u/saammsosa

I am shooting on Sony A7iv 4K 24fps slog3

I make sure I am over expose by 1.3-1.7 on the meter

Using Final Cut Pro

I add a custom lut effect to convert to rec.709

I Adjust my exposure for each clip by using the color wheels and the LUMA scale

I make sure that my adjustments come before the conversion.

I drag on a second custom lut effect onto the clips and add a creative look that I download from online

Everything looks like shit.

Not cinematic at all.

I see all these color graded videos on tik tok and Instagram and they look AMAZING!

I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong.

Are these YouTube tutorials gate keeping ?

Am I buying cheap ass luts ?

Am I a moron ?

Should I just shoot in rec.709 out the camera and give up?

HELPPPP!!!

Hey color graders !

I am really new to color grading so I have no idea what I'm doing.

I've been watching so many tutorial videos on how to color grade on YouTube but I'm still stuck because in the tutorial videos the YouTuber is just editing like a 15 second clip in the same exact scene.

I am really trying to word this correctly so help you understand my question.

I like to record videos of my kids whenever we go out anywhere or just outside the house riding bikes or whatever for memories. So I'm recording while they are moving and the scene is constantly changing during the same video and the light changes throughout the video as well.

For example, I'll start recording in front of our home and well take a ride around the neighborhood but because we are moving sometimes the sun is shining in our face then a minute later its shining on our backs.

When I go into Final Cut Pro I try to adjust the exposure on the video by using the "luma" graph ( I just pick a random spot on the timeline to see what the luma graph is showing). I bring the highlights to right below 100 and the shadows right above 0. Then when I play the video, different parts are extremely blown out or the blacks are really crushed.

My question is do I have to keep using the blade tool for each scene and correct the exposure 15 different times to keep the look consistent or am I doing something wrong and there is an easier way of achieving the correct exposure for the entirety of the clip?