Color Grading
Take your footage to the next level with cinematic color grading that brings everything together.
At Aligned Media, color grading isn’t just the final step—it’s the final polish that transforms your original footage into a high-quality, visually cohesive experience.
So whether you're producing a corporate video, social media campaign, feature film, or music video, our professional colorists use industry-leading tools to craft a specific look that takes your story to the next level!
Our Color Grading Process
Edit Lock & Look Development
We begin once the video editing process is complete and the final cut is approved (a stage known as edit lock). From there, our colorists work closely with you to develop a cinematic look that fits your brand or project tone. We provide sample styles for review and allow for refinements before applying the approved look across the full piece.
Color Correction
We start with balancing saturation, exposure, contrast, and white levels—bringing all footage to a consistent baseline, especially when scenes are shot with different cameras or lighting conditions. This foundational step ensures uniformity across all scenes before creative grading begins.
Cinematic Color Grading
Using DaVinci Resolve, we refine the visual tone to set the mood, whether it’s warm and inviting, cool and moody, or clean and modern. We align with brand guidelines and adapt the grade for social media, corporate videos, promotional content, or cinematic feature work.
Revisions & Delivery
Throughout the process, we provide flexible revision rounds and collaborate on refinements until the look is dialed in. Once finished, the final product is ready for deployment across all platforms and formats.
Why Professional Color Grading Matters
Professional video color grading elevates your content from "pretty good" to truly polished. It’s not just about aesthetics—it’s about storytelling, emotional impact, and guiding viewer focus.
Our experienced team of film colorists understands how to use color to:
- Reinforce your brand identity
- Create visual consistency across multi-camera or multi-location footage
- Enhance mood and storytelling
- Maximize audience engagement and conversions
Working with our professional colorists ensures that your visuals are optimized for HDR, multiple screen formats, and various delivery platforms, such as YouTube, Instagram, cinema, and broadcast.
What We Work With
We provide color grading services for videos we shoot in-house as well as for footage shot by other cinematographers and production companies. Plus, we support all major camera brands and formats, including Alexa, RED, Sony, Canon, Blackmagic, DJI, and others.
From indie filmmakers to major commercial clients, we help bring every frame into focus, both technically and artistically.
Tools of the Trade
We use professional color grading software and calibrated monitors to deliver next-level results:
- DaVinci Resolve: the industry standard for cinematic color correction services and grading
- Adobe Premiere Pro: for seamless integration with our video editing workflow
- HDR-ready tools: to optimize for both standard and high dynamic range platforms
FAQs
Video color correction is the process of balancing footage to look natural and consistent, fixing exposure, white balance, and contrast issues. Color grading goes a step further, applying creative enhancements to establish a specific mood, tone, or visual style.
Turnaround time depends on project length, complexity, and the number of revisions needed. However, we always build realistic timelines into our workflow and keep communication open at every step.
All types of video content—commercials, branded content, documentaries, corporate films, and social campaigns—benefit from professional color grading. It adds credibility, emotional depth, and a polished finish that resonates with viewers and elevates the overall production value.
Yes. We often work from visual references provided by clients or creative teams. Whether you’re aiming to match a cinematic film, a brand’s previous campaign, or a specific color palette, we can replicate or adapt the style to suit your footage and goals.
We work with a wide range of professional formats, including ProRes, DNx, RED, ARRI RAW, Blackmagic RAW, Canon RAW, Sony RAW, and log-based footage from most major camera brands. Our workflow ensures optimal image fidelity and flexibility during grading, no matter the source.
While presets and LUTs offer a starting point, they’re one-size-fits-all solutions that often fail to account for the nuances of your specific footage. A professional colorist tailors the grade to your content, ensuring precise skin tones, dynamic contrast, and visual consistency across shots, which is something automated tools can’t replicate reliably.
Professional colorists bring both artistic sensitivity and technical knowledge, working with calibrated displays and advanced software to ensure consistency across formats and platforms. It’s the difference between a good video and a great one.
Let’s Create Something Great Together
If you're ready to elevate your next video project with cinematic color correction and grading, Aligned Media is here to help. Our team of professional colorists will collaborate with you to bring your vision to life—frame by frame, hue by hue.
The best part? You can pop into our studio in the heart of the St. Louis Arts District at any point during the video production process.
We’ve designed our space to feel like home, complete with all the latest gear, comfy decor, and a vibe that’s just right for creative collaboration. But if you can’t make it to our post-production agency, no worries! We can travel wherever your story takes us.
Contact Us to Get the Ball Rolling
Let’s collaborate! It’s always a good time to talk; just drop us a line. Or better yet, let’s meet. Whether it’s a chill brainstorming session or a chat with a project manager over coffee, our production company is ready to help you create something incredible.
Contact us today.