Getting Started What You Will Learn

In these lessons, you will work with multiple projects to learn fundamental and advanced
Welcome to The Colorist Guide to DaVinci Resolve 18, an official Blackmagic Design-
techniques used in several editing genres. You’ll acquire practical skills that you can apply
certified training book that teaches professionals and students how to get the most out
to real-world productions.
of color grading using DaVinci Resolve 18. All you need is a Mac or Windows computer,
the free download version of DaVinci Resolve 18, and a passion to learn about the art of
color grading.
Part I
Part I of the book will have you restoring a documentary edit from a DaVinci Resolve
This guide blends practical, hands-on exercises with the aesthetics and technical aspects
archive file. The three lessons within this section focus on fundamental grading theory
of the colorist’s art to help you discover new techniques for whatever tasks you take on.
and practices. You will normalize and balance footage with the primary grading tools in
You’ll learn how to use the program’s many grading tools and workflows and gain an
Lesson 1, match shots for continuity in Lesson 2, and use secondary grading tools to target
in-depth understanding of advanced techniques and creative industry practices. Some
specific elements in Lesson 3.
exercises will even take you into the realm of compositing, which is an increasingly required
skill of contemporary colorists.
Part II
Part II looks at more advanced approaches to the grade node structure in the context of
a feature film trailer. In Lesson 4, you will migrate the project to DaVinci Resolve using an
XML file format. In Lesson 5, you will more fully explore the importance of node order and
consider incorporating mixer nodes to ensure the optimal color outcome. In Lesson 6,
you will practice different methods of managing and copying grades with an eye toward
developing efficient, quick workflows.

Part III
Part III will focus more strongly on the optimization of grading workflows to ensure a
quick, accurate process, as well as looking at the unique properties of high dynamic
range footage. In Lesson 7, you will look at a variety of methods of controlling the image
frame and properties, as well as advanced keyframing, compositing, and noise-reduction
techniques. Lesson 8 incorporates the classic grading workflow into a group-based
pipeline that will allow you to grade entire segments of the timeline in one node tree.
Lesson 9 demonstrates the different approaches you could take when starting a grading
workflow with raw media and emphasize its extended grading potential in the HDR
grading palette. Finally, Lesson 10 covers project delivery from basic preset setup to
custom renders and DCP workflows.

The appendix at the end of the book provides additional information about the Davinci

About DaVinci Resolve 18 Resolve panels, as well as giving an overview of the DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel.

DaVinci Resolve is the world’s fastest growing and most advanced editing software. It also
has a long history of being the world’s most trusted application for color correction. In
addition to its world-class color grading toolset, DaVinci Resolve 18 is a professional-level
nonlinear editing and effects application with a complete set of professional audio editing
and mixing tools that enable you to complete projects using only one piece of software!

Getting Started ix x Getting Started

The Blackmagic Design Training Download DaVinci Resolve
and Certification Program To download the free version of DaVinci Resolve 18 or later from the
Blackmagic Design website:
Blackmagic Design publishes several training books that take your skills farther in
DaVinci Resolve 18. They include: 1 Open a web browser on your Windows or Mac computer.

2 In the address field of your web browser, type: www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/

— The Beginner’s Guide to DaVinci Resolve 18
davinciresolve.
— The Colorist Guide to DaVinci Resolve 18
— The Editor’s Guide to DaVinci Resolve 18 3 On the DaVinci Resolve landing page, click the Download button.

— The Fairlight Audio Guide to DaVinci Resolve 18 4 On the download pop-up page, choose if you will work in the free version of DaVinci

— The Visual Effects Guide to DaVinci Resolve 18 Resolve (left), or if you will purchase DaVinci Resolve Studio (right), and then click
the button that corresponds to your computer’s operating system. The free version
Whether you want an introductory guide to DaVinci Resolve or you want to learn more of DaVinci Resolve features most of the tools you will need to produce and deliver
advanced editing techniques, color grading, sound mixing, or visual effects, our certified a professional grade. You can complete the lessons in this book and pass the
training program offers a learning path for you. Please visit www.blackmagicdesign.com/ certification exam using the free version of DaVinci Resolve, although some exercises
products/davinciresolve/training to find the rest of the books in our training series. will prompt you to use DaVinci Resolve Studio.
5 Follow the installation instructions to complete the installation.

When you’ve completed the software installation, follow the instructions in the following
section to download the content for this book.

Acquiring the Lesson Files

The DaVinci Resolve lesson files must be downloaded to your Mac or Windows computer
to perform the exercises in this book.

System Requirements To Download and Install the DaVinci Resolve Lessons Files:

1 Open a web browser on your Windows or Mac computer.
This book supports DaVinci Resolve 18.1 for Mac and Windows. If you have an older
2 In the address field of your web browser, type: www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/
version of DaVinci Resolve, you must upgrade to the current version to follow along with
the lessons. davinciresolve/training.

3 Scroll the page until you locate The Colorist Guide to DaVinci Resolve 18.

NOTE  The exercises in this book refer to file and resource locations that 4 Click the Lesson Files Part 1 link to download the media for the first section of the
may differ if you’re using the software version from the Apple Mac App Store. book. The BMD 18 CC - Project 01.zip file is roughly 2 GB in size.
For the purposes of this training book, if you are using macOS, we recommend 5 Click the Lesson Files Part 2 link to download the media for the second section of the
downloading the DaVinci Resolve software directly from the Blackmagic Design
book. The BMD 18 CC - Project 02.zip is roughly 1.10 GB in size.
website rather than the Mac App store.
6 Click the Lesson Files Part 3 link to download the media for the third section of the
book. The BMD 18 CC - Project 03.zip is roughly 2.30 GB in size.

Getting Started xi xii Getting Started

7 After downloading the zip files to your computer, open your Downloads folder and
double-click to unzip them (if they haven’t unzipped automatically).
Introducing Blackmagic Cloud
8 In your chosen storage location—for example, the Movies folder (Mac) or Videos folder DaVinci Resolve is the world’s only complete post-production solution that lets everyone
(Windows)—create a new folder called BMD 18 - The Colorist Guide. work together on the same project at the same time. Traditionally, post-production
follows a linear workflow with each artist handing off to the next, introducing errors and
9 From your Downloads folder, drag the BMD 18 CC - Project 01, BMD 18 CC - Project 02,
mountains of change logs to keep track of through each stage. With DaVinci Resolve’s
and BMD 18 CC - Project 03 folders into the BMD 18 - The Colorist Guide folder that
collaboration features, each artist can work on the same project, in their own dedicated
you created in the previous step.
page with the tools they need.
10 You are now ready to begin Lesson 1, “Balancing Footage.”
Now Blackmagic Cloud lets editors, colorists, VFX artists, animators, and sound engineers
work together simultaneously from anywhere in the world. Plus, they can review each
After you have completed an exercise, you have the option to review the completed other’s changes without spending countless hours reconforming the timeline.
timeline that is included in every project file provided with the media. Keep in mind that
Simply create a Blackmagic Cloud ID, log in to the online DaVinci Resolve Project Server,
color grading is a subjective practice, and your results will often differ from the completed
and follow the simple instructions to set up a new project library—all for one low
timelines. Rather than attempting to match your work exactly, use them for general
monthly price!
comparison and troubleshooting.
Once created, you can access this library directly from the Cloud tab in the Project

Getting Certified
Manager to create as many projects as you need—all stored securely online. Then invite up
to 10 other people to collaborate on a project with you. With a simple click, they can relink
to local copies of the media files and start working on the project immediately, with all their
After completing this book, you are encouraged to take a 1-hour, 50-question online
changes automatically saved to the cloud.
proficiency exam to receive a certificate of completion from Blackmagic Design. The link
to the online exam can be found at the end of the last lesson in this book and on the Enabling Multiple User Collaboration for your project means that everyone can work on
Blackmagic Design training web page. the same project at the same time—edit assistants, editors, colorists, dialogue editors,
and visual effects artists can now all collaborate wherever they are in the world in a way
The training page also provides information about our official Training and
never before possible.
Certification Program and features additional training videos: www.blackmagicdesign.com/
products/davinciresolve/training.
Media Sync with Blackmagic Cloud Store
Now you don’t need to buy expensive proprietary storage that needs an entire IT team to
manage! Blackmagic Cloud Store has been designed for multiple users and can handle the
huge media files used by Hollywood feature films. You can also have multiple Blackmagic
Cloud Stores syncing the media files with your Dropbox account so that everyone has
access to the media files for the project.

To find out more about these exciting workflows, visit blackmagicdesign.com/products/

davinciresolve/collaboration

Getting Started xiii xiv Introducing Blackmagic Cloud

Interface Review Gallery contains stills that can be used for visual comparison or for copying grading
data. Stills can be generated from the color page or imported from an external source
and organized into albums.

Viewer displays the selected clip with playback controls and offers additional
interface tools.
“No matter how much post experience you have, there’s always something new to learn
Node Editor allows grades and effects to be structured to maximize the visual quality
about DaVinci Resolve. I sometimes find that going back and reviewing the basics helps
of each clip.
give you perspective on finding a new way to give clients the look they want quickly and
efficiently. Highly recommended for newcomers and veteran colorists alike.” Thumbnail timeline represents each clip as a single frame, making it easy to navigate
and find individual clips.
Marc Wielage, Senior Colorist - Chroma | Hollywood
Mini-timeline more closely resembles the track structure of the edit page.
This section contains an overview of the color page interface to inform
Primaries color wheels control the tonal and chromatic values of an image on the
you of its key functions and to establish the terminology that will be used
basis of three luminance ranges (lift, gamma, and gain).
throughout the book.
Curves give precise control over the tonal values of an image based on RGB and
luminance curves.

Color Page Layout Keyframes Editor allows you to animate color grades, sizing parameters, and effects.

The default layout of the color page contains the following panels: At the top of the color page, the interface toolbar features a series of buttons that allow
you to show and hide panels as needed. Hiding panels (for example, the Mini-timeline or
Gallery Thumbnail timeline Viewer Node Editor the Gallery) will create more space for the viewer and remaining panels.

NOTE  If your screen resolution is less than 1920 x 1080 HD, there may be some
differences in the interface layout. For example, your left and central palettes
will be combined into a single list on the left side of the screen. In some palettes,
parameters such as the Matte Finesse may be presented on two pages rather than
as a single list. Regardless, you will still have access to all the tools described in this
training manual.

Primaries color wheels Curves Mini-timeline Keyframes Editor

xv xvi Interface Review

Viewer Primaries Color Wheels
The viewer shows the frame that the playhead is currently on. By default, clips are represented The Primaries color wheels (and the corresponding color bars and log wheels) allow you
as they will appear upon final render. Some additional features allow you to temporarily to affect the brightness and hue of the image by targeting specific luminance ranges.
bypass grades, see a representation of a clip’s matte, and to compare clips to one another. Adjustments to the color wheels are made by dragging the color balance indicators at
the center.

Lift targets the shadows of the image.

Gamma targets the midtones of the image.

Some additional controls at the top and bottom of the viewer maximize the functionality of
the tools in the color page. Gain targets the highlights of the image.

Offset affects the entire image uniformly.

TIP  You can position your mouse pointer over any tool in the color page to Master wheels are the dark horizontal sliders beneath the color wheels that control
see its name. the YRGB values of those respective ranges, with Y representing luminance and RGB
representing the red, green, and blue channels of the image.

Image wipe enables you to wipe between a still, reference frame, or another clip in
the timeline for visual comparison and matching. Clicking the Reset arrows in the upper-right corner of each wheel will neutralize the color
and master wheel of that range. You can also reset the entire palette by clicking the Reset
Split screen places clips alongside one another for review and comparison. It features
All button next to the palette tool buttons.
several modes to allow comparison between clips on a timeline, in the same group, or
even versions of grades within the same clip. The adjustment controls at the top and bottom of the Primaries palette give additional
control over the image with features such as contrast and saturation, temp and tint,
Highlight is enabled to reveal the matte that is associated with a selected node.
and so on.
Onscreen control menu is a pop-up menu in the lower left of the viewer that
features a selection of UI controls associated with some of the palettes and effects of
the color page.

The bottom of the viewer contains a scrubber and transport controls that allow you to
navigate the clip as you would in the edit page.

Viewer xvii xviii Interface Review

Palette Panel
A series of buttons under the timeline enable you to navigate between the palettes
available on the color page. From left to right, these palettes are:

Left palettes—Camera Raw, Color Match, Color Wheels, HDR Grade, RGB Mixer,
Motion Effects

Central palettes—Curves, Color Warper, Qualifier, Window, Tracker, Magic Mask, Blur,
Key, Sizing, 3D

Keyframes Editor—Keyframes, Scopes, Info

Use these buttons to navigate between palettes when prompted during the exercises. The
name of each palette appears in the upper-left corner when clicked, as well as over the
button itself when your mouse pointer hovers over it.

This page intentionally left blank.

Palette Panel xix

Part I

Color Correcting
a DaVinci Resolve
Timeline
Lessons
— Balancing Footage
— Creating Color Continuity
— Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

Part I of The Colorist Guide to DaVinci Resolve 18 focuses on establishing a strong practical
foundation of primary and secondary grading techniques with additional focus on
balancing and matching media in preparation for creative grading.

Each part of this guide focuses on its own project, and each project is set up to explore the
variety of methods for starting a grade in DaVinci Resolve. In Part 1, the project is accessed
using DaVinci Resolve’s archiving feature.

Project File Location

You will find all the necessary content for this section in the “BMD 18 CC - Project 01”
folder. Follow the instructions at the start of every lesson to find the necessary
project, timeline, and media files. If you have not yet downloaded the first set of
content files, go to the “Getting Started” section of this book for more information.

NOTE  Although you can use DaVinci Resolve 18 for most of this guide,
some exercises will require DaVinci Resolve Studio 18. If you don’t have This page intentionally left blank.
DaVinci Resolve Studio 18, you can still complete such exercises with a watermark
overlay and are encouraged to do so to learn how they operate.
Lesson 1 You wouldn’t color grade a somber documentary about rhinoceros sanctuaries as you
would grade a 30-second perfume ad featuring the latest Hollywood A-lister, even if
both projects were shot on the same type of camera. So, in addition to addressing the

Balancing Footage
technical requirements of the footage, you will also consider the documentary’s narrative
considerations.

In this lesson, you’ll familiarize yourself with the primary grading tools used to normalize
and balance clips on a timeline, learn to read waveforms and parade scopes for optimal
matching, and employ secondary grading selection methods to enhance your final look.
You will do so in the context of an overall grading workflow that addresses the needs of
each timeline clip.

Opening a DaVinci Resolve Archive

This book is divided into three distinct parts, each devoted to a different genre and using

The first project you will grade is Time three different project setup methods. The first method uses timelines that have been
edited and archived in DaVinci Resolve 18 to create a DaVinci Resolve archive (.dra) folder.
a documentary about protecting This lesson takes approximately
This is one of the most efficient methods for sharing and launching timelines because it
endangered rhinos. The workflow 90 minutes to complete.
includes the original project file and all its associated media. By restoring the .dra folder,
described is applicable to virtually Goals you can be certain that you are seeing the timeline exactly as intended by the editor, with
all types of video project grading, all its tracks, transitions, graphics, and retiming intact.
Opening a DaVinci Resolve 
but documentary cinematography Archive 4
is particularly dependent on the
Setting Up Project Backups 5
following actions: Blackmagic Design Mini Panel Operations
Understanding the
Grading Workflow 7
DaVinci Resolve control panels are designed to give you fluid, hands-on control
— Balance footage Documentary over multiple parameters at the same time, so you can work faster and be more
Setting Tonal Range and Contrast 9
videographers often quickly change creative. See the appendix, “Setting Up and Using the Blackmagic Design Mini
positions and locations during Balancing Colors 19 Panel,” for an overview of how a control panel can optimize your workflow in

a shoot, which means they have Comparing Color and Log Wheels 23 DaVinci Resolve. Throughout this book, lesson notes will show how exercise
workflows can be incorporated and enhanced using a Mini Panel.
less shot-to-shot control over Self-Guided Exercises 34
lighting conditions. Lesson Review 35
— Match shots Scenes, interviews, and
B-roll can be shot over many days NOTE  For a quick refresher course on the DaVinci Resolve interface, see the
with different cameras, requiring you “Interface Review” section earlier in this book.
to visually match all content to create
a cohesive narrative.
— Improve imagery A variety of 1 Open DaVinci Resolve 18.

techniques are used to confine 2 Right-click in the Project Manager window and choose Restore Project Archive.
grading to specific portions of a shot
to enhance skies, skin tones, and
visual framing.
4 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage
3 On your hard disk, locate the “BMD 18 CC - Project 1” folder. 1 Open DaVinci Resolve > Preferences.

4 Select the Project 01 - Disunity Documentary.dra file and click Open. 2 At the top of the Preferences pop-up window, switch from System to User.

5 In the Project Manager, double-click the Project 01 - Disunity Documentary 3 Click “Project Save and Load” to the left to access Save Settings.
thumbnail to open the project.

By default, Live Save is enabled, so DaVinci Resolve will overwrite your active project
file every time you make a change, no matter how small. Enabling this setting is crucial
to minimize the risk of losing any project changes in the event of unexpected system
or program shutdowns.

4 Select the “Project backups” checkbox.

Enabling this option saves a new copy of your project file at regular intervals to a
designated backup location.

6 To enter the color page, click the Color button at the bottom of the interface or
press Shift-6.

7 Verify that you are on the 01 Main Timeline.

The name of the timeline appears above the viewer. You can select the active timeline
by clicking the disclosure arrow next to the timeline name and choosing from the
dropdown list.
5 To select the backup location, click Browse and specify a save destination on your
workstation or external drive.
TIP  You can archive projects by right-clicking a project thumbnail in the
By default, a backup project is generated every 10 minutes, regardless of the number of
Project Manager and choosing Export Project Archive. Doing so will
changes you make during that period. Eventually, older project backup files are cleared
consolidate your project file, timelines, and media into a single folder for
from the project storage, except for files that extend over longer hourly and daily
sharing or future retrieval.
intervals. This behavior can be extremely helpful when working on long-form projects
because it allows you to return to the state of a project from a specific period (two
weeks ago, for example) without sorting through thousands of backed up project files.
You’re almost ready to start grading! However, before you begin, you should check that
your project is being backed up correctly. 6 Click Save to commit the change and close the Preferences window. You may now
continue working on your project, safe in the knowledge that your every change is
backed up.

Setting Up Project Backups

As soon as you create or load an existing project, it is good practice to ensure that
DaVinci Resolve’s Live Save feature is running in the background. Performing incremental
background saves will keep track of every change you make to your project, as well as
retain older variants of your project for future recall.

Setting Up Project Backups 5 6 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

 Shot matching involves comparing clips and matching their contrasts and colors exactly.
NOTE  To open a backed-up project file, you can access the DaVinci Resolve Project This technique is particularly advantageous when most of your clips already have a similar
(.drp) file at the designated backup location on your drive, or you can open the look, and you need to tweak only a few exceptional shots to create a smooth starting point
Project Manager, right-click the thumbnail of the project you wish to restore and for your scene grade.
choose Project Backups. In a pop-up window, you can select from a list of all the
backups associated with the project.
Performing Secondary Grading
Secondary grading refers to any part of the grading process in which only a part of an
With the project loaded and Live Save enabled, you can proceed with actual color grading. image is altered. The potential for secondary grading is limitless, but it is mainly achieved
But where to begin? When approaching an ungraded timeline, it’s not always obvious by two means: keying and masking.
where your starting point should be. The next section provides a general overview of the
Keying targets a portion of an image based on a hue, saturation, or luminance range. In
grading process.
DaVinci Resolve, the main tool for key extraction is the qualifier, though other tools also
rely on this method of selection, including HSL curves, Color Warper, and some Resolve FX.

Understanding the Masking employs geometric vector shapes to isolate a portion of an image.
DaVinci Resolve’s masking interface, the Window palette, features Power Window tools in

Grading Workflow
the form of preset shapes (linear, circle, polygon, and gradient), and a customizable curve
window that enables you to generate garbage mattes and rotoscopes (animated masks).
The Magic Mask palette performs a similar task by automatically detecting and tracking
It is good practice to have a clear idea of what your workflow is before beginning a grade. objects and people to generate masks.
Your workflow is informed by a variety of factors including the color space and format of
Like the qualifier, Power Windows cannot alter the appearance of an image directly but act
your footage, the way the timeline was shared with you, the content of the scenes, and the
as selectors for the grading tools.
aesthetic/emotional intention behind the project. Let’s review the most common phases of
a grading workflow. Secondary grading is most powerful when qualifiers and Power Windows are used in
tandem. While the qualifier focuses on extracting an element with a clean edge, a window

Balancing and Shot Matching can confine the qualifier’s influence to a specific portion of the frame. In this way, it’s
possible to target an object in areas of the shot that are of a similar key range.
Before you can grade footage creatively, you must adjust shot luminance and chrominance
to create a level starting point for your grade. This process is akin to laying down a primer
on a canvas before painting to ensure that the pigment is applied to a consistent surface.
Creating a Look
Once your clips are balanced and shot matched, and any individual secondary grading
A single grade applied to five balanced and matched shots will establish a visual continuity
needs are met, your creative process, often referred to as color grading, can begin.
that flows naturally from one shot to the next, whereas the same grade applied to
unbalanced and mismatched shots will continue to reflect each shot’s differences. When performing creative grading, you should carefully consider the emotional and
narrative implications of the scene. You can apply both primary and secondary grading
This stage of grading is often referred to as color correction and is achieved by means of
techniques to influence an audience’s emotional perception of an environment by
primary grading tools, in which the entire frame of the image is adjusted. Color correction
tweaking the scene’s color temperature to indicate positive (warm) or negative (cold)
is performed using techniques such as normalization, balancing, and shot matching.
moods and evoke a wide range of psychological color and tone associations. Additionally, a
Normalization and balancing involve creating a neutral starting point for clips in the creative grade can communicate practical narrative elements such as a change in location
timeline by consistently adjusting the luminance levels of each and neutralizing any issues or time (for nonlinear stories).
with their color balance.

Understanding the Grading Workflow 7 8 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

 Normalizing with Master Wheels
NOTE  The grading workflow described here does not rigidly dictate the order in
which these grades should be performed by the colorist. Although first completing The color wheels are among the most integral primary color correction tools to learn to
the balancing and shot-matching stage is best practice, it’s often necessary to use when adjusting image hue. Beneath them, the master wheels allow you to set the tonal
readjust grades applied in earlier stages to ensure a consistent final output, and range and contrast of an image by altering its luminance.
in some cases, it may be necessary to skip color correction altogether. As you gain
more experience as a colorist, you will develop an intuition for the appropriate
TIP  To reset a page to the default layout, choose Workspace > Reset UI Layout.
approach when grading.
You may want to do this at the start of every new project in this book to match
the layout shown in the screenshots. Additionally, you can choose Workspace >
Full Screen Window to dynamically resize DaVinci Resolve to fit your computer
screen.In this exercise, you will adjust the shadows and highlights using the master
Visualizing the Grading Workflow wheels. You’ll also refer to the waveform scope to monitor your adjustments for

in the Node Editor unwanted clipping.

The following chart represents a traditional grading workflow in the context of the Node
Editor in DaVinci Resolve’s color page. 1 Select clip 02.

This graph is not intended as a literal guideline to how nodes should be structured
but rather a representative overview of how nodes relate to one another and their
relative positions.

By default, the palette in the lower-right corner of the DaVinci Resolve interface is set

Setting Tonal Range and Contrast

to the Keyframes palette. You will switch it to display scopes so you can analyze your
footage while you color correct it.

The human eye is particularly sensitive to light sources and shadows, which is why it makes 2 Click the Scopes palette button on the right side of the page.

sense to begin the color correction process by establishing the tonal range of an image.

In the following exercises, you will adjust luminance using master wheels and curves while
also learning about the waveform monitor.

Setting Tonal Range and Contrast 9 10 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

3 At the top of the Scopes palette, click Parade to reveal a scopes dropdown menu and 4 In the upper-right corner of the Scopes palette, click the Settings button.
select Waveform.

5 Click the Y channel button at the top to display only the luminance of the image.

6 Deselect the Colorize option to display the trace with solid white pixels.

The waveform scope displays the luminance and color channel values of the video at
the precise timeline position of the playhead.

7 Click anywhere in DaVinci Resolve to close the waveform settings window.

Any part of the trace that goes below 0 (black point) and above 1023 (white point) in
the luminance range will be clipped, which will result in a loss of image detail.

When normalizing footage, a good starting point is to ensure that the shadows are
floating at around 5–10% above the black point (0) on the scope, while the pure
white highlights (if any) should stop well under the white point (90%). This leaves the
remaining 10% as headroom for super-white elements such as blown out headlights,
lens flares, or metallic specular highlights that can extend beyond the white point.

8 Ensure that the Primaries palette is active in the left palettes of the color page.

The vertical axis of the scope represents the entire potential luminance range of
the image.

The bottom of the display represents the blackest black (0 in a 10-bit depth signal), and
the top represents the whitest white (1023 in 10-bit). Everything in between represents
the midtones range of the image in a grayscale format.

The horizontal axis represents the image itself and can be read across both the graph
and the monitor. You can think of the display as showing the distribution of the pixels
(the trace) across their respective vertical columns based on their luminance levels,
with darker areas of the footage toward the bottom of the graph and lighter areas
If you’ve already completed the book The Beginner’s Guide to DaVinci Resolve 18 or
displayed toward the top.
read the “Interface Review” section earlier in this book, you know that the Lift wheel
Each color channel is overlapped in the trace. White in the trace indicates that each affects the image shadows, the Gamma wheel affects the midtones, and the Gain
channel has an equal intensity. When adjusting tonality in an image, you can disable wheel affects the highlights. The Offset wheel impacts the entire luminance range of
the RGB channels in the waveform and show only luminance. the image uniformly.

Setting Tonal Range and Contrast 11 12 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

 The horizontal wheels located under the color wheels are called master wheels and 11 Drag the Gamma master wheel to the right to brighten the overall scene and enhance
impact the lightness values of their respective ranges. the details of the rhino’s wrinkled skin.

9 Drag the Lift master wheel to the left to darken the shadows. Because this image has
detail in the darkest areas of the wood, aim to place the lowest parts of the waveform
trace above 0 but below the 128 line.

Notice the three areas of the graph where the trace of the waveform dips toward the
black level. Try to locate their respective positions in the frame.

After establishing the tonal range, you can further enhance the image details. The
master wheels affect the luminance too broadly at this stage, so you could use the
contrast control to refine the distinction between the darker and lighter areas.

12 At the top of the Primaries palette, in the adjustment controls, drag the Contrast
setting to the right to increase the level of detail in the skin and the wooden poles.

Those three dark areas correspond to places where the barrier is visible behind the Your image may start to look a little dark, but that’s OK. So far, you’ve only been
wooden poles in the enclosure. The darkest areas of the barrier are represented by a focusing on the depth of the shadows and the details in the midtones.
pronounced dip in the graph.
13 To increase brightness while maintaining the shadows and level of contrast, drag the
10 You can use the Gain master wheel to brighten the lighter areas of the image. The Pivot control next to the Contrast parameter.
image has no chart or reference for pure white, but you could use the thumb in the
The Pivot control establishes the contrast balance by placing more priority or less
image as a luminance indicator. The highlights on skin should rest between 50–75% on
priority on either side of the luminance scale. By pivoting to the left, you will increase
the waveform graph. Drag the Gain master wheel so the tallest traces do not go higher the overall brightness and clarity of the image, at the inverse expense of the shadows,
than three-fourths of the waveform graph. which will be reduced.

Finally, you will address the magenta tint in the resulting image.

14 Drag the Tint field left until the pink tone of the rhino is reduced.

15 Drag the Temp field left to further “cool down” the image and turn the rhino gray.

This is an example of using image context for balancing and grade adjustment. In
future exercises, you will continue to identify elements that you could use as a guide
for grading decisions.

With the shadow and highlight levels set, you will want to adjust the brightness of
the midtones.

Setting Tonal Range and Contrast 13 14 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

16 Press Command-D (macOS) or Ctrl-D (Windows) to toggle the grade on and off.
Compare your before and after results to evaluate how normalization and contrast Using the Mini Panel—Offset Mode
affected the image. Tweak the values if the grade appears overpowering.
Whereas the DaVinci Resolve 18 interface shows four wheels within the Primaries
palette (Lift, Gamma, Gain, and Offset), you’ll notice that the hardware-based Mini
Panel has just three trackballs and rings. To access the Offset wheel functionality,
press the Offset button directly above the Gamma trackball. When the Offset
button is illuminated, the Gain trackball and ring will control the Offset color and
master wheels.

Additionally, when Offset mode is enabled, the Lift and Gamma wheels are
mapped to control temperature and tint, respectively. To return to the default
Bypassed Graded layout, press the illuminated Offset button again. When it no longer lights up, your
trackballs and rings will return to controlling Lift, Gamma, and Gain.

TIP  Another way to disable/enable node grades is by pressing the number of a

node in the Node Editor.

The grading process usually requires a lot of back-and-forth tweaking of palette values
while monitoring the waveform. Some changes dramatically offset the effects of prior
adjustments—as in this example, when increasing the contrast darkened the shadows and
prompted additional tweaks. Iteration is a completely natural part of the grading process.

NOTE  You can undo an action in DaVinci Resolve by pressing Command-Z (macOS)
or Ctrl-Z (Windows). The undo function is stacked to each clip in the timeline. So,
when you undo, only the changes from the selected clip are removed, and not from
any other clips on the timeline, even if you graded them more recently. Setting Contrast with Increased Flexibility
Curves are another major grading tool used to perform primary and secondary
adjustments. Whereas the master wheels target the tonal ranges of an image, the curves
affect the image based on its luminance or RGB color channels.

The curves controls allow you to manipulate the image with great precision and flexibility.

1 In the timeline, select clip 03, which shows an image of a scale.

Setting Tonal Range and Contrast 15 16 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

 Because the colors in the image are flat, most of the waveform graph is condensed 5 Click the Y channel button to ungang the channels.
in the lower midtones. A significant elevation appears to the left, where a window is
positioned behind the scale, and to the right you’ll see a gentle peak where the light
reflects off the plastic rim.
Now, instead of adjusting the RGB values, which will impact the image saturation, you
2 Choose Workspace > Viewer Mode > Enhanced Viewer or press Option-F (macOS)
will alter only the image luminance.
or Alt-F (Windows) to enlarge the viewer.
6 Drag the lowest control point on the luminance curve across the floor to the right.
The Clips timeline and surrounding palettes collapse, dynamically enlarging the size
of the viewer panel. The image becomes much easier to see for grading work.

3 Ensure that the Curves palette is active in the central palettes of the color page.

Doing so lowers the waveform of the image linearly, darkening the shadows more than
the highlights.

7 Stop dragging the control point when the bottom of the trace is still above the 0 line
of the waveform.

8 To raise the top of the waveform, drag the highest control point across the top of
the graph.

Normally, you’d stop when the top of the trace touches the second horizontal line in
the waveform graph (896), but because this part of the trace represents a very bright
window in the video clip, it makes sense to continue raising it until the trace is about
halfway between the top horizontal lines on the graph.
The lower left of the curve graph represents the blackest potential point of the image,
and the upper-right represents the whitest.

The horizontal axis represents the potential luminance range of the image, while the
vertical axis represents the offset of that luminance range. By raising or lowering the
two control points at either extreme of the curve, the black point and the white point,
you can manipulate the distribution of the tonal ranges.

By default, the luminance curve (Y) will be visible for adjustment, ganged to all three
color channels (R, G, B). You can add more control points to the curve to manipulate the midtones of the
image. Let’s tackle the lower midtones that appear too dark after performing that
4 For finer adjustments, turn the Curves palette into a floating window by clicking the
black point adjustment.
Expand button in the upper-right corner.
9 Click the lower half of the curve to create a new control point that will target the
lower midtones.

TIP  When creating a control point, Shift-click to prevent the curve from moving
To move the window, drag the header. To resize the window, drag the sides to the position of the mouse.

and corners.

Setting Tonal Range and Contrast 17 18 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

10 Drag the control point up to raise the lower midtones and brighten the face of 2 Select the Colorize checkbox to view the individual color channel representations in
the scale. the Waveform trace.

When balancing an image using the RGB waveform, neutral tones like white, black,
and gray, should result in an overlap of the three color channels, producing a white
trace. In a clip with white highlights, the trace should appear white at the top of
the waveform.

3 Review clip 03 alongside the waveform.

Many colorists prefer setting the tonal range using curves because curves
offer much finer control over every luminance level of the image and allow for
customizable contrast.

The red channel appears elevated above the other channels, which is giving the image
a slightly warm tint.

4 In the Curves palette, click the red (R) button to select the red channel.

Bypassed Graded
5 Click the top of the red curve and drag it downward. Pay attention to the waveform and
drag until the red highlight overlaps the blue and green channels in the trace, resulting

Balancing Colors 6
in white along the upper edge of the graph.

Create a second point on the red curve to perform the same action in the midtones.
After adjusting the tonal range and contrast, you should carefully examine the colors and Drag downward until the lower half of the trace appears white.
neutralize them in preparation for grading. An unbalanced image will affect the precision
of your grade, along with the quality of any keyed elements, and will stand out in a
sequence of balanced clips.

Balancing Color with Curves

You can use custom curves to manipulate the three color channels in great detail by
creating dedicated control points on each segment of the channel luminance.

1 Open the Waveform settings and click the RGB button to view the RGB channels in
the scopes.

Balancing Colors 19 20 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

 Though the red tint is corrected, the image now has a mild yellow tint because the blue 10 Choose Workspace > Viewer Mode > Enhanced Viewer or press Option-F (macOS) or
channel has less presence in the highlights and midtones. Alt-F (Windows) to collapse the viewer back to its original size.

You have now learned how to operate the two most essential primary grading tools in
the colorist’s arsenal. These are so vital that they are among the first two palettes to
greet you when you enter the color page. Throughout the remainder of this book, you
will refine your understanding of these tools and their variants, combine them with
secondary tools and effects, and further hone your primary grading skillset.

