International Journal of Information System & Technology

Akreditasi No. 158/E/KPT/2021 | Vol. 6, No. 5, (2023), pp. 603-612

Exploratory Study and Analysis on Color Grading Technique for

Horror Short Movie

Rayden Vebrianto1, Jimmy Pratama2

1,2
Universitas Internasional Batam, Indonesia
Email: l1931128.rayden@uib.edu1, jimmy@uib.ac.id2

Abstract
Horror is a movie genre where the main purpose is to convey fear, anxiety, suspense,
and such to the audiences. On ensuring the success of a horror movie, there is one big
factor that decides it, which is color grading. Color grading is one of movies editing
technique which main purpose is to change color in a video, useful to build or support a
desired atmosphere. Color grading is important in horror movies because if the applied
technique does not fit with the movie concept, the desired message to convey will fail to
deliver. In this study, a two version of horror short movie will be produced, with one
version using a darker color grading tone (A) and the other one uses brighter color
grading tone (B). The method used in this study is Research & Development, with
Research using semiotic analysis and Development using Multimedia Development Life
Cycle (MDLC) method. The semiotic analysis will focus on 10 horror movies with a
rating of at least 7 based on IMDb US Box Office Rating, and the analyzed subject is the
color grading technique used on each movies. The color grading analysis result then will
be applied to the short movie production. After the short movie production has been
finished, a blind test will be carried out to see which version of color grading suits better
with the movie. The blind test is carried out with 53 participants, and the result is 39
participants choosing A and the other 14 choosing B. Due to the significance difference, a
reasoning was asked to the participants. Most of the participants who chose A said A fits
more with the movie concept and for them B does not really convey the horror from the
movie, while those who chose B just gave personal preference as an answer.

Keywords: color grading, horror, short movie, semiotic analysis, R&D

1. Introduction
Movies is one of many entertainment media in the current age. Movies can be defined
as a visual art made to simulate experience that delivers idea, story, perception, beauty, or
atmosphere through a sequence of moving pictures [1]. There are a wide range of movies
genre, and one of those genre is horror. Horror is a genre that’s filled with scary and
terrifying things, intended to give fear, anxiety, suspense, and such to the audiences.
Generally horror genre involve something that’s supernatural, mythical, and mysterious
[2], [3]. There are many ways for horror movies to make the audiences feels terror, such
as relying on audio or on visual. By relying on audio, horror movies usually uses melody
that make the audiences feels uncomfortable, or using various loud and scary sound
effects to surprise the audiences. Whereas by relying on visual, horror movies uses
terrifying supernatural illustration, environment, and editing technique used on each
scene. One of those editing technique is color grading [4].
Color grading is one of movies editing technique which purpose is to change color in
video, useful to fix mistakes in camera configuration or to support the atmosphere built in
the video [5]. Color grading is done during the post process after all the scenes in a movie
has been taken. Color grading is a big determining factor in the final result of a movie
production, because if the color grading technique applied in the movie isn’t suitable then
the film will fail to convey what is desired [6]. A study was done to see how big is the
impact of color grading towards the final result of a movie. The study measured the
impact by applying color grading to a documentary movie, then did a survey to see what

ISSN : 2580-7250
Copyright ⓒ 2023 IJISTECH
 International Journal of Information System & Technology
Akreditasi No. 158/E/KPT/2021 | Vol. 6, No. 5, (2023), pp. 603-612

people thinks before and after the color grading application. The measurement result from
that study is a before after ratio with 47%:82%, giving a 35% improvement just from
color grading application [7].
Color grading technique application depends on the genre and the theme of the movie.
Horror movie tend to use a darker color grading tone, to create a scary and creepy
situation. However, there’s a horror movie that uses the opposite color grading technique
of what usually used in horror movie, which is a bright color grading tone. The movie in
question is titled “Midsommar”, produced by Ari Aster and released in 2019. Midsommar
dominantly uses bright and colorful color grading, different with other horror movie in
general. Despite the unique difference, Midsommar manages to convey uncomfortable
feelings to the audiences. Because of this a study was done to compare Midsommar with
another horror movie titled “Hereditary”, also produced by Ari Aster and was released in
2018 but mainly uses darker color grading tone. The result of the study is the big factor
that affect Midsommar’s success is cinematography technique, sound effects, and image
composition that’s combined with terrifying scenes and bright color grading, so the scenes
can be seen clearly by the audiences [8].
Based on these previous studies [7], [8], this study will produce a horror short movie in
two version, one is with darker color grading tone and the other one with brighter color
grading tone. After the production is finished, a blind test will be carried out to see which
color grading technique application suits better with the short movie, as the blind test will
give unbiased opinion towards the result [9]. The purpose of this study is to know how to
decide which color grading technique to use in a horror short movie production, and how
the color grading technique used affect the result of the movie.

2. Research Methodology
2.1. Research Flow
The method used in this study is Research & Development (R&D) because this
method is suitable to produce a new product that can be in the form as a multimedia [10].
This study will also use blind test method to measure the result. The research flow can be
seen in the following figure.

