One of the best web tutorials on the function of the orange mask is given by Evan Dorsky : Why is Color Negative Film Orange. I would only add that, although this feature significantly corrects the imperfect dye response in such films, the result is never perfect. Every color film has certain hue idiosyncrasies, often significant.
It is not my place to comment on the SECONDARY effects of scanning and digital workflow. I would just say, that if you don't understand the film first, for it's own sake, you might not land on first base at all, but somewhere out in the weeds. One base at a time, if you want to reach home plate without a lot of cuts and bruises.
Once one masters a particular color film, it can be quite predictable. Quality control standards are exceptional nowadays. But different kinds of color film deliver their own hue palette and look. With positive chrome or slide film, you can just place the developed result atop a good light box and visually evaluate it. But with color neg film, you have to somehow invert and balance out the negative, and that's where things get complicated for some. I happen to print by direct optical enlargement right onto appropriate RA4 papers, sometimes with a contrast lowering mask, sometimes with a contrast increase one, but altogether under very tightly monitored conditions.
But once one enters the jungle of amateur scanners and who knows what kinds of digital manipulation factored in too, the end result might not reflect any signature characteristic of that particular film as much as the obstacle course in between. And in that respect, a lot does depend on the quality of the scan to begin with. This being the "Analog Workflow" section of the forum, I feel at perfect liberty to preach the direct darkroom approach instead. It might not be for everyone; but it gets you from Point A to Point B a lot more directly,
without a lot of extra intervening hoops to jump through, each of which potentially skews the end result.