Using the Mini Panel—Curves

You can use the Mini Panel to control curves with the help of dozens of preset
points at your fingertips. Enter Curves mode by pressing the Curves button in the
upper-left of the Mini Panel. If you’ve already selected a specific curve tool using
your mouse, the Mini Panel will jump to that tool. Otherwise, the Mini Panel will
open the custom curves interface.

The curves tools provide an excellent way to explore the versatility and
7 Click B to isolate the blue channel. functionality of your Mini Panel. You may activate every major curve type featured
8 Click the center of the blue curve line to add a control point and drag it up until the in DaVinci Resolve using the soft buttons above the 5-inch screens. The knobs
midtones in the waveform are aligned. below those screens allow you to control specific points of the currently activated
curve. For custom curves, intervals of 0%, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100% may
be adjusted. This functionality allows you to control more than one curve point at
once, which will save time, increase your grading efficiency, and allow you to make
more creative color grading decisions.

9 Press Command-D (macOS) or Ctrl-D (Windows) to disable the color adjustments and
then re-enable the adjustments to review the corrected image.

With the luminance of the overall image altered, you could opt to return to the Y curve
and further adjust the tonal range and contrast of the image, if necessary. When
you’re satisfied with your work, press the X in the upper-left corner of the expanded
Curves palette to collapse it.

Balancing Colors 21 22 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

Comparing Color and Log Wheels 2 Drag the Gain master wheel to the left to darken the upper ranges of the gradient.

Before you normalize the next clip, let’s take a slight detour to understand another
function that can be a fundamental part of primary grading and balancing: the log wheels.

It’s easier to grasp the difference between the Primaries color and log wheels by observing
a graphic example before moving on to image adjustment. Let’s use the simple gradient
graphic at the end of the timeline and manipulate its brightness to compare how the two
adjustments affect it.

1 Select the last clip in the timeline (the grayscale image).

In the standard Primaries color wheels that you are familiar with, the Lift, Gamma, and
Gain wheels target the luminance range as seen in the following figure:

Lift Gamma Gain

In the waveform, the top of the line moves freely while the bottom of the diagonal line
remains connected to the black point. In the viewer, the lightest part of the gradient
is affected most severely, with tapered, but still substantial, impact visible on the

A wide overlap occurs between the segments. When you try to manipulate the remainder of the luminance range.

shadows of the image using the Lift color or master wheels, the change also 3 Reset the Gain master wheel.
substantially affects the midtones, and even the lighter ranges of the image.
4 Drag the Lift master wheel to the right to brighten the lower ranges of the gradient.

The waveform scope displays the gradient image as a flat diagonal line extending left
to right from 0 to 1023, indicating its linear transition from black to white.

In contrast to the Gain wheel, most of the Lift wheel’s impact is on the darkest portion
of the gradient, with the effect tapering off linearly as it reaches the top of
the waveform.

Comparing Color and Log Wheels 23 24 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

 The main point is that in both the Gain and Lift adjustments, the entire image is The upper half of the waveform bends until it is horizontal, but this has no impact on
changed, except for the white and black points. This is intentional because a wide tonal the shadows. This behavior is reflected in the viewer, in which the lightest portions of
overlap creates nice, smooth transitions even in dramatic grades. the gradient are darkened, while the midtones and shadows remain the same.

5 Reset the Lift master wheel. 8 Drag the Shadow master wheel to the right to brighten the dark ranges.

When working with log wheels, the tonal ranges are much more defined:

Shadows Midtones Highlights

Low Range High Range

Manipulating the image shadows will have very little effect on the rest of the
luminance because of the small amount of overlap between the shadows and the
midtones ranges.

6 In the upper-right of the Primaries palette, press the rightmost icon in the list of This time, the lower-third of the line rises until it is parallel to the horizon.

primaries tools to launch the Log wheels. With the waveform in this position, it’s easy to see how you can affect the overlap between
the shadows and midtones (low range), and the midtones and highlights (high range).

9 In the log adjustment controls, drag the Low Range value left to move the shadow
segment of the waveform lower, thereby giving priority to the midtones controls.
On the surface, this interface looks almost identical to the color wheels. However,
adjustments to the shadows, midtones, and highlights react very differently.

7 Drag the Highlight master wheel to the left to darken the highlights of the gradient.
10 Drag the High Range value right to move the highlight segment of the waveform
higher for the same effect, but in reverse.

TIP  To further appreciate how color and log wheels differ, drag the color
balance indicators inside the Lift and Shadow wheels to see how the gradient
is affected. Adjusting the Lift wheel will cause the entire gradient to change
hue, whereas dragging the Shadow wheel will constrain the color change to the
darkest edge of the gradient.

Log wheels can be extremely useful when you’re attempting to change the brightness
or hue of a narrower tonal range. The next exercise will demonstrate a practical use of
switching between color and log wheels.

Comparing Color and Log Wheels 25 26 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

Applying Log Wheel Changes to an Image The waveform represents the combined luminance of the channels, but it does not
take into account instances of clipping within individual channels in scenes with
With a better understanding of how you can target different tonal ranges, you can now pronounced chromatic brightness (such as this sunset).
more accurately normalize and balance an image.
6 Reset the Gain wheel.
1 In the Scopes palette, open the Settings and change the waveform back to Y mode
With reliable white and black references in an image, standard procedure is to
with Colorize deselected.
neutralize the three channels to achieve balance. Without references, context is
2 Switch the Primaries palette back to Color Wheels mode. important. In this case, the context is the sunset with its accompanying red skyline,
3 Select clip 07. which requires an exception to the balancing rule.

7 Switch the scopes back to Waveform. With the highlights analyzed, you can focus on
the overall brightness of the image and the balance of the dark foreground elements.

8 To increase the brightness of the image without clipping its highlights, drag the
Gamma master wheel to the right until you have raised the darkest parts of the image
between the 128 and 256 graticule lines. By avoiding the Gain master wheel, you’re
more likely to prevent the red highlight from clipping.

The image shadows appear to be compressed along a narrow luminance range, which
is causing loss of the detail in the image foreground. Adjusting the Lift master wheel
will not sufficiently expand the compressed shadows.

9 To confirm this, drag the Lift master wheel to the left to see how dramatically it affects
the foreground. The compressed shadows are pulled down until the entire image
becomes too dark.

The luma waveform indicates there is some room for adjusting the image’s highlights.

4 Drag the Gain master wheel right to increase brightness until the trace reaches the
second horizontal line from the top.

Even though the waveform appears to be intact, the sunset on the horizon might start
to appear “blown out.” To understand why this is happening, let’s check the Parade
scope to determine the presence of color in the luminance ranges.
10 Reset the Lift wheel.
5 Switch the Scopes palette to Parade.
11 Switch the Primaries palette to Log Wheels mode.

TIP  Press Option-Z (macOS) or Alt-Z (Windows) to toggle between the

Primaries color and log wheels.

12 Drag the Shadow master wheel to the left to lower the black point without clipping it.
Note that the tree details begin to pop out against the mountains and ground.
Waveform Parade

Comparing Color and Log Wheels 27 28 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

13 In the adjustment controls, drag the Low Range parameter to the left to redefine the Isolating a Grade to a Depth Plane
shadow range. Because of this narrower range, adjustments to the Shadow wheel will
be more concentrated to the compressed shadows at the bottom of the image. Resolve FX are a collection of effects and filters that enable you to adjust the physical or
visual properties of footage in creative ways that are often not possible using common
14 Drag the Shadow master wheel to the left to further expand the compressed shadows.
grading tools. You will learn secondary grading techniques in Lesson 3, but this clip is ideal
Keep adjusting the Low Range and Shadow master wheel controls until you see a good for an early demonstration of the restorative power of secondary selection via an effect
amount of detail in the foreground of the viewer. called Depth Map.

The Depth Map effect can automatically analyze and produce a 3D map of a scene,
which can be used to isolate a grade to a specific plane of an environment, such as the
foreground.

NOTE  The following exercise requires DaVinci Resolve Studio to complete.

Because the Shadow wheel is more dedicated to the lower ranges of luminance, it
1 In the interface toolbar, click the Effects button to open the Effects panel library.
is not affecting the midtones as dramatically as the Lift wheel did. With the contrast
adjusted, you can now address the colors. This image is particularly tricky because of
the conditions under which it was captured. The sun is still rising, resulting in beautiful
peach, purple, and blue gradients throughout the sky. You will strive to retain these
unusual hues, while normalizing the colors in the foreground—most notably, the
magenta in the shadows.
2 Scroll down the Effects Library until you find the Resolve FX Refine section.
15 Switch the Primaries palette back to Color Wheels.
3 Drag the Depth Map effect onto corrector node 01 until a + (plus sign) appears and
16 Gently drag the Gamma color balance indicator away from the magenta side of the then release.
wheel and toward green/yellow. Stop dragging before the green in the shadows
becomes overpowering.

Bypassed Graded

You have successfully brought back a lot of detail to the foreground of the image, but this
came at the expense of the beautiful gradient in the sky, which now appears a little washed
out. In the next exercise, you will isolate the log grade to the foreground of the image while
reducing its impact on the background.

Comparing Color and Log Wheels 29 30 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

 The Effects panel switches to the Settings tab, which features the Depth Map effect The resulting matte resembles the mountain clip, with the foreground plane appearing
parameters. the lightest gray, the mountains a darker gray, and the sky almost completely black.
In addition to mapping the spatial environment of the scene, the matte also represents
the area that a grade or effect will impact. White indicates full opacity, or a selected
region, whereas black indicates transparency, or the lack of selection in that area.
Gray implies semi-opacity and a diminished strength of selection.

You will adjust the Depth Map parameters to create a more pronounced selection of
the foreground.

5 Under Resulting Map Adjustment, select the Adjust Map Levels checkbox to gain
access to the Limit and Gamma controls.

6 Decrease the Near Limit (0.350) to brighten the foreground of the matte.

7 Increase the Gamma (1.050) to heighten the contrast, which will further isolate the
foreground from the background.

4 Wait a few moments for the Depth Map to run its analysis and output a black-and-
white image of the scene.

NOTE  If you’re not using DaVinci Resolve Studio, a watermark will appear over
the image. You can dismiss the warning dialog and complete this exercise with
the watermark.

With the depth map modified to meet the needs of the image, you can now disable the
matte preview in the viewer and review the final result.

Comparing Color and Log Wheels 31 32 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

8 Deselect Depth Map Preview at the top of the settings.
Self-Guided Exercises
Complete the following exercises in the 01 Main Timeline to test your understanding of the
tools and workflows covered in this lesson.

Clip 01—Use curves to normalize and balance this clip by eye. Increase the Saturation
parameter in the adjustment controls to bring out the natural colors in this underlit shot.

Clip 03—Use the contrast and pivot controls to enhance the details of the scale.

Clips 04, 05, 06, and 09—Use the Primaries color wheels and the Waveform scope to
establish a tonal range and contrast on these clips.

Clips 12, 16, and 17—Use curves and the Parade scope to normalize these clips and
balance their colors, as necessary.

When you’ve completed these exercises, open the 04 Completed Timeline to compare
9 Press Command-D (macOS) or Ctrl-D (Windows) to disable the corrector node and your balancing to the Balance nodes in this “solved” timeline. Note that normalization,
then re-enable it again to see the corrected image. Review and adjust, if necessary. balancing, and contrast in some of the clips was separated into individual actions in the
Node Editor. In the next lesson, you will also begin the practice of separating your grading
stages into nodes.
TIP  Press Shift-D to bypass the entire node tree and compare your work to
the source footage. You can also bypass entire color pipelines by pressing the
Bypass Color Grades and Fusion Effects button in the upper-right of the viewer.

As you saw in this exercise, you can use Primaries color and log wheels together very
effectively. Color wheels can be used to establish an initial tonal range and contrast,
while log wheels behave like a secondary adjustment that can further refine the three
luminance ranges.

Log wheels are particularly effective when working on underexposed or overexposed

footage. They allow for restorative work in the high and low luminance ranges, as well
as minor tweaks to the brightness and hues of those areas, without majorly altering the
remainder of the image. In cases where unwanted change does occur, you can make use of
secondary tools, like the Depth Map effect, to isolate the grade to the desired area.

Comparing Color and Log Wheels 33 34 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

Lesson Review Answers
1 Yes. Archived projects (.dra) consolidate all related project media within a single folder
1 Does a DaVinci Resolve archive (.dra) contain the original project media?
that can be restored through the Project Manager.
2 What does the Y in YRGB represent?
2 The Y in YRGB refers to luminance.
3 What does the pivot in the adjustment controls do?
3 The pivot control adjusts contrast balance.
4 How do you add additional control points to curves?
4 Click directly on a curve to add a new control point. Shift-click to add a new control
5 What is the difference between the Primaries color and log wheels? point without adjusting the curve’s position.

5 The Primaries color and log wheels target different tonal ranges of the image.

Lesson Review 35 36 Lesson 1  Balancing Footage

Lesson 2 In the previous lesson, you looked at the most common tools and workflows for
normalizing and balancing shots in preparation for a grade. In this lesson, you’ll examine
the shot-matching process using many of the same tools.

Creating Color Building a Shot-Matching Strategy

Continuity Your approach to shot matching will depend greatly upon the nature of the footage.

On a narrative production that was shot by an experienced cinematographer and camera

crew, the quality of the raw content can have a reliable consistency throughout and require
minimal normalization and matching.

For documentaries, fluctuation in locations, light sources, and temperatures (not to

mention the use of multiple, different cameras) may require much more dedicated
footage preparation.

It is normal to incorporate both balancing and shot matching during the first primary
When editing footage for a video Time
grade pass. You may opt to treat these as separate jobs and apply them to independent
project, the end goal often is to create This lesson takes approximately
nodes, or you can forgo balancing on shots that you are matching to a single “key” shot
a single running narrative that appears 80 minutes to complete.
in a scene.
to be happening in real time. Much Goals Your shot-matching strategy can be narrowed down to the following approaches and
of the time—even in documentary considerations:
Building a Shot-Matching
filmmaking—this unity of time is Strategy 38
— Balance all shots in a sequence. This workflow assumes a shot-by-shot approach to
an illusion. Materials for a single
Organizing Shots Using Flags normalizing the luminance range and balancing every shot in the sequence, which will
scene can take days or even weeks and Filters 40
result in a uniform sequence of shots. This time-consuming method is best applied
to photograph, which can result in Applying Shot Match 43 to projects with vastly mismatched media sources or lighting conditions (archival
fluctuations in light, temperature, documentaries, festival promo videos, and so on).
Matching Shots Using Stills 46
and color dominance as both
Comparing and Matching
environmental and technical factors
Shots Manually 51
influence the footage from one day
Self-Guided Exercises 59
to the next. Every clip balanced individually
Lesson Review 59
The goal of shot matching is to assess
how multiple clips compare to one
another when placed into a timeline
and to ensure that they create color
continuity. When shots don’t match,
the audience becomes aware of their
artificial sequencing, which breaks the
illusion of cinema and compromises
the viewer’s suspension of disbelief.

38 Lesson 2  Creating Color Continuity

— Adjust only mismatched shots in a sequence. If only one or two shots in a sequence The exercises in the following lessons will focus on the practical implementation of shot
have a contrasting color balance, it makes sense to adjust only those shots to create an matching based on these methods. Understanding the variety of matching methods
even starting point for the scene grade. This approach is more common to standard available in DaVinci Resolve 18 will enable you to construct grading workflows that are
grading practices. best suited to your coloring abilities and project type.

Mismatched clips graded to match the rest of the sequence Organizing Shots Using
Flags and Filters
In the previous lesson, you clicked individual clips throughout the timeline. However,
— Select a master reference shot. Sometimes you will have more than one clip that
DaVinci Resolve provides helpful organizational tools, called flags, that can assist you in
you could use as a reference for matching. In those cases, you may opt to use the
identifying and categorizing clips based on any criteria that you define. For example, you
reference shot that will have a less extreme impact on the color tone of the other clips.
might flag clips that have overexposed skies, clips that require green-screen keying, or
clips that need narrative-specific dynamic grades.

1 In the timeline menu above the viewer, open the 02 Balanced Timeline.
Clips adjusted to a key shot that causes the least color distortion

Or you might consider settling on the clip that is closest in appearance to your
intended grade. In doing so, any further creative grading you perform will aim to
enhance the colors and not undo them.

The timelines in this project already include some flags. You’ll add a few more to
identify the clips you will use for the matching exercises in this lesson.
Clips adjusted to a key shot that is closer to the final intended look
2 In the timeline, right-click clip 04, and select Flags > Green.

TIP  When selecting a master reference shot, it’s best to select an establishing
shot or any wide or long shot of the scene and match all other angles to it. A
wide shot is likely to have the best overall representation of light sources and
shadow tones, as well as include most of the physical elements in the scene, A green flag appears in the upper-left corner of the clip thumbnail to indicate that the
such as actors, costumes, set design, walls, and so on. In contrast, a close-up clip is flagged.
might contain less reliable data for balancing and share few elements with Another method for applying flags is to use a keyboard shortcut.
other shots.

Building a Shot-Matching Strategy 39 40 Lesson 2  Creating Color Continuity

3 Select clip 05. Press G on your keyboard to add another flag. 9 Press G to apply yellow flags to both clips.

While this is a faster technique for applying flags, in this case it applied the wrong
color flag.

4 To change the flag to green, double-click the blue flag on the thumbnail to open the
Flags dialog.

TIP  You can apply a flag to multiple clips by selecting a range of thumbnails
and then using any of the methods described to apply the desired flag to the
selected clips.

The green flags in the timeline now identify the clips you will be working on
throughout this lesson. You’ll find it easier to locate and navigate between them if you
filter the timeline to show only the green-flagged clips.

10 At the top of the color page, click the disclosure arrow next to the Clips button and
choose Flagged Clips > Green.
Notice that the Flags dialog allows you to attach notes to flags, which is very handy for
detailing future grading intentions or identifying technical issues.

5 Select the green-colored flag and click Done to close the dialog.

The keyboard shortcut is configured to apply the default blue flag. To change the
default color, you’ll need to change the flag color in the toolbar of the edit page.

6 Go to the edit page. In the toolbar, next to the flag icon,

click the disclosure arrow, and choose Yellow.

7 Return to the color page.

8 Select clip 04 and hold Command (macOS) or Ctrl (Windows) TIP  When a filter is applied to a timeline, the Clips button is underlined in red
to select clip 06 at the same time. to serve as a visual reminder that some clips in the timeline might not be visible
due to the filter.

You have temporarily hidden all clips that do not have a green flag. The result is a
significantly simplified timeline that will help you focus on those clips without the need
to navigate around your timeline and locate them.

Organizing Shots Using Flags and Filters 41 42 Lesson 2  Creating Color Continuity

 1 In the green flag-filtered timeline, select clip 01.
TIP  Like flags, you can also use markers for filtering purposes. The difference
is that flags identify an entire clip (or source media), whereas markers identify
a specific frame or range of time. Adding a flag to a clip applies it to every
appearance of the source clip in all the timelines of the project, whereas
markers will only appear in that single instance of the clip in the timeline.
Markers can be applied using a keyboard shortcut (M), and their default colors
can be set in the toolbar of the edit page.

11 Once again, click the disclosure arrow next to the Clips button and choose Flagged
Clips > Yellow.

As you likely noticed in the previous steps, clips can be assigned more than one flag
color. As a result, media classifications can overlap, allowing you to filter clips that have
several workflow roles.

12 In the Clips pop-up menu, choose Yellow again to remove the yellow flags from
the clip filter. You will match the colors in this clip to the balanced clip 02 directly after it. In
the interest of organization and preservation of the video signal integrity, you will keep
normalization, balancing, and matching on separate nodes.
In DaVinci Resolve, flags and filters can perform a wide variety of functions. You can
use different flag colors to identify clips that must be reframed due to a visible boom 2 In the Node Editor, create a new serial node by right-clicking node 02 and choosing
microphone, single out clips that need white balancing, or isolate clips that require Add Node > Add Serial or pressing Option-S (macOS) or Alt-S (Windows).
a flashback look. When the timeline is filtered based on flag color, you can focus on
It is good practice to label your nodes to keep track of their function and
addressing just one category of clips at a time.
your workflow.

3 Right-click the new node and choose Node Label. Name the node Shot Match.

Applying Shot Match

The Shot Match function in DaVinci Resolve analyzes the colors in one image and
reconfigures the balance of another image (or multiple images) to match it.

The results of any algorithmic grading function should be carefully evaluated after
application because an algorithm is unable to recognize the environmental factors behind
scene colors. Even so, the Shot Match function can be a great starting operation when 4 Right-click clip 02 and choose “Shot Match to This Clip.” It will take a few moments
matching clips and can enable you to quickly prepare shots for on-set review or when for the shot match to be performed on the active clip in the timeline, which is
processing dailies. currently clip 01.

Applying Shot Match 43 44 Lesson 2  Creating Color Continuity

 The result is a much better match between the two images. Clip 01 becomes warmer
and less contrasted to match the environment in clip 02. However, the shadows could
Matching Shots Using Stills
be darkened to better match the mountains and the details in the animals, and the
Stills have a variety of functions in DaVinci Resolve, as you will learn in lessons throughout
gamma could be brightened and cooled to remove the strong red tones.
this book. One of the most direct uses of stills is for visually comparing clips in the viewer.
5 Drag the Lift master wheel left until the shadows of the waveforms in clips 01 and 02 By superimposing a still, or snapshot, of a previous clip onto a current clip, you can visually
match more closely. assess their differences and similarities in contrast, saturation, and color dominance.
6 Drag the Gamma master wheel right to brighten the image and increase contrast in In this exercise, you will use stills to manually match clips.
the details.
1 In the green flag-filtered timeline, select clip 05.
7 Drag the Gamma color wheel indicator away from red until the rhinos appear more
neutral in color.

8 Switch the Primaries palette to Log Wheels mode and drag the Shadows master wheel
left to restore the detail in the rhinos. Pay particular attention to the shadows in their
ears, underbellies, and legs.

9 Use the Low Range parameter in the adjustment controls to fine-tune the shadow
selection, which should be focused on the darkest elements of the frame.

In the 02 Balanced Timeline, this clip already has its tonal range and balance set via the
Primaries color wheels.

2 Right-click in the viewer and choose Grab Still.

Before match 3 Double-click under the still that appears in the gallery and label it Match Reference.

After match

Automatic shot matching can be helpful for creating a starting point for manual matching
and to quickly resolve mixed camera issues in front of clients. But ultimately, you should NOTE  The numbers under the stills refer to the timeline track, the clip number,
still learn how to assess images using the video scopes and manually match them with and the number of stills generated for that clip.
the primary grading tools. This will give you greater confidence when working with
media that automatic tools struggle with, such as scenes with unconventional lighting or
environments with context-dependent visual cues.

Applying Shot Match 45 46 Lesson 2  Creating Color Continuity

4 In the timeline, select clip 06. You will use the Primaries color bars and the Parade The shot of the man by the fence is much cooler than the still with the men and the
scope to match this shot to the still. horse. The Parade scope, which is also split in half, reveals this difference.

5 In the Scopes pop-up menu, choose Parade. This representation of the image is
similar to that of the waveform scope but with the luminance value of all three
channels represented separately. The reference still’s blue channel trace appears substantially lower, indicating an
6 In the Gallery window, double-click the Match Reference still. absence of blue in the highlights and upper midtones. As blue’s complementary color
is yellow, this results in the reference image looking warmer.
You should now see the two clips in the viewer, separated by a wipe line that
you can drag. When shot matching, the goal is not to fully match the parades to each other. That
is usually impossible because of the different contents of the frames. Instead, you
must study the relationships of the three channels and try to recreate their respective
TIP  You can invert a wipe using the keyboard shortcuts Option-W (macOS) or relationships in the clip that you’re matching.
Alt-W (Windows). Doing so will switch the frames for a reverse reference view.
7 In the node graph, change the label of node 01 in clip 06 to Match.

TIP  Labeling nodes has many benefits. It clarifies the grading workflow by
specifying each node’s task, which enables you to make faster adjustments as
you grade. Labels are also great for inserting reminders for future necessary
returns to the clip grade.

To label nodes more quickly, consider creating a custom keyboard shortcut.

Open DaVinci Resolve > Keyboard Customization. Find the Label Selected Node
command in the Commands list (use the search field at the top, if necessary),
and press the keyboard shortcut you wish to associate with the command. The
Tab key is a good option because it is not assigned to any default command.

Matching Shots Using Stills 47 48 Lesson 2  Creating Color Continuity

8 In the Primaries palette, switch the mode to Color Bars. 13 While keeping an eye on the middle pattern of the traces, slightly drag up the Red
Gamma bar and lower the Blue Gamma bar.

The result is a quick matching of the two clips using the Primaries color bars.

14 To turn off the reference wipe view, in the upper left of the viewer click the Image Wipe
The bars are an alternative representation of the color wheels, and changes in either button or right-click in the viewer and choose Show Reference Wipe.
mode will reflect in both modes. The bars offer greater precision over the individual
color channels of the image than the wheels.

9 To match the shadows, drag the Lift Y (luminance) bar down until the shadows of clip
06 match the shadows in the still. Keep your eye on the green parade and aim to set
the lowest point of clip 06’s trace (the man and dog) to a similar level as the shadow in
clip 05 (the men and horse). 15 Disable and enable the match grade to compare clip 06 before and after the manual
matching adjustment.

TIP  Use the scroll wheel of your mouse to adjust the Primaries color bars with
more precision.

The next step is to address the overall balance to match the reference.

10 Drag down the Blue Gain bar until the tops of the blue parades align.

11 Drag up the Red and Green Gain bars to match the warmer reference look. Before match

12 To address the coolness in the shadows of the mountains, drag up the Red Lift bar.

Finally, you will tweak the Gamma bars to offset any remaining color inconsistencies
between the two images.

After match

Matching Shots Using Stills 49 50 Lesson 2  Creating Color Continuity

 With the clips matched, you can now apply creative grades to them and continue to 1 In the green flag-filtered timeline, select clip 04. You will match this clip to the
see consistent results. previously balanced clip 03.

16 Select clip 05. 2 Review the Parade scope for clip 04.

17 In the Node Editor, locate the Contrast node and click the number 02 in the lower-left
corner to enable it. The image in the viewer will shift to display deeper shadows and
more detailed midtones.

18 Select the Contrast node and choose Edit > Copy or press Command-C (macOS) or
Ctrl-C (Windows).

19 Select clip 06.

20 Right-click the Match node and choose Add Node > Add Serial.

21 Select the newly created node and choose Edit > Paste or press Command-V (macOS) You can see distinct differences in the shapes of the three channels. The red channel
or Ctrl-V (Windows). has the widest spread, extending beyond the green and blue channels in both the
shadows and highlights. The blue channel’s highest point is almost level with the green
Clip 06 adopts the same level of contrast because of the successfully matched tonal
channel’s highest point, although it is far more compressed in the midtone range.
ranges and colors in the first node.
3 Select clip 03 and review its parade.

NOTE  The Y (luminance) bar of the Primaries color bars affects the image
differently to the color master wheel. The master wheel affects all RGB
channels, which impacts saturation, whereas the Y bar targets only luminance.

When using stills for shot matching, your grading becomes even more precise when used
in conjunction with video scopes. This is because scopes display an objective measure of
the color and luminance values of each frame, allowing you to make informed adjustments.

Stills have the additional benefit of containing the grading data of the clips they were The most obvious difference is in the overall spread and contrast of the three color
generated from. In later lessons, you will use this data to apply grades across scenes, or as channels. The shadows extend to the bottom of the scopes graph, with the red and
a starting point for grading other clips in the timeline. blue shadows even touching the black point line (0).

In this situation, visual evaluation of the frame is vital. By understanding the context of

Comparing and Matching

the image, you can choose to ignore certain properties of the graph. Clip 03 contains
a variety of elements that are not visible in the close-up in clip 04. The trees and field
silhouetted against the mountains are portrayed as bunching at the bottom of the

Shots Manually parades. You can choose to omit such elements from the scopes when shot matching.

4 Select clip 04.

You don’t always need to generate a reference still in the gallery for wiped shot matching.
In this exercise, you will extract a reference directly from the timeline and match the 5 Right-click clip 03 and choose Wipe Timeline Clip.

images using custom curves. Both clips become visible in the viewer at the same time, divided by a wipe line.

Comparing and Matching Shots Manually 51 52 Lesson 2  Creating Color Continuity

 TIP  Quickly toggle the wipe on and off by pressing Command-W (macOS) or 7 In the palette’s upper-right corner, choose Reference Sizing mode.
Ctrl-W (Windows). Some colorists set their reference to fill up the whole screen
and toggle the wipe continuously as they match the grade in the active clip.

The Reference Sizing tool applies the transform changes only to the reference image in
the viewer, not to the actual clip in the timeline.

8 Use the Sizing controls to zoom in to the reference image (by a factor of about 9.000).

9 Pan the image to the left and tilt the image down until the framing starts to match that
of clip 04.

In the timeline, a blue highlight indicates that clip 03 is currently being used as a
reference. These transform changes place the reference image into a much better position for
both visual evaluation and for a more usable Parade scope trace.

The side-by-side parade comparison reveals that the reference image has some minor
discrepancies, like the stronger presence of red in the upper midtones and a lower
blue channel trace.

One way to help you focus on the relevant elements of the parade is to reframe the
reference clip within the viewer. Clip 03 is a much wider shot than clip 04, so you can
zoom in and reposition it for a better representation of the colors.

6 In the middle palettes, click the Sizing button to open the Sizing palette.

Comparing and Matching Shots Manually 53 54 Lesson 2  Creating Color Continuity

 When matching, remember that it’s impossible to recreate the exact shape of the
graphs themselves. Instead, you should focus on matching the height, depths, and the TIP  When using the master wheels, you adjust the luminance together with
midtone distributions of the graphs. the RGB channels, which impacts the saturation of the image. To adjust only
luminance without altering saturation, Option-drag (macOS) or Alt-drag
10 In the Node Editor, label node 01 as Match.
(Windows) the master wheel or the indicator inside the color wheel.
11 Open the Curves palette. Let’s perform a few adjustments to see how curves affect
the parades.

12 Isolate the R curve and drag the white point left and the black point right until the red 17 Isolate the R curve again and drag the black and white points until the red channel in
channel in both parades has an equal spread. both parades has an equal spread.

13 Isolate the G curve and drag the black point to the right.

As you drag the green control point, the two other channel parades begin to
shift, affecting the output of the entire image. This happens because, by default,
DaVinci Resolve tries to keep the luminance of the image constant when you change
individual RGB channels in the Curves and Primaries palettes. Because each channel
contributes to the overall brightness of the image, changing the strength of one
channel forces the other two channels to compensate for the shift in luminance. This
behavior is usually advantageous when performing creative color grading because
18 Isolate the G curve again and reposition the white point to align the shadows in the
it allows you to focus on designing a look for your scene without offsetting the
green parade.
brightness or contrast.

However, when shot matching, this behavior can be obstructive. To manipulate each
channel independently, you need to indicate to DaVinci Resolve that you do not wish to
maintain a constant luminance.

14 Open the Primaries palette and set the mode to Color Wheels.

15 In the lower-right corner of the adjustment controls, drag Lum Mix down to 0.

19 Isolate the B curve and reposition the white point to align the shadows in the
blue parade.
TIP  In the Project Settings, you can set Lum Mix to default to a value of 0
on every clip. Click the gear icon in the lower-right corner of the workspace
to open the Project Settings window and go to General Options > Color and
choose Luminance Mixer Defaults to Zero.

16 With the channels behaving independently, you can attempt to match the curves once
again. First, reset the Curves palette.

It appears that the parades now equally match each other, but the colors in clip 04 still
do not match the reference in the viewer. This is because you have focused only on the

Comparing and Matching Shots Manually 55 56 Lesson 2  Creating Color Continuity

 highlights and shadows of the images. The midtones are equally important and can Using Split-Screen Views to
have a profound impact on image appearance.

Notice the bunching occurring in the lower midtones of the channels. It represents
Compare Multiple Clips
the mountains in the image. Though the red and blue channels are aligned, the green An alternative method of visually comparing clips within the viewer is using a split-screen
channel is mismatched between clips 04 and 05. display. Instead of overlaying the still of a single image, you can display the media from
multiple clips side by side. The media you use could be from other clips in the timeline, stills in
20 Add control points to the green curve and drag them until the midtones of the
the gallery, different versions of grades (Lesson 6), or other clips in the same group (Lesson 7).
green channel line up more accurately. Adjust the green curve’s black and white
points if necessary. This comparison method is especially effective when you already have a collection of
clips that are similar in appearance, and you need a wider visual reference of a scene or
environment.

1 In the green flag-filtered timeline, select clip 07. This clip is already normalized and
balanced with custom curves.

2 Shift-click clip 10 to highlight clips 07 to 10.

The match between the two parades results in a satisfactory visual similarity in the
mountains and the sky. However, you can now continue to assess the match by eye
and further refine the result.

The close-up shot could use some contrast to create greater depth between the
3 Right-click in the viewer and choose Split Screen > Selected Clips to display all
mountain ranges in clip 04. This difference in contrast is represented by much
four clips.
finer discrepancies in the clips’ parades that are too minor to target with primary
grading tools. 4 For better visibility, press Option-F (macOS) or Alt-F (Windows) to enlarge the viewer.

21 In the adjustment controls, tweak the Contrast to complete the match between
the clips.

22 Open the Sizing palette. In Reference Sizing mode, click the reset arrow to return the
reference image to its original placement.

If you do not perform this reset, all future reference images, including wiped stills from
the gallery, will have the same transform placement in the viewer.

23 Disable the image wipe.

24 Toggle between clips 03 and 04 to verify that the match is successful.

When matching clips using the scopes, aim to equalize the heights and depths of the
pixel spread and then detect any apparent bunching or mismatching in the midtones
to address any remaining color issues. By displaying an exact readout of the RGB
values of each clip, scopes can help you remove the guesswork that might accompany
the minute tweaking of midtone ranges and allow you to approach the image from a
more empirical, yet creative mindset.

