We like to talk about color here at No Film School—everything from color theory to color grading. This time, it's a little bit of both. In his three-part video series, editor Casey Faris teaches you how to design three color grades for identical footage to demonstrate how each one captures different moods and atmospheres.

Check each video out below:


Film language is at times very complicated and difficult to learn on its own, but having to combine that with the language of color is double trouble. (It's basically like speaking two languages simultaneously.)

Why does a scene read as more dramatic when there's more contrast in the shot? Why does a scene look dreamy when highlights bloom and things get washed out? Why do people interpret red as "danger" and "love," but blue as "brave" and authoritative"?  I suppose that's just the way our brains have decided to make sense of our medium, but luckily there are plenty of places that can teach you how to become more fluent. You can start here and here.

Source: Casey Faris