I have worked with a few videographers on big shoots, but don’t have much experience myself other than little behind the scenes type of videos shot with an iPhone. One thing I noticed is that the initial footage is always super washed out. Then they color correct it, and bam! Awesome footage.
Why do they shoot it that way? It’s obvious to me that there’s a reason— they’re I professionals, and they know what they’re doing— but I have no idea what that reason is!
In: Technology
For an ELI5 answer, higher-end cameras are able to shoot in a special mode called “log”. It kinda mutes or flattens the color. There are lots of complicated reasons why it was decided to work like this, but to simplify… videographers like to have creative control of the color palette in a shot. Make it more blue, or more orange, or warm or dark or golden… etc.
If you start from a neutral, it’s easier to control the end result. You can always return to a more standard color profile in post.
Please note, this isn’t the REAL ANSWER. There’s lots of color science reasons why it’s a better system, but this is ELI5. For more information, do a quick YouTube search for color science or log color.
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