Comparing and Matching Shots Manually 57 58 Lesson 2  Creating Color Continuity

5 In the viewer, click the upper-right image to select clip 08 on the timeline. The selection Answers
is indicated by a white outline in the viewer and an orange highlight in the timeline.
1 In the Primaries palette, set Lum Mix to 0.
Changes made to the color page palettes will impact whichever clip is actively selected
2 Click the disclosure arrow next to the Clips button and choose Flagged Clips.
in the split-screen view. You can perform approximate grade matching by switching
between clips in split-screen view, visually comparing them, and making quick 3 The clip you have selected is the one that will be receiving the automatic shot match
adjustments in the primaries color wheels and curves. adjustment, so “Shot Match to this Clip” cannot be an option. Right-click any other clip

Although reading the scopes and evaluating their data can be a straightforward on the timeline and “Shot Match to this Clip” will appear in the contextual menu.
process, you’ll need practice to acquire a level of finesse to accurately adjust the colors 4 True. To do so, right-click a clip in the timeline and choose “Wipe Timeline Clip.”
in the highlights, midtones, and shadows. Shot matching is a highly valued skillset that
5 Split Screen mode allows you to see multiple clips in the viewer at once.
requires plenty of experience and patience, so keep at it!

Self-Guided Exercises
Complete the following exercises in the green flag-filtered 02 Balanced Timeline to test
your understanding of the tools and workflows covered in this lesson.

Clips 08, 09, and 10—Match these clips to clip 07 using any of the methods covered in
this lesson.

When you’ve completed these exercises, open the 04 Completed Timeline to compare your
matching to the Match nodes in this “solved” timeline.

Lesson Review
1 How do you prevent changes made to one color channel from affecting the waveform
trace of the other two channels?

2 How can you filter the timeline to show only clips with a flag?

3 When performing an automatic shot match, you might right-click the clip you have
selected and not see “Shot Match to this Clip” in the contextual menu. Why?

4 True or false? It is possible to use a timeline clip as a reference in the viewer without
first creating a still.

5 Which viewer mode allows you to see multiple clips in the viewer at the same time?

Lesson Review 59 60 Lesson 2  Creating Color Continuity

Lesson 3 In the second part of this lesson, you will use more nuanced tools to clean up overcast
(or overblown) skies, adjust regions of an image based on hue, and calibrate skin tones to
produce smoother, more natural results for the subject. Throughout the lesson, you will

Correcting
also employ some of the tools available in the Effects panel to see how subtle adjustments
can exert an enormous effect on the emotional impact of an image.

and Enhancing Controlling the Viewer’s Eye

Isolated Areas
A film’s musical score and sound effects can have a resounding impact on audience
perception. Similarly, color and light play a critical role in manipulating the way an audience
interprets a scene. In this lesson, you will focus on the fine art of shaping light to control
the viewer’s eye.

Drawing Attention Using

Time
After completing balancing and
Windows and Saturation
shot matching, you’ll want to target This lesson takes approximately
details in the shots for more specific 150 minutes to complete. A simple alteration can dynamically reimagine the composition and mood of a shot. In this
exercise, you’ll enhance the saturation in the vibrant, sunlit area of a field to give a scene a
enhancement. This is the secondary Goals more dramatic feel.
color-grading stage.
Controlling the Viewer’s Eye 62
1 In the Project 01 - Disunity Documentary project, open 03 Matched Timeline.
Secondary color grading is not a Sharpening Key Elements 71
2 In the Clips pop-up menu, choose All Clips to remove the green filter in the timeline.
standardized phase of the color Tracking Obscured Objects 74
grading process. Instead, it is a needs- 3 Filter the timeline to show only those clips with yellow flags.
Fixing Overcast Skies 79
driven component of the workflow
Warping Color Ranges 95
that is utilized only when a shot
Enhancing Skin Tones with
requires it. It enables you to achieve
Face Refinement 105
a wide variety of goals that improve
Adjusting Skin Tones Manually 113
the overall aesthetic and creative 4 In the yellow flag-filtered timeline, select clip 07. The clip already has a first node
Self-Guided Exercises 122 labeled Normal.
quality of the footage, as well as to fix
continuity errors. Lesson Review 123

In the first part of this lesson,

you’ll review some of the common
applications of secondary grading
using qualifiers and windows.
Your goal will be to isolate areas
of the image for color and effect
enhancement with the purpose of
drawing the viewer’s eye.

62 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

5 Create a second node and label it Sunlight. The viewer shows the part of the image that will be affected when you begin grading
in this node and turns the area outside of this selection gray.
6 In the central palettes toolbar, click the Window palette button. You’ll use a Power
Window to specify the region of the image you will grade.

7 Click the Linear window button to activate it. It’s the square-shaped window at the top
of the preset windows list.

When activated, the button will have an orange outline, and you will see the onscreen
window controls in the viewer.

8 Double-click next to the window button thumbnail and enter the name Sunlight Area.

12 Click the Highlight button again to disable highlight mode and return to your
9 In the viewer, move the four edges of the window to select the entire horizontal middle
full frame.
of the image where the sun hits the ground. Make sure to extend the shape to mimic
the path of the sunlight. With the secondary selection created, you can begin to grade the image.

10 In the viewer, drag the red points of the window outline to increase the softness 13 In the Primaries palette, increase the Sat to 65 and the Contrast to 1.1.
around its upper and lower edges.
TIP  Toggle the onscreen window controls in the viewer by pressing Shift-~
(tilde) on your keyboard. You can use this keyboard shortcut to hide the outline
and better see the impact of your grade on the image.

14 With the Sunlight node still selected in the Node Editor, right-click it and choose Add
Node > Add Outside or press Option-O (macOS) or Alt-O (Windows). This inverse
selection will allow you to grade the environment around the sunlight.

15 Label node 03 as Outside.

11 To review your Power Window selection in the viewer, click the Highlight button in the
upper-left corner of the viewer.

Controlling the Viewer’s Eye 63 64 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

 One of the greatest benefits of working with nodes is the live nature of their video Mimicking a Shallow Depth of Field
and key signal connections. The Outside node is directly using the previous node’s key
(selection) data, so if you were to make changes to the Sunlight Area window in the The Tilt-Shift Blur in the Effects panel imitates the look of a shallow focus lens to direct
Sunlight node, it would immediately reflect on the key of the Outside node. audience attention. However, you can also apply it to achieve effects that a lens could
not—such as reducing the focus of elements contained within the same focal field and
16 Drag the Gamma master wheel (-0.05) to decrease the brightness and reduce the
choosing the blur type, amount, and angle.
Contrast (0.900).

Doing so creates a dark framing effect around the figure of the man and further draws
NOTE  The following exercise requires DaVinci Resolve Studio to complete.
the eye toward the sunlight on the field.

You will continue to work on clip 07 in the yellow flag-filtered timeline.

1 Create a new serial node (node 04) and label it Tilt Shift.

2 In the interface toolbar, click the Effects button.

3 In the Effects Library panel, under Resolve FX Stylize, locate the Tilt-Shift Blur effect.

4 Drag the Tilt-Shift Blur effect onto the empty Tilt Shift node.

The Effects Library switches to the Effects Settings panel in which you can tweak the
Tilt-Shift Blur effect controls.

5 In the Settings panel, in the Depth of Field category, select Depth Map Preview to
review the matte map.

Before

You encountered a Depth Map previously in Lesson 1. As a reminder, the matte

represents the area where an effect is applied. White indicates full opacity, black
indicates complete transparency, and grayscale is the range of semi-opacity
between the two values.

Currently, the map is level with the horizon and is successfully targeting the rhinos in
the background. However, it is not an entirely realistic composite. The depth of field is
too extreme at the top and bottom of the image, while maintaining focus on both the
man in front of the camera and the rhinos hundreds of yards in front of him.

After

Controlling the Viewer’s Eye 65 66 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

 Focusing Attention with Vignettes
TIP  Repeatedly select and deselect Depth Map Preview to visually assess the
position of the Tilt-Shift Blur matte in relation to the image when determining In classic filmmaking, a vignette refers to the darkened edges of a film frame caused by
the placement of the Tilt-Shift effect. the matte box casting a shadow on the camera lens. With the advancement of camera
equipment, and especially with the advent of digital film, natural vignettes are no longer
an issue. However, their absence has caused an appreciation for the framing service they
6 Adjust the width of the matte by dragging the In-Focus Range pointer to the right provided, and vignettes are now sought after for both creative and compositing purposes
as an effective method of directing the viewer’s eye.
(0.330) to include more of the man in the focused range of the shot.

7 Adjust the height of the matte by dragging the Center Y value down (0.460) to ensure In this simple exercise, you will apply a circle window to a shot and reduce the brightness
of the area around it to create a vignette around the central subject. You will continue to
that the area directly behind the rhinos softly begins to go out of focus.
work on clip 07 in the yellow flag-filtered timeline.
8 Deselect Depth Map Preview.
1 Create a new serial node (node 05) and label it Vignette.
9 Slightly decrease the Near Blur Range (0.630) and Far Blur Range (0.630) values to
2 In the Window palette, click the Circle window button.
reduce the severity of the blur and produce a more realistic result.
Vignettes are usually elliptical, as it reduces their visibility and makes it easier to
seamlessly blend them into the footage, as compared to shapes with straight lines
and corners.

3 Double-click the layer name field next to the circle window, and type Vignette Frame.

4 Use the onscreen transform controls to reposition and rescale the circle to completely
fill the viewer frame.

5 In the onscreen controls, drag one of the red points to create a wide, soft edge around
the selection.

Before

In the Node Editor, the Vignette node thumbnail preview shows that you have selected
the subjects in the center of the frame. To use the node as a vignette, you will need to
invert this selection.

6 In the Window palette, on the right side of the circle window row, click the invert icon.

After

Controlling the Viewer’s Eye 67 68 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

7 In the onscreen controls pop-up menu in the lower left of the viewer, choose Off to
hide the window outline. Using the Mini Panel—Power Windows
8 Now that the vignette shape is made, you can proceed to use the grading tools to Using a DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel offers a great deal of time-saving potential
create a vignette effect on the image. Reduce the brightness of the selected area by when you’re working with windows. To make a Power Window on the Mini Panel,
dragging the Gamma master wheel to the left (-0.05). Using the gamma tonal range you can use a few methods. When you’d like to apply a window to a node, press
will ensure that you are not darkening overly bright areas of the footage, such as the the Windows button in the upper left of the panel. The 5-inch screens will display a
overcast sky, which would make the vignette too obvious. row of Power Window presets along the top.

TIP  Vignettes are most effective when they are not noticeable. If you’re
concerned that your vignette may be too prominent, review the thumbnail of
the clip in the timeline to determine whether the vignette is too pronounced in
the corners. If so, raise the Gamma back up to reduce its strength and further
soften the Power Window’s edges to blend it more seamlessly into the image.

You can also save the vignette you just generated for future use as a preset.

9 In the Window palette, ensure the appropriate window (Vignette Frame) is selected in Select the desired preset and then press Window On to active it in the node.
the window list.
Then use the knobs under the screens to simultaneously adjust the size, pan, tilt,
10 In the upper-right corner of the palette, click the Options button and choose Save as aspect ratio, softness, and opacity of your window. With practice, you’ll find that using
New Preset. the Mini Panel is a faster method of calibrating Power Windows than using a mouse.
11 Enter the preset name as Vignette.

From now on, when you want to apply this exact shape to a node in any other clip, you
need only access the Window palette option menu and choose the preset Vignette.

This basic adjustment allowed you to reduce the brightness on the edges of the image
to focus attention on the subjects in its center. The softness of the vignette is crucial to
ensure that the adjustment does not draw undue attention to itself.

TIP  A Vignette Effect is also available in the Effects Library (in the Resolve FX
Stylize category) for quick application of a simple, customizable vignette.

It’s important to note that Power Windows also extend to the node controls on the
It takes careful consideration and assembly of secondary grading to draw the eye of the Mini Panel. At the upper right of the panel, node controls allow you to create several
audience without calling attention to the image manipulation. When an audience becomes types of common nodes. You’ll learn more about them throughout this book.
aware of the colorist’s handiwork, it can break the illusion of realism and compromise
viewer involvement with the content. For now, pay attention to the Node + buttons with which you can create a new
serial node with a window already activated, thereby turning two commonly used
shortcuts into one. Pressing the Node + Circle button, for example, creates a new
node with a circular Power Window.

Controlling the Viewer’s Eye 69 70 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

Sharpening Key Elements 3

4
Create a second node and label it Sharp.

In the central palettes, open the Blur palette.

The Blur palette in the central palettes of the color page contains a Sharpening mode.
It works best when used conservatively and when applied at the end of a grading
pipeline. Too much artificial sharpening can stand out for the wrong reasons. When used
precisely, sharpening can make details look more dynamic and draw the viewer’s eye to a
desired object.
5 In the upper-right corner of the palette, press the second icon to activate the
1 In the yellow flag-filtered timeline, select clip 06. Sharpen mode.

The main control in the Sharpen palette is the Radius. Dragging it upward will blur the
image, while dragging it down will sharpen the edges of any high-contrast detail.

6 Reduce the Radius to 0.40 by dragging down any of the three channel sliders. The
RGB channels are ganged together by default, so adjusting one will equally alter the
other two.

Although it’s easy to see that the engravings become more detailed with this
adjustment, the impact that sharpening has on the rest of the image is more difficult
to determine by eye.

7 Above the viewer, click the Highlight button, and then click the A/B Difference button in
The clip begins with a man’s hand obscuring the shot. In such cases, it’s a good idea to the upper-right corner.
play through the clip until you find a better point for grading and adding effects.

2 In the viewer jog bar, drag the playhead to the center of the clip.

A/B Difference shows you the change that has occurred in an image within an active
node. If color grading, A/B will display the areas of the image that have changed hue
and tone. If there have been pixel-based changes, like sharpening, A/B will display the
object edges affected by the adjustment.

8 In the Sharpen palette, increase the Scaling to 0.5. Doing so will multiply the result of
the Radius adjustment.

The adjustments add a satisfactory level of detail to the engraving but add too much
detail to the gun barrel and the smoke coming out of it. You can limit the sharpening
effect using the Coring Softness and Level controls at the bottom of the palette. Start
by increasing the Level control to set a threshold for the sharpening.

Sharpening Key Elements 71 72 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

9 Increase the Level (around 10–15) until the detail in the smoke and on the barrel of the
gun disappears.
Tracking Obscured Objects
10 Increase the Coring Softness to around 5 to recover some of the sharpening between Adding a simple circular window to the Sharp node will allow you to confine the sharpening
the Level threshold setting and the most detailed areas. to the decorative engravings on the shotgun handle.

1 In the Sharp node of clip 04, create a circle window, and name it Handle Detail.

2 Make the circle smaller and narrower, and rotate it so it confines the sharpening effect
to just the engravings on the handle.

To see the results on the image, you can disable the difference highlight.
3 Drag the red control point on the window to soften the edges of the mask.
11 Click the Highlight button above the viewer or press Command-Shift-H (macOS) or Ctrl-
Shift-H (Windows). The sharpening is now successfully isolated to the detail on the handle. However,
scrubbing through the clip will reveal that this is a handheld camera shot, and the
12 Toggle Command-D (macOS) or Ctrl-D (Windows) to bypass the Sharp node and
shotgun is moved as it is loaded. You’ll need to track the window for the effect to follow
compare your results to the original image.
the engravings.

4 In the central palettes toolbar, click the Tracker button next to the Window button.
TIP  You could also achieve this effect using Sharpen Edges from the Effects
Library panel. This filter includes an edge display in the Settings controls, 5 With the playhead still located in the center of the shot, and your circle window placed
among other sharpness fine-tuning parameters. on the detail just under the barrel, click the Track Forward and Reverse button. This
action will trigger an analysis of motion within the clip, resulting in the window moving
together with the shotgun.
Although the sharpness looks very nice on the engravings, it’s causing some ringing on
the left hand at the end of the clip, as well producing some pixel artifacting on the shotgun
shell at the start. You can use a window to limit an effect to a specific area in the shot.

Sharpening Key Elements 73 74 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

 As the analysis runs forward, the window disconnects from the shotgun detail due to 7 Drag within the tracker graph to draw a dotted selection outline around the bad
the interference from the man’s hand. This occasionally occurs when performing a track data.
difficult or obscured track, and it is useful to know how to fix the issue.

After the forward analysis, the playhead automatically jumps back to the starting 8 In the Tracker palette, in the options menu, choose Clear Selected Track Data.
frame and runs a backward analysis too. This analysis features no obstacles and
successfully produces a clean track.

TIP  It is common practice to track from the center or the end of a clip when
doing so will provide more reliable tracking data.

6 In the upper-right corner of the tracker graph, click the right Keyframe navigation The track data in the selected area of the tracker graph is removed. Knowing that
arrow to return the playhead to the central keyframe. the track cannot be analyzed with the obstruction, you’ll need to manually adjust the
movement of the window during the time that the hand is in the shot.

9 Switch the Tracker to Frame mode.

In Frame mode, any changes you make to the window in the viewer will be recorded
as a keyframe, as opposed to the Clip mode, which applies a uniform change to the
window’s position in relation to the whole clip.

In the Tracker palette, you can see a visual representation of the amount of motion
detected in each transformation parameter. Each colored line corresponds to the
colored parameter label above the Tracker palette. Based on the sudden and dramatic
movement on the pan and tilt graph lines in the second half of the graph, the tracking
data has become distorted. To fix the track, you must first remove the unusable 10 In the viewer, drag the playhead to a point in time where the obstruction has passed,
“bad” track data. and the area appears to be trackable again.

Tracking Obscured Objects 75 76 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

11 Manually reposition the window to the area of the handle that you were previously Due to the unsteady motion of the shotgun, you may choose to make further
tracking. Use the anchor point in the center of the window as a visual guide, if corrections to the manual window track to produce a smoother result.
necessary.
13 Drag the playhead to the last frame where the handle is visible before the hand passes
in front of it.

14 With the Tracker palette still in Frame mode, drag the window to the correct position.

15 Play through the clip a few times to review the motion of the window track and make
necessary adjustments until you are satisfied with the result.

What About His Hand?

A new keyframe appears in the tracker graph, and tracking data is automatically
generated between it and the last tracked moment. You have completed this exercise, but the man’s hand continues to pass under
the tracked window. Is it not affected by the sharpening adjustment? The short
12 Click the Track Forward button to perform the rest of the track analysis.
answer is yes; if you were to analyze the footage frame-by-frame, you would find
that the pixels in his hand are affected by the secondary grade. However, due to
the speed of the hand motion and the mildness of the window adjustment, the
result is barely visible and can be left in place.

If you had increased/decreased the gamma or applied a stronger visual effect,

the result would have been obvious, in which case you would need to have
made further manual adjustments to hide the secondary effect when the hand
passes under it. One solution would be to change the opacity of the window from
100.00 to 0.00 (in the Window palette), animating the change using keyframes
in the Tracker palette the moment the hand obstructs the view, and then adding
another two keyframes, bringing the opacity back up after the obstruction is gone.
Using the Mini Panel—Tracking Another common solution would be to introduce and track a second window to
You can use the Mini Panel to track Power Windows without using your mouse by mask out the obstruction, which you will learn how to do later in this lesson.
pressing the Tracker button in the upper-left of the panel.

By enabling Frame mode, you can also keyframe and manually animate windows.
Pressing the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys will display more advanced keyframe
controls in the viewers.

Tracking Obscured Objects 77 78 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

Fixing Overcast Skies 4 In the viewer, using the qualifier tool, click anywhere in the sky. The Sky node
thumbnail will change to show the initial qualifier selection.

Capturing footage with skylines in-camera can sometimes be problematic. Due to the wide
dynamic range of light involved, subjects in the foreground usually require substantially
different exposure levels compared to the sky. Opening the aperture or raising the ISO
may be optimal for capturing the foreground but often results in a blown-out sky. On
fictional film productions, this is remedied with a lower ISO and additional lighting on
the talent or by using controlled skylines in a sound stage, but on small productions and
documentary shoots, these are rarely options. Thus, the footage is usually captured with
the sky blown out, and it is up to the colorist to correct the shot. To refine the qualifier values, you must change the viewer mode to display only this

There are several approaches to correcting or matching a sky. The fastest is to apply a selection.

gradient window and blend color into the top of the shot. A higher-precision approach 5 Switch the viewer to Highlight mode in the upper left of the viewer. Ensure that the
involves first isolating the sky with a keying tool, such as the qualifier, and then tweaking mode is set to Highlight in the upper-right corner.
the color values using the standard grading tools.

1 In the yellow flag-filtered timeline, select clip 01. This clip was previously balanced and
matched and now needs secondary grading to address the overcast sky.

When a selection is first made using the qualifier, it will often miss necessary sections
or include unwanted areas. You can use the HSL Qualifier palette to fine-tune the
selection by dragging the Hue, Saturation, and Luminance sliders to define exactly
2 Create a fourth corrector node called Sky.
what those values should be.
3 With the Sky node selected, in the central palettes, open the Qualifier palette.
6 Toggle the Highlight button to compare the original image with the selection. You will
see that areas of sky between the branches of the trees need refinement.

Fixing Overcast Skies 79 80 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

 The focus is on ensuring the cleanest possible selection along the horizon, so, for now,
TIP  It can occasionally be unclear where you should click with the qualifier you can ignore any other regions of the image that are also being selected, such as
tool to identify the optimal starting selection. The best strategy is to click and the horses.
drag close to the area from which you are trying to extract the selection. In
this case, the best area is on the horizon directly above the mountains. Once
the selection has a clean edge, you can easily isolate the remainder of the area
using windows.

A good starting point to refining the HSL selection is to disable each parameter one by
one to determine whether its absence improves the qualifier quality.

7 Click the orange toggle next to Hue to disable it.

Doing so has a positive effect on the selection. The horizon becomes refined, and
more areas of sky in the trees are included in the qualifier result. This makes sense
because the blown-out white sky is mostly made up of luminance data, not hue.

Toggling the Saturation and Luminance parameters reveals that they are vital to the
selection, so you will leave them enabled.

The next step is to adjust the values of the parameters to ensure the cleanest
selection. You may want to zoom in on the horizon in the viewer to better see the 10 In the upper right of the viewer, click the Highlight B/W button to switch to a black-
result of these adjustments. and-white representation of the matte.

TIP  Use your mouse scroll wheel to zoom in and out of the viewer and drag
your middle mouse button to pan. To reset the viewer, press Shift-Z.

8 Drag the right side of the Saturation range, or drag the High field beneath the
Saturation bar, to remove the qualifier selection from the mountain treetops, if
there is any.

9 Drag the left side of the Luminance selection (Low) to further refine the selection. Aim
to include the darker areas of sky between the trees.

Fixing Overcast Skies 81 82 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

You will use the Matte Finesse controls in the Qualifier palette to fine-tune this matte. 11 The Pre-Filter parameter performs some minor clean-up of the original image,
Unlike the HSL parameters, which targeted the original image’s pixel color and reducing compression artifacts like macropixels. Increase the pre-filter (1.0) to soften
luminance data, Matte Finesse impacts only the values of the black-and-white matte. the edges of the trees.

12 The Clean Black and Clean White parameters eliminate noise by shrinking very small
selection areas of the matte. Adjusting Clean Black will reduce some of the minor spill-
Using the Mini Panel—Qualifiers
off in the trees under the horizon. A setting of 5.0 should be enough for a satisfactory
After making an initial qualifier selection, you can use the Mini Panel to refine it. reduction.
When you press the Qualifier button in the upper-left section of the panel, the
13 Likewise, tweaking Clean White (5.0) will amplify the white matte between the
two 5-inch screens and their surrounding buttons and knobs become the controls
you’ll use to continue making adjustments. tree branches.

14 The Post-Filter cleans up the resulting key by reintroducing some of the finer detail
from the original image back into the selection. Increase the Post-Filter (1.0) to see
branch and leaf details return to the trees.

The clarity of the qualifier often depends on the nature and quality of the footage.
In this case, you might experience some difficulty in getting a clean extraction from
both mountain tops due to the difference in depth of field between them. When one
mountain has a clean key, the other appears too soft and vice versa. In such cases, the
best approach is to break up the keying process into several nodes and combine them
using a key mixer.

NOTE  You can see the results of using a key mixer to clean up the sky selection on
this clip in the 04 Completed Timeline. Open the timeline, right-click the clip, and
under Local Versions, choose Mixed Key to see the version of the node pipeline with
At first, you’ll see the controls for Hue on the left screen and Saturation on the
the key mixer.
right. In the upper-left section of the panel, press the Right Arrow button to
navigate to the Luminance controls. In certain tools, you must use the Left Arrow
and Right Arrow buttons to access all the functions that a specific tool offers.

Using Windows to Limit Qualifiers

If the HSL qualifier has selected areas of the image that are not needed, you can quickly
exclude them with windows. In this exercise, you’ll remove the horses from the selection so
One more push of the Right Arrow button will bring you to the Matte Finesse tools. that your secondary grade will only impact the sky.

1 Open the Window palette.

2 Activate the Linear window button, and label it Sky Window.

Fixing Overcast Skies 83 84 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

3 Drag its corners around the sky selection to exclude the lower regions of the matte. Making luminance and color adjustments within a qualifier selection sometimes
reveals issues that were hard to spot in the original matte. In the case of this image,
the horizon might adopt a dark border, which indicates that the trees are being
impacted by the grade.

7 In the Qualifier palette, increase the Clean Black (60.0) until the selection retracts from
the treetops.

Finally, to soften the grade along the horizon, you can gently blur the edge between
the black and white portions of the matte.

8 In the Matte Finesse Controls, increase the Blur Radius (5.0).

A gentler edge will ensure a more organic-looking grade and hide any remaining
imperfections in the selection.

Adding Atmosphere
When you look into the distance through several miles of air, you see the atmosphere
The sky should now be successfully selected and ready for color adjustment. slowly build up over trees, buildings, and mountains until it forms a solid color in the sky.
In an air-polluted city, the atmosphere may have a hazy white, brown, or orange look; on
4 Click the Highlight button to disable the matte preview.
a clear day, you would see a soft blue. This concept is known as atmospheric perspective
5 Drag the Gain master wheel to the left (0.95) to reduce the brightness of the sky. and can be observed in real life and on film. The farther away an object is, the more its
By turning the white pixels gray, you will make them more receptive to hue and saturation and contrast is reduced and the more it adopts the color of the atmosphere.
saturation changes.
When enhancing a sky, or replacing it altogether, you need to blend an equivalent hue into
6 Drag the Gain color wheel toward cyan/blue to introduce blue into the sky. the shot’s horizon to replicate this atmospheric perspective. Otherwise, the replacement
sky might look fake against the horizon.

1 In the Node Editor, right-click the Sky node and choose Add Node > Add Outside or
press Option-O (macOS) or Alt-O (Windows). This inverse selection will allow you to
blend the color of the sky into the horizon of the image.

2 Label node 05 as Outside.

TIP  In the Node Editor panel, drag your middle mouse button to pan and
adjust the slider at the top of the panel to increase or decrease the size of
the nodes.

Fixing Overcast Skies 85 86 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

3 At the bottom of the Window palette’s preset list, activate the Gradient window button 9 In the viewer, click around the foreground hill and the lower half of the frame to create
and label it Atmosphere. a custom shape. To close the loop and define the shape, click the first point that
you created.
An outline of the gradient controls appears in the viewer in the form of a line with a
perpendicular arrow extending from it.

The gradient window works a bit differently compared to the other windows you have TIP  When creating custom windows, click to create linear points and drag to
created. Instead of defining a shape, you position a starting point and drag the arrow create rounded Bézier curves. To delete a point, select it and press the Delete

in the direction of the gradient fall-off. The further you drag the arrow, the softer the or Backspace key, or middle-click the point with your mouse.

gradient will be.

4 Adjust the top of the gradient (the horizontal line) to start at the top of the distant
mountain and drag the arrow to taper off the gradient toward the bottom.

10 Enable the Outside node to see the result.

5 Drag the Offset color wheel in the direction of cyan blue to give the distant mountain a The atmosphere grade now affects both the background mountain and the entirety of

slight blue tint. the custom shape. This is because, by default, all windows are additive. You will need to
indicate that you wish to subtract the selection from the final result.
6 Press Command-D (macOS) or Ctrl-D (Windows) to compare the results before and
after your atmosphere addition. 11 In the Curve window row, next to the label, click the Mask button to extract this custom
shape from the final key of the node.
The gradient looks good in the distance but covers too much of the foreground
mountain. You will want to create a new window to mask out anything you don’t
want affected by the atmosphere grade.

7 In the Node Editor, disable the Outside node by clicking its number (5) or by pressing
Command-D (macOS) or Ctrl-D (Windows). Doing so will allow you to continue work
without being distracted by the blue grade.

8 While still in the Window palette, activate the Curve button and label it Foreground.

Fixing Overcast Skies 87 88 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

12 To the right of the Window palette, adjust the Softness parameters to feather the edge 4 Drag the Sky Replacement effect onto an empty space in the Node Editor, near the Sky
of the curve. Drag the Inside and Outside fields to make the border of the Foreground and Outside nodes.
window less aggressive between the two mountains.

TIP  Click the magnifying glass in the Effects panel to remove the effect filter.

5 Connect the Sky node’s RGB output to the Sky Replacement’s top RGB input. This will
be the video signal used as a backplate for the sky replacement composite.

6 Connect the Sky node’s key output to the Sky Replacement’s top key input. This will
feed the sky key data to the Sky Replacement node and determine the area of the
image where sky replacement occurs.

Performing Sky Replacement

More advanced approaches to fixing an overcast sky involve replacing the sky altogether,
usually with a still photo, video, or computer-generated image. The Sky Replacement effect
allows you to quickly perform such advanced composting and even track the sky to a
moving shot while integrating it to the camera’s lens properties. 7 Finally, connect the RGB output of the Sky Replacement node to the RGB input of the
Outside node. This will incorporate the Sky Replacement effect into the clip pipeline.
In this exercise, you’ll use the sky key and atmospheric perspective that you generated
earlier the lesson to integrate a new artificial sky into the shot.

NOTE  This exercise requires DaVinci Resolve Studio to complete.

1 Open the Effects Library.

2 Click the magnifying glass at the top of the panel to reveal the search bar.

3 Type sky to filter the library contents.

Note that the key connection between the Sky and Outside node remains. This ensures
that the Outside node is still providing the atmospheric grade to the mountaintop.

8 Select the Sky Replacement node to open its settings in the Effects panel.

Fixing Overcast Skies 89 90 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

 The settings are divided into categories that support a variety of sky replacement 12 Click Preview Artificial Sky and increase Sky Opacity to 1.000 to see the default sky
workflows. Click a category header to expand or contract its list of parameters. gradient in the viewer.

13 Deselect Preview Artificial Sky to review how the gradient appears when masked.
Sky Mask Adjustments allow you to preview and adjust your incoming key mask.

9 Click Preview Mask to review the Sky node key.

By default, the incoming matte is contracted slightly to create a more refined edge.
As you had taken care to extract the overcast sky precisely with the qualifier palette,
you will want to increase the Shift Edge and Refine parameters to get back this original
edge data. However, this is best left to a later stage of the composite, when you can
better observe the result of the adjustments.

10 Click Preview Mask again to disable the matte preview mode.

Source Sky Appearance features the parameters you’ll need when working with
external sky images or videos.

To introduce a sky image or video into the clip composite, drag the media from the
color page media pool into the Node Editor. The media will appear as an external
matte with four key outputs and one RGB output. Connect the RGB output of the Ext.
Matte node into the second RGB input of the Sky Replacement node to see the sky 14 Change the Sky Color to more closely match the saturation levels in clip 04.
media in the keyed area of the clip. You can even opt to use the second key input to
isolate a portion of the incoming image or video. TIP  Disable the Sky Replacement node and use the color-picker tool to sample
11 Since you will not use any external media for this composite, leave the parameters in the blue color you had introduced in the original Sky node.
the Source Sky Appearance category as they are.

Artificial Sky allows you to generate your own sky using a variety of color and
gradient parameters, as well as controls for cloud and sun detail.

Fixing Overcast Skies 91 92 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

 When working with larger sky areas, or designing more intricate sky hues, adjust the 22 Foreground appearance allows you to adjust the foreground of the image based
Horizon parameters to determine the softness, height, and angle of the sky gradient. on the inverse of the sky key. Your goal in this exercise is to create a sky that matches

Next, you will introduce some cloud detail to make the sky more dynamic. the environment, not the other way around, so you can leave these parameters
as they are.
15 Increase Cloud Opacity to 1.000.
23 If your artificial sky has strong hues, you can use the Global Blend parameter to fade it
16 Reduce the Cloud Scale to 0.300 to place the clouds at a greater distance.
into the original environment, producing a more natural result.
17 Adjust the Cloud Time (0.800) to change the distribution of the clouds.

The Hotspot parameters help imitate the look of a sun in the sky. This element can
be necessary when matching the lighting and shadows in certain shots. Since the
foreground in this environment does not have direct sunlight, it will not be necessary
to active it.

18 Leave the Hotspot Brightness on 0.0000.

19 Return to the Sky Mask Adjustments and drag up the Shift Edge (0.200) and Refine
(0.200) to reintroduce detail across the edge of the matte.

Before

Sky Position controls allow you to track the sky to the environment using a variety of
tracking techniques and to adjust the sky’s final position and size. Auto-Size for Motion
ensures that the entirety of the incoming matte is filled with the sky image.

20 Since there is a slight camera wobble in this locked-off shot, click Track Foreground to
analyze the footage outside the input key. This will result in the artificial sky moving
together with the rest of the shot.

21 Sky Integration is used for final sky preview and to adjust the composite based on
the camera’s lens properties. Because there is no obvious lens distortion or change in After

focal distance, these settings can be left as they are.

