The Master Guide / 14 Finishing and delivery · The grade and texture
Grade standards
What a finished grade is judged on, from a failed grade to an award-level one.
What a finished grade is judged on, from a failed grade to an award-level one.
Level | What it looks like |
Fails | Whites drifting warm, pink or grey; pink highlights; mixed colour temperatures in a premium scene the treatment didn't choose; skin warmth changing from shot to shot; dark starts; a grade used to repair content |
Solid | One film-wide look from the treatment and the brand's values, as one LUT; shots balanced to each other; scenes may differ in temperature, while midtone contrast and texture hold across the film |
Award-level | Colour that works with light, design and direction to shape the mood; felt, not noticed [proven] |
The same line is part of the check before any video page goes to the client [proven]: one grade, one light logic, one world across the shots (see The quality bar → Per-stage gates and the four jury lenses).
The rest of the finished film (sound and mix, graphics and type, effects, the ending, versions and delivery, editability) is judged against the client standard in Graphics, captions, versions and delivery → Exports and the delivery check.
Before delivery, compare graded stills of every shot with the brand's values: whites and skin consistent, no shot "fixed" by the grade, and no unrequested flare, glow or self-lit material anywhere, behind text included.
Sources
Steffan Perry (LBB) (pink highlights, and mixed temperatures in premium work).
Toby Tomkins (LBB) (felt but never noticed, and midtone contrast held across eras).
Tom Poole (Televisual).
Mark Meadows and Denny Cooper (LBB) (consistency through the film).
Jenny Montgomery (LBB).