Figure 1. Research Flow

2.2. Research
The research focuses on finding differences related to the use of color grading
technique used in horror movie. From these problems, data will be collected by analyzing

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color grading technique used in high rated horror movies that’s at least 7 based on IMDb
US Box Office rating. Since IMDb has become a standard for knowing the value of
movies, this can be used to determine the audience's interest in a movie [11]. The analysis
will be done using qualitative analysis method in the form of semiotic analysis in
accordance to John Fiske, by using the aspects analyzed in the form of Color especially in
scenes with background elements that stands out. The scene selected are scenes that able
to describe and show the color grading technique used in the movie. The purpose of the
analysis is to obtain a reference for the color grading technique used in an international
standard horror movie, which will be applied as ideas and concepts during the short movie
development [12].

2.3. Development
After the research has been done, it will be followed by content design and
development. The development method used will be Multimedia Development Life Cycle
(MDLC), as it is suitable to use when producing a multimedia product that in this case is a
short movie [13].

Figure 2. Development model used in the study, Multimedia Development Life

Cycle (MDLC)

The description for each step of the development process is as follows:

1) Concept
At this stage, the idea, concept, story, and theme of the movie to be produced will be
decided.
2) Design
After everything in the Concept stage is decided, the development process will
continue with scenarios. The scenario will contains storyline, script, and setting.
Following the scenario development, a shot list will also be made that contains all the
essential essences from scenario with some visual addition for each scene.
3) Material Collecting
Production process will start during this stage. The filming schedule is decided
mutually with the team. The scenes to be shot will be based on the shot list that has
been made during previous stage.

Figure 3. Filming equipment

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Figure 4. Used software

4) Assembly
The Assembly stage is split into six parts, which are:
a) Compositing
The compilation process of all the collected footage is done during
Compositing part. The footage will be compiled according to the scenario and
shot list made. After all the footage compilation is finished, each footage
collected will be selected part by part so there will by synergy during transition
for each scene. The unused part of the scene will be cut out.
b) Visual Effects
At this part, any visual effects needed to support the scene will be added to the
footage.
c) Sound Design
After compiling all the footage and adding the visual effects, sound effects will
be added to add more elements to the movie. As audio is a major factor
towards the result of a horror movie production, the added sound effects will
have be carefully selected so it fits the theme and concept [14].
d) Color Grading
Color Grading process will be carried out after all the other parts are finished.
Color Grading is done to refine the scenes so elements such as white balance
or existing light conditions synergies well.
e) Rendering
During this part, the rendering process will be carried out into shareable video
format so the testing and distribution stages can be processed.
5) Testing
During Testing stage, an evaluation will be done by using the blind test method. The
blind test will be carried out by gathering a group of random people and playing both
version of the color graded short movie side by side. After the viewing is done, the
participants will be asked which color grading application suit the movie more, with
A representing the darker color grading tone and B representing brighter color
grading tone.
6) Distribution
At this stage, the finished short movie that have been evaluated will be published on
the UIB Information System Study Program’s YouTube Channel.

3. Result and Discussion

3.1. Research Result
Horror movies uses color grading as a way to emphasize the message that wants to be
conveyed to the audiences. Different scene will have to use different color grading
application too so the sequences in the movie will be appropriate with the movie’s theme
and concept [15]. Therefore, an examination will be carried out towards 10 horror movies

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that has been selected based on the IMDb US Box Office rating with a rating of at least 7.
The result of the analysis can be seen in table 1.

Table 1. Analysis result

Title Screenshot Analysis
Generally uses darker tone with some
addition of mild blue and greyish color to
It highlight the source of horror

Use a mix of darker tone and some

yellowish color to make scene atmosphere
Split
feels warm, while also giving spotlight to
the shadows

Uses pale tone with a mix of green and grey

A Quiet
hue when the source of horror appears in a
Place
dark setting, so it can be seen clearly

Uses less pale tone compared with the

A Quiet prequel, but bolder tone of grey, blue, and
Place Part green hue. Provide wider highlights to the
II whole setting instead of just a particular
object

Focuses a lot on shadows by using dark blue

Sleepy and grey color tone. Combined with the
Hollow lighting and angle, the source of horror is
able to gain the spotlight needed

Feels brighter than the other movie because

the white balance usage along with a mix of
The Ring green and blue color tone. Because of this,
every object on the screen looks more
accentuated.

Mainly uses darker tone for the environment

but when the source of horror came out it
The changes to brighter tone, giving visibility to
Conjuring the details in the scene

Different with the prequel, this movie utilize

The high contrast and blue accents around the
Conjuring object to gives more highlight to the object
2

Uses a mix of dark and green tone to build

tension since most of the setting is indoor.
Don’t Using this tone gives more accentuated
Breathe looks to objects in dark settings

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Title Screenshot Analysis

Uses a mix of grey and blue tone and focus
a lot on the lighting. Tend to use a lot of
shadows to make the highlight on source of
The horror more visible
Exorcist

Based on the obtained result from the analysis, the conclusions are as the following:
a) Blue color tone is commonly used to accentuate the shadows in the scene, giving
more dramatic and horror atmosphere. Yellowish tone can also be used to accentuate
the shadows but the resulting atmosphere will be warmer instead of horror, so this
tone will need a proper setting to really utilize its usage.
b) Grey and green tone is usually used in a dark setting to give highlights to objects in
scene, since these colors tone blends well with the dark setting. Therefore, the object
can still be seen clearly without breaking the established dark setting.
c) While most movies used a generally darker tone in scenes with the source of horror,
some uses brighter color tone with different scope of focus. Brighter color tone is
used to increase visibility on the details in scene, and if utilized properly it will be
able to convey the desired horror feelings to the audience.