Fixing Overcast Skies 93 94 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

 the image and their saturation levels, is projected behind the radial grid to guide your
TIP  As well as a method of correcting blown-out or overcast skies, Sky selection.
Replacement can help you match the sky color and detail between shots captured
on different cameras or at different times of the day.

To shoot fast and travel light, documentary filmmakers might sometimes need to
compromise on best technical practices and visual quality. Good lighting and consistent
exposure are often victims of this practice. Secondary grading techniques and effects
are an invaluable part of the post-production process that allow us to produce the best
image possible.

Warping Color Ranges The right side of the palette features advanced selection and pinning tools, which are
The Color Warper allows you to adjust two parameters at once, producing quick results in used to achieve optimal precision when warping.
an interface that encourages intuitive grading. It features two grids for changing either
4 Click the Expand button in the upper-right corner to turn the palette into a
Hue and Saturation, or Chroma and Luma. Its mesh interface produces a smooth transition
floating window.
between hues, which reduces image artifacts. The Color Warper is helpful for enhancing
the appearance of objects or areas with a distinct hue and can be combined with other
secondary selection methods for optimal results.

Warping Colors in the Viewer Drag the corners and edges to resize the window to your liking and drag the palette
header to reposition it. The larger interface will make it easier to make precise
The simplest way to interact with the Color Warper is through the color page viewer. This adjustments in the grid.
method works best on areas with well-defined color ranges, such as for vehicles, clothing,
5 Hover your mouse over the image in the viewer.
or the sky. In this exercise, you will adjust the color of the dry grass on the ground to give it
a healthier, greener appearance.

1 In the yellow flag-filtered timeline, ensure that clip 01 is selected.

2 Create a new serial node at the end of the pipeline and label it Grass (node 06).

3 In the central palettes, open the Color Warper palette.

An orange crosshair appears in the Color Warper grid, corresponding to the hue over
The Color Warper features a Hue-Saturation “spider web” mesh grid that you can which your mouse is placed. Additionally, a yellow box appears on the nearest grid
adjust to warp the colors of the image. A vectorscope trace, representing the hues of control point, indicating that it is the optimal point for adjusting that hue.

Warping Color Ranges 95 96 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

 The Color Warper features the same hue layout as the color wheels and offers the 8 Hover your mouse over the foreground of the image and review how the crosshairs
same saturation control. Moving a point closer to the center will desaturate a hue, behave in the Color Warper’s radial grid.
while moving a point outward will increase color intensity. Moving a point in a circular
fashion will change the color of the selected hue.

6 While still in the viewer, click on an area of grass in the foreground of the scene and
drag to the top and left (orange hue).

The result shows that a single point selection does not adequately capture the variety
of hues found in the grass, nor does it omit undesired areas, like the rhinos. The Color
You will see that the yellow box jumps between multiple hue columns and saturation
Warper’s true strength is found in the variety of selection methods that allow you to
rings. This suggests that the grass features a wider range of hues and saturation
achieve a clean grade on a range of hues and saturation levels.
values than can be captured with a single click in the viewer.
7 Reset the Color Warper by clicking the reset arrow in the upper-right corner of
9 In the lower-left corner of the Color Warper palette, click the Hue resolution dropdown
the palette.
menu and set the resolution to 16.

The Color Warper grid now features 16 hue divisions, allowing for much more precise
hue selection. By default, the hue and saturation resolutions are linked, although this
behavior can be disabled by clicking the link icon next to the dropdown menus.

Warping Color Ranges 97 98 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

10 Hover your mouse in the viewer to review the range of grass hues. Observe the surrounding environment in the scene to ensure that you reach a realistic
shade of green. Drag the selected control points toward and away from the center of
They are mostly focused on control points in the three leftmost columns of the grid.
the grid until you find a satisfactory saturation level.
11 Hover your mouse over the rhinos in the image.

They are mostly represented by control points in the orange-leaning columns.

With this successful identification of target hues, you can now focus on grabbing a
broad range of greens.

12 In the Color Warper grid, click and drag to select a range of green hue control points
near the outer edge of the vectorscope trace.

Finally, you can use additional secondary tools to isolate your grade to one area of
the frame.

14 In the Window palette, create a linear window and label it Grass Matte.
TIP  You can also hold Command (macOS) or Ctrl (Windows) to make multiple
15 Drag the corners of the window around the grassy field in the foreground of
point selections when clicking or dragging. Right-click a control point to reset
the image.
its position in the grid.

13 Click any of the orange selected points and drag the entire selection toward a more
vibrant hue.

The adjustment is isolated to the grass, while keeping other elements, like the dirt on
the ground, unaffected.

Warping Color Ranges 99 100 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

The Color Warper allows for an intuitive method of controlling color, hue, and saturation 4 In the viewer, click on a light area of the sky and drag down.
directly within the viewer. As you likely noticed, the adjustment is optimal when the hue is
kept close to the source color. If pushed too far, the grid mesh can begin to overlap itself,
which can cause artifacts. In such cases, consider adjusting your selection method or
using an alternative hue correction method like HSL curves or the qualifier.

Enhancing Colors Based on Luminance

The Color Warper’s Chroma-Luma grid allows you to simultaneously adjust the luminance
and hue of a selected range. This opens up some creative and practical applications when
working with bright areas, like skies, lights, and windows.

1 In the yellow flag-filtered timeline, select clip 03.

2 Create a new serial node called Sky (node 04).

3 In the upper-right corner of the Color Warper, press the Chroma-Luma button.

In color grading, changing luminance based on a hue can often lead to

distortion. Therefore, it is important to keep Chroma-Luma selections exact and
adjustments subtle.
The Chroma-Luma panel features many of the same controls as Hue-Saturation,
though the control point interface is now a pair of grids depicting two cross sections 5 Reset the Color Warper.
of a 3D chroma-luma cube. A trace is projected behind the grids, representing the 6 To improve selection precision, change the Chroma and Luma resolutions to 12.
distribution of the chroma and luma data of the current frame in the viewer from
You will next lock off the darker regions of the image to protect them from
two perspectives.
adjustments made to the sky.

7 In the viewer, hover over the hill in the foreground and mountains in the background.
The orange crosshair will indicate that the luminance range of those regions lies in the
bottom two rows.

TIP  You can check which region of an image will be affected by a control point
in the Color Warper by holding Option (macOS) or Alt (Windows) while clicking
the control point. A highlight of the selection will appear in the viewer.

8 Select any point on the row directly above the bottom of the grid.

The horizontal axis of the grid represents hues, while the vertical axis represents
luminance. You will use these grids to enhance the vibrant colors of the sky.

Warping Color Ranges 101 102 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas
9 In the Tools sidebar, click the Select Row button to expand the selection to the 16 In the viewer, click the orange region right above the mountains and drag left and
entire row. upward to brighten the sky and give the sunrise a warmer, more pronounced glow.

Continue to make finer adjustments to the control points in the grids to smooth out
any artifacting.

10 Click the Convert Selected to Pin button to lock all the control points on that row.

Before After

Pinned points are indicated by a black outline. Adjustments made near a pinned point TIP  If you start to see banding in the sky as a result of dragging a control point
will not affect it, and the surrounding grid mesh will warp around it. too far, select the point and click the Smooth buttons under the Chroma and
Luma parameters in the sidebar.
11 Repeat steps 8–10 in Grid 2 (the grid on the right) to protect the shadows in those
chroma regions too.

12 At the bottom of the palette, drag the Axis Angle parameter (20.00) to determine the
hues you will be introducing to the sky. The aim is to reach a more yellow tone in the
left grid, and a more magenta tone in the right grid.
This will nudge the point toward its original position, softening the grade
and reducing artifacts. The Smooth buttons can be clicked as many times as
needed for incrementally smaller nudges.

As you do this, the waveform trace in the grid will rotate, revealing its 3D nature.

13 At the top of the Tools sidebar, select Grid 2. 17 When finished, copy the Sky node and paste it in a new node in clip 04.

14 In the viewer, click on the region between the orange and blue gradients in the sky and 18 Tweak the Color Warper in clip 04’s Sky node to achieve a better match for the close-up
drag to the right and slightly upward to push a vibrant pink hue into the sky. of the horizon.

15 At the top of the Tools sidebar, switch to Grid 1.

Before After

Warping Color Ranges 103 104 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas
As you continue to work with the Color Warper, explore the remaining selection and 4 In the Resolve FX Refine category, drag the Face Refinement effect onto the Face node.
pinning tools in the sidebar to gain a fuller understanding of how selections can be made
faster and with more precision. Review the completed grade on these clips in the 04
Completed Timeline to see how the luminance warp in this lesson was achieved.

Enhancing Skin Tones

with Face Refinement
A common secondary grading task is refining skin tones. Whether a fictional narrative or
a documentary, the audience will pay the utmost attention to the actions (and therefore
the faces) of the people on the screen. Colorists and makeup artists share a common job
in this instance, which is to “protect the talent.” This means we need to do our best to make
skin look clear and natural. In DaVinci Resolve, this is achieved through a combination of
Resolve effects and standard secondary grading methods.

NOTE  This exercise requires DaVinci Resolve Studio to complete.

NOTE  If you are not using DaVinci Resolve Studio, a watermark will appear over
the image. You can dismiss the warning dialog and complete this exercise with
In this exercise, you’ll start with a well-framed and properly exposed shot. The only issue
the watermark.
is that the speaker is wearing a wide-brimmed hat on a sunny day, resulting in harsh
shadows on her face. Your goal is to make her face stand out more and then address
general imperfections using the Face Refinement effect.
When activated, Face Refinement automatically detects and tracks a moving face,
1 In the yellow flag-filtered timeline, select clip 02. In the Node Editor, you can see that it giving you the option to enhance the skin and adjust individual features such as the
has already been balanced on the first node. eyes, lips, cheeks, chin, and forehead.

2 Create a new serial node, and label it Face. 5 In the Face Refinement settings, click Analyze. Processing will take some time as the
3 Open the Effects panel. software identifies the face and constructs a travelling matte.

Enhancing Skin Tones with Face Refinement 105 106 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas
 When the analysis is complete, you will see a series of green trackers outlining the Combining Windows with Face Refinement
woman’s facial features.
To remove the unnecessary hat selection from Face Refinement, you will use a window to
exclude the top of the matte.

1 Move the playhead to the last frame of the clip.

2 With the Face node still selected, open the Window palette.

3 Create a new circle window and place it over the woman’s face.

4 In the upper-right options menu of the Window palette, choose Convert to Bezier to
transform the circle’s points into Bézier curves.

To ensure the highest quality of the selection, you should check the matte of the face
before proceeding with any adjustments. The matte quality can be compromised when
analyzing a subject whose skin tones closely match their hair, clothes, or surroundings.
In this example, the subject fits all three of these criteria. 5 Label the resulting curve window Face Window.

6 Within the Face Refinement settings, click the Skin Mask header to expand it, and then 6 In the viewer, adjust the points to fit around her face, paying extra attention to
select Show Mask. excluding the hat.

7 Deselect Show Overlay at the top of the settings to remove the green trackers from
the viewer.

8 Zoom inside the viewer to get a clearer view of the subject’s face.

7 In the Face Refinement settings, deselect Show Mask.

The selection is clean overall. The only exception is the upper segment of the mask, which 8 Enter the Tracker palette.
includes part of the tan hat that the woman is wearing.

Enhancing Skin Tones with Face Refinement 107 108 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas
9 Click the Track Reverse button to track the motion of her face backward 2 In the Face Refinement Settings, under Texture, adjust the Amount to 0.200. Doing so
through the clip. will gently blur the skin to soften minor wrinkles and imperfections.

10 When tracking is completed, refine the shape of the Face window, if necessary.

11 Use the viewer’s onscreen controls menu in the lower-left corner to turn off the
window outline.

TIP  You can apply effects to an existing corrector node or drag them onto a Be careful not to push this setting so far that skin starts to look plastic. You should not
connection line to create a Resolve FX node. Resolve FX nodes work slightly aim to remove wrinkles but merely soften them.
differently from standard corrector nodes in that you cannot use grading tools,
windows, or qualifiers on them. They perform only the effect for which they
TIP  To see a wider range of skin-smoothing options, change the Texture
were designed, and often feature additional RGB and key inputs to support
Operating mode to Smoothing or Beauty Advanced. These modes break up the
their unique functionality.
smoothing process into individual steps in which you can take into account skin
texture and lighting.

Improving Skin Quality 3 Scroll down to the Color Grading section to begin work on the woman’s skin tone.
There are a variety of reasons why skin tones might need adjustment:

General skin imperfections, such as variations of color, spots, dryness, oiliness,

and so on—By applying the appropriate brightness, contrast, and blurring, you can
reduce these issues and put the focus back on the performance.

Some skin undertones are prone to reflecting light with unpredictable tints—The
most common variants are skin tones that appear magenta or green under harsh artificial
lighting, like fluorescent office lights. The purpose of grading in this case is to remove the
tint and bring the performer’s skin tone to a neutral position that more closely resembles The Midtone parameter is responsible for the overall brightness of the skin. You can
their skin under natural light. use it to reduce the shadows on her face.
Overpowering primary grade—When a shot has been strongly graded at the primary 4 Drag the Midtone slider to the right (0.030) to brighten the skin, but don’t drag it so far
stage to look a certain way (for example, to make the environment look cold), the skin can that the results become distracting.
end up looking overpowered or washed out, as a result. These kinds of flat grades can
drain the life out of a shot and make it look dull. By bringing back the skin tone, the shot
develops chromatic contrast and once again becomes vibrant. TIP  For more precision, drag within the numeric field of a parameter instead of
the slider.
In this exercise, you’ll look at some of the commonly used settings of the Face
Refinement tool with a focus on reducing minor imperfections and achieving a
natural result.
Color Boost enhances saturation in areas of the skin that are undersaturated.
1 In the Workspace menu, choose Full Screen Viewer or press Shift-F to expand the
5 Drag the Color Boost until you reach 0.020.
viewer to fill your screen while still granting you to access the Effects panel to the right.
Tint is responsible for undoing the green or magenta color cast that some skin
tones reflect.

Enhancing Skin Tones with Face Refinement 109 110 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas
6 Drag Tint to -0.100 to reduce the redness in the skin. 18 In the Blush Retouching category, set Saturation just high enough (0.200) to define her

7 Raise the Contrast (0.100) to return some detail into the shadows of her face. face shape without making it look like makeup.

19 Additionally, you could expand the Size to 0.500 to spread the gentle redness across
There is a prominent highlight on her chin where her hat no longer casts a shadow.
The Shine Removal parameter would be ideal for reducing this glare, but this area of either side of her face without concentrating it to the apples of her cheeks.
her face is not included in the mask matte. You’ll need to expand the mask to include The Global Blend control at the bottom of the settings allows you to blend the original
this area. image back into the Face Refinement node. This is ideal when you are generally happy
with the face refinement but find that it’s a touch too overpowering.
8 Return to the Skin Mask category and select Show Mask.

9 Increase the Face Mask Size to 0.100 to expand the mask matte shape.

10 Increase Face Mask Softness to 0.300 to ensure that the matte’s edge remains
undetectable in the viewer.

11 Deselect Show Mask.

12 Return to the Color Grading category and raise Shine Removal (0.800) to remove the
light glare on her chin.

13 Next, scroll down to the Eye Retouching section and click the header to expand it.

The controls in this section allow you to enhance details in the irises of the speaker, as
well as brighten and soften the skin around the eyes.

14 Set Sharpening to 0.300 to refine the iris, eyelashes, and eye shape.

15 Set Eye Light to 0.050 to gently increase the brightness around the eye area. Before After

16 Adjust Eyebag Removal to 0.200 to brighten the area directly under her eyes. With just one node, you have successfully enhanced your subject’s skin tone, made it
more pronounced by brightening and warming it, and added chromatic detail into her
features. In the original clip, it now becomes apparent how much the shadow of her
hat was affecting the visibility of her face and facial expressions.

TIP  Another tool designed for professional-level skin touch-ups is Beauty

Resolve FX. Its Ultra Beauty operating mode smooths rough skin textures
In addition to addressing general dark circles under eyes, Eyebag Removal can reduce
while recovering finer details to produce natural results that complement
shadows caused by headwear as in this clip.
the subject.
Lip Retouching allows you to saturate and change the hue of a subject’s lip color and
to smooth upper lip wrinkles in tight, close-up shots. As usual, context is key. The
park ranger in question is not wearing lipstick, nor do you have a justifiable reason to
20 When you’re done with the adjustments, choose Workspace > Full Screen Viewer or
glamorize her as she talks about the issue of rhino poaching in South Africa. In this
press Shift-F to exit Full Screen mode.
case, the Lip Retouching tool is necessary only to add minor contrast to her skin tone.

17 In the Lip Retouching category, raise Saturation to 0.200 to better define her lips
TIP  To remove a Resolve FX plug-in from a node, right-click the node and
against her skin. choose Remove OFX Plugin or click the bin icon in the upper-right corner of the
The same guidelines apply to Blush Retouching. Effects Settings panel.

Enhancing Skin Tones with Face Refinement 111 112 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas
21 The Face Refinement tool is ideal when working with interview subjects, portrait-style
compositions, or fashion shoots. When working on profile shots, or subjects with a lot TIP  The naming convention of the hue curves describes the selection method,
of motion, more appropriate solutions would include tools such as the Beauty Resolve followed by the change type. Hue Vs Sat implies that you are targeting a
effect or the primary grading palettes combined with secondary grading techniques. specific range of color (hue) to adjust its saturation (sat), whereas Sat Vs Lum
suggests that you are targeting a certain range of saturation in an image (sat)
with the aim of adjusting its brightness (lum).

Adjusting Skin Tones Manually The Hue Vs Hue palette displays the full range of hues in a linear fashion, looping
The Curve palette’s HSL curves allow you to make rapid, targeted secondary adjustments around the red hue. It enables you to sample a specific color and shift it toward
to an image based on hue, saturation, or luminance ranges. This makes the HSL curves a another hue.
popular tool for skin, hue, and saturation correction. One method of hue selection is to use the swatch buttons at the bottom of the curve
In this exercise, you will remove the magenta tint from the subject’s skin. graph. Another method is to click in the viewer to sample pixel values.

1 In the yellow flag-filtered timeline, select clip 05. 4 In the viewer, click on an evenly exposed patch of the man’s face.

Three control points are added to the Hue Vs Hue curve. The center point identifies
the selected hue, and the control points on either side act as anchors that limit the
range of hue that is affected.

TIP  If a hue selection lands near the left or right edge of the palette, the range
will smoothly cycle back around to the opposite edge.

This clip has already been normalized with Primaries color wheels in node 01.

2 Create a new serial node, and label it Skin Hue (node 02).

3 Open the Curves palette, and in the upper-right corner, choose the Hue Vs Hue curve.

Adjusting Skin Tones Manually 113 114 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas
5 Drag the center control point down slightly to remove some of the red tint in the 8 Reduce the window’s Softness Soft 1 parameter to 0.00 to get a clean edge on
man’s skin tone. Be careful not to introduce too much green. If necessary, drag the the selection.
two control points on either side farther apart to define a wider hue range for the 9 Click the Highlight button.
skin tone.
This temporary window will aid in providing a clean readout of the skin values to the
vectorscope.

10 In the Scopes palette, choose Vectorscope as the scope type.

TIP  For more precision when moving a control point, use the Input Hue and
Hue Rotation fields in the lower-right corner of the palette.

This might feel a bit like a guessing game. What is the right hue for his skin? To create
more certainty in your adjustment, you will open the vectorscope and check what the
A vectorscope distributes the visual data of an image on a circular graph representing
adjustment is doing to the skin.
the hues in the current frame and their saturation levels. A well-balanced image
The first thing you’ll need to do is to get a clean view of the face by using a window to will generally appear as a cloud of pixels in the center of the vectorscope with
remove interfering elements. some deviations toward specific hues in images that contain prominent colors. You

6 Open the Window palette. encountered a vectorscope previously when working with the Color Warper tool. 

7 Create a circle window and label it Face Window. Position it over the man’s face to 11 In the upper-right corner, click the settings icon to adjust the appearance of the scope
isolate a clean patch of skin. for easier readability.

12 Select Show 2x Zoom to increase the size of the trace.

Adjusting Skin Tones Manually 115 116 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas
13 Select Show Skin Tone Indicator to display a line that indicates the angle for skin 16 A significant part of the man’s skin is in shadow, where it appears to have a prominent
tone hues. magenta tint. Add additional control points in the Hue Vs Hue curve and aim to place
the man’s skin vectorscope trace parallel to the Skin Tone Indicator line.

17 When you are happy with the skin tone hue, turn off Highlight mode.

With the highlight off, the HSL grade is still confined to the circle window.

When working with skin tones, the vectorscope can be helpful for determining 18 Go to the Window palette and deactivate the window by clicking the circle icon.
whether a subject’s skin is deviating toward unflattering hues. However, the skin tone
indicator line itself is not meant as a strict determiner of all skin hues. Some skin tones
have cool undertones, which naturally lean toward red, or warm undertones, which
lean toward yellow. When grading, focus on any obvious arcs or distortions in the trace
that might indicate an incorrect color cast on the skin.

14 Click anywhere in the color page to close the settings pop-up window.

15 Drag the center control point in the Hue Vs Hue palette up and down to observe the
movement in the vectorscope. It’s important to keep in mind that you’re not trying to
align the skin hue strictly to the Skin Tone Indicator line. Rather, you are using the Skin
Tone Indicator to detect and gently reduce any obvious tone deviation.

Adjusting Skin Tones Manually 117 118 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas
While the Color Warper allows you to intuitively adjust two values at once, the HSL curves Setting Skin Tone Saturation
are ideal for single-purpose precision, like working on skin tones. These tools should be
your first choice when you’re trying to quickly adjust the hue, saturation, or luminance With the skin hue adjusted, you can make use of another HSL curve to address
of an object. If the result is not immediately satisfactory, you can then switch to working skin saturation.
with more advanced tools like the qualifier or Magic Mask, which offers a greater degree
1 Create a new serial node, and label it Skin Sat (node 03).
of control over your matte selection. Also, keep in mind that you can use the Color Warper
and HSL curves in combination with the secondary selection tools for an even more 2 Change the Curves palette mode to Hue Vs Sat.

refined selection. You can use the Hue Vs Sat palette to make undersaturated items pop or make
oversaturated colors less distracting. When dealing with skin tones, the right settings
can be subjective. Generally, darker skin tones require less saturation, while lighter
How Do We Color Grade Skin? skin tones require more. In either case, pushing the saturation too far can cause
the skin to look distorted. In this image, the saturation in the man’s skin needs very
With light meters, color charts, skin tone indicator lines, and more than a century
little adjustment.
of filmmaking, you would think that there would be a well-established standard
for color correcting skin tones to produce an “optimal” result. And although a set To use the same window analysis technique as in the previous exercise, you can copy
of recommended values can be found for portrait and fashion photography, they the window from the Skin Hue node.
tend to be absent when working with moving images. Why? Because there are too
3 In the viewer, click a saturated patch of the man’s face to drop the three control
many variables to allow for a single working standard.
points in the Hue Vs Sat curve. Drag the two surrounding anchor points in opposite
There are far too many skin tones and undertones to categorize people, thereby directions to widen the selected hue range.
eliminating a set of standards on a geographical or racial basis. Modern films tend
4 Drag the central point up slightly to increase the saturation of the skin, taking care to
to feature a lot of camera and subject movement, causing the lighting to be in a
keep the colors natural.
constant flux, which means any corrections applied to a single frame are undone
as the scene progresses. Many scenes make use of dramatic lighting and shadows
or bright color gels that artificially distort a subject’s skin tone, all of which results
in imagery that cannot be corrected in a consistent fashion.

The subject in this exercise is a perfect example of these factors: he is

simultaneously overexposed by direct sunlight and underexposed in the shadows,
and there is even a faint lens reflection near his hat, casting a slight green hue on
his forehead.

Ultimately, the best practice to employ is to white balance your camera when you
shoot or capture a white reference in frame (if the lighting in the scene will allow
it), and then grade your subject in a way that will produce the most aesthetically
pleasing result on your grading monitor. If the result is pleasing to you, then the
grade can be considered successful. 5 Press Command-D (macOS) or Ctrl-D (Windows) to disable the Hue Vs Sat node. Press
the keyboard shortcut again to view the adjustment.

Adjusting Skin Tones Manually 119 120 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas
Be careful not to get too aggressive when adjusting skin tones. The aim is not to produce
a magazine-cover look but to reduce minor imperfections and enhance the visibility of the
Self-Guided Exercises
face. Getting too aggressive with the Resolve FX or HSL controls can result in plastic-looking
Complete the following exercises in the unfiltered 03 Matched Timeline to test your
or overly saturated skin that is even more distracting than the original imperfections.
understanding of the tools and workflows covered in this lesson.

Clip 01—Use Lum vs Sat in the HSL Curves to increase the saturation of the deer
Memory Colors in the center of the shot but keep the saturation of the blue gate and the fence
shadows the same.
Memory colors are colors for which human beings have an instinctive reference.
The most common of these are sky, grass, and skin tones that tend to be closely Clip 02—Apply a window to isolate the rhino’s face between the bars, and then apply the
imprinted in our perception of the world. As you grade, try your best to keep skin Contrast Pop effect (Resolve FX Color category) to increase the contrast in that portion of
hue and saturation natural to ensure audience immersion, unless the narrative the frame. The effect should immediately guide the eye without being overpowering.
specifically calls for a distortion of these hues. Man-made objects tend to have less Clip 03—Apply a window and use any of the sharpening methods covered in this lesson
color memory associated with them, so you have more freedom to tweak the hue (Blur palette, Sharpen Edge effect, or Soften & Sharpen effect) to enhance the numbers on
of a car or the saturation of a character’s dress. the scale and make them more readable. Track the window to the movement of the scale.

Clip 04—Apply a subtle circular vignette at the end of the pipeline in the shot with the
rhinos and horses. Create another node before the vignette and increase the brightness
Continue using these techniques in new ways and combining qualifiers/Power Windows and contrast of the shot to enhance the color and detail.
with your own footage. If you’re uncertain how to proceed with a certain shot, write
out a workflow to help determine how you want the final output to look, and then work Clip 05—Use the Color Warper’s Hue-Saturation grid to tint the ground in the field green.
backward to choose the tools and adjustments that will realize your goals. You’ll always Use the greenery in the mountains behind the horses as a reference for the hue you
have several possible workflow options, so with experimentation and experience you will should achieve. Apply a window to limit the correction to the field.
learn which are the most visually successful and time efficient for you. Clip 05—Create a new node and use the Color Warper’s Chroma-Luma grid to brighten the
sky and add more blue to it. On the same grid, reduce the brightness of the grass to better
match the mountains in the background.
Using the Mini Panel—Hue Curves
Clip 11—Use the Tilt-Shift Blur effect to create an artificial shallow depth of field in the shot
When working with HSL Curves, the color with the man and his dog. Consider the composition of the clip; you might want to rotate
presets and swatches are available as knobs the angle of the Depth of Field to be nearly vertical.
below the Mini Panel screens. You can find
When you’ve completed these exercises, open the 05 Completed Effects Timeline to
additional curves and tools by pressing the
compare your work to the “solved” timeline.
Left Arrow and Right Arrow buttons on
the panel.

Adjusting Skin Tones Manually 121 122 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas
Lesson Review Answers
1 Secondary color corrections affect only a part of the image, whereas primary
1 How are secondary color corrections different from primary color corrections?
corrections affect the whole frame.
2 In the Color Warper, how would you lock a specific saturation range of the Hue-
2 In the Hue-Saturation Color Warper grid, saturation is represented by the grid rings.
Saturation grid?
To lock them, first select any point in the desired saturation range. Then, in the Tools
3 What does the Hue vs Lum HSL curve do? sidebar, click Select Ring, and then click Convert Selected to Pin.
4 Which tool can you use to create a vignette? 3 The Hue vs Lum HSL curve increases or decreases the brightness of a selected color.
5 True or false? Track data generated in the Tracker palette can be copied and pasted In the naming convention of HSL curves, the first word prompts the selection, and the
onto another window or node. second word affects the change.

4 A circle Power Window can be used to create a custom vignette, or you could use the
Vignette effect from the Resolve FX Stylize category of the Effects Library.

5 True. The function to copy and paste track data is found in the options menu of the
Tracker palette.

Lesson Review 123 124 Lesson 3  Correcting and Enhancing Isolated Areas

Part II

Managing Nodes
and Grades
Lessons
— Conforming an XML Timeline
— Mastering the Node Pipeline
— Managing Grades Across Clips and Timelines

In Part II of The Colorist Guide to DaVinci Resolve 18, you’ll look at workflows beyond primary
and secondary color correction to improve your accuracy and speed when grading. Along
the way, you’ll learn how to conform timelines from other applications, build grading node
structures with purpose, and use stills and versions to copy and retain grade data.

Project File Location

You will find all the necessary content for this part of the book in the folder BMD 18
CC - Project 02. Follow the instructions at the start of every lesson to find the
necessary folder, project, and timeline. If you have not downloaded the second set
of content files, see the “Getting Started” section of this book for instructions on
how to do so.

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Lesson 4 To ensure that an imported timeline is an exact replica of the editor’s work, you must
use a verification process known as conforming to compare the reconstructed edit
with a reference video and confirm that every cut and effect is reproduced within

Conforming an
DaVinci Resolve. When an element is mismatched or missing, you must manually correct it
in the timeline.

In this lesson, you’ll look at the most common practices and issues associated with the

XML Timeline
conforming workflow. You will also look at more advanced project setup practices by
utilizing DaVinci Resolve’s color management to produce optimal grading conditions.

Importing an XML Timeline

The project you will be working on is a film trailer for a documentary called Age of
Airplanes. Due to its nonlinear nature, you will have more opportunity to experiment with
grade construction and more dramatic looks on a clip-by-clip basis.

XML and AAF are two file Time You will start by reconstructing the trailer timeline from an XML file exported from the
types frequently used to migrate This lesson takes approximately editor’s software. You would ordinarily do this in a new DaVinci Resolve project, but for
timelines between different 90 minutes to complete. the purposes of the upcoming lessons in Part II, you will import a .drp file that has been

software applications. prepared for you.

Goals
1 Open DaVinci Resolve 18.
However, XML and AAF migration can Importing an XML Timeline 128
2 Right-click within the Project Manager window and choose Import Project.
occasionally fail to fully share timeline Syncing an Offline Reference 131
metadata because of variances Conforming a Timeline 133 3 On your hard disk, locate the BMD 18 CC - Project 02 folder.
in application design. Migration Associating HQ Footage with a 4 In the folder, select the Project 02 – Age of Airplanes Trailer.drp file and click Import.
inconsistencies can cause problems Timeline for Online Workflows 141 5 In the Project Manager, double-click the
when you’ve received content edited Maximizing the Dynamic Range 145 Project 02 - Age of Airplanes Trailer thumbnail to open the project.
in an external application and want to Lesson Review 153 The project is already set up with bins but contains no media or timelines. You’ll import
grade and finish it in DaVinci Resolve
the timelines required for the following exercises and associate the necessary media
18. Upon import, you may find that with them.
some areas of the timeline contain
6 In the edit page, select the empty Timelines bin as the destination for the XML timeline
incorrect clips or have failed to migrate
and choose File > Import > Timeline.
transform changes or effects.
7 In the BMD 18 CC - Project 02 folder, navigate to the XMLs subfolder. Locate the
Airplanes – 01 LQ Timeline.xml file and click Open.

128 Lesson 4  Conforming an XML Timeline

 The Load XML dialog appears in which you can set up how your XML timeline and 9 If this dialog appears, click Yes to locate the missing clips.
associated media are imported.

This timeline should contain all your low-quality video renders (LQ transcodes). You
must be specific when indicating their location.

10 Navigate to the BMD 18 CC - Project 02 folder and select the LQ Transcodes subfolder.
Click OK at the bottom of the dialog.

This action should reconnect most of your media. However, the dialog will appear
again, suggesting that some remaining clips have not been located. This is because
you’ve specified the location of the video clips but not the audio.

11 Click Yes again to locate the audio.

12 In BMD 18 CC - Project 02, select the Audio subfolder and click OK.

A few remaining clips will not be found. This sometimes occurs when video clips in
the timeline are renamed or changed after the XML file is generated. Because of this
change, DaVinci Resolve cannot establish a connection with the media. You will resolve
this during the conforming stage.

13 In the second dialog, click No.

Another window appears. The Log displays a summary of the migration process,
The default settings will work for this timeline because you want DaVinci Resolve to including a confirmation of the imported timeline and a list of migration issues
locate the media associated with this XML file. (translation errors). This summary can help eliminate some of the guesswork from
the conforming process.

14 Read the Log to see the name of the missing clips and click Close when you are done.
TIP  Selecting “Ignore file extensions when matching” will allow you to choose
media that is in a different file format from the original timeline media,
provided that the filenames have remained the same. This option can be
extremely useful when switching between offline and online workflows, which
you will learn about later in this lesson.

8 Click OK to close the dialog.

DaVinci Resolve will search for the files based on their last known locations in relation
to the XML file. Most often, drives and paths change during transfer, and a dialog will
ask for help in locating the missing files.

Importing an XML Timeline 129 130 Lesson 4  Conforming an XML Timeline

 The timeline should now appear in the edit page and its media in the media pool. 3 In the media storage browser, navigate to the BMD 18 CC - Project 02 folder.

4 In the Other subfolder, find the Age of Airplanes REFERENCE.mov file and drag it into
TIP  You can view the Log of an imported timeline at any time from the media the References bin.
pool. With the timeline open in the edit page, click the media pool options 5 Open the edit page.
menu in the upper-right corner and choose Show Import Log.
6 Access the source viewer options menu and deselect Live Media Preview. This will
ensure that the viewer does not change modes when you interact with the clips in the
media pool.
15 For easier project management, organize the imported files in the media pool. The
timeline thumbnail (identified by a white timeline symbol in the lower-left corner and 7 In the lower-left corner of the source viewer, open the mode dropdown menu and
indicated as the active timeline by an orange tick in the upper-left corner) can remain choose Offline. Doing so will switch the source viewer from showing source materials
in the Timelines bin. The four audio files should be dragged into the Audio bin, and the to displaying offline reference clips.
video files to the LQ Transcodes bin. 8 Drag the Age of Airplanes REFERENCE.mov from the media pool directly into
the source viewer. This will associate it as an offline reference clip with the active
As long as the filenames of media files are not changed, relinking is a straightforward Airplanes - 01 LQ Timeline.
process. For this reason, it’s highly advisable to never rename media but work with the
original camera filenames throughout the entire post-production process.

