Hollywood has yet to find a good idea it doesn’t immediately overuse and run into the ground. Take color grading, for example. Originally used (at least for an entire film) in the Coen brothers’ O Brother, Where Art Thou? to evoke a different place and time for audiences, it has since become a go-to tool for filmmakers to help set the tone and focus of a particular shot or entire film. One of the most common uses is to contrast a foreground character or action with an orange hue, while the background is some blue tone that helps make the scene and actors pop more and tells audiences “this is important and you should pay attention.”
The Verge released a video that goes not just into the hows of color grading, but the whys. It also provides excellent examples that show how color grading a scene in different ways (along with altering the score) puts a completely different mood on the same shot. It’s an interesting look into a way filmmakers use various digital processes to further gain some control over the eyes and emotions of filmgoers. But perhaps it’s time to move away from that incredibly overused blue-and-orange technique?