Hanumankind Big Dawgs GRADING is INSANE!!
Today, we’re not just breaking down this amazing music video—we’re also going to recreate this exact look.
One of the first things that stands out in this video is the halation and the grain.
When you first look at this shot, you might think it has a very monochromatic look—and it does. Just take a look at the Waveform.
But then, we notice these other tones emerging as well.
One important aspect of the color grading in this music video is that they didn’t sacrifice the main character to achieve the overall look.
When grading, always prioritize your subject—grade for your hero first.
Take a look at how gentle the grading is. Notice where everything is positioned and how balanced it looks. The Parade display shows how softly the highlights, midtones, and shadows have been handled.
Let’s turn on QT Charts to monitor several shots and analyze the data we're receiving.
After turning on False Color in QT Charts, we can see how different areas of the image are mapped in terms of exposure and saturation.
We can see that the outdoor areas are blown out and sitting in the pink zone, indicating levels that are higher than 1.0—essentially overexposed.
A significant portion of the image resides in this overexposed range, indicating that much of the scene is living in this bright, high-exposure world.
And the highlights are concentrated in this specific bright area, as shown in the QT Charts.
Look at our subject—even in his hair, there’s a remarkable amount of detail. The black points are lifted, giving the shadows plenty of room to breathe, which prevents the image from feeling crushed or too heavy.
We can clearly see the details in his hair, showcasing how well the shadows have been managed.
Now, if we turn on Saturation False Color in QT Charts, we can precisely monitor the saturation levels across the image and see how different areas are represented in terms of color intensity.
This will give us a clear understanding of the overall saturation in our image, showing which areas are more saturated and which are closer to neutral.
If we look at the majority of the day shots, we can see that our subject's skin tones are sitting around 0.9, which is a good level of saturation for a natural and balanced look.
What’s interesting is that during the night scenes, the saturation level increases significantly, jumping from 0.9 to 1.0, giving the image a richer, more intense look.
Now, let’s turn on the Skin Hue Indicator in QT Charts to see how the skin tones are represented and ensure they’re sitting in the optimal range.
In most of the shots, we can see a noticeable amount of purple tones, indicating a slight shift toward magenta in the skin tones.
These are the kinds of data we need when grading our shots to ensure precision and balance.
Now, let’s take a look at the shot I’ve graded. The following shots are from Artlist, and if you have a subscription, you can download the Log footage and start grading alongside me.
What makes this music video stand out are:
Monochromatic muted tones
Color compression
Gentle contrast in the midtones
Healthy contrast in the low end
Exaggerated highlights
Let’s create this look from scratch together.
I’ve converted the footage from Log to Rec.709 as the first step.
Next, I’ll balance the shot. However, since the balance is already really good, I’m going to leave it as is and simply change the Balance node to Linear Gamma for more precise adjustments.
Pull the Gain down slightly to reduce the overall brightness.
Next, I’ll apply a QT Color Compressor DCTL on this node to compress the hues and bring them closer together for a more cohesive and unified look.
I turned on Show Selected Color, and this is exactly the color I was aiming for.
By adjusting Compression Near, I pulled it down to further tighten the hues and bring them closer to the target color.
The goal is to bring all the hues together in a gentle and seamless way.
Once again, I’ll apply another QT Color Compressor DCTL onto this node to further refine and unify the hues.
The goal here is to counter the magenta that was introduced, as I feel there’s too much magenta showing in her hair.
Turn on Compression Near and Compression Far, then adjust the Target Hue until we achieve cleaner tones like this.
By simply adjusting Compression Near, we’ve pulled the excess magenta from the image.
The difference is subtle, but it results in cleaner highlights and undertones, making the overall look more polished and balanced.
Now, I’m going to apply another DCTL—this time, it’s QT Film Density.
In Film Density, I want to pull down the reds slightly. So, I’ll adjust the Red Density and Yellow Density to positions around here to achieve the desired balance.
Next, I’ll create another node and apply the Skin Juice Mixer DCTL to refine the skin tones.
Now, I want to check the neighboring clips, as this will help me fine-tune everything and ensure consistency across the entire sequence.
I want to adjust the hues to match the tones of the neighboring clips. Right now, there’s too much magenta, and I want to reduce it.
To balance it out, I’ll add some saturation to the image for a richer and more consistent look.
Then, under Green vs Magenta, I’ll adjust the balance and set it somewhere around here to neutralize the magenta and achieve a cleaner tone.
Next, let’s adjust the Exposure under Green vs Magenta to fine-tune the brightness and ensure the tones stay balanced while reducing any excess magenta.
Adjust the Hue Shift (G+M) to further refine the green and magenta balance, ensuring the hues align naturally without introducing unwanted color shifts.
Now, under Global Saturation, I can pull it back to tone down the overall saturation and maintain a balanced, cohesive look.
Now, under Global Saturation, I can pull it back to tone down the overall saturation and maintain a balanced, cohesive look.
Let’s apply the QT Halation DCTL and set it to Super 16 to create a subtle, authentic film-like glow around the highlights.
Now it’s time to add grain. I’m using Film Look Creator and setting the grain to 16mm for a classic, textured film aesthetic.
The final node will be QT Look DNA to fine-tune the overall look and add the finishing touches to the grade.
In the Undertones Y, I’ll pull it up slightly to add a bit more depth and richness to the undertones.
I’ll bring down the Highlights Y slightly to soften the highlights and create a more balanced look.
We can adjust the Temperature and Tint to fine-tune the overall color balance and achieve the exact mood we’re aiming for.
Now, we’ve ended up with this final look—balanced, refined, and cohesive.
This is how our False Color looks compared to other clips from the music video—we’re looking good and maintaining consistent exposure and saturation levels.
In terms of Saturation False Color, things are looking good, but there’s still some magenta present. We can pull this back slightly to clean it up for a more neutral and balanced look.
In our Skin Juice Mixer, we can use the Saturation Limiter and pull it back slightly.
The great thing about the Saturation Limiter is that it leaves all other areas fully saturated and only targets the most nuanced areas, making subtle adjustments without affecting the overall richness of the image.
Let’s take a look at the before and after.
We’ve successfully created a sophisticated, mature monochromatic look that blends seamlessly and enhances the overall mood without overpowering the image.
Let’s take a look at our other shot—it’s clear that there’s still some work to be done to bring it up to the same level of polish and consistency.
Increase the exposure to brighten the image and bring it closer to the desired level.
Now, this is where the QT Charts False Color tool comes in handy.
The majority of the image is residing in the grey zone, indicating that it’s in a balanced and neutral exposure range.
So now, if we go back to our shot, we can see how the adjustments have affected the overall balance and exposure.
Now, I can adjust the Gain and keep raising it until I reach a level that looks balanced—something like this.
Now, we need to build some contrast. In QT Look DNA, under Highlights Y, we can add some to enhance the separation between the highlights and midtones.
In Undertones Y, we can add some details to bring more depth and texture to the shadows, ensuring the image has a fuller, richer feel.
Now, in our Gain, we can bring in some of those tones to further enhance the highlights and add more depth to the overall image.
Now, let’s check a few things with QT Charts. We’ll use the Skin Hue Indicator to verify the skin tones.
As you can see, the skin tones are sitting exactly where they should be in the magenta area, and the rest of the image is in the OK range, indicating well-balanced hues.
Now, let’s check what’s happening with our Sat False Color in QT Charts. The Sat False Color is sitting exactly where it’s supposed to be, with the majority of the image residing in the desired saturation range.
When compared to our music video shot, the saturation looks consistent and well-controlled.
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