Teaching Color Grading Without the Nonsense
We started Krankex because too many people were learning color grading from tutorials that skipped the fundamentals. Our approach focuses on understanding what you're actually doing and why it matters.
How We Got Here
Five years back, I was working on a documentary project in Vienna. The colorist they hired charged a fortune and delivered something that looked worse than the raw footage. That moment stuck with me.
The problem wasn't just one bad colorist. It was that most people learning this craft were picking up surface-level tricks without understanding the actual principles. They'd memorize node structures without knowing why certain adjustments work for specific footage.
So we built something different. Not another platform promising you'll be a master in six weeks. We teach you how to see color relationships, understand what your scopes are telling you, and make informed decisions rather than copying presets.
Our students come from production companies, indie filmmakers working on their first features, and even photographers expanding into video. What they all appreciate is that we don't pretend there are shortcuts.
What Actually Matters to Us
These aren't corporate values we printed on a poster. This is how we decide what to teach and how to teach it.
Real Workflow Context
Every technique we teach comes from actual production scenarios. You'll learn the same approaches used in feature films, commercials, and high-end corporate work, not just demo reels made to look impressive.
Technical Depth
We explain why things work, not just which buttons to press. Understanding color science and video codecs makes you adaptable when you encounter footage that doesn't fit the tutorial examples.
Practical Speed
Deadline pressure is real. We show you efficient node structures, how to build reusable setups, and when it's worth spending an extra hour versus accepting good enough. Time management matters as much as aesthetic skill.
How We Structure Learning
Foundation Phase
Most courses rush through color theory. We spend proper time on it because it's what separates someone who can follow a tutorial from someone who can solve problems independently.
What you actually learn:
- Reading waveforms and vectorscopes to diagnose footage issues
- Understanding how different codecs affect your color space
- Building node structures that scale for complex projects
- Working with log footage and different camera profiles
Application Work
Theory only gets you so far. We use real client footage with actual problems — mixed lighting, poor white balance, inconsistent exposures between shots. You learn to fix what production handed you, not just enhance already-great footage.
Project types include:
- Corporate interviews shot in challenging office lighting
- Documentary footage from multiple cameras with different profiles
- Narrative scenes requiring mood and continuity across multiple angles
- Music videos where creative looks need consistency across performance footage
Professional Context
Knowing how to grade isn't enough if you can't communicate with clients or work efficiently under time pressure. We cover the business side that most tutorials ignore completely.
Who Teaches This Stuff
Our instructors have graded everything from music videos to feature documentaries. They've dealt with terrible footage shot at 3am, impossible client requests, and the reality of making quick decisions when the deadline is tomorrow morning.
Real Experience
Linnea has been grading professionally for eight years, mostly in Vienna's commercial market. She knows what clients actually want versus what they say they want. Her specialty is making corporate content look polished without the artificial sheen that screams "training video."
Bastian came from cinematography and switched to color about six years ago. He handles narrative work and understands how grading decisions affect the story. He's particularly good at teaching people to see when they're overworking footage.
Teaching Approach
We don't record lectures and call it a course. Every session is built around specific problems and how to solve them. You'll see the entire process, including the mistakes and corrections, because that's how you actually learn to think through color decisions.
Session structure:
- Live grading with explanation of each decision
- Review of student work with specific technical feedback
- Problem-solving sessions for challenging footage types
- Guest sessions with working colorists discussing real projects
Austrian Context
Being based in Salzburg gives us access to the German-speaking production market, but we teach in English and our students work globally. The principles of good color grading don't change based on location.
Ready to Learn Color Grading Properly?
Our next program starts in several months. We keep groups small so everyone gets actual feedback on their work. If you're tired of surface-level tutorials and want to understand what you're doing, this might be worth your time.
View Learning Program Details