Workflow guide
A repeatable grade that starts with correction, not a LUT
Most bad grades fail before any creative look is applied: mixed white balance, crushed shadows, or skin tones pushed orange by a LUT. Professional color always runs correction first and stylization second. This guide follows that order so your look sits on a balanced image.
From the Mellius product team · Updated September 28, 2026
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The short answer
Balance exposure and white balance with scopes, set contrast so blacks and whites just kiss the edges, correct skin tones toward the skin-tone line, apply your creative LUT or curves at reduced intensity, then match every shot in the scene before final saturation.
Neutral starting point
Whites are white and exposure is balanced before any stylization is added.
Healthy skin tones
Faces look natural across shots instead of orange, magenta, or gray.
Consistent scene
Every shot in a sequence shares contrast and temperature so cuts feel invisible.
Correct before you stylize
Open your scopes — waveform for exposure, vectorscope for color — and fix problems in order: exposure, white balance, then contrast. Pull white balance until neutral grays sit centered on the vectorscope, using a gray card, white wall, or teeth as reference. If you shoot Log, normalize with the manufacturer's conversion LUT first; grading raw Log as if it were Rec.709 is why beginners get milky, washed-out results.
Set contrast with the waveform: blacks should just touch 0 IRE and highlights just touch 100 on standard dynamic range, with skin highlights typically landing between 55 and 75 IRE. Recover clipped detail before adding contrast — no look can rescue blown highlights. In Mellius you can ask for a balanced correction pass across a scene conversationally, then fine-tune individual shots on the timeline.
- Fix in order: exposure, white balance, contrast, saturation.
- Normalize Log footage before any creative adjustments.
- Judge exposure on scopes, not on an uncalibrated laptop screen.
- Match the wide shot first, then bring close-ups to it.
Build the look and match the scene
Apply creative LUTs or film curves at 50–70% intensity rather than full strength; most stock LUTs are designed dramatically and overwhelm balanced footage. Push the look with gentle S-curves, slight teal-green shadow separation, or warm highlight tints, then check skin against the vectorscope skin-tone line after every move. The classic mistake is grading one hero shot beautifully and leaving its coverage mismatched — always toggle between shots.
Finish with restraint on saturation: add vibrance to midtones before touching master saturation, and desaturate problem channels like neon greens rather than the whole image. Export a still of your hero grade and reuse it as the reference for every video in the series. Viewers forgive a subtle grade; they notice an inconsistent one.
- Run LUTs at 50–70% and build the rest with curves.
- Check skin tones after every creative move.
- Match all coverage to the wide shot before delivery.
- Save hero stills to keep series consistent.
Compare the workflows
| Approach | Best fit | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Manual curves and wheels | Full control and learning the craft | Slowest, demands scope literacy |
| Conversion LUT plus tweaks | Log shooters who want a fast base | Wrong LUT choice breaks skin tones |
| Assisted or AI grade | Fast balancing across long timelines | Still needs human matching per shot |
A practical sequence
Put it into practice
- 01
Normalize and balance
Convert Log properly, fix exposure and white balance using scopes.
- 02
Shape contrast and skin
Set black and white points, then bring faces onto the skin-tone line.
- 03
Stylize and match
Apply the look at reduced intensity and match every shot in the scene.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between color correction and color grading?
Correction makes footage neutral and consistent — fixing exposure, white balance, and contrast. Grading is the creative look applied on top, like a teal-and-orange blockbuster feel or a warm documentary glow. Skipping correction is why LUTs often look wrong: the look amplifies whatever imbalance was already there.
Why do my LUTs look orange or washed out?
Usually the LUT expects different source footage — Log graded as Rec.709, the wrong camera maker's conversion, or unbalanced white balance underneath. Normalize Log with the correct conversion first, balance whites, then run the creative LUT at 50–70% intensity and recheck skin tones.
How do I match shots from different cameras?
Balance each camera's exposure and white balance independently first, then match contrast using the waveform with the wide shot as reference. Align skin tones on the vectorscope before applying any shared look. Small remaining differences hide well once contrast and temperature agree.
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Primary sources
Product capabilities change. These official references support the comparisons above.
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