TIP  When migrating with AAF files to and from Avid Media Composer, you must
retain reel names when creating low-resolution dailies and relinking to high-
resolution original files. To do so, select the offline clips on the timeline, choose
File > Reconform from Media Storage, and in the Conform Options select “Reel
Name Using: Embedded source clip metadata.”

However, the viewer currently shows the red Media Offline frame. One of the most
common reasons a reference clip appears offline is because its timecode does not

Syncing an Offline Reference

align with the timeline timecode.

9 Click the List View icon at the top of the media pool to view the media metadata.

With the XML timeline imported and set up, you should now check the edit to ensure that 10 In the Start TC column, view the start timecode of the reference clip and compare it to
every clip, cut, and effect was successfully migrated. To aid in this stage of the conforming the start timecode of the timeline.
process, the editor should provide a reference movie: a single exported video file of the
In editing programs, timelines tend to begin at the one-hour timecode (01:00:00:00),
final timeline that you can use for visual verification of the imported timeline.
whereas rendered video clips tend to begin at 00:00:00:00, as is the case with this
In this exercise, you’ll associate a reference movie with a timeline and fix any issues that reference. You can easily correct this by changing the start timecode of the reference
may have occurred during migration. clip to match the timeline.

1 Go to the media page. 11 Right-click the reference clip in the media pool and choose Clip Attributes.

2 In the media pool, select the References bin as the target for the new clip you are
about to import.

Syncing an Offline Reference 131 132 Lesson 4  Conforming an XML Timeline

12 In the Clip Attributes window, click the Timecode tab and enter 01 as the Current 7 Press the Down Arrow on your keyboard until you navigate to the first video cut point
Frame hour. Click OK to close the window. at the start of the second clip on the timeline.

If the reference movie does not immediately appear in the source viewer, check the
source viewer mode dropdown menu to ensure that Offline is still selected and drag
the timeline playhead to refresh the frame. It is apparent that the timeline clip does not match the clip in the reference video.
The text rendered with the reference video (called data burn-in) tells you that the
clip should be AERIAL_SFO_02, whereas the clip in the edit page timeline is AERIAL_

Conforming a Timeline SFO_01. This mismatch could be caused by a clash in the tape/reel name or the editor
making a change after exporting the XML file.
With the reference movie in place, you can now inspect the timeline to address any visual To resolve this, you can manually import and assign the correct clip to the timeline.
inconsistencies. Your primary task will be to ensure that the correct clips are on the
8 Enter the media page.
timeline and to check that their cuts are occurring at the right time. To accomplish this, you
must review the edit, cut by cut. 9 In the media storage browser, enter the Other LQ Transcodes subfolder.

1 Enter the media page. 10 Drag the AERIAL_SFO_02.mov video clip into the LQ Transcodes bin of the media pool.

2 In the media storage browser, navigate to the BMD 18 CC - Project 02 folder and enter 11 Return to the edit page.
the Other subfolder. 12 In the LQ Transcodes bin of the media pool, click the AERIAL_SFO_02.mov thumbnail.
The Log window had listed the credits of the trailer among the missing media. 13 In the timeline, right-click the second clip and choose “Conform Lock with Media Pool

3 Drag CREDITS.mov into the Graphics bin of the media pool. Clip.” Doing so replaces the clip in the timeline with the selected media pool clip, which
now matches the clip in the reference movie.
4 Return to the edit page.

The credits media file is automatically recognized and assigned to the missing media
NOTE  If the clip in the media pool and the clip in the timeline have the same
clip at the end of the timeline. Whenever source media maintains the same name as
available timecode range, the conform action will place the incoming clip using
the clip paths in an XML file, it will immediately appear in the timeline, even if imported
the same In and Out points as the original cut. If the incoming clip does not
after the XML construction.
have the necessary timecode range, the first frame of the incoming clip will be
5 The audio files have linked successfully in the timeline, but audio level settings usually aligned to the cut point.
don’t travel when migrating in the XML format. To prevent being distracted by the non-
mixed audio, click the Mute button to the right of the timeline toolbar.
You have likely noticed that the contrast and saturation of the clips in the two viewers
appear to be different. This is because the reference clip was rendered with a Rec.709
color gamut, while the source media still has its original log-encoded gamma curve.
6 Move the playhead to the start of the Airplanes - 01 LQ Timeline. You will address this with the help of DaVinci Resolve’s color management at the end of
this lesson.

Conforming a Timeline 133 134 Lesson 4  Conforming an XML Timeline

Fixing Translation Errors Using the wipe for comparison reveals a mismatch in the shot framing. To fix it, you
can switch to a difference composite.
Continue to navigate down the timeline and look at the reference movie to check the clips,
4 Right-click the timeline viewer and choose Difference to highlight where the clip is
edit points, and effects to make sure that everything is successfully translated.
misaligned.
1 Press the Down Arrow to jump to the next video cut at the start of clip 3
(TAKE_OFF_SFO.mov).

In addition to checking the timeline clips and their edit points, your conforming
process should ensure that all transitions and effects are present. A simple side-by-
side comparison cannot always do this, so DaVinci Resolve provides the option to 5 In the timeline, click the TAKE_OFF_SFO clip and open the Inspector panel in the upper-
superimpose the reference movie on the timeline viewer. This procedure helps you right corner.
check whether clips are framed identically. 6 In the Transform controls, increase the Zoom value until the size of the cockpit
2 Right-click the timeline viewer and choose Horizontal Wipe. windows appear the same (1.200).

The timeline clip is displayed to the left, while the reference clip is displayed to the right.

7 Using the windows and wings as guides, drag the Y Position down (-100.00) until the
timeline clip overlaps the reference. When performing these matches visually, you may
need to go back and forth between the position parameters to get a perfect fit.
3 Drag the wipe left and right to compare the placement of the timeline clip to the reference.

Conforming a Timeline 135 136 Lesson 4  Conforming an XML Timeline

 15 Double-click the attention badge on the clip.
TIP  You can use the Inspector’s Anchor Point parameters to simplify the
The Conflict Resolution window appears, displaying all the clips in the bin that match
process of matching a reframed clip. First, click the Transform button in the
the metadata of the clip in the timeline. You can now select the correct clip according
lower left of the timeline viewer to activate onscreen controls. Then drag the
to the reference movie.
anchor over a distinct object in the frame (like a window frame or banner text).
When you now adjust the Inspector’s Transform controls, the zoom will expand
from the new anchor position, simplifying the process of lining up the shot
scale and position.

When you no longer see a “double effect” on the plane in the viewer, the framing is
successfully matched. If you were working on images with identical color gamuts, the
viewer would become black to signify that no visual differences remained between
the clips.

8 Right-click the timeline viewer and choose No Wipe to return to the standard viewer.

9 Close the Inspector. If you are working on a 1920 x 1080 resolution (or smaller)
monitor, this action this will bring back the source viewer.

10 Press the Down Arrow to navigate to the next video cut. This is the clip that was
missing when the XML timeline was imported.
16 In the Conflict Resolution window, select the water shot BA4662_55.mov and
11 Return to the media page. In the media storage browser, locate the Other folder and
click Change.
open the Other LQ Transcodes subfolder.
The correct clip is placed in the timeline and matches the reference movie. To remove
12 Drag the BA4662_54.mov and BA4662_55.mov clips into the LQ Transcodes bin of
the now black-colored resolved badge and confirm the new clip as correct, you can
the media pool and return to the edit page.
lock the conformed selection.
13 Press Command-+ (plus sign) in macOS or Ctrl-+ (plus sign) in Windows to zoom in to
17 In the timeline, right-click the clip and choose Conform Lock Enabled.
the offline clip in the timeline.

14 Right-click the clip and choose Conform Lock Enabled to disable the conform lock. The
clip is now receptive to all media that contains similar metadata.

18 Press the Down Arrow to navigate to the next video cut, which features an interview
In the lower-left corner of the timeline clip, a red attention badge icon <!> indicates a with a jump cut near the end. The first instance of the interview is correctly timed, but
potential metadata clash with another clip in the media pool. the second instance appears to be off. The speaker’s facial expression has changed,
and his speech is no longer synced to the INT_02.aif audio clip on audio track 1.

Conforming a Timeline 137 138 Lesson 4  Conforming an XML Timeline

 The most likely cause for a clip to become unsynced is a mismatch in metadata tags 25 In the timeline toolbar, change the edit mode back to Selection mode.
between applications or a difference in framerates between the timeline and the
26 Press the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys to ensure that the speaker’s movement
edited clip.
remains consistent with the reference clip.
19 In the timeline, zoom in on the second INT_02 clip so that you can interact with it
27 Continue to press the Down Arrow to check the remainder of the clips.
more easily.
When you reach clip 08 (YELLOW_PLANE.mov), you will notice that the clip has very
20 Enable Mix Wipe mode in the timeline viewer. different colors compared to the reference movie.
21 In the timeline toolbar, change the edit mode to Trim Edit mode.

This will allow you to perform rippling, trimming, slipping, and sliding functions that
are not possible in the default Selection mode.

22 Click the center of the second INT_02 clip and drag in either direction to see the
change in the timeline viewer.

It is common practice for editors, cinematographers, or other creative directors to

leave preliminary grades baked into the reference movie as a guide for the colorist.
Grading data does not usually travel with migration files unless the project is sent in
a native DaVinci Resolve format or it includes accompanying LUTs (Lookup tables) or a
CDL (color decision list) file.

By slipping the clip, you keep its place in the edit, while changing the range of media It will not be necessary to do anything with this clip at this time, but it will be useful
that appears between the In and Out points. later when you begin the grading process.

23 Slip the clip left until the mixed images in the timeline viewer are lined up and then
release the mouse button. TIP  To import LUTs into DaVinci Resolve, open the Project Settings and
enter the Color Management tab. In the Lookup Tables section, click Open
LUT Folder, and drag your LUTs into the DaVinci Resolve LUT folder on
your workstation. When finished, return to the Project Settings and click
Update Lists.

To set up a custom LUT folder path, open DaVinci Resolve > Preferences. In
the System menu, open the General sidebar, and under LUT Locations, click
Add. After adding your LUT folder location, open the LUTs panel on the color
page, right-click the sidebar, and choose Refresh. Folders in your custom file
path will appear as subfolders in the LUTs master folder, while LUTs will be
imported directly.

In addition to the LUTs panel, imported LUTs are also accessible in every clip
Before After and node contextual menu.

24 Turn off the Mix Wipe mode and compare the frames in the two viewers.

Conforming a Timeline 139 140 Lesson 4  Conforming an XML Timeline

Although it’s natural to feel that something has gone wrong with your workflow when the 1 In the edit page, in the media pool, open the Timelines bin.
timeline presents issues during XML migration, it’s important to remember that this is a
2 Right-click the Airplanes – 01 LQ Timeline and choose Duplicate Timeline.
completely normal and anticipated stage of postproduction. It is encountered in projects
of all calibers and stems from the fact that no single migration standard exists among the 3 Slowly click twice on the name of the new timeline and rename it Airplanes –
dozens of applications that you may use when collaborating on a film project. 01 HQ Timeline.

One of the major advantages of performing your entire post-production workflow in 4 Double-click the HQ Timeline to open it in the edit page timeline window.
DaVinci Resolve is its substantial reduction of migration and project management issues. 5 In the media pool, click the empty HQ Transcodes bin to select the destination for
An edit can be ingested, edited, graded, mixed, and delivered without ever needing to the high-quality media.
be conformed.
6 In track V1, drag to select all the video clips on the timeline. Do not include the credits
or audio in your selection.
TIP  When sharing a timeline with someone who is also working in DaVinci Resolve,
7 Right-click any clip in the timeline and deselect Conform Lock Enabled. Doing so will
you have several options:
disable the clips’ lock on their media file paths and prompt them to acknowledge all
— Export the timeline (from the media pool) in the native DaVinci Resolve .drt media that shares similar metadata and timecodes in the media pool.
format for a conform-free migration
8 In the File menu, choose Reconform from Media Storage.
— Export the entire project (from the Project Manager) as a .drp to share all
project bins and timelines

— Export the project archive (from the Project Manager) as a .dra to share the
entire project and all its media contents

Associating HQ Footage with a

Timeline for Online Workflows
The timeline you reconstructed for this section is currently associated with media from the
LQ Transcodes folder. These low-quality video files are generated from the source media
with the intention of providing the editor with light video files that are easy to transfer due
to their small file size and do not lag when played in real-time. Working with transcoded or
proxy media is referred to as offline editing.

The accuracy of an image’s pixel data is not vital to editors because they are focused
on constructing a narrative and feeling the flow of the edit. However, when the timeline The Conform from Media Storage window allows you to refine the media that is being

reaches the colorist or VFX compositor, the quality of the image becomes paramount. At associated with the clips in the timeline.

this stage you will want to create a copy of the timeline that links to the HQ video files that 9 Under Timeline Options, choose “Attempt to reconform Selected Clips in timeline.”
are optimal for grading. This process, and all editing workflows that utilize source camera
10 Under Choose Conform Folders, select the BMD 18 CC - Project 02 > HQ
footage, is known as online editing.
Transcodes folder.

Associating HQ Footage with a Timeline for Online Workflows 141 142 Lesson 4  Conforming an XML Timeline
11 Under Conform Options, deselect Timecode.

12 Select File Name and choose “Tight filename match.” DaVinci Resolve Proxy Workflows
The online/offline workflow covered in this lesson assumed a collaboration
between an editor and a colorist on separate platforms. If you are both the editor
and colorist and using DaVinci Resolve for the entirety of your postproduction,
you can opt for some faster and more efficient options when switching between
13 Click OK. transcoded proxy media and original camera footage in your timeline.

The HQ Transcodes bin is populated with the higher-quality clips that also replace the Generate Proxy Media in the Media Pool
LQ clips on the timeline. You can generate proxy media directly in the media pool after importing your
However, this clip state might be difficult to see in the HQ Timeline because the clips in source clips. Select the necessary clip(s) in the bin, right-click, and choose
the timeline appear the same. You can adjust the appearance of the clips to verify that Generate Proxy Media. This will prompt proxy media to be generated in the
the link was successful. location specified in the Working Folders (‘Proxy generation location’) of the
Project Settings. If you already have transcoded media on hand, you can link it to
14 In the HQ Transcodes bin, select all the newly imported clips. the camera originals in the media pool by selecting the clips, right-clicking, and
15 Right-click one of them and choose Clip Color > Orange. All the clips in the timeline choosing Relink Proxy Media.
that were successfully switched to the higher-quality media will appear orange in
Blackmagic Proxy Generator
the timeline.
DaVinci Resolve comes with a stand-alone application that you
can use to generate proxies in the background while you
continue to work on your project. The Blackmagic Proxy
Before Generator features a Watch Folders list, which creates a live link
between a location on your drive and its respective proxy folder.
As soon as you drag media from each day’s shoot into the watch
folder, the proxies will automatically begin generating, and will then link to the
After camera originals as soon as those are added to the media pool.

16 To lock the HQ clips to the timeline, select them, right-click, and choose Conform Switching Between Proxy Media and Original Camera Footage
Lock Enabled.
In every instance described above, the proxies and camera originals will occupy
the same space in the media pool. This enables you to edit and grade with just one
This method of switching source file locations gives you full control over the media used in set of media and choose which version you wish to see at any given time. To switch
the timeline without the need to import additional XML files or to change the file paths of between the versions, go to the Playback menu and navigate to Proxy Handling.
the clips in the media pool. An important component of this workflow is a well-organized Selecting “Disable all proxies” will force only the camera originals to be visible
and consistently labeled file system, which is a practice recommended across all post- in the timeline. If the original media is absent, you will see a red Media Offline
production workflows. frame in the viewer. This is optimal for final grading and delivery, when you want
to be certain that you’re only working with the original media. Selecting Prefer
Having successfully imported and prepared the XML timeline for grading, you can proceed
Proxies will switch all media to its associated proxy clips, where available. If any
with the knowledge that the timeline is accurate and that you are in control of your footage
clips have no proxies, the original camera footage will be used. The same applies
quality at all times. However, the media in this project is currently in a log-encoded color
to “Prefer Camera Originals,” which will show proxy media in instances where the
gamut that does not give an accurate visual reproduction of the hues and luminance of
original camera footage cannot be found. These last two options are optimal if you
the recorded images. The next set of exercises will show you how to manage log-encoded
want to avoid the red Media Offline frame from appearing in your timeline and
content to output to the more visually accessible and grade-friendly Rec.709 color gamut.
final render.

Associating HQ Footage with a Timeline for Online Workflows 143 144 Lesson 4  Conforming an XML Timeline
Maximizing the Dynamic Range Therefore, a colorist must first correct the log gamma curve so that it appears correctly
on the display. This process is called display-referred color management. Because
DaVinci Resolve receives no direction on how the source media is meant to look,
The grading potential of an image is determined primarily by its dynamic range, which is
configuring that look is left to the colorist. This process often employs LUTs to convert
the range from its darkest point to its brightest point.
from log to Rec.709, assuming that is the intended final output format.
HD consumer and broadcast video cameras tend to record using a standard dynamic range
However, DaVinci Resolve also supports scene-referred color management that allows the
based on the Rec.709 color standard. This standard ensures that the image looks as close
colorist to assign color profiles to media based on how that media was captured. Each
to real life as possible and displays as such on an HDTV or computer monitor. However,
clip’s native color gamut and gamma are then converted to the desired output. The colorist
higher-end prosumer and professional digital film cameras can capture and transcode
no longer must manage LUTs for different sources or manually convert each clip from log
footage with a wider dynamic range by using a nonlinear, or log, gamma curve. This curve
to Rec.709 using standard grading tools because DaVinci Resolve’s color management
gives you greater flexibility for manipulating brightness and contrast without distortion.
performs this action in the background automatically.

Setting Up Color Management in a Project

It’s highly advised to set up color management at the earliest possible stage of
color correction to ensure that the color grading tools behave in an accurate and
consistent manner.

1 Open the Project Settings by clicking the gear icon in the lower-right corner of the
workspace.

Ungraded video in log gamma curve

2 Click Color Management in the Project Settings sidebar.

3 In the Color Space & Transforms section, set the Color science menu to DaVinci YRGB
Color Managed. Doing so will activate scene-referred color management and reveal
the color processing modes and output color space options.

Ungraded video in Rec.709 gamma 2.4 color gamut

With “Automatic color management” enabled, the color processing mode is simplified
to include just two working environments: SDR and HDR. When you select a preset
A byproduct of encoding footage with a log gamma curve, however, is that footage initially
in this dropdown menu, a brief description underneath will summarize the preset’s
appears flat and with low saturation when viewed on an HDTV or computer monitor.
intended use.

Maximizing the Dynamic Range 145 146 Lesson 4  Conforming an XML Timeline

4 There is no HDR media in the Age of Airplanes trailer, and it’s unlikely that this
project will be seen anywhere other than on your computer screen, so Rec.709 is an TIP  If the image in your viewer feels too flat when completing the exercises in
appropriate working gamut. this lesson, change the Output color space to Rec.709 Gamma 2.2. This is a more
appropriate gamma curve for many standard computer monitors, especially in
5 Leave the “Color processing mode” as SDR.
rooms with less controlled lighting than a grading suite.
6 The “Output color space” determines the standard that the processing mode is
If you’re using a Mac display, you’ll need to choose an Output color space based on
mapped to. This should generally be the color space/gamut and gamma of your
your ICC display profile. To find your display profile in your macOS, go to System
computer or grading monitor, or your intended deliverable standard.
Preferences > Displays > Color tab. On newer displays, the profile will usually be
7 If you’re working on a computer monitor, leave the “Output color space” as Display P3. To set the correct “Output color space” for Display P3 in the Project
SDR Rec.709. Settings, disable “Automatic color management,” select “Use separate color space
and gamma” above the Output color space field, and set the left field as P3-D65
8 Click Save to close the Project Settings.
and the right field as sRGB.
Color management is now set up in the project, but you might not see an immediate
change in the viewer. This is because video media adopts the default Rec.709 (scene)
input color space when it is imported into a non-color-managed project. You will need
DaVinci YRGB color management applies to all the clips in a project. If certain clips come
to override the input color space of the clips on the timeline for the color management
from different sources from the rest of the timeline, you can reassign their individual input
to take effect.
color spaces through the media pool’s contextual menu (or the color page clip timeline).
9 In the media pool, open the HQ Transcodes bin.

10 Drag to select all the clips in the pool or press Command-A (macOS) or
Using DaVinci Resolve with Mac Displays
Ctrl-A (Windows).
The macOS internal color management utility, ColorSync, uses metadata to match
11 Right-click any of the selected clips and choose Input Color Space > Blackmagic Design
colors between its applications. As a third-party software, DaVinci Resolve is not
Film Gen 1. This identifies the camera model, data level, and firmware version that
impacted by ColorSync, which is why the videos rendered out of DaVinci Resolve
were used to record the footage in this project.
might look different when viewed in Safari or QuickTime. To avoid this, you
By correctly setting up the input color space of the media, the colors of the timeline can choose to include DaVinci Resolve in ColorSync’s internal matching. Go
clips will shift from the Blackmagic Design log color space to Rec.709 with the to DaVinci Resolve > Preferences > System and in the General category select
standard 2.4 gamma curve. As a result, the clips will appear more vibrant and with Use Mac Display Color Profile for Viewers. This will enable DaVinci Resolve to
more pronounced contrast. use whichever color profile you currently have selected in the macOS Color
preferences, including custom color profiles and calibration software profiles.
Please note that this will only affect the appearance of the footage in the viewers.
In Lesson 10, you’ll find additional instructions on how to correctly render videos
to appear the same across all applications and web browsers.

Maximizing the Dynamic Range 147 148 Lesson 4  Conforming an XML Timeline

 Changing the Output Color Space
TIP  You could use a smart bin to filter clips based on their sources and then set
their input color spaces in batches to save time. One of the most powerful aspects of using a color-managed workflow in DaVinci Resolve
is that you can change the output color space at any time based on your final
delivery requirements.

DaVinci YRGB color management offers a structured, solid foundation for color grading Doing so is particularly helpful when you need to output multiple masters to different
by remapping the starting point of video media (from any number of sources) to a destinations. You might want one master for Rec.709 (broadcast/internet), another for
single, grade-appropriate color standard. Its advanced tone mapping ability means that Rec.2020 (UHD television), and yet another for DCI-P3 (digital cinema). DaVinci Resolve
highlights are gently rolled off, preserving maximum quality. Compare the treatment of the manages the color transformations without the need to regrade the timeline or change
highlights in the reference movie (which underwent standard log-to-Rec.709 conversion) to anything on the color page.
the DaVinci YRGB color management tone remapping.
1 Open Project Settings > Color Management.

2 Click “Automatic color management” to disable it.

The color management options have mostly stayed the same, but you now have a
wider selection of color processing modes and output color spaces to allow for more
precise setup.

3 Set the Output Color Space to P3-D65 ST2084 4000 nits.

This method of color management results in higher-quality visual output, more consistency
in the performance of the color page grading tools, as well as an easier delivery process
in which the project output color space can be remapped to any number of deliverable
standards.

4 Click Save.

When You Don’t Know the Camera or Format The color space is changed, and the viewer reflects the updated results. On a standard
computer monitor, the colors will now appear flat. However, if you had a calibrated
DaVinci YRGB color management operates at its best when you know and indicate
HDR P3-D65 monitor capable of displaying 4000 nit luminance, the clips would look
the correct input color space data. But identifying that data can be tricky when
nearly identical to their appearance on your HD Rec.709 display. If you had graded
the origins of the footage are unknown, or when the color space details were
the media in the timeline, the final colors would be remapped similarly to adhere to
not included during file transfer. You can derive some useful information by
P3-D65 ST2084 standard. This is how you can use color management to effortlessly
examining clip properties, but that will not usually provide information about the
switch between different monitor and deliverable standards when you need to.
camera model or gamma range. You can acquire the most definitive information
by contacting the director of photography or the camera operator directly and
requesting this information.

If all else fails, you can bypass DaVinci YRGB color management altogether and
manually normalize the clips. In such cases, it is still advisable to review your color
management project settings at the start of every project and set your Timeline
Color Space to a common working standard like Rec.709 Gamma 2.4.

Maximizing the Dynamic Range 149 150 Lesson 4  Conforming an XML Timeline

 You can change the gamma range separately from the color space/gamut by selecting
Accurate Color Monitoring in DaVinci Resolve Use Separate Color Space and Gamma above the color space menu. Separating the color
space/gamut and gamma settings gives you further control over the chrominance and
DaVinci Resolve was designed to work with industry-standard calibrated external
luminance processing of your footage. It enables you to indicate gamma ranges that are
displays connected via video output interfaces for critical color evaluation.
not part of the standard preset selection of the color space/gamut menus.
Most computer monitors are incapable of displaying the color gamut and gamma
range required for broadcast and theatrical distribution. Additionally, most
NOTE  You will continue to work on the timeline created in this lesson over the
computer displays have their own color and contrast calibration as determined by
next two lessons. If you would like to verify that your timeline is correct or are
the manufacturer, which is further altered by the operating system’s internal color
uncertain of the accuracy of your conforming, you may import Project 02 – Age of
management. For this reason, their color accuracy cannot be guaranteed upon
Airplanes Trailer COMPLETED.drp into the Project Manager and open Airplanes
delivery, and the resulting video could even shift in appearance when viewed in
- 01 HQ Timeline. If the media appears offline, click the red Relink Media button in
different video players on the same machine.
the upper-left corner of the media pool and specify the location of the Project 02
Ideally, you should use an external monitor and video interface if color accuracy is media on your workstation. You can then use this ungraded, conformed timeline to
important to you. Alternatively, you could use a color calibration probe to analyze complete the next two lessons in this book.
your computer display and generate a LUT that will remap the display to the
correct standard.

5 Open Project Settings > Color Management.

6 Set the Output Color Space back to the default Rec.709 Gamma 2.4.

7 Enable “Automatic color management.”

This is the simplest option for color managing a project. You leave it up to
DaVinci Resolve to do much of the under-the-hood analysis and calibration that will
result in the best-looking images in the viewer and the ideal performance from the
color page tools. If you’re new to color grading, or if your output is mainly web content,
this setting is perfect for you.

8 Click Save.

TIP  If you know in advance that you will deliver content in multiple color gamut
standards, consider starting your workflow at the widest gamut. For example, if
delivering for web (Rec.709 Gamma 2.2), digital cinema projection (DCI-P3), and
HDR broadcast (Rec.2100 ST2084), the best option would be to grade your project
for HDR first. Then, duplicate the project and calibrate the Output Color Space to
DCI-P3. Review the timeline, make the necessary highlight adjustments to complete
and render the cinema grade, and then remap the Output Color Space to Rec.709
for the web deliverable.

Maximizing the Dynamic Range 151 152 Lesson 4  Conforming an XML Timeline

Lesson Review Answers
1 Translation errors are inconsistencies that appear in reconstructed timelines
1 During project migration, what is a translation error?
between applications.
2 How do you designate a video file as an offline reference movie?
2 To designate an offline reference movie, first disable Live Media Preview in the source
3 When loading an XML file, why would you opt to “Ignore file extensions when viewer and activate Offline mode. Any clip you drag from the media pool into the
matching”? source viewer will be associated as a reference clip with the active project timeline.
4 What does File > Reconform from Bins allow you to do? You can also designate video files as reference movies in the contextual menu of the
media storage browser.
5 Where do you activate DaVinci YRGB Color Management?
3 You would choose to ignore file extensions to link to a different media file format
during timeline reconstruction. This is commonly used when switching between offline
and online editing, or vice versa.

4 Reconform from Bins allows you to change the source media of a timeline based on
a bin in the media pool.

5 In Project Settings > Color Management, set Color Science to DaVinci YRGB
Color Managed.

Lesson Review 153 154 Lesson 4  Conforming an XML Timeline

Lesson 5 Understanding Node-Based
Grade Compositing
Mastering the Node-based compositing is different from the layer-based system familiar to many
nonlinear editing (NLE) editors. Unlike layers, in which the visuals are compounded

Node Pipeline
based on their order in the layer stack, nodes process a single RGB signal, modifying it
along the way.

As each node affects the image, it outputs the altered signal via an RGB connection line
until the final RGB data reaches the output node of the Node Editor. This output node
presents the image in its final state to the viewer and determines how the media will look
when rendered.

Nodes are capable of reusing information from previous nodes, substantially reducing
the amount of processing power required to assemble and output a final image. This
capability is particularly useful when working with keys, such as those generated by
The Node Editor is a powerful Time qualifiers and Power Windows.
component of the color page that This lesson takes approximately
140 minutes to complete.
enables you to maintain precise control
over the final appearance of images.
The Anatomy of a Node
Goals
You can use it to separate and target The node graph is read from left to right. The RGB signal that constitutes the image begins
Understanding Node-Based
the different stages of grading while at the leftmost green node—the source input—and travels through the connection lines
Grade Compositing 156
that link the corrector nodes until it reaches the node tree output to the right. The RGB
ensuring an enhanced color output
Recognizing the signal must be uninterrupted for the node grades to be correctly compiled and output.
with minimum quality degradation. Importance of Node Order 157
Additionally, the Node Editor enables Creating Separate
some truly complex secondary grading Processing Pipelines with a
configurations, the foundations of Parallel Mixer Node 167

which you will explore in this lesson. Visualizing Mixer Nodes 170

Compositing Color Effects

with the Layer Mixer Node 175
Standard corrector nodes have two inputs and two outputs.
Lesson Review 185

Inputs Outputs

156 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline

The green triangle and square shapes at the top of either side are the RGB inputs and 4 Label the first node BW.
outputs. These carry the pixel data of the image, which is manipulated within the node
5 Open the RGB Mixer palette, which is in the left palettes.
using the grading tools of the color page. Corrector nodes can accept only one RGB
input but can output multiple RGB signals to other nodes. 6 Select Monochrome (at the bottom of the palette) to convert the image into black
and white.
The blue shapes are the key inputs and outputs. These enable you to transfer the key
data generated by qualifiers and Power Windows (or external mattes) to be used by The RGB Mixer gives you full control over the strength of the individual RGB channels
other nodes. and is often used for tweaking black-and-white images to create an aesthetically
pleasing balance of natural elements such as skin, sky, and trees.
Key data is predominantly represented by a black-and-white matte, although depending
on the tool and highlight mode, it might appear in the viewer as a frame with transparent 7 Drag up the Red Output’s R bar to increase the strength of the red channel in the
values. You used key data in Lesson 1, in which a black-and-white matte was generated by image. This change will brighten the man’s face against the background and create
the Depth Map effect, and in Lesson 3, in which a linear window was shared between two a good contrast.
nodes (Sunlight and Outside). Although the key appeared as a transparent rectangle in
8 Create a second node and label it Sepia.
the Outside node’s frame, enabling Highlight B/W mode in the viewer would prove it was
also a matte. 9 Open the Primaries color wheels palette and drag the Offset color wheel toward
orange–yellow to give the image a sepia tint.

Recognizing the
Importance of Node Order
The RGB signal output of each node carries the full weight of its grade and directly affects
how subsequent nodes interact with it. The following set of exercises demonstrate how
nodes impact one another.

NOTE  The node structures of every exercise in this segment can be found in the 10 Click node 01 (BW) and return to the RGB Mixer palette.
Node demos album of the gallery in the color page. 11 Drag the Blue Output’s B bar up and down to increase and decrease the strength of
the blue channel in the image.

The effect on the final sepia grade shows that the contrast created in the first node

Influence of Color and continues to impact the image even after a second node dramatically changes its
appearance.
Saturation Across Nodes For an even clearer visualization of how node order impacts the grade, you can switch
You can see how a node placed at an early stage of the grading pipeline influences the the order of the two nodes.
following nodes by removing its saturation and observing the results. 12 Click node 02 (Sepia) and press E to extract it from the pipeline.
1 Open the Project 02 – Age of Airplanes Trailer project.

2 Enter the color page.

3 Select clip 05 in the Airplanes – 01 HQ Timeline.

Recognizing the Importance of Node Order 157 158 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline
13 Drag the disconnected node onto the connection line to the left of node 01 until the 3 In the Primaries palette, drag the Lift master wheel to the left until it reaches -0.20.
line turns yellow and a + (plus sign) appears.

TIP  A quick way to switch the order of two nodes is to hold Command (macOS)
or Ctrl (Windows) and drag one node over another.

The clip will lose a great amount of detail in the shadows, and the bottom of the
waveform trace will appear to be crushed against the black point of the scopes graph.

4 Create a new node, and label it Curves restore.

You will attempt to restore the shadow data in this new node.

5 Open the Curves palette and ensure that the YRGB channels are linked.
When reconnected, the image becomes black and white. Although the sepia grade is
6 Click the center of the curve to create a new control point and drag it up to brighten
still performing its function in the first node, it is being completely overwritten by the
the image.
BW node, which is turning the RGB signal monochromatic and sending it to the node
tree output.

14 For a further demonstration of earlier nodes’ continued impact on later nodes, select
node 01 (Sepia) and drag the Offset color wheel toward blue.