3.2. Movie Development

Based on the Multimedia Development Life Cycle (MDLC) development model, the
processes during movie development are described as follows:
1) Concept
After going through some observations and considerations, the short movie produced
will be titled “Not Alone”. The genre decided will be psychological horror, where the
main character will be affected by some supernatural happenings. The setting of the
story will be in the main character’s bedroom, and the shot will be taken during night
time to minimize external lights interference.
2) Design
Scenarios and shot list made are based on the decided concept. The scenario contains
detailed description of the scripts, sequel of events, settings, and timeline. The shot
list contains the order of scene to be shot, along with shot type, camera angle, camera
movement, and description of the shot with some additional details. The following
figure is the scenario and shot list that has been made:

Figure 4. Scenario script (left) and shot list (right)

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3) Material Collecting
The shooting process takes after the scenario and shot list has been finalized. The
process involved two people as a crew whose role are actor and director. Since the
shot will wants to minimize external light interference, some lighting equipments are
used to manipulate the lighting in the location. The color usage for the light are
adjusted to be balanced and looks natural. The filming location can be seen in the
following figure.

Figure 5. Filming Location

After the shooting process is finished, all collected footage will be cleaned up and sorted.
Each footage will be analyzed to see which one fits more to the scene. After the analysis
is done, sound effects are collected in accordance to the selected scene. The sound effects
used are from an online audio library named Soundly, where the provided sound effects
are able to integrate real-time.
4) Assembly
The description of each Assembly part is as follows:
a) Compositing
The footage collected are arranged using Davinci Resolve 18 application. The
arranged footage then sorted to create a timeline using the scenario and shot list
as a reference. Additional clean ups are also carried out during Compositing to
cut out unused or unfit part from the scenes, so the transition between scenes
will have more synergy. The resolution used for the timeline is 2048x890.
b) Visual Effects
Some visual effects are added as an element to support the scenes. Some of the
added visual effects are lens blur effect and screen shake effect.
c) Sound Design
Sound effects are also added as a way to establish atmosphere and desired
mood. Some of the added sound effects are squeak, eerie, rain, lightning, and
few more effects that are commonly used in horror movie.
d) Color Grading
The main color grading tone used are a mix of blue and green hue to create
horror and dramatic atmosphere. As there will be two version of finished color
grading, the difference mainly located in shadows and high contrast setting.
Darker color grading tone will use higher shadow setting and lower contrast
setting, while brighter color grading tone is the other way around. The settings
for the color grading can be seen in these following figures:

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Figure 6. Color grading setting

Figure 7. Color grading setting

Figure 8. Color grading setting

e) Rendering
After the other parts are finished, the video will be exported into a video file
using the mp4 container format. The finalized movie will have a duration of 3
minutes and 53 seconds, with a resolution of 4096x1780, a frame rate of 24fps,
and used the H.264 codec.
5) Testing
The blind test was carried out with a total of 53 participants. All the participants are
selected randomly without any specific criteria. The blind test process start with little
briefing about the test, and then continued with the viewing. The result of the blind
test is out of 53 people, 39 people chose A while the other 14 people chose B. Based
on this result, the darker color grading tone (A) is significantly chosen more than the
brighter color grading tone (B), with a percentage ratio of 73.58%:26.42%. Due to
the significant difference, a question regarding the reasoning is asked to the
participants who picked A. Most participants gave similar answer, which is the
darker color grading tone fits more with the concept, and for them the brighter color
grading tone does not really convey the horror feeling from the movie. The same

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question was also asked to the participants who chose B, and the received answer
was only personal preference.
6) Distribution
The finished movie is distributed on November 2 2022. The movie was uploaded to
Batam International University Information Systems Study Program’s YouTube
channel. Since the upload, the video has received 102 views and 53 likes.

4. Conclusion
Deciding which color grading technique to apply during movie production is crucial
because of how much it influence the result. Without fully understanding the planned
concept, the decided technique might be incorrect and ended up failing to convey the
desired message. Through this study, it can be concluded that brighter color grading tone
needs specific horror concepts to work, unlike darker color grading tone that can work
with general horror movie concept. Using Midsommar as an example, the movie uses
brighter color grading tone in scenes that show uncomfortable and gory shots, making it
fully visible. While darker color grading tone can generally work with any concept, it still
needs proper color choice so the desired atmosphere can be created.
This study has some limitations such as hardware limitation and lack of work force
since the crew only consists of two people. For future studies, it is expected to explore a
wider range of horror genre to produce and a proper number of work force to minimize
any limitations. It is also expected the use a wider color range for the color grading tone.

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