Colour grading & look development · Working
Colour grade
Also called: color grade, grading
ELI5
The creative and technical shaping of colour, contrast and tonal relationships across the finished work.
Used in conversation
“The colour grade changes the audience’s experience, so judge it against the whole scene.”
Pitch context
You may encounter “Colour grade” in editing, colour, post & delivery conversations or materials.
Why it matters: Explains how recorded material becomes a finished, approved and technically deliverable work.
Connected terms
- Colour correctionColour correction normalises and balances images; grading also develops the creative look. In practice the terms often overlap.
- ConformA common picture-post progression.
- Final deliveryA common picture-post progression.
Sources & evidence · 4
Supporting source families. This entry is an editorial synthesis rather than a quotation from one canonical glossary.
- Blackmagic Design — DaVinci Resolve Reference ManualSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences / ACES — ACES Glossary and User GuidesSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- Netflix — Partner Help Center Delivery SpecificationsSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14
- European Broadcasting Union — EBU R 128 Loudness Normalisation and Permitted Maximum Level of Audio SignalsSupporting source family · primary · checked 2026-08-14