Once again, there is a change in the viewer, although there are no visible blue hues
at this stage of the pipeline. This is because you had initially boosted the red channel
output in the BW node’s RGB Mixer, which has made it sensitive to changes in the red
channel. Dragging the Sepia node’s Offset wheel toward a cooler shade then directly
impacts the brightness achieved by the RGB Mixer in the BW node. The resulting image appears distorted. The fine detail in the man’s shirt is lost in
the contrast, and his face becomes patchy and overexposed. This demonstrates
a “destructive” workflow in which the changes made in one node can restrict the
RGB data available to subsequent nodes.
Adjusting Contrast and Luminance on Nodes Thankfully, you cannot truly destroy RGB pixel data in the pipeline. By using the correct
With a clearer understanding of the function of RGB inputs and outputs, you can now part of the curve, for example, you can fully restore the shadows of the original image.
check how adjustments to luminance and contrast can have substantial impact on an
7 Right-click the control point on the curve to remove it.
image’s signal quality.
Let’s first gain a better understanding of how the video signal changes from one node
1 Press Command-Home (macOS) or Ctrl-Home (Windows) to reset the grade in clip 05. to the next.
2 Label the first node Lift crush.
8 Click node 01 in the node pipeline to review the Curves palette histogram trace.

Recognizing the Importance of Node Order 159 160 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline
9 Click node 02 to compare the histogram trace in the same graph. Although you were able to restore the image in this instance and continue using
the previously crushed shadows, you can imagine how more subtle changes to
the brightness and contrast of an image in early nodes can impact the quality of
adjustments made to the shadows and highlights in later nodes.

It’s important to keep in mind the potential of destructive grades. As a rule, balancing,
matching, and secondary grades should come before bold contrast adjustments and
sweeping creative grades. It is far more acceptable to distort and crush data in the
final nodes because no other nodes rely on them for RGB info.
01 Lift crush RGB input histogram 02 Curves restore RGB input histogram

The histogram changes to represent the state of the video signal as it enters the Breaking Rules to Preserve the Video Signal
selected node. When grading, such changes can be extremely useful for determining
where to click on the graph to target specific luminance and chrominance ranges. The In previous chapters, you normalized and balanced images with the intention of

histogram readout in node 02 signifies that most of the data is crushed against the creating a “clean slate” to color grade. However, the proposed grading workflow

lower left of the graph. in the first lesson also came with a word of caution: do not let these steps rigidly
dictate all your grading. Certain scene compositions require a lateral approach
10 Drag the black point of the YRGB curve upward along the left side of the curves graph. that enhances the captured image instead of merely correcting it. Imagine a scene
Stop dragging when you are halfway between the second and third horizontal lines in which a cave explorer hears mysterious growling just as her flashlight goes out.
from the bottom. Would you normalize such footage to the full height of the waveform scope? How
about a night club scene in which the environment and talent are bathed in red
light? Would it need to be white balanced?

As you gain experience with color grading, observe when these rules work in
your favor, and when they work against you. In the following example images,
a timelapse of the night sky was graded using two separate approaches. The
first grade used the established grading rules, while the second took a creative
approach with emphasis on the colors, stars, and tree silhouettes.

The black point of the curve is equivalent to the Lift master wheel, which is why you were
able to retrieve the crushed details in the shadows. By dragging the center of the curve,
you were impacting the gamma range, which targets a very different range of luminance.

TIP  You can set the Curves palette histogram to react to your node
adjustments as you make them. To do so, open the Curves palette options
menu in the upper-right of the palette and choose Histograms > Output.
Normalizing, balancing, contrast Contrast, saturation, red highlights
The histogram now represents the outgoing RGB signal of the node instead
of the input.
With the normalized version, it would be harder to achieve the clean, rich look of
This is a useful feature if you need to consistently reach certain ranges while the second example. The highlights in the Milky Way have been expanded and
grading (such as when matching clips) but bear in mind that it is a processor- flattened, losing too much detail, and the mild preservation of the hill and trees in
intensive setting, and the histogram will no longer represent the active video the foreground was unnecessary, considering how much more dramatic they look
signal as soon as you make your first change. when silhouetted.

Recognizing the Importance of Node Order 161 162 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline
Impact of Dominant Color Grades 8 Finally, reduce the Saturation to 40 to remove the blue vibrancy and end up with a
cold, desaturated image.
on Surrounding Nodes
Another consideration when grading is choosing the order in which to apply color changes
to an image. In this exercise, you will try to create a clip with a distinct blue cast, while
retaining control over the skin tone in a subject’s face.

1 Reset the grade on clip 05.

2 To save time, a Balance node for this clip has already been created for you. Open
the gallery and click the Still Albums icon to reveal a side panel with a list of
available albums.

This look has a strong, purposeful design. It effectively conveys a somber mood or
suggests a different point in time in a nonlinear narrative. However, its impact on the
speaker’s skin tone reduces its effectiveness and could end up tiring the viewer’s eyes.

9 Create a final node (node 3) called Skin Tone.

3 Open the Base grades album.
The man’s face is close in hue to the color of the wall behind him, so using HSL curves
4 Right-click the INT 5 Balance still and choose Apply Grade.
might not be the most effective choice. A qualifier selection would give you a better
5 Create a new serial node called Blue Look (node 02). chance of isolating the skin in this shot.

6 In the Primaries palette, drag the Gain and Gamma wheels toward the blue–cyan 10 Open the Qualifier palette and drag across the man’s face to grab a sample range.
range to cool down the image, and then counteract the blue dominance in the
shadows by dragging the Lift wheel slightly toward red.

7 Use the Contrast and Pivot settings to refine the contrast and brighten the upper
midtones of the image. Aim to create fine shadows on the man’s shirt.

Due to the RGB signal passing through the Blue Look node, the qualifier is forced to
work with a very cold, contrasted version of the man’s skin. This is definitely not an
ideal point in the timeline to be keying or grading skin.

Recognizing the Importance of Node Order 163 164 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline
11 Select the Skin Tone node and press E to extract it from the pipeline. 15 In the viewer, turn off the Highlight mode.

12 Drag it onto the connection line between nodes 01 (Balance) and 02 (Blue Look). 16 Track the motion of his face in the Tracker palette and then return to the start

13 Reset the qualifier on the Skin Tone node and select the skin again. In the Qualifier of the clip.

palette, adjust the HSL and Matte Finesse controls to get the best extraction. Remember 17 In the adjustment controls, raise the Sat value of node 02 (Skin Tone) to 60 and drag
to turn on the Highlight mode in the viewer to best observe the result of the selection. the Offset wheel slightly toward orange.

This time the qualifier gives a much better result.

NOTE  The qualifier is actively influenced by the nodes preceding it. Changing Overall, the resulting grade is much more acceptable. You were able to derive a clean
the hue or brightness of an earlier node at any point of the grading workflow qualifier key for the skin tone and adjust it to act as a chromatic contrast to the blue
will impact the selection (and quality) of the qualifier. grade. However, because Blue Look is the final node to impact the image before the
node tree output, you know that the original skin tone hues and luminance range will
always be tinted blue no matter how much you grade the Skin Tone node.
14 Use the Window palette to isolate the selection to the man’s face.

This exercise demonstrates how you might determine the placement of nodes based on
your RGB needs. For example, when using a qualifier, you almost always want to process
the ungraded or balanced version of the image, free of any severe color or contrast impact.

In the upcoming exercises, you’ll see examples of how you can derive primary and
secondary grades from the same point in the node pipeline and recombine them with the
help of mixer nodes.

Recognizing the Importance of Node Order 165 166 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline
Creating Separate
Processing Pipelines with
a Parallel Mixer Node
Mixer nodes allow you to combine multiple nodes into a single RGB output. The two mixer
node types, parallel and layer, have identical structures but process the incoming node
data differently.
In the viewer, you should notice only a subtle change in the skin tone. In the linear
The parallel mixer combines grades by blending them to an equal degree. The result
version of the grade, the Blue Look node casts a blue veneer over the frame, resulting
appears similar to working on a linear node pipeline with the main difference being that
in a slightly green tint to the skin where the blue combined with the warmer tones.
nodes can extract RGB data from the same point in the node tree.
This is particularly evident in the shadows under the man’s chin and the highlights on
1 In the Airplanes – 01 HQ Timeline, select clip 05. the left side of his face. In the mixer version of the grade, this blue/green tint has been
bypassed, resulting in neutral shadows and a more natural skin tone. If the skin tone
You will continue to work with the grade you constructed in the previous exercise.
still appears too dramatic in your clip, you can select the Skin Tone node and reduce
This time, the Blue Look and Skin Tone nodes will be placed alongside one another for
the Sat value in the Primaries palette or drag the Offset color wheel control point
optimal routing of the RGB signal between them.
closer to the center.
2 Right-click node 03 (Blue Look) and choose Add Node > Add Parallel or press Option-P
(macOS) or Alt-P (Windows) to add a parallel mixer node.

A new corrector node (node 04) is created, as well as a parallel mixer node that
combines the RGB outputs of the two nodes before it.

3 To reuse the qualifier selection of the skin tone, you can select node 02 (Skin Tone) and
press Command-C (macOS) or Ctrl-C (Windows) to copy the node data.

4 Select node 04, and press Command-V (macOS) or Ctrl-V (Windows) to paste the Skin
Tone data.

5 With the qualifier copied, you can delete the old node 02 (Skin Tone) by selecting it and
pressing the Delete or Backspace key.

You now have a node structure in which both the Blue Look and Skin Tone nodes are
using the same RGB data from the optimal Balance node. Their respective grades are
combined in the parallel mixer node, which sends a single RGB connection to the node Skin tone adjustment using linear nodes (left)
and mixer nodes (right)
tree output.

The parallel mixer is perfect for organic or natural-looking adjustments such as when
performing skin tone correction or when subtly pushing colors into a scene based on
tonal range (i.e., creating warm shadows or magenta highlights).

Creating Separate Processing Pipelines with a Parallel Mixer Node 167 168 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline
Morphing Mixer Nodes The face now blends much more naturally into the blue background node. However,
note that the result is not identical to that of the parallel mixer version. If you were to
An alternative to the parallel mixer is the layer mixer node. Over the next few exercises, compare the two grades, you would see that there is less contrast in the layer mixer
you will explore the differences between the two in more detail. In the meantime, you will composite, as evidenced by the less pronounced highlights on the side of the man’s
morph the current clip’s parallel mixer into a layer mixer node to see the impact it will have face. This is neither a good thing nor a bad thing; it merely demonstrates that the two
on the image. mixers have different methods of combining nodes.

1 Select clip 05 in the Airplanes – 01 HQ Timeline.

2 In the Node Editor, right-click the parallel mixer node and choose “Morph into Layer After switching between the two nodes and seeing how differently they affect an image,
let’s take a closer look at how these mixers operate. Understanding their operations will
Mixer Node.”
help you determine when to choose one mixer over another.

Visualizing Mixer Nodes

A simple way to familiarize yourself with how mixers operate is to create a basic RGB
graphic setup that will clearly display the relationship between the nodes.

First, you will need a plain grayscale background.

1 Enter the edit page.

2 Open the Effects Library by clicking the icon in the interface toolbar at the top
of the page.

This change has a jarring effect on the image. The skin tone now appears far less 3 Inside Toolbox > Generators, locate the Grey Scale generator.
realistic, and the edge around the face is harsh and solid. This is because node 03 (Skin
Tone) is being treated as an RGB image layer. The keyed face has 100% opacity and is
overlaid onto the node 02 (Blue Look) image underneath.

In its current state, the grade is unusable. However, by adjusting the opacity of the
Skin Tone layer, you can still blend it into the Blue Look layer.

3 Select node 03 (Skin Tone).

4 In the central palettes, open the Key palette.

5 Enter the Key Output Gain as 0.300 to reduce the opacity of the skin tone node.

Creating Separate Processing Pipelines with a Parallel Mixer Node 169 170 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline
4 Drag the Grey Scale generator to the end of the timeline. 11 Label the nodes (from top to bottom) Red, Green, and Blue.

12 Select the Blue node at the bottom of the stack.

13 In the central palettes, open the Window palette, and click the circle button to create a
circular window.

14 Open the RGB Mixer palette and make the circle blue by dragging up the B bar of the
Blue Output.

15 Move the circle window to the lower right of the viewer. Your goal is to create three
To work on the generator in the color page, you must first transform it into a intersecting circles (red, green, and blue).
compound clip so that it can take on video properties.

5 In the timeline, right-click the generator and choose New Compound Clip.

6 Name the compound clip Grey Scale.

7 Enter the color page.

8 With the Grey Scale clip (clip 12) selected, create a new serial node.

9 Right-click node 02 and choose Add Node > Add Layer or press Option-L (macOS)
or Alt-L (Windows) to add a layer mixer node.

10 With node 02 still selected, create another layer node to produce a stack of three 16 Select the Green node and create a circle window in it.
layer nodes.
17 In the RGB Mixer palette, make the circle green by dragging up the G bar of the
Green Output.

Visualizing Mixer Nodes 171 172 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline

18 Move the Green node window to the lower left of the viewer. 22 To remove the color blending, return to the Composite Mode submenu and

19 Finally, create a red circle in the Red node. Turn it red using the RGB Mixer and move choose Normal.

it to the top. Next, you’ll change the order of the node layers.

23 Move your mouse pointer over the connection line between the Red node and the
layer mixer until you see a blue highlight. Drag the connection to the bottom input of
the layer mixer to change the Red node order and disconnect the Blue node from the
layer mixer.

24 Drag the RGB output of the Blue node to the top input of the layer mixer.

The result demonstrates how nodes interact when combined in a layer mixer node.
Their behaviors are reminiscent of layer-based systems in which the upmost RGB input
of the layer mixer constitutes the lowest layer and is compounded by each subsequent
RGB input. The default status of the nodes is to have full opacity until a Power Window,
qualifier, or other secondary tool introduces transparency.

20 Right-click the layer mixer node and hover your mouse pointer over the blending
The red circle now overlaps the green and blue. This further demonstrates how the
options in the Composite Mode submenu.
RGB input order in the mixer node works. Additionally, it emphasizes that the physical
location of the nodes in the Node Editor has no impact on the grade and the final
TIP  If you do not see a preview of the blending options in the viewer while results in the viewer.
you are hovering over them, go to the gallery panel options menu and enable
25 To compare the interaction of the color circles in the parallel mixer, right-click the layer
Live Preview.
mixer node and choose Morph into Parallel Node.

Doing so allows you to preview how the colors of the nodes interact under the
different hue and luminance blending methods. Note that all the top nodes are
blended into the bottom layer (Red), which remains at full opacity.

21 Select Lighten to apply the composite mode.

This operation changes the behavior of the three circles. Instead of displaying the
layers at full opacity, it blends them equally into one another.

Visualizing Mixer Nodes 173 174 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline

 5 In the upper-left corner of the viewer, click the Image Wipe icon to compare the
NOTE  By default, the RGB Mixer preserves image luminance, which results in current clip to the one in the reference video.
a neutral gray in the area where the three circles intersect. Deselect Preserve
Luminance in the RGB Mixer palette (in all three nodes) for the channels to
compound their signal strength, resulting in pure white where the three
channels overlap.

The composite blending options in layer mixer nodes can produce very dynamic looks.
You can use them to emphasize certain areas of a scene, imitate lighting effects, or even to
compile graphic design elements.

Compositing Color Effects

with the Layer Mixer Node You have several ways of approaching this secondary grade. You could use HSL curves
or the qualifier, together with the RGB mixer, color wheels, or custom curves. When
In this exercise, you will use a layer mixer to construct an image that has several secondary confronted with a specific grade problem, it is common to cycle through several
grading needs. Unlike the interview example, the focus is not on seamlessly blending the options until you find the optimal grading solution. In this instance, you will use a
colors of the image into each other but to work on each distinct element separately. combination of techniques, including the 3D qualifier and custom curves.
1 Select clip 08 in the Airplanes – 01 HQ Timeline. 6 In the Gallery panel, from the Base grades album, apply the 1.8.1 Balance still to
In the previous lesson, the offline reference clip indicated that the water in this shot normalize and balance clip 08.
needed to be blue. 7 Create a second node and label it Blue Water. You will use this node to turn the image
2 In the viewer, drag the playhead closer to the end of the clip to better see the plane blue with a focus on getting the correct hue in the water.
against the water. 8 In the Primaries palette, drag the Hue adjustment control (20.00) until the water
3 The end of clip 08 is in mid-dissolve with clip 09. To disable transitions and effects turns blue.
that are on the edit page timeline, click the Unmix button in the lower-left corner of 9 Create contrast in the image using the Y channel of the custom Curves palette. Aim to
the viewer. make the shadow of the plane the darkest element in the frame and ensure that the
sky reflected in the water in the top half of the frame stands out against the rest of
the water.

4 To bring up the reference video in the color page, right-click the viewer and select NOTE  Dragging down the lower midtones of a curve and dragging up the
Reference Mode > Offline. Doing so will adjust the Image Wipe mode to use the upper midtones will always increase contrast in an image. In the industry, this
is known as an S-curve, and it is utilized both during corrective workflows and
reference clip associated with the timeline instead of the gallery stills.
during creative grading.

Compositing Color Effects with the Layer Mixer Node 175 176 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline
10 Drag the Gain color wheel to neutralize the clouds reflected in the water. Bear in mind 14 In the viewer, drag the qualifier across the green water to make a selection. Start with
that you have just rotated the hues in the palette, so you will need to drag toward a broad stroke that covers a good range of green hues
green to add blue to the image highlights.

11 If needed, reduce the saturation until the water begins to look more natural to the eye.

15 Enable Highlight mode in the viewer and change it to B/W mode to review the result of
the initial selection.

To get a more accurate result, you will add more strokes to build a reliable color
Note that the plane will also be affected by these grade changes. This is acceptable
reference.
because in subsequent layer nodes you will extract the plane and grade it separately.
16 Drag the playhead through the clip and stop when you see areas with insufficiently
12 Press Option-L (macOS) or Alt-L (Windows) to add a layer mixer and a new node
selected water.
(node 04). Label the new node Yellow Plane.
17 Select Picker Add in the Qualifier palette.
13 Open the Qualifier palette and, in the upper-right corner, change the mode from
HSL to 3D.

18 Drag in the viewer to add more strokes.

This is the recommended qualifier mode for chroma key work because of its ability Before After

to intuitively predict hue and shadow fluctuations found on green screens. It even
features a despill parameter for removing chroma spill from performers.

Compositing Color Effects with the Layer Mixer Node 177 178 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline
 Every time you create a stroke, a swatch is placed in the 3D qualifier list to document 24 Drag the Gain color wheel toward orange if you wish to tone down the plane’s
the hues that are being sampled for the key. lemon hue.

25 Create an S-curve in the Y channel of the custom Curves palette to enhance the
contrast and detail on the plane.

Using Key Inputs and Outputs to

Share Matte Data Across Nodes
The key inputs and outputs allow you to reuse node mattes and further adjust them in the
receiving node.

In this blue water exercise, you have not yet addressed a remaining component of the
19 When finished, adjust the Matte Finesse controls to cover up any remaining
composite: the flamingos at the end of the clip. In the reference video, the flamingos in
unselected areas.
the upper-right corner of the shot are graded pink. In the current grade, the birds look
20 In the Qualifier palette, click the Invert button to focus the selection on the plane desaturated and flat. Because you have already keyed-out the green water in the Yellow
instead of the water. Plane node, it will be enough to reuse its key data and add a Power Window to isolate the
focus onto the birds in the corner.

1 In clip 08, click the Yellow Plane node.

2 Press Option-L (macOS) or Alt-L (Windows) to create a new layer node, and label it
Flamingos.

21 In the viewer, disable the Highlight mode.

22 In the Qualifier palette, to the right of the Invert button, deselect Show Paths to hide
the selection lines.

You have successfully extracted the plane and now have full control over its
RGB values.

23 In the adjustment controls of the Primaries palette, decrease the saturation (40.00) of
the plane until it looks more natural.

Compositing Color Effects with the Layer Mixer Node 179 180 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline
3 To reuse the matte data of the keyed Yellow Plane node, drag the key output square of The birds appear in the shot only toward the end, so you will perform a rudimentary
the Yellow Plane node toward the key input triangle of the Flamingos node. animation of the window across the screen as the shot progresses. A simple way to
animate windows in the color page is by using the Frame mode of the Tracker palette.

7 Open the Tracker palette and switch the mode to Frame.

8 Click the diamond-shape in the center of the keyframe controls in the upper-right
corner of the Tracker graph.

Doing so places a keyframe for the current position of the curve window.

9 Drag the playhead left until the birds are offscreen, and then drag the curve window
4 Scrub to the end of the video until you see the area that the flamingos occupy in
in their direction outside the viewer. The Tracker graph automatically places a second
the frame.
keyframe, and an animation is generated between the two.
To isolate the matte to include just the birds, you will use a curve window.

5 Open the Window palette and click the Curve window button. Label it
Flamingos Matte.

6 Click around the perimeter of the flamingos in the image. Remember to click the first
point again as the final step to close the loop and generate a shape.

The Tracker graph reveals some additional frames at the end of the clip. This is the
content of the clip used in the transition with clip 09.

10 Drag the playhead to the end of the tracker graph and further refine the shape and
placement of the window.

Finally, there is also a default frame in the Tracker graph at the start of the clip.

11 Use the keyframe controls to jump to the start of the clip and move the window
offscreen.

12 Scrub through the clip timeline to ensure that the window is following the
birds’ movement.

You can now make the necessary grade adjustments to enhance the birds’ pink color.

13 Drag the Gain master wheel left to darken the birds slightly.

Compositing Color Effects with the Layer Mixer Node 181 182 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline
14 Drag the Gain color wheel toward magenta to turn the birds pink. 16 With all the nodes enabled, right-click any selected node and choose Create
Compound Node.

This step is an effective organizational tool when working on clips with large node
tree structures. And you can still disable the compound node to bypass the color
composites without affecting the Balance node.

To simplify your pipeline and prepare it for further grading nodes, you can combine all You also still have access to the original layer mixer structure within the
the layer mixer nodes into a single compound node. compound node.

15 Drag in the Node Editor to select all the nodes except the Balance node. 17 Right-click and choose Show Compound Node.

18 To navigate back to the main Node Editor, click Project 02 – Age of Airplanes Trailer in
the path control at the bottom of the panel.

19 If you want to bring back the original node structure of the compound node, right-click
it and choose Decompose Compound Node.

TIP  Another method for decluttering the Node Editor is to hide node thumbnails.
In the upper-right corner of the Node Editor, click the options menu and deselect
Show Thumbnails. Doing so will collapse the nodes to just their labels, numbers,
and palette icons.

The exercises in this lesson gave you an overview of the potential of the Node Editor.
Although you’ve practiced a variety of possible workflows, there is ultimately no single
correct way to utilize nodes when grading. Continue to practice using nodes for more
advanced grading, and you will soon arrive at your own preferred style. Above all, aim for
You now can press Command-D (macOS) or Ctrl-D (Windows) to quickly disable and
the dual goals of workflow efficiency and the preservation of image quality.
evaluate the selected nodes without affecting the Balance node.

Compositing Color Effects with the Layer Mixer Node 183 184 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline
 Answers
Check Your Work
1 No. A corrector node can have only a single RGB input, though it can have multiple
When you’ve completed these lessons, you can open Project 02 – Age of RGB (and key) outputs.
Airplanes Trailer COMPLETED.drp to compare your work with the finished
2 The blue symbols represent the key input and key output.
version of this timeline, Airplanes - 03 HQ Timeline COMPLETED. If the media
appears offline, click the red Relink Media button in the upper-left corner of the 3 True. A node output (both RGB and key) can be connected to any other input further
media pool and specify the location of the Project 02 media on your workstation. down the pipeline, as well as to other nodes in a mixer stack.

4 Key Output Gain affects the opacity of a selected node.

5 True. Right-click a mixer node to add more inputs or drag a connection line over a
mixer node to automatically generate a new input.

Lesson Review
1 Can a corrector node have multiple RGB inputs?

2 What are the blue symbols on either side of a node?

3 True or false? A node key can be connected to the input of a node that is in the same
parallel or layer mixer stack.

4 In the Key palette, what does the Key Output Gain affect?

5 True or false? You can add additional RGB inputs to mixer nodes.

Lesson Review 185 186 Lesson 5  Mastering the Node Pipeline

Lesson 6 Copying Grades from
Clips and Stills
Managing Grades When copying grade data across clips or stills, you copy the entire node pipeline of the
original clip. This pipeline includes all primary grading adjustments, secondary selections,

Across Clips and

mixers, and compound nodes. Because secondary selections tend to be specific to the clip
they were generated on, you must double-check and adjust them before continuing with
your grade.

Timelines
In the previous lesson, you applied a grade from a still in the gallery. You can perform the
same action using clips in the timeline.

1 Open the Project 02 - Age of Airplanes Trailer.

2 Enter the color page.

3 In the Airplanes - 01 HQ Timeline, selected clip 06. Selected clips are always the target
Grading a film or video project requires Time when copying grading data.
a considerable level of attention to This lesson takes approximately
4 Right-click clip 05 and choose Apply Grade.
detail and the use of a variety of 90 minutes to complete.
The node pipeline from the clip 05 interview clip is copied to the selected clip 06,
tools throughout both primary and Goals overwriting any previous nodes. The clip-specific face tracking in the Skin Tone node
secondary stages. However, once a look was not migrated, giving you the opportunity to perform a track of the new face
Copying Grades from
is established, a project often makes Clips and Stills 188 motion in clip 06. However, if you ever want to copy track data across clips, in the
repeated use of existing grades that Tracker palette options menu, you can choose Copy Track Data and Paste Track Data as
Working with Local Versions 189
propagate throughout the timeline. An you navigate from the source node to the target node.
Appending Grades and Nodes 194
obvious example of this is when you’re Another useful tip when copying grades between clips and stills is to use your middle
Saving Grades for Other Projects 198
working on multiple clips that came mouse button, if available.
from the same source file, or clips used Copying Timeline Grades
Using ColorTrace 203 5 Select clip 04.
from different takes of the same scene.
Copying Grades Using the 6 In the gallery, open the Base grades album.
DaVinci Resolve 18 features a wide variety Timelines Album 209
7 Middle-click the 1.4.1. Balance still.
of workflows that help reproduce and Self-Guided Exercise 210
This simple motion transfers the still’s balance grade to clip 04.
refine grades across clips. These include Lesson Review 211
a straightforward copy and paste,
extraction of individual nodes for isolated In the next exercise, you will build upon the grade in clip 04 and start to experiment with
adjustments, and even the migration different looks using local grade versions.

of grades across whole timelines. In

this lesson, you’ll examine the workflows
that will enable you to efficiently copy
and manage grades within a single clip,
timeline, project, and beyond.

188 Lesson 6  Managing Grades Across Clips and Timelines

Working with Local Versions 4 Open the Curves palette. To create a cross-process look, you will want to push
opposing complementary colors into the image highlights and shadows. This tends to

Versions enable you to associate multiple grades with a single clip in a timeline. You result in a retro film camera look.
can use versions to preserve a grade at earlier stages of the grading process or when 5 Click the YRGB link to ungang the channels.
creating a series of shot-grading options to share with a creative supervisor for selection
6 Isolate the blue channel and drag the black point up to turn the shadows blue. Then
and approval. Each version remains intact and can be recalled when needed. Versions
drag the white point down to turn the highlights yellow.
are easily accessible in the contextual menu of each clip and can be created, deleted,
bypassed, and switched between local and remote. 7 Isolate the red channel, create a new control point in the upper midtones, and drag
upward to add a slight red tint to the highlights and midtones.
In this exercise, you will begin by creating a new grade on a clip, after which you’ll apply
preexisting grades from the gallery to quickly build a set of local versions.

1 In the Airplanes - 01 HQ Timeline, continue to work on clip 04.

2 For a better representation of the clip’s content, drag the playhead to the middle of the
clip where the plane is in view.

8 Create a new serial node 03 and label it Contrast.

9 In the Primaries palette, increase contrast by darkening the shadows using the Lift
master wheel (-0.02).

10 In the adjustment controls at the top, increase midtone detail (50.00) to sharpen the
detail in the underwater reefs.

You have now successfully created the first look for this shot. By default, every clip
begins as Local Version 1. You can rename clip versions to identify a specific look or
purpose of a grade.

11 In the timeline, right-click the clip 04 thumbnail, and under Local Versions, choose
Version 1 > Rename.
3 Create a second node and label it Cross Process. 12 In the Version Name dialog, enter the name Cross process and click OK.

TIP  Double-click repeatedly under a clip thumbnail to change the metadata on

display. You can opt to see the media codec, clip name, or version label (local
version 1 will always appear blank).

Working with Local Versions 189 190 Lesson 6  Managing Grades Across Clips and Timelines
 You will apply several grades to this clip, each of which will be designated as a new local 19 In the Clip 04 grades album, middle-click the 1.4.4. Navy blue still to apply the grade.
version. To save time, you will use the preexisting grades in the Clip 04 grades album
Having created a series of versions, you can now compare them in the viewer using the
of the gallery.
split-screen display.
13 Right-click clip 04 and choose Local Versions > Create New Version.
20 In the upper-left corner of the viewer, between the Image Wipe and Highlight buttons,
click the Split Screen button.

21 In the upper-right corner of the viewer, make sure Version is selected.

Enter the name Bleach bypass.

14 Reset the cross-process grade by choosing Color > Reset > All Grades and Nodes or
press Command-Home (macOS) or Ctrl-Home (Windows).

This is a necessary step if you want to start with an ungraded clip every time you
design a new look. Otherwise, you can continue tweaking the image using the
previous grade’s settings.

15 In the Clip 04 grades album, middle-click the 1.4.2. Bleach bypass still to apply
the grade.

The split-screen view is enabled, displaying all four grades in a grid.

TIP  When you hover over stills in the gallery, a preview of their grades will
appear over the clip in the viewer. To disable or change Live Preview behavior, Comparing the versions might be difficult now because they have been scaled down
click the three-dot (ellipsis) options menu in the upper-right corner of the to fit the small viewer window. You can resize the viewer for full-screen playback and
gallery. Select Live Preview to disable it or move your mouse pointer over Hover optimal viewing.
Scrub Preview to choose if the image will scrub in the Thumbnail and Viewer,
22 Choose Workspace > Viewer Mode > Cinema Viewer or press Command-F (macOS) or
Thumbnail only, or neither.
Ctrl-F (Windows).

16 To make another version, right-click clip 04 again and choose Local Versions > Create
New Version. Enter the name Simple pop.

You could reset the grade again, but because you are simply overwriting the current
grade with the still grade, that won’t be necessary.

17 In the Clip 04 grades album, middle-click the 1.4.3. Simple Pop still to apply the grade.

18 Right-click clip 04 and choose Local Versions > Create New Version. Enter the name
Navy blue.

TIP  You can also press Command-Y (macOS) or Ctrl-Y (Windows) to create a
new version in a clip.

Working with Local Versions 191 192 Lesson 6  Managing Grades Across Clips and Timelines
 In the next few exercises, you will apply the cross-process look to other clips in
the timeline.
Appending Grades and Nodes
23 In the upper-left corner of the split-screen view, double-click the “Cross process” In the previous exercise, you applied still grades to a clip by choosing the Apply Grade
version to select it. contextual menu option or by pressing the middle button of your mouse. Doing so
overwrites the existing grade on a clip and replaces it with the entire node tree of the
24 Press Esc to exit the full-screen mode.
copied grade. At times, you will want to add the node tree after a clip has undergone
25 Right-click in the viewer and choose Split Screen > On/Off to disable the split-screen balancing or matching or apply just portions of a node tree.
view or click the Split Screen button in the upper-left corner of the viewer.
The following exercises show you how to be selective when copying grades.

1 Select clip 02 on the Airplanes – 01 HQ Timeline. You will apply the previously created
cross-process grade to this clip.
TIP  Press Command-B or Command-N (macOS) or Ctrl-B or Ctrl-N (Windows) to
cycle through the versions of a clip in the viewer.

Remote Versions
In the contextual menu, under the Local Versions options, you might have noticed
a similar section for Remote Versions. This area offers another method of retaining
multiple grades in a clip.

Remote versions are different from local versions in two ways: first, when a clip is
graded within a remote version, its grade affects all other timeline clips derived
from the same source media; second, the grade appears on all subsequent uses of
the source clip in all other timelines of the active project (provided that the clips in
those timelines are also set to use remote versions).

One popular application for remote version grading is when working with Clip 02 is currently unbalanced with a strong yellow tint. You could normalize and
master timelines. After importing the footage from a shoot, you can place all balance it, but that would not necessarily optimize it for the cross-process grade.
the media on a remote timeline and apply preliminary grades to the clips. When As you learned in Lesson 2, clips must be matched to share grade data accurately.
you eventually create a cut in the edit page or import the editor’s timeline, those Without matching, grading tools will behave less predictably, and the differences
remote grades will automatically transfer to the new remote timeline, saving between the clips will be preserved even if the same creative grades are applied.
you time with the grade. You can then use the clip timeline’s contextual menu to
To save time, a match grade for this clip has already been created for you.
Copy Remote Grades to Local and continue to grade locally without affecting the
master timeline. 2 Open the Base grades album and apply the 1.2.1. Match still to the clip. To match clip
04 more closely, the clip has been brightened and cooled.
In short, local-version grades are applied on a timeline basis, whereas remote
versions are applied on a project basis. 3 Open the Clip 04 grades album.

A cross-process grade is already prepared and stored in the gallery. If you directly apply
the cross-process still from the gallery, it will overwrite the Match node you just applied
to the clip. Instead, you will append the cross-process grade to the current node graph.

Working with Local Versions 193 194 Lesson 6  Managing Grades Across Clips and Timelines
4 Right-click the 1.4.1 Cross process still and choose Append Node Graph. Copying Individual Nodes from a Still
So far, you’ve used all the grading data stored within the stills. You copied and appended
an entire node pipeline to the Node Editor and tweaked the nodes based on the
clips’ needs.

However, you also have access to a still’s node graph while it is still in the gallery, as well as
to a clip’s node graph while it is still in the timeline. This allows you to apply very specific
adjustments from a saved or existing grade.

1 Select clip 03 on the Airplanes – 01 HQ Timeline.

TIP  You can also drag a still from the gallery onto a connection line in the node
graph to append it to an existing grade.

