin channel. He’s a professional colorist who breaks down the tools and workflow with objective measures so you can better utilize Davinci’s power. Hope this helps!!!

[@jamescalderwood]

This to me highlights that you just need to do your grade, learn, and move on and keep creating. Chris’ look was great, then Qazis’ was brilliant too. If you saw either without knowing the other existed you would enjoy it equally.

[@sashazephiria3869]

Haha never expected Qazi ft in one of your vids, that's so cool :D !

[@JaredSpink]

I’m just wishing FXCP had these coloring tools. Great vid guys.

[@Childrenoflightprod_]

Qzai really went in on the color grade

[@stephanebelanger528]

For the color tone and ambiance I prefered your's. For all non-davinci user Resolve maybe a look like a little bit complicated but It is easy to work with it and a lot of goodiz. 3 years I'm with Davinci Resolve. I was on Premiere before.

[@nancied]

I think yours had a stronger presence and a clearer feeling of you. I prefer the orangish-red tone and the crunchy blacks. It's all about the way it made me feel. I learned that the workflow in DaVinci Resolve looks like a learning curve I don't want to climb.

[@connormoore8156]

The biggest thing I noticed was the masking. I know its there in resolve but never thought to mask certain aspects like a blown out light or if you want to just bring someones face brighter to use masking. Great stuff!

[@gmcubed]

Masking it great, though I prefer to avoid it since you have to babysit the mask if things are moving too much.

[@TomasStavik]

Qazi.. hands down. When he did the Fincher move.. he won..

[@MamunHossainz]

You both are doing good color grading but when it comes to choosing one of you I have chosen Qazi

[@samuelboatengyt]

I loved both, but Qazi is a master in his job so it would be too easy to say him I guess ahaha One thing that you forgot while talking about the qualities of the S5, is the Braw externally, and in davinci, you can even push it more than the standard Vlog internal.

[@Jossy.mp4]

quazi's look gives me that filmic vibes.

[@nagaviewpoint5750]

Chris's headlights disappeared in Qazi's dust.

[@jlarrsebastian7393]

On my thought in color grading it will depends on your preference you are happy on the result you produce then its fine. Unless It's a job for a client and they have a preference style that they want. But as long as you're happy on the result you make there is no right or wrong in there so be it you don't have please everybody.

[@jlarrsebastian7393]

Oi it's Qazi I learned color grading from his channel when I starting to switch from Pr to DaVinci Resolved 🤘

[@Endlesssoulsphotography]

Both are great! I do however like the mood of yours better Chris. Great job! I wouldn't even know where to begin. 🤣

[@POSYPANO]

With all due respect to you @Chris Hau, Qazi did a much better correction. You have a good master as a friend, so learn from him ;)

[@AntonWongVideo]

Eyyy!!! It's Qazi!!! Colour grading teacher extraordinaire!

[@golammuhaimeen2825]

gotta go with Qazi's!

[@jadzaarour441]

Actually chris?! I genuinely love ur edit more than Qazi’s

[@simonpirrodynamics9477]

Two image color grading is cool but I love the primer pro color grading

[@QualityVideoService]

Chris, I immediately noticed that as soon as you started Basic Correction (1:16 minute mark) with premiere pro, you were not using your scopes. Adding Rec 709 and then a LUT, another adjustment layer, all without using your SCOPES. You have to use the scopes for an accurate result.

[@MatthewReidFilms]

I’m here for Qazi’s shirt

[@bnk48analyzer82]

I won't say who is better. But this is great!

[@chris]

Qazi won for the grading as well as his adult nodework at 6:50

[@larklandstudios6461]

Qazi's fit the tone alot better. Chris's is a little too red after seeing it beside his. both are dope though! and great video, please do more of these!

[@AaronTremblay]

I liked your grade as you were doing it, but seeing them side by side I think he did a little better. It was the redness of your overall image that made me pick his. But pretty close otherwise as far as the overall flavor of the images!

[@MatthewReidFilms]

Yep