Clip 02 now has its original Match node followed by the Cross Process pipeline.
However, the grade still does not look right. By appending the grade, you added all the
nodes from the original cross-process grade, including the original Balance node that
was created specifically for clip 04. That node does not work in the context of clip 02
and should be deleted.

5 Select node 02 (Balance) and press the Delete or Backspace key.

This clip looks relatively neutral but is distinctly different from the starting looks of
clips 02 and 04. As in the previous exercise, you will apply a match still to prepare it
for the cross-process look.

2 Open the Base grades album and apply the 1.3.1. Match and Contrast still to the clip.

Doing so significantly alters the look of the clip, but it is vital for ensuring a good base
You now have a clean cross-process look on the second airplane shot that more closely for the incoming grade. The Match node is there to mimic the brightness and coolness
resembles the one in clip 04. Next, you’ll apply this same look to a third shot but of clip 04, while the Contrast node addresses the stark difference in location and shot
without the Balance or Contrast nodes. angle to match the final luminance ranges of clips 02 and 04 more closely.

You can now proceed to apply the cross-process grade. Because the clip is balanced
TIP  Window tracking data is reset when applying grades from stills in the and already has correct contrast, you need only transfer the Cross Process node itself.
gallery, which allows you to run new tracks based on the unique content of
each clip. However, when appending nodes, window tracking data is retained.

Appending Grades and Nodes 195 196 Lesson 6  Managing Grades Across Clips and Timelines
3 Open the Clip 04 grades album, right-click the 1.4.1 Cross process still, and choose
Display Node Graph. Shared Nodes
In this exercise, you copied the same cross-process look across three clips while
retaining their individual balance and contrast adjustments. Should you decide
to tweak the creative look of the sequence, you might find the task of copying
the grade across the clips very time-consuming. Shared nodes are a grading
optimization function that allows you to link and lock a single node across
multiple clips.

To turn a standard corrector node into a shared node, right-click the node and
choose Save as Shared Node. Two blue arrows indicate the node’s new status and
a lock symbol in the lower-right corner prevents unwanted changes from being
made to the grade. Label shared nodes the same way you would regular nodes.
When you right-click and choose Add Node in the Node Editor of any clip in the
current project, you will now see the shared node at the bottom of the node list.

This method allows you to quickly migrate grades between

clips, and even make universal tweaks by disabling Lock
Node in the shared node’s contextual menu. Note that
The node graph appears in a separate window with the node pipeline of the grade as it because the undo function is stacked per clip in the color
appeared in the Node Editor when the still was generated. To the right of the window, page, changes to individual shared nodes cannot
you can choose to isolate and apply only the color or sizing adjustments (PTZR: pan, be undone.
tilt, zoom, rotation) of the entire clip. Tabs at the top allow you to switch to a node-
based refinement of the parameters that will be included when copying node data.

4 From the still’s node graph window, drag node 02 (Cross Process) to the Node Editor

Saving Grades for Other Projects

of clip 03 and position it over the connection line between node 01 (Match) and
node 02 (Contrast).

The stills contained in the gallery albums of the color page will ordinarily be accessible only
in the active project. A different kind of gallery album, the PowerGrade album, makes stills
accessible to all other projects generated by the user in the same project library.

1 In the Still Albums list of the gallery, open the Clip 04 grades album.
A + (plus sign) will appear over the line to signify that you can release the mouse 2 Hold Command (macOS) or Ctrl (Windows) and drag the 1.4.1. Bleach bypass still to
button and attach the Cross Process node between Match and Contrast nodes. the PowerGrade 1 album near the bottom of the album list.
5 In the still’s node graph window, click Close.
TIP  Dragging stills between albums moves them, meaning that the source
Having access to the node structure of every still facilitates cleaner, more precise copying album will no longer contain the original still. Holding Command (macOS) or
workflows. You can separate the primary balance and match nodes from the contrast and Ctrl (Windows) while dragging copies stills to the destination album, leaving a
creative-look nodes and copy only what is necessary for every new clip grade. As with all copy of the original in the source album.
grading, you should tweak and refine the grades to ensure maximum visual quality and
color consistency.

Appending Grades and Nodes 197 198 Lesson 6  Managing Grades Across Clips and Timelines
3 Click the PowerGrade 1 album to view its contents. A copy of the Bleach bypass still 5 In the lower half of the full Gallery window, select the PowerGrade 1 album.
will now appear in the PowerGrade 1 album of all projects you create in the same 6 In the DaVinci Resolve Looks list at the top, select the Skin album and drag the
project library. Diffused still into the PowerGrade 1 album in the Project Stills window below.
The Gallery panel also has additional features in its expanded version.

4 In the upper-right corner of the gallery, click the Gallery View button.

A separate window opens, displaying the full contents of the gallery.

You’ve now added one of the preset stills to the gallery and will be able to apply it to
a clip in the timeline. Because you added it to a PowerGrade album, this still will be
accessible to all other projects you create in the current project library.

7 Close the Gallery View window.

8 Select clip 07 in Airplanes – 01 HQ Timeline.

9 Open the Base grades album and apply the 1.7.1. Balance still to the clip.

10 Open the PowerGrade 1 album and append the Diffused still to the clip.

The Stills panel in the upper left features a collection of DaVinci Resolve looks and
provides access to stills from other projects and project libraries. The Group Stills
panel in the upper left displays the contents of the selected project’s gallery.

The bottom of the window shows the current project’s gallery, and to the left of it is the
Project Memories panel in which you can designate frequently used stills to a separate
panel and assign shortcuts to them.

TIP  To save a still as a memory, drag it from the gallery onto one of the
memory slots. You can use DaVinci Resolve > Keyboard Customization to assign
keyboard shortcuts to the memories. When saving memories, use numbers
that correspond to the letter of the memory as expressed numerically. For
example, memory B will have the shortcut Option-2 (macOS) or Alt-2 (Windows).

Saving Grades for Other Projects 199 200 Lesson 6  Managing Grades Across Clips and Timelines
 14 Open a file browser on your computer and locate the two files.
TIP  You can double-click a PowerGrade still to append the grade to a selected
clip on the timeline. Middle-clicking will apply the grade, just like with regular
album stills.

Outside of using project libraries and PowerGrade albums, you can also share grades
across different workstations by exporting them from the gallery.

11 In the gallery, open the Clip 04 grades album and right-click the
1.4.1. Cross process still.

12 In the contextual menu, choose Export.

You can share the DPX file as you would any regular image across applications that
support the format. The DRX file is a DaVinci Resolve exchange file used to carry
the grading data of a shot and can only be used together with the DPX image file.
To import a still grade into DaVinci Resolve, both files must be in the same folder or
directory.

Let’s import a grade that was created for one of the clips on the timeline.

15 Return to the color page, and in the gallery, open the PowerGrade 1 album.

16 Right-click in the Gallery panel and choose Import.

17 In the file browser, locate the BMD 18 CC – Project 02 folder and navigate to
Other > Stills.

18 Select Punchy film.dpx and click Import.

Note that you only need to import the single DPX file. The DRX file is bound to the DPX
The still’s visual and grading information is exported and contained in two files. The file, and its grading data will be included upon import.
DPX file is a high-quality image format used for comparison and review. The DRX file 19 Apply the Punchy film still grade to clip 09 (HAWAIIAN_LANDING.mov) in
contains the node tree and grading data. You need both files to migrate stills with
the timeline.
grade information.

NOTE  Selecting Export with Display LUT will export the DPX and DRX files in a
format that is supported by monitoring devices. You can upload these files to
camera viewers or monitor displays.

13 Indicate a location on your workstation, create a new subfolder for the two files, and
click Export.

Saving Grades for Other Projects 201 202 Lesson 6  Managing Grades Across Clips and Timelines
Here are some additional stills options that colorists employ for organizational and 3 Navigate to the Project 02 – Age of Airplanes Trailer folder, open the XML subfolder,
practical purposes: and select Airplanes – 02 Color Trace.xml. Click Open to import it.

— Right-click in the viewer and choose Grab All Stills. Doing so will generate a still for 4 In the Load XML window, deselect the option to “Automatically import source clips into
each clip in the timeline (either from the first or middle frame) and place them in the the media pool” and click OK.
gallery. Colorists use this option to keep track of their grade process over time (day 1 A pop-up window will prompt you to indicate the bins where the timeline’s media
album, day 2 album, and so on) or to separate the stills based on passes (balance pass are contained.
album, match pass album, secondary pass album, and so on).
5 Click the disclosure arrows to expand the bin structure and deselect the LQ
— Right-click in the gallery and choose One Still Per Scene. This choice will restrict
Transcodes bin to ensure that the media is linked only to the high-quality versions of
the number of stills you generate from any given clip to a single still. This option is
popular among colorists who frequently grab stills of their clips while grading and do the clips. Click OK.
not want their galleries to become cluttered with thumbnails.

TIP  You can create an ungraded (but fully labeled) node pipeline and save it as a
still to use as a template for future grades.

Copying Timeline Grades

Using ColorTrace NOTE  AERIAL_SFO.mov will appear offline on the timeline because you
had previously only used the LQ version of this clip. To fix this, go to the
ColorTrace is a feature in DaVinci Resolve that enables the transfer of grading information media page. In the Media Storage library, navigate to BMD 18 CC - Project
across timelines. It is a much faster and more organized method of copying mass grade 02 > HQ Transcodes and drag the HQ version of AERIAL_SFO.mov into the
data than using stills. media pool’s HQ Transcodes bin. Remember to set the clip’s Input Color
One scenario in which you may use ColorTrace is when multiple project types use the same Space to Blackmagic Design Film Gen 1 to ensure that it is correctly color
source materials (film, trailer, teaser, behind-the-scenes, and so on). Another scenario is managed. Then change the clip color to orange to match the rest of the HQ
when an editor creates changes in a timeline that a colorist has already begun grading. In timeline media.
both cases, manually transferring the grades would be a major task: a still would need to
be generated for each clip and then carefully reapplied to each corresponding clip on the
new timeline. The workflow would be slow and would have a high potential for error as the The Airplanes - 02 Color Trace edit will appear in the Timeline panel of the edit page.
overworked colorist would have to generate, organize, and retrack dozens (if not hundreds The orange color of the clips indicates that they are the high-quality media from the
or thousands) of stills in the gallery. HQ Transcodes bin.

ColorTrace bypasses all that by presenting two timelines side-by-side and helping the colorist
identify where their common media are located. The colorist needs only to accept (or reject)
that the media is correctly matched, and the grading data is transferred instantaneously.

1 Enter the edit page, and in the media pool, open the Timelines bin.

2 Choose File > Import > Timeline.

Copying Timeline Grades Using ColorTrace 203 204 Lesson 6  Managing Grades Across Clips and Timelines
6 Enter the color page to check the grade status of the clips.

None of the grades applied to the Airplanes – 01 HQ Timeline are visible in this Effects and Definitions
newly imported timeline. Each clip has a blank Node Editor with only the default The Effects and Definitions panel under the Project List enables you to define a set
ungraded node 01. of naming conventions for clips whose names have changed between timelines.

7 Return to the edit page. A common example where this may happen is in VFX workflows. Assume that the
8 In the media pool, right-click the Airplane – 02 Color Trace timeline and choose original filenames of two timeline clips were car.mov and sky.mov. Both clips
Timelines > ColorTrace > ColorTrace from Timeline. were sent to the VFX department for some compositing work. The VFX department
returns the finished composites under the names car_vfx.mov and sky_vfx.mov,
and they are inserted into a new version of the timeline. When ColorTrace is used
NOTE  The ColorTrace option will only be visible in the contextual menu if the
to transfer the grading data from the original timeline, the two VFX clips are not
timeline you are right-clicking is the active timeline in the edit page.
recognized because of their new filenames. By entering *_vfx in the Effects and
Definitions panel, DaVinci Resolve can exempt the suffix when associating media
between timelines.
9 In the ColorTrace Setup’s Project List window, expand the project library folder and
locate Airplanes – 01 HQ Timeline.

10 Select the HQ Timeline and click Continue to proceed to the ColorTrace interface.

At the top of the interface, you’ll find tabs for switching between the Automatic and
Manual modes of the feature.

Automatic attempts to locate the same clips used in both timelines based on source
name, timecode, and other metadata, regardless of any change in position or trim.

Manual allows you to identify and match clips yourself. Using this method, you can
assign grades when the original filenames or metadata were changed between edits.

The bottom of the interface provides additional information and control over the copy
parameters. To the left is a table that compares the metadata of the source and target
clips, which is useful when comparing the file paths of two clips to ensure that they
are derived from the same take. To the right is a list of criteria that will be included or
bypassed during the grade transfer.

Copying Timeline Grades Using ColorTrace 205 206 Lesson 6  Managing Grades Across Clips and Timelines
 The clips in the Target Timeline have colored outlines that indicate the grade match 14 Clips 03, 08 and 09 have red outlines and offer no options in the Matching Source Clips
status of the clips: list. You will address these clips manually after confirming the automatic matches.
— Green—An exact match was found.
— Blue—Multiple potential matches were found. NOTE  You can choose Set As New Shot to identify clips with no links to the
— Red—No match was found. original timeline. They will appear ungraded after the ColorTrace is performed.

You will need to review the Target Timeline to ensure that the matches are accurate
and any conflicts are resolved. 15 At the bottom of the window, click Copy Grade to transfer the grade data between the
green and magenta clips.

TIP  Select Hide Matching Clips at the bottom of the interface to remove all 16 To resolve the red clips, click the Manual tab at the top of the window.
clips that are already matched in the timeline. Doing so will allow you to focus 17 In the Target Timeline, select clip 03.
on the clips with multiple or no matches.
The source timeline does not feature this clip. However, it is extremely similar to clip 02,
which features a wider shot from the same camera.

11 Clip 01 on the Target Timeline has a blue outline. Select it to see which clips are
proposed as possible options in the Matching Source Clips list above it.

18 In the source timeline, select clip 02 and click Paste to confirm the grade transfer.

The final clips (08 and 09) have no corresponding grades in the source clips timeline
and can be left as they are.

19 Click Done to exit the ColorTrace interface.

20 Enter the color page to verify that all the clips that were graded in the 01 HQ Timeline
Clip 01 clearly corresponds to the clip numbered as 09 in the Matching Source Clips
were successfully copied to the 02 Color Trace timeline.
window. You can verify this by looking at the table at the bottom of the ColorTrace
interface and checking the Name property of the source and target clips.
NOTE  Keying and tracking data is preserved when copying grades using
12 Double-click clip 09 to confirm the match. Both clips’ outlines will turn magenta to
ColorTrace. Check clip 06 in the 02 Color Trace timeline to verify that the
confirm the selection.
qualifier selection and window track successfully traveled to this new instance
13 Clip 02 also has a blue outline. Select it and double-click the corresponding clip 08 of the interview clip.
above to confirm the correct match.

Copying Timeline Grades Using ColorTrace 207 208 Lesson 6  Managing Grades Across Clips and Timelines
Just as migrating timelines requires conforming, the ColorTrace function also calls for some 6 Use the pop-up menu at the top to switch the gallery to the Airplanes – 02 Color
manual review to ensure that all grades have transferred correctly. Regardless, ColorTrace Trace stills.
still substantially reduces your workload by managing most of the color migration process.

Copying Grades Using

the Timelines Album
One of the quickest ways to transfer a grade between clips in different timelines is by using
the Timelines album in the gallery.

In the previous exercise, one clip in the Airplanes – 02 Color Trace timeline remained
ungraded because its counterpart in the 01 HQ Timeline was also ungraded. In this
The gallery now displays the current state of all the clips in the 02 Color Trace timeline.
exercise, you will perform a quick grade on the remaining clip and transfer it to the original
Note that even the ungraded credits clip is included. This behavior helps you keep
timeline using the Timelines album.
track of both graded and ungraded clips in various timelines.
1 In the Airplanes – 02 Color Trace timeline, select clip 08.
7 In the Airplanes – 01 HQ Timeline, select clip 10.
2 In the Curves palette, ungang the channels and adjust the R and B curves to give the
8 In the gallery, middle-click clip 08 to transfer the graded night sky look.
nighttime footage a deep blue tone with orange highlights.

3 In the Primaries palette, use the master wheels to establish a dynamic contrast
The exercises in this lesson presented a broader list of options for grade setup and
between the dark foreground and well-lit horizon. Increase the midtone detail to
duplication. When copying grade data, it’s important to consider your needs on a project-
sharpen the light sources in the city.
by-project basis. In most cases, a combination of one or more of these copying methods
is ideal; in other cases, a mix of methods could be less efficient than employing a more
broad-based solution such as ColorTrace or remote versions.

Self-Guided Exercise
Complete the following exercises in the Airplanes – 01 HQ Timeline to test your
Before After understanding of the tools and workflows covered in this lesson.

4 Use the pop-up menu above the viewer to return to the Airplanes – 01 HQ Timeline. Clip 01—Match this darker interview shot to the one in clip 05. Begin by disabling the
Blue Look and Skin Tone mixer nodes in clip 05 and then apply a venetian blind wipe in
5 In the gallery’s Still Albums side panel, click the Timelines album.
the viewer to accurately assess and match the walls and subject skin tone in clip 01. Then,
use any of the methods covered in these lessons to transfer the remainder of the node
tree after the Match node. Ensure that the face window is tracked to the unique head
movements in clip 01.

Copying Grades Using the Timelines Album 209 210 Lesson 6  Managing Grades Across Clips and Timelines
Clip 07—Create a remote grade link between clip 07 in the 01 HQ Timeline and clip 07 in Answers
the 02 Color Trace timeline. Begin by reading the documentation about remote grading
at the end of the “Working with Local Versions” exercise. In the 01 HQ Timeline, right-click 1 Right-click and choose Local Versions > Create New Version or press Command-Y
clip 07, and under Remote Versions, choose Version 1 > Load. Apply the Base grades album (macOS) or Ctrl-Y (Windows).
balance node and then create a new serial node and develop a new bright and warm look 2 Command-Home (macOS) or Ctrl-Home (Windows) resets a clip’s entire grade.
for the shot. Open the 02 Color Trace timeline and load remote grade Version 1 on clip 07.
3 To access the galleries of other project and project libraries, click the Gallery View
The new look you created should automatically appear on the clip.
button to launch the expanded gallery.
When you’ve completed these lessons, you can open Project 02 – Age of Airplanes
4 To access the node tree of any still in the gallery (or any clip in the timeline), right-click
Trailer COMPLETED.drp to compare your work with Airplanes - 03 HQ Timeline
the thumbnail and choose Display Node Graph. Then drag the necessary node into the
COMPLETED and Airplanes – 04 Color Trace COMPLETED. If the media appears offline,
click the red Relink Media button in the upper-left corner of the media pool and specify Node Editor of the active clip.
the location of the Project 02 media on your workstation. 5 True. You can create keyboard shortcuts for grades in the form of Project Memories.

Lesson Review
1 How do you create a new local version of a grade?

2 Which shortcut resets a clip’s entire grade?

3 How can you access stills saved in other projects and project libraries?

4 How do you copy just one node from the node tree of a still in the gallery?

5 True or false? You can create keyboard shortcuts for your favorite grades and stills.

Lesson Review 211 212 Lesson 6  Managing Grades Across Clips and Timelines
Part III

Optimizing the
Grading Workflow
Lessons
— Using Groups
— Adjusting Image Properties
— Setting Up Raw Projects
— Delivering Projects

Welcome to Part III of The Colorist Guide to DaVinci Resolve 18. This section covers more
advanced node-based grading workflows and DaVinci Resolve processes that manipulate
and render image data. As usual, the emphasis will be on image-processing efficiency as
you adopt group grading workflows, adjust image properties, set up raw materials, and
deliver the final project.

Project File Location

You will find the content for this section in the folder BMD 18 CC - Project 03.
Continue to follow the instructions at the start of every lesson to find the
necessary folder, project, and timeline. If you have not downloaded the
third set of content files, return to the “Getting Started” section in this book for
more information.

This page intentionally left blank.

Lesson 7 Preparing Media Using
Scene Cut Detection
Using Groups The first video project in this section is a single, self-contained video file. Placing the video
directly onto a timeline in DaVinci Resolve 18 would result in it being treated as a single
clip, and all grading changes on the color page would affect it uniformly. To avoid this,
you can place cuts throughout the timeline to separate the individual shots and allow
for content-specific grading. Unfortunately, doing this manually can be extremely time
consuming.

Fortunately, the Scene Cut Detection feature in DaVinci Resolve performs the heavy lifting
for you. It can analyze edited video files prior to import to divide their content into subclips
and facilitate clip-by-clip grading.

1 Open DaVinci Resolve 18.

In this lesson, you will focus on an Time 2 In the Project Manager, click the New Project button and enter the name Project 03 -
The Long Workday Commercial.
organizational feature of the color This lesson takes approximately
page that enables clip grouping based 130 minutes to complete. 3 Enter the media page.

on shared visual criteria. Goals 4 Right-click in the bin list next to the media pool and choose New Bin.

Although generating and organizing Preparing Media Using 5 Label the new bin Video and select it as the destination for the media you are about
Scene Cut Detection 216 to import.
groups is incredibly simple, the
benefits they provide in terms of Creating a Group 227 6 In the media storage browser, locate the BMD 18 CC - Project 03 folder.
time-saving and future-proofing can Applying Base Grades at 7 In the folder, right-click the Project 03 - The Long Workday SCD.mov file and choose
the Pre-Clip Group Level 230
lead to much more efficient workflows Scene Cut Detection.
and advanced grading techniques. In Making Clip-Specific Adjustments
at the Clip Group Level 234 Left Viewer Center Viewer Right Viewer
addition to applying group-wide color Previous Frame Current Frame Next Frame
Automatically Tracking
management and grades via the Node
Objects and People 240
Editor, the grouping feature allows
Creating a Unifying Look Using
timeline filtering based on group name
the Post-Clip Group Level 254
and the activation of a split screen to
Applying Timeline-Level
compare clips in the same group.
Grades and Effects 262

Self-Guided Exercises 267

Lesson Review 269

Scene Detect graph Cut List

216 Lesson 7  Using Groups

 You will use this interface to run the edit analysis and import the resulting subclips. At 9 To review the edits, scrub through the timeline by dragging the orange playhead or
the top of the window, three viewers display the current frame (middle), the previous click inside the Cut List and press the Up and Down Arrow keys to navigate and verify
frame (left), and the next frame (right). Below the viewers, the Scene Detect graph the identified cut points.
displays the location of the video’s cut points after the analysis. To the right, the Cut
List identifies the cuts and their timecodes.
TIP  You can also press P (previous) and N (next) to jump between cut points.
8 In the lower-left corner of the window, click Auto Scene Detect.

As the analysis runs, the assumed edit points are marked with green lines in the Scene
A correctly identified cut will display a unique image in the left viewer, followed by two
Detect graph, and their timecodes are recorded in the Cut List.
similar images in the center and right viewers.

10 Navigate through the edits in the Cut List until you reach scene 12.

Although DaVinci Resolve detected a cut here, this is actually part of the same take.
The false detection happened because of a headlight lens flare that created enough
of a visual change in the frame to make DaVinci Resolve identify it as the start of
a new shot.

11 With the cut already selected, in the lower left of the Scene Cut Detection window, click
Delete to remove it.

12 Press the Down Arrow key to continue navigating through the Cut List and ensure that
TIP  The height of the vertical green cut lines indicates DaVinci Resolve’s level of all the remaining cuts are correctly identified.
confidence that a cut has been correctly identified in that location. Cuts that fall
Toward the end of the timeline, you’ll find a large cluster of cut points. Dissolves
under the horizontal magenta confidence line are omitted from the cut list and
and transitions are prone to misidentification and might be marked as a series of
appear gray on the graph.
rapid cuts.
When a video has many jump cuts and whip pans, the Scene Cut Detection tool
might place many cuts beneath this confidence line. To include less-confident 13 Drag the playhead to the left of this cluster and press I to create an In point in the

cuts in the final Cut List, drag down the magenta line until the edit lines Scene Detect graph.
turn green.
TIP  Drag the scroll bar under the Scene Detect graph to zoom in, if necessary.

Preparing Media Using Scene Cut Detection 217 218 Lesson 7  Using Groups
14 Drag the playhead to the right of the cut cluster and press O to place an Out point.
NOTE  When importing media, if a dialog appears informing you that your clips’
frame rates don’t match the project’s frame rates, click Change to adjust the
project frame rate to accommodate the media.

20 Click X in the upper-left corner to close the Scene Cut Detection interface.

The commercial will now appear in your media pool as a series of clips in the Video bin.

Before you can start grading, you will first need to place this media in a timeline. To
ensure that the clips populate the timeline in the correct order, you will organize your
media pool by clip timecode.

21 Switch to List view by clicking the List View button in the upper right of the media pool.

22 Click the Start TC column title to sort the clips by their start timecodes.
15 Under the right viewer, click the scissors icon to delete this batch of false cut points.

16 Ensure that no other cut points from the transition area remain. If any are still present,
drag the playhead over it and press Delete.

17 Press the Left and Right Arrow keys to move through the video frame-by-frame and
identify the exact cut point between the last clip and the solid white color matte at the
end of the timeline.
The clips are now ready to be placed into a timeline.
18 Click Add to add the edit to the Cut List.

A green line appears under your playhead to indicate an edit point. A new item also
TIP  Clicking any column title will sort the contents of a bin by that criterion.
appears on the Cut List with the frame number (2352) and start timecode (01:01:38:00)
Clicking the column title again will toggle the order from ascending
of the cut point.
to descending.
You have now reviewed all the cut points on this timeline. At this point, you should
have 26 scenes in your Cut List.
23 Switch the media pool back to thumbnail view.
19 In the lower-right corner, click Add Cuts to Media Pool.
24 Enter the edit page.

25 Select all the media in the Video bin by clicking one clip and pressing Command-A
(macOS) or Ctrl-A (Windows).
TIP  When working on longer films, or with edits featuring jump cuts, reviewing
scene cut detection can become a time-consuming (and fatiguing) process. You 26 Right-click any of the selected clips and choose Create New Timeline Using
may choose to break up the task into several sessions, saving your progress Selected Clips.
as you go.

You can save a scene cut in progress by accessing the options menu in the
upper right of the window and choosing Save SceneCut. In the same options
menu, you can also open a previously saved scene cut (.sc) file.

Preparing Media Using Scene Cut Detection 219 220 Lesson 7  Using Groups
27 Name the new timeline Project 03 - The Long Workday and click Create. Setting Up Color Management
in the DaVinci Wide Gamut
As in the previous project, you will use color management to remap the color space/gamut
and gamma of the clips in the timeline prior to grading. In this exercise, you will set up your
first HDR-ready wide-gamut project and look at the expanded custom color management
settings to gain a better understanding of how the dynamic range of an image is processed.

1 Enter the color page.

2 Press the Up and Down Arrow keys to travel along the timeline and review the clips in
the Project 03 - The Long Workday timeline.

A new timeline appears on the edit page, populated with the 27 selected clips in the
media pool.

28 In the media pool, create a Timelines bin and place the timeline into it.

TIP  In DaVinci Resolve Studio, scene cut detection can still be performed
on media after it has already been imported and added to a timeline. Click
to select a clip on a timeline, or use In and Out points to indicate a range of
clip(s), and then choose Timeline > Detect Scene Cuts. The resulting cuts can
be edited via the rolling trim tool or deleted using the Delete (Backspace) key. The footage appears flat and desaturated, which is indicative of a log gamma curve.
Additionally, you can apply dissolves between clips, if necessary. In Lesson 4, you saw that a log starting point meant you had access to a wide dynamic
range, which could be unpacked with the help of primary grading tools or with color
management.
You would ordinarily use this method of flattened video migration when working with
remote clients that don’t have access to servers or fast internet connections. Additionally, 3 Open the Project Settings and navigate to the Color Management tab.
this workflow is often necessary when working on older projects in which the original 4 Set Color Science to DaVinci YRGB Color Managed.
media no longer exists and only the master export file is available. In both cases, it’s crucial
5 Deselect “Automatic color management.”
to use the highest-quality codec and file format possible and to avoid overlaid text, effects,
or transitions that cannot be disabled in the flattened video file. 6 Set the Color processing mode to HDR DaVinci Wide Gamut Intermediate.

This setting is optimal for outputting a project to the majority of current deliverable
standards. You can further customize it to correctly map the source media to the
Timeline and Output color spaces.

7 Change the Color processing mode to Custom. All the DaVinci Wide Gamut settings
are unpacked to a modifiable list of parameters.

Preparing Media Using Scene Cut Detection 221 222 Lesson 7  Using Groups
 8 Set the Input color space to Blackmagic Design 4.6K Film Gen 1. This was the camera
What Is DaVinci Wide Gamut? model, data level, and firmware version used to capture the footage.

The DaVinci Wide Gamut and Intermediate gamma allow for an internal color The Timeline color space determines the behavior of the color page grading tools.
space that encompasses the maximum value of image data that any given camera When set to DaVinci Wide Gamut (DaVinci WG/Intermediate), grading can be
can capture. The color gamut is greater than BT. 2020 (UHD/HDR), ARRI Wide performed with greater color amplitude than with other color space standards.
Gamut, and ACES AP-1, which means visual data is not compressed or lost, no
The Timeline working luminance affects how high dynamic range images are treated
matter where it originates from.
when mapped to the DaVinci Intermediate gamma standard. The custom setting, HDR
4000, will map the signals of wide dynamic range images to be viewable on an SDR
monitor while gently rolling off highlights to prevent clipping or bunching at the top of
the waveform.

The Output color space can remain Rec.709 Gamma 2.4, which is ideal for computer
monitors in a controlled lighting environment.

9 Click Save to exit the Project Settings.

The clips appear unchanged because their individual input color spaces are set to
Rec.709. This is because video and graphic media always adopts the timeline color
space of a project upon import. You must change the input color space of the video
clips to reflect the current project settings.

10 Press Command-A (macOS) or Ctrl-A (Windows) to select all clips on the timeline.

11 Right-click any clip and choose Input Color Space > Project - Blackmagic Design 4.6K
Film Gen 1 at the top of the contextual menu. Setting the input color space to Project
ensures that any future changes to the input color space in the Project Settings will
immediately affect the clips on the timeline.

DaVinci Wide Gamut’s primary color values are set up to produce extremely
accurate results, even when mapping color spaces from multiple camera sources.
This results in perceptually consistent grading behavior among the color page’s
palettes. In the Project Settings, the DaVinci Wide Gamut is accompanied by the
Intermediate gamma, which provides suitable internal luminance mapping of high-
precision image data for mastering in both HDR and SDR standards.

Due to its large color space, the DaVinci WG and Intermediate gamma combination
is ideal for master projects that can be graded and then remapped to generate a
variety of deliverables for broadcast, projection, and online streaming.

Preparing Media Using Scene Cut Detection 223 224 Lesson 7  Using Groups
 The appearance of the clips changes dramatically. Colors appear naturally saturated, Doing so corrects the mapping operation to use the input color space of the camera
and contrast is raised. used to capture this clip. Although the image still appears very dark, the saturation
is no longer distorted because of improper mapping. In situations when you are
12 Select clip 01 on the Project 03 – The Long Workday timeline.
uncertain of a clip’s origin, it’s best to set the Input Color Space to Bypass.

14 Right-click any clip and choose Update All Thumbnails to refresh the images used to
represent the clips in the thumbnail timeline.

NOTE  When media is imported into a new, non-color managed project, it will
adopt Rec.709 (Scene) as its scene-referred input color space. Although this is
suitable for conventional playback and uploading, it is still highly recommended
that you change the timeline color space for all projects to Rec.709 Gamma 2.4,
even when not color managing. If you do so, remember to change the input
color space of all media and graphics in the media pool to Rec.709 Gamma 2.4
too. This will ensure a smoother grading workflow, should you decide to
employ color management or color transform effects at a later stage.

Gamma has been raised (0.15) for better visibility. Enabling Smart Caching
The clip appears much darker, noisier, and more saturated than the rest of the footage Caching is a process in which a clip is rendered while it is still in the timeline so you can
because this clip was captured on a different camera from the rest of the media. The play it back in real time when reviewing it. It’s similar to exporting, except the rendered clip
project-wide color management utilizes an input color space that does not correspond is automatically viewable as part of the timeline media.
to this clip’s source gamut, so its colors are incorrectly mapped and distorted. Some of the tools you will use in the upcoming exercises will be processor intensive and

13 Right-click clip 01 and choose Input Color Space > Blackmagic Design 4K Film Gen 1. might impact playback speed. You will enable Smart caching to render certain clips as you
work on them.

— Choose Playback > Render Cache > Smart.

By using the Smart Cache option, you are leaving it up to DaVinci Resolve to determine
which media or nodes are computationally intensive enough to require caching.

You’ll learn about caching in much more detail in Lesson 8.

Gamma has been raised (0.15) for better visibility.

Preparing Media Using Scene Cut Detection 225 226 Lesson 7  Using Groups
Creating a Group The link symbols on the Garage group disappear and are now visible only in the
Highway group clips. From now on, the green link symbols will appear only when a
grouped clip is selected.
When incorporating groups to a grading workflow, your first task is to choose a grouping
strategy for your timeline. Depending on the project, you can base groups on locations, The two Highway clips are relatively far apart on the timeline, so matching them
scenes, color schemes, shot size, or any criteria of your choice. could be tedious if you had to constantly navigate up and down the timeline to
compare them.
In the commercial project in this lesson, you will create groups to differentiate between
scenes based on their locations and times of day. 9 In the interface toolbar, choose Clips > Grouped > Highway.

1 Select clip 06 and Shift-click clip 13 to select the eight consecutive garage clips in
the timeline. Ignore for now that clip 13 is a highway clip.

2 Right-click any of the highlighted clips and choose Add into Current Group.

A green link symbol appears in the lower-right corner of the clips to indicate their The filter hides all clips except the two highway clips, which now appear side by side.
group status. These clips will now react uniformly when you start utilizing the group- You can quickly compare and match them using the Up and Down Arrow keys.
level Node Editor in later exercises.

3 Right-click any of the grouped clips and choose Groups > Group 1 > Rename.

4 Enter the group name Garage.

Upon closer inspection, it appears that clip 13, the highway shot, does not belong in
this scene and should not be included in this group.

5 Right-click clip 13 and choose Remove from Group. 10 Select Clips > All Clips to remove the timeline filter.
You can also use groups for filtering purposes. You’ll need to create one more group to prepare for the exercises in this lesson.

6 In the timeline, Command-click (macOS) or Ctrl-click (Windows) clips 02 and 13. 11 Scroll down the timeline, select clips 19 to 24, and add them to a new group
7 Right-click one of them and choose Add into a New Group. called Home.

8 Enter the group name Highway. 12 Note that the final clips 25 and 26 were shot outdoors, meaning their lighting
conditions are slightly different from the indoor sequence. It is advisable to grade clips
with different light sources separately.

Creating a Group 227 228 Lesson 7  Using Groups

Adopting Groups in a Classic — Group post-clip is best utilized for creative scene grading. By this stage, your clips
should be matched and their individual secondary requirements met. This will ensure
Color Grading Workflow the uniform application of the creative grades and will require only minimal tweaking
on a clip-by-clip level.
With your clips sorted into groups, you can now choose the modes in which their grading
will be targeted—from individual adjustments to group-wide changes. Doing so will result — Timeline will affect every clip on the active timeline of your project. Color correction
in a faster workflow in which you’ll no longer need to duplicate and reapply grades to and creative grading is not recommended at this stage, but you could use this mode
individual clips. Reducing this duplication of effort will also lessen the chance that mistakes to implement artificial grain and film effects, apply vignettes to short-form projects, or
will creep into your workflow. Instead of readjusting specific nodes on multiple clips or remap the color space of a timeline using Color Space Transform.
keeping track of dozens of stills, you’ll be able tweak a group grade to amend all a scene’s
clips at once. This breakdown suggests the order in which to address and process visual data, but you
should not see it as a strict order of grading operations. As with any standard grading
The following figure shows how the classic color grading workflow, previously expressed
workflow, it’s entirely acceptable (and expected) to jump between group levels to make
as a node tree structure in Lesson 1, can be translated into group-based node structures.
adjustments throughout the grading process. Note that the output of earlier group modes
is the direct input of later modes (for example, the pre-clip output leads to the clip input).
When considering node order, think of the group modes as being one long pipeline, whose
signal impact was explored in Lesson 5.

Applying Base Grades at

the Pre-Clip Group Level
In the pre-clip group level, you can make adjustments that will uniformly affect the clip-
level RGB input signals of all the clips in a group.

Keep in mind that all the clips in a group are affected by these changes, so you must avoid
overfocusing on achieving a perfectly neutral appearance in any single shot. Instead, use
this level to set up a sequence with the help of broad color management tools, like LUTs,
C.S. Transform refers to Color Space Transform in the Effects panel color charts, Gamut Mapping, or Color Space Transform effects.

The following is a list of available grading modes in the Node Editor and their relationships Using a Color Chart to Balance a Group
to the traditional grading workflow:
One method for normalizing the tonal range and balance of a sequence of clips is to use
— Group pre-clip permits you to apply preparatory grading adjustments such as gamut the calibration charts that were captured at the start of the scene shoot. Calibration charts
mapping, color chart auto-correction, or Color Space Transform (the Resolve FX allow for automated color correction that gives you a much more accurate output than
equivalent of using color management in the Project Settings). At this stage, you can regular auto-balancing because of their reliable luminance reflection and meticulously
also normalize footage with common luminance ranges and address obvious tint or designed color swatches.
temperature issues in the dailies.
— Clip mode enables you to address the individual needs of each clip in a group,
including normalization, balancing, matching, and secondary grade adjustments.

Creating a Group 229 230 Lesson 7  Using Groups

1 Change the Clips timeline filter to display only the clips in the Home group. 6 In the viewer’s onscreen controls dropdown menu, choose Color Chart.

When using a color checker, a new shot of the chart should be captured at the start of
every new scene, light change, or location during filming.

2 In the dropdown menu at the top of the Node Editor, switch to Group Pre-Clip mode.

7 Drag the corners of the color chart interface to the corners of the color checker chart
in the image. Ensure that the small squares in the middle of the color chart outline are
In this mode, all adjustments you make will apply to the whole group.
filled with the colors they are meant to be analyzing. Any interference with the black
3 In the Home group timeline, select clip 01. chart borders or the man’s fingers will affect the quality of this analysis.
4 Label node 01 as Color Match.

5 In the left palettes of the color page, open the Color Match palette.

8 At the top of the Color Match palette, verify that X-Rite ColorChecker Classic - Legacy
is chosen. This selection is based on the type and version of the chart captured
in the shot.

9 Set the Source Gamma to DaVinci Intermediate.

Applying Base Grades at the Pre-Clip Group Level 231 232 Lesson 7  Using Groups
 If color management is not enabled, Source Gamma must be set to the encoded
gamma (or EOTF) of the original image. This allows Color Match to map the tonal
Making Clip-Specific Adjustments
encoding of the image to the timeline gamma and accurately calibrate the image
color values. at the Clip Group Level
If color management is enabled, Source Gamma must match the timeline color space By default, the standard Node Editor applies grade changes on a clip-by-clip basis. It’s
of the project. This is because color management maps the video signal’s input color the ideal way to color correct, match footage, and make secondary amendments. When
space to the timeline color space prior to node 01 of the pre-clip node pipeline, so the working with groups, you continue to have access to the Node Editor in Clip mode.
Source Gamma will be the starting point of the clip in the Node Editor, and not the

Matching Shots at the Clip Group Level

clip’s actual encoded gamma.

10 Set the Target Gamma to DaVinci Intermediate.

Before you can apply a creative grade to a group of clips, it’s important to ensure that all
It may feel counterintuitive to use the same setting for both source and target, but it
those clips match in terms of tint, temperature, and luminance level distribution.
makes sense when you consider that the Color Match palette is not currently being
used for the purpose of remapping between two gamma standards. In this case, 1 Filter the timeline to show only the Garage group clips.
you’re only interested in calibrating the colors based on the source lighting. 2 Switch the Node Editor to Clip mode.
11 Set the Target Color Space to DaVinci Wide Gamut to keep the result consistent with 3 Select clip 01. At first glance, the shot appears to be substantially brighter than the
the Timeline color space. other clips in the scene.
12 At the bottom of the Color Match palette, click Match. You will see a shift in color and
luminance, as the parades are raised and balanced according to the chart.

TIP  The values that appear under the color boxes in the Color Match palette
indicate the percentage that a value needed to be adjusted to match the color
patch sample in the image. A change of less than 10% is ideal, implying a clean
starting point and a distortion-free adjustment.

13 Navigate down the timeline to verify that the rest of the clips in the Home group are
also affected by this calibration. As these were captured in the same location, under
similar lighting conditions, the automated color balance benefits them equally.

You’ve created a better starting point for all the clips in the scene while retaining the
full gamma range and color quality to perform individual balancing, matching, and
creative grading down the line.

TIP  If you intend to use conversion LUTs in a project, the LUTs should be
applied at the pre-clip group stage.

4 Drag the viewer playhead to the end of clip 1.

Applying Base Grades at the Pre-Clip Group Level 233 234 Lesson 7  Using Groups
 After the man enters the garage, the shot appears to be exposed similarly to others in 8 Open the Sizing palette in Reference Sizing mode and pan and zoom clip 05 to see the
the sequence and will not require aggressive matching. man more clearly in the wide shot.

5 By default, thumbnail images in the timeline represent the first frame of a clip. Drag
within the thumbnail of a clip to change the frame represented in the thumbnail.

When comparing and balancing clips, remember that the first frame is not always the
most reliable choice for matching, and you should always play through the entire clip
before making a grading decision. In this case, you can leave clip 01 as it is.

6 Select clip 04. This shot is definitely darker than the rest of the sequence.

7 Right-click clip 05 and choose Wipe Timeline Clip to enable the Wipe mode in
the viewer.
9 Press Option-F (macOS) or Alt-F (Windows) to expand the viewer and get a better view
of the differences between the clips.

10 Open the waveform scope (in RGB mode with Colorize enabled) to view a graphic
representation of the chromatic differences between the clips. Just as in the viewer, the
waveform is split along the wipe line.

11 Label node 01 in clip 04 as Match.

12 Drag the Gain master wheel right to brighten the highlights of the image. Aim to match
the waveform highlight spikes that represent the light sources reflected on the garage
floor of the reference image.

13 Drag the Lift master wheel right slightly to brighten the shadows. Keep an eye on the
man’s suit to ensure a good match in the viewer and waveforms.

14 Finally, drag the Gamma master wheel right to match the overall waveform distribution
in lower midtones. Use the green channel of the RGB waveform as a match reference.

While the tonal distribution of the image looks accurate, there is now a strong green
cast throughout the image. This color imbalance can be addressed more accurately
using the color bars.

15 Switch the Primaries palette mode to color bars.

16 Drag down the green Lift bar to neutralize the suit and garage shadows.

17 Drag the red Gamma and Gain bars down to address the resulting red tint.

Making Clip-Specific Adjustments at the Clip Group Level 235 236 Lesson 7  Using Groups
 18 Press Option-F (macOS) or Alt-F (Windows) to exit the Enhanced viewer mode but leave
the Wipe mode on.

19 Reset the Reference Sizing mode of the Sizing palette and drag the wipe line to the
center of the viewer.

20 Select clip 07.

The Waveforms Don’t Match;

Are the Clips Really Color Matched?
When matching clips using waveforms, your goal is not to make the waveforms
look identical. Rather, it is to use the reference waveform as a guide to inform the
overall spread of the luminance data, the heights of the lightest parts of the image,
The clip colors are already a good match for the rest of the timeline, but the shot is
and the depths of the shadows.
too bright overall, which will affect the quality of the post-clip grade.
In this example, clip 04 will always have a waveform concentrated at the bottom of
21 Label node 01 as Match.
the graph because it features a mid-close-up of the man and his dark suit.
22 Drag the Offset master wheel left to darken the shadows to the same level as the
In clip 05, the suit occupies a very small part of the shot and appears in the reference clip. A good area to watch as you adjust the image luminance is the garage
waveform as a small dip to the shadows—the depths of which are now matched. ceiling, which should match in all shots.
Likewise, the lights in both waveforms follow a similar trajectory.

Lastly, the overall waveform in clip 04 is spread out to a similar distance to clip
05. Bypass the grade in clip 04 to compare how compressed the waveform Intermediary Matching Between Clips
used to look.
At times, you’ll want to grade shots to show a gradual change in color or temperature
between clips. Doing so is not strictly a color match, but rather an intermediary grade
designed to transition between clips with different looks without jarring a viewer’s
perception of the scene.

Making Clip-Specific Adjustments at the Clip Group Level 237 238 Lesson 7  Using Groups
In this exercise, two clips captured at sunrise are intercut with media captured later in the 11 Open the Key palette and change the Key Output Gain to 0.600. The grade intensity
day. You will match the daylight clip between them, and then grade the preceding clip to is nearly halved, and the original colors of the image now show through for a smooth
suggest a natural change in sunlight from the first half of the timeline to the second. transition between the first and second halves of the scene.

1 Remove the timeline filter to show all clips.

2 Shift-click clips 22 to 25 to select them.

3 In the viewer, enable Split Screen mode.

4 In the dropdown menu in the upper right of the viewer, choose Selected Clips.

5 Press Option-F (macOS) or Alt-F (Windows) to expand the viewer.

12 Press Option-F (macOS) or Alt-F (Windows) to exit the Enhanced viewer mode.

13 Exit the split-screen viewer.

Automatically Tracking
Objects and People
6 In the split-screen viewer, ensure that clip 24 (lower left) is selected.

7 Open the Node Editor and label node 01 as Match.

8 Drag the Gain wheel toward yellow until the color of the sky matches the skies in the The Magic Mask is a DaVinci Neural Engine-powered selection tool that can identify and
surrounding clips. track hundreds of objects, as well as human figures and physical features, based on

9 Reduce the contrast in the adjustment controls until the window frames and furniture user-applied strokes in the viewer. Additional track, stroke, and matte finesse controls
allow for the refinement of selections to achieve an optimal result. As with previous
have the same flat shadows as the surrounding sunrise clips.
secondary grading tools, the resulting masks can then be graded using the standard
10 Copy the Match node grade from clip 24 and paste it into the first node of clip 22 primary palettes.
(upper left).

To ensure a smooth transition between clips 21 and 23, you’ll want to reduce the
NOTE  The following exercises require DaVinci Resolve Studio to complete.
severity of the grade in clip 22.

Making Clip-Specific Adjustments at the Clip Group Level 239 240 Lesson 7  Using Groups
Tracking an Object The Magic Mask palette is made up of three areas:
— Toolbar features the selection mode, tracking controls, stroke tools,
The default Object Mask mode intuitively detects and tracks moving objects within a
and mask overlay.
shot. Tested on thousands of objects, from vehicles, buildings, and skylines, to animals,
— Stroke List catalogs the strokes you draw and displays their individual
hair, and flames, it boasts an extraordinary recognition rate. You can use the Object Mask
timeline tracks.
to emphasize products in commercials, perform sky replacement, enhance production
design, or apply any number of creative applications that even we haven’t thought of yet! — Adjustment Controls and Matte Finesse in the sidebar are used to refine the
resulting mask. Most of the matte finesse controls operate similarly to those in
1 Select clip 15. the qualifier palette.
2 Label node 01 as Balance and use the Primaries palette to brighten the image and 5 In the viewer, click and drag to create a selection of the car. When using Object Masks,
remove the magenta tint from the highlights. use long strokes that include a good range of the object surface.

Stroke 1 is registered in the Stroke List of the Magic Mask palette.

6 Click Toggle Mask Overlay in the upper-right corner.

3 Create a second node and label it Track.

4 In the central palettes, open the Magic Mask palette.

Toolbar Adjustment Controls

The initial mask analysis appears in the viewer, allowing you to review your selection.

Stroke List Matte Finesse

Automatically Tracking Objects and People 241 242 Lesson 7  Using Groups
 With a simple stroke selection, you were able to isolate the car and emphasize it against
NOTE  If the stroke is not visible in the viewer, ensure that the Magic Mask its environment with a contrast grade. Notice how the Object Mask tracked its motion
palette is active, and the onscreen control in the lower-left corner of the viewer even with the dramatic fluctuations in light. The Magic Mask palette goes beyond chroma
is set to qualifier. and luma keying when identifying a selection and can follow objects through dynamic
environments, strong shadows, and changes in light sources.

7 In the Magic Mask toolbar, click Track Forward.

Tracking a Person
The Person Mask mode can identify the full figure of a person with one establishing stroke
in the viewer. After reviewing the preliminary selection overlay, you can refine the matte
before tracking the person’s movement throughout the shot. In this exercise, you will track
A successful track is indicated by a blue line in the Stroke 1 timeline.
a person with the intention of grading the environment around them.

1 Select clip 25.

2 Label node 01 as Track.

3 In the upper right of the Magic Mask palette, change the mode to Person Mask.

8 Click Toggle Mask Overlay again to remove the red highlight from the viewer.

9 To remove the blue stroke from the viewer, click the onscreen controls dropdown
menu and choose Off.

4 On the left of the palette toolbar, set the Person Mask mode to Person.
TIP  A quick method for removing the Magic Mask onscreen overlays is to open
a different tool in the central palettes, such as the Curves or Color Warper. 5 In the viewer, click and drag to create a short stroke on the back of the man’s head.
For Person Masks, short strokes are better, since they are less likely to drift off
when tracking.
With the selection complete and the overlays hidden, you can resume the
grading process.

10 In the Primaries palette, increase the Contrast (1.100) and drag the Pivot left (0.100) to
brighten the car and emphasize its reflective body.

11 Increase the Midtone Detail (50.00) to sharpen the headlights, rims, and light
reflections.

Before After

Automatically Tracking Objects and People 243 244 Lesson 7  Using Groups
 A new Person category and stroke item appear in the Stroke List of the Magic 13 Click Invert Mask on the right side of the Magic Mask toolbar.
Mask palette.

6 Click Toggle Mask Overlay to review the selection.

7 If satisfied, click Track Forward.

Otherwise, click the bin icon in the stroke list to delete the stroke and then create and
14 Click Toggle Mask Overlay again to remove the red highlight from the viewer.
track a new stroke in the viewer.
With the selection complete, you can resume the grading process.
8 The Magic Mask adjustment controls in the sidebar feature a Quality parameter that
determines the accuracy of the mask analysis. In cases where a garbage matte or 15 In the Primaries palette, increase the Midtone Detail (100.00) to sharpen the details on
rough approximation will do, Faster will provide a quick result at the expense of quality. the beach and enhance the ripples in the water.
When precision is crucial, Better is the preferred option, but comes at the expense of 16 Use the Offset master wheel to brighten the background and drag the Offset wheel
processing time and computational power. toward orange to emphasize the warm sunrise.

17 Use Contrast and Pivot to create a dynamic look with emphasized shadows
and highlights.

Click Better and drag the timeline playhead to review the improved result. The Better
setting is highly advisable for completing final looks prior to project delivery, when
real-time playback is not vital.

9 Change the Quality parameter setting back to Faster to get smoother playback while
completing this exercise.
Before After
10 Another adjustment control unique to the Magic Mask is Smart Refine. This tool allows
you to expand or contract the mask based on the internal image analysis. This means
As you can see, the Magic Mask is incredibly intelligent when it comes to reading the
Smart Refine will prioritize preservation of areas that it is certain are part of a person,
motion of the human body. In this case, the Magic Mask was able to recognize a man as he
while discarding mask artifacts and areas in which it has less confidence.
walked into the shot, revealing his legs and arm. In clips with multiple people, you can use
Drag Smart Refine (60.0) until you are satisfied with the mask selection in the viewer. additional strokes to mask and track each person.

11 The Mode dropdown menu allows you to change how the mask is modified by the
Radius parameter beneath. To uniformly contract the mask, leave the Mode set to NOTE  Although the Magic Mask produces incredibly satisfying results, note that it
Shrink and drag the Radius parameter (5.0) to eliminate any remaining selection is ultimately a color grading tool, not a compositing tool. The intention behind the
around the man. Magic Mask is to provide a secondary grading selection far quicker than manual

12 In the matte finesse controls, drag the Blur Radius (20.0) to soften the edge tracing/rotoscoping and with far more accuracy than the default Power Window
shapes. Its results are designed to produce optimal results when used with the
of the mask.
primary grading palettes on the color page.
To grade the scene around the man, you will first need to invert the selection.

Automatically Tracking Objects and People 245 246 Lesson 7  Using Groups
Masking Physical Features 9 In the viewer, drag a stroke over the man’s left eye.

10 Click Toggle Mask Overlay to review the Face selection.

The Magic Mask’s Features mode allows you to mask individual physical properties like
faces, limbs, and articles of clothing. Like the Person mode, it exhibits a great deal of
intuition and has been tested on a wide variety of video samples ranging from top hats
and skirts to sandals and suits of armor. In the following exercises, you will track specific
features while also correcting strokes that have drifted from their reference point.

1 Select clip 06.

2 Label node 01 as Face.

3 Open the Magic Mask palette.

4 Play clip 06 to review it.

The selection has successfully captured his face, ear, and hairline. The Face feature
classifies only the area above the chin as the face. To capture his neck, you’ll need to
introduce a second mask.

11 In the Features pop-up menu, select Torso (Exposed Skin).

12 In the viewer, drag a stoke in the middle of his neck.

Due to the dark environment and rapidly changing light in the garage, the man’s face
is underlit. You will use the Magic Mask to track and brighten his face.

5 Drag the viewer playhead to the last frame of the clip. Tracking from a forward face
angle will produce a more accurate result than the profile at the start of the clip.

6 Change the Magic Mask palette mode to Person Mask.

7 On the left of the palette toolbar, ensure that the Person Mask mode is set to Features.

8 In the Features pop-up menu, select Face.

With the features selected successfully, you can proceed with the track.

Automatically Tracking Objects and People 247 248 Lesson 7  Using Groups
13 In the Magic Mask toolbar, click Track Reverse. 17 Drag the playhead to review the completed mask overlay track. Notice that when
the stroke position was changed, it is seen in the viewer as a static change from one
keyframe to the next.

18 Use the Magic Mask sidebar to fine-tune the overlay and drag the Blur Radius (30.0)
to soften the edge of the mask.

19 Click Toggle Mask Overlay to hide the mask in the viewer.

20 In the viewer, set the onscreen controls to Off to hide the blue stroke lines.

21 To brighten the man’s face, drag the Gamma master wheel (0.02) to the right.

The Magic Mask strokes are designed to be dragged within the viewer to optimize their
tracking position. Each stroke change is treated as a static keyframe, meaning there is
no dynamic animation or distortion from one stroke position to the next. Strokes can be
moved as many times as needed to provide the Magic Mask with optimal tracking data,
including moving (and analyzing) the strokes one frame at a time.
As the track runs, the man turns his head, and the left eye stroke drifts away. This can
sometimes occur when you track a person in motion and the reference point changes
or becomes obscured. You’ll need to fix this corrupted track.
Fixing Difficult Tracks
Despite its great accuracy and intuition, the Magic Mask is actually designed for working
14 Starting from the last frame (the starting point of the track), drag the playhead
with difficult-to-track data. It’s possible to isolate specific stokes when tracking, track
backward until you find the last usable frame of the track. This will be the frame just
one frame at a time, and introduce subtractive stokes to eliminate unwanted areas from
before he turns his head and the stroke gets lost.
the final mask. This exercise will require you to use a combination of these techniques to
15 In the viewer, select the eye stroke with your mouse and reposition it to his right eye. produce a clean result.

1 Select clip 09.

This clip has been successfully matched to the rest of the Garage sequence, but
there is still a green dominance in the darker elements on the man—specifically,
his hair and suit.

2 Create a new node and label it Masks.

3 Open the Magic Mask palette and set the mode to Person Mask.

4 In the upper left of the Magic Mask palette, ensure that the Person Mask mode is set
to Features.

5 In the Features pop-up menu, select Hair.

6 Drag the playhead past the second half of the clip, when the man’s head is turned, for
an optimal starting point for the track.

7 In the viewer, drag a stroke horizontally across the man’s hair.

16 In the Magic Mask toolbar, click Track Reverse again. This action will continue the track
from the new stroke position and overwrite the bad track data.

Automatically Tracking Objects and People 249 250 Lesson 7  Using Groups
8 Click Toggle Mask Overlay to review the selection. 15 In the palette options, choose Track Selected Stroke Only.

16 Select Stroke 1 in the Clothing (Top) category of the stroke list.

17 In the Magic Mask toolbar, click Track Forward and Reverse.

After tracking is completed, it’s possible that you will see some artifacting in the mask
next to the man’s neck. This can be resolved using subtractive strokes.

18 Drag the playhead until you see a frame with a distorted mask.

9 In the toolbar, click Track Forward and Reverse.

10 If the stroke goes offscreen toward the end of the clip, drag the playhead to the last
usable frame and readjust the stroke’s position.

11 Click Track One Frame Forward.

19 Ensure that the Features pop-up menu is still set to Clothing (Top).

20 In the toolbar, select the subtractive stroke tool.

Continue readjusting the stroke position and tracking one frame at a time until the hair
track is complete.

Next, you will select the man’s suit. Continue working in the same Masks node.

12 Drag the playhead to the center of the clip for a clearer view of the suit.

13 In the Features pop-up menu, select Clothing (Top).

21 In the viewer, draw a stroke on the mask overlay that is spilling outside the man.
14 In the viewer, drag a short stroke that includes both the man’s suit and shirt for a more
accurate analysis.

Subtractive strokes appear red in the viewer.

You’ll want to track this new stroke separately to avoid overwriting the successful track
data on the Hair stroke.

Automatically Tracking Objects and People 251 252 Lesson 7  Using Groups
22 Select the red Stroke 2 in the stroke list.

23 Click Track Forward and Reverse.

Creating a Unifying Look Using
the Post-Clip Group Level
When you achieve color consistency and address the individual secondary needs of the
clips within your groups, you’re ready to move on to the final post-clip group level in which
you will design and apply creative grades on a scene-by-scene basis. At this stage, other
members of the creative process, such as the director and director of photography (DOP),
usually get involved to discuss the aesthetic needs of the film.

24 In the matte finesse sidebar, shrink the mask Radius (3) and drag the Blur Radius (20.0)
Applying a Post-Clip Grade with
to contract and soften the edge of the mask. an External Reference
25 Click Toggle Mask Overlay to hide the mask and set the onscreen controls to Off to
In this exercise, you will work with a reference image that a client has shared with you. You
hide the blue stroke lines. will import it into the gallery and treat it as a still for visual comparison.
26 Use the Primaries palette to slightly darken the shadows with the Lift master wheel
1 Filter the timeline to show only the Garage group clips.
and gently raise the blue Lift bar to match the color of the suit to the one in the
2 Switch the Node Editor to Group Post-Clip mode.
preceding clip.
3 Select clip 07. This is the key shot you will use to grade the rest of the group.

TIP  Another unique parameter in the Magic Mask’s adjustment controls is 4 To import an external reference image, right-click in the Gallery and choose Import.
Consistency, which is designed to reduce mask jitter. Jitter is most likely to occur
5 In your file browser, navigate to the BMD 18 CC - Project 03 folder and open the
in masks that feature rapid movement or a high volume of edge detail, such as
References subfolder.
loose clothes blowing in the wind or curly hair. Increase Consistency to analyze
the surrounding frames of a mask and produce a more static average of the If you don’t see any images in the folder, ensure that your browser window is set to
selection on any given frame. identify all files as opposed to just the default .dpx format files.

6 Select the FK_Bridge_Reference.png image and click Import.

Masking the motion of a person manually can take hours or days. Traditionally, this involves
breaking up the human figure into a dozen dedicated windows and then animating them
to match the person’s movement. The Magic Mask produces accurate travelling mattes
instantly, allowing you to focus more of your time on the color grading process.

Automatically Tracking Objects and People 253 254 Lesson 7  Using Groups
7 Double-click the still to wipe it in the viewer. You may notice the shadows clipping slightly in the waveform and parade scopes.
Recall the message about breaking rules in Lesson 5. It applies even more so for
creative grading. When designing a look, it’s perfectly acceptable to make more
aggressive grading adjustments, as your primary focus is no longer the preservation
of the video signal, but rather the creation of a look you find aesthetically pleasing.

11 Drag the Gamma wheel toward cyan-blue to create a strong, cool tone that matches
the reference image.

You can address the oversaturated blue headlight reflections on the floor using the
Lum vs Sat curve.

12 In the Curves palette, open the Lum vs Sat HSL curve.

13 Click the white swatch under the curve grid to generate an anchor next to the
rightmost point of the saturation graph. The area between the two points represents
the most saturated areas of the frame.

14 Drag down the rightmost point until the reflections are not overly saturated. You’ll
notice that the area immediately around the reflections is not affected as strongly.
Clients often use visual references from photographs, art, or even existing films or TV 15 Drag the white swatch anchor point left to expand the region you’re targeting. If
shows to communicate their desired looks for a project. In this case, the highly stylized
necessary, click the right side of the curve to create a new adjustment point and drag
reference image points toward a high-contrast, saturated scene with neutral shadows
it down until the edges of the reflection are no longer saturated. Keep an eye on the
and cool midtones.
other colors in the image to ensure that you are not desaturating any prominent
First, let’s match the contrast and cold look of the reference shot. elements such as the red columns or the hood of the car.

8 Label node 01 as Dark Blue.

9 In the Curves palette, drag the master curve black point across the bottom of the
graph until the shadow under the car is almost pitch black.

10 Shape the master curve into a gentle S-curve to add contrast to the midtones, while
bringing some intensity into the lights within the image.

Creating a Unifying Look Using the Post-Clip Group Level 255 256 Lesson 7  Using Groups
 The overall temperature and tonal range of the scene is complete. You can now place a 19 Open the Hue vs Lum HSL curve, click the red swatch, and reduce the Lum by 50%.
second node to enhance the garage’s red columns and pipes. This darkens the red colors and matches them more closely to their environment.

It’s not common to create secondary grades in post-clip group node graphs, but when
the scenes have a consistent color scheme, it can work. TIP  To bypass the entire node tree within a specific level grade, press Option-D
(macOS) or Alt-D (Windows). Doing so will leave your other node levels intact so
Previously, you saw that you could get a better secondary grade result if you used the
you can assess the changes you’ve made within the current clip level.
original RGB signal of a clip instead of a heavily graded and contrasted one, like the
Dark Blue node. However, in this instance, the graded node is helping to contrast the
red pipes against the originally warm scene. Making a secondary selection based on
the cool grade will produce a cleaner red selection with minimal impact on the walls Adjusting Clips After a Post-Clip Grade
and actor’s skin tone.
Occasionally, a post-clip grade will emphasize or reveal inconsistencies in a sequence of
16 Create a new serial corrector node, and label it Red Pipes.
clips, which can result in mismatched grades. In such cases, you’ll need to return to Clip
17 In the HSL curves, open the Hue vs Sat HSL curve. mode in the Node Editor to make further adjustments.

18 Click the red swatch at the bottom of the palette and increase the Sat by 50%. Doing In this exercise, you will return to the Clip mode to apply an effect to the key shot and then
so enhances the reds in the image but also makes them a little distracting because of fix a discrepancy that was revealed in one of the shots on the timeline.
their unnatural brightness.
1 With clip 07 still selected, return the Node Editor to Clip mode. You will apply an effect
to the final clip to make the headlights more dramatic.

2 Create a second node and label it Headlights.

Creating a Unifying Look Using the Post-Clip Group Level 257 258 Lesson 7  Using Groups
3 Open the Effects panel. 8 To reduce the effect intensity, expand the Global Blend parameter at the bottom of the

4 Find the Resolve FX Light category and drag the Aperture Diffraction effect onto the settings and set Blend to 0.700.

Headlights node.

The result is an optical effect that mimics the diffraction of light. The settings in the
Effects panel allow you to refine the pattern, intensity, and color of the effect.

This simple effect dramatizes the final shot of the sequence as the car drives away. A
variety of light-based plug-ins in the Effects panel can similarly help you stylize your
shots and make features “pop” in subtle or exaggerated ways.

Next, you will check the remainder of the garage sequence to ensure that all
5 Under Aperture Controls, change the Iris Shape to Square.
shots match.

TIP  In the Output category of the Aperture Diffraction settings, change Select 9 Navigate the timeline and check the clips for consistency.

Output to Diffraction Patterns Alone to get a clearer view of the light patterns You can see that the upper midtones in clip 06 are substantially bluer when compared
as you adjust the settings. Change the output back to Final Composite to see to the environments in clips 05 and 07. Clip 06 is also darker, making it difficult to see
the result combined with the original image. the man’s face.

10 Select clip 06.

6 Under Compositing Controls, increase the Brightness to 0.600.

7 Increase the Colorize value to 0.200 and use the swatch underneath to change the
color to purple.

Creating a Unifying Look Using the Post-Clip Group Level 259 260 Lesson 7  Using Groups
11 Right-click clip 07 and select Wipe Timeline Clip. 16 Disable Wipe mode in the viewer.

The convenience of the group grading workflow is that no single stage or node is
permanent. It’s easy to jump between the different group modes and tweak them as
required, all while seeing the final output in the viewer.

Applying Timeline-Level
Grades and Effects
The Timeline level is available in the Node Editor whether or not you use group workflows.
As the name implies, adjustments made at this level affect every timeline clip uniformly.
This functionality can sometimes be useful for image property applications such as color
space transforming, gamut mapping, adding a vignette, or inserting film grain/analog
video effects. It is not as strongly advised for grading purposes but could be effective for
short video projects with consistent base colors.
12 Ensure that the Node Editor is still in Clip mode.
In this exercise, you will apply an analog video look to your entire project, followed by the
13 Label node 01 as Match.
data burn-in details that will make it easier to keep track of timecodes and clip names
14 Switch the Primaries palette to Log Wheels mode and drag the Shadow master wheel during the feedback stage of post-production.
right to brighten the shadows of the image, revealing more data in the background
and in the man’s face.
Apply an Analog Video Look
15 Drag the Shadow wheel control point toward orange.

The overall blue dominance of the shot is reduced, and the man’s face is more
to an Entire Timeline
clearly visible. Artificial film grain and analog video artifacts are occasionally added to digital media for
a variety of reasons. In some cases, the film needs to look outdated as a component of
the storyline (such as flashbacks, home movies, found footage, and so on). Film grain and
damage can also add realism to shots with artificially imposed elements or CGI graphics by
making them appear to have been captured on tape or celluloid film. Finally, film grain and
damage can also be an aesthetic choice.

NOTE  This exercise requires DaVinci Resolve Studio to complete.

1 Turn off the timeline filter to show all clips.

2 Switch the Node Editor to Timeline mode.

By default, the Node Editor appears without a node 01, which acts as a useful
reminder that this stage of the grading workflow is optional and can cause significant
repercussions in the appearance of the entire timeline.

Creating a Unifying Look Using the Post-Clip Group Level 261 262 Lesson 7  Using Groups
3 Press Option-S (macOS) or Alt-S (Windows) to create a new serial node that will already 9 To remove the visible frame on the left, open the Scan category. Adjust the
be connected to the RGB input and node tree outputs. H-Shift to 0.050.

10 To remove the horizontal black lines running throughout the sequence as it plays,
reset V-Hold to 0.000.

The blue outline around the node is another visual reminder that you are not in any of
the standard grading node levels.

4 Label node 01 as VHS. Before After

5 Open the Effects panel. 11 Click Play to review the result. All the clips on the timeline are affected by the VHS look.

6 Find the Resolve FX Texture category and drag the Analog Damage effect 12 Press Shift-F to exit the full-screen viewer.
onto node 01. 13 Before moving on to the next exercise, bypass the VHS node. The Analog Damage
7 Press Shift-F to expand the viewer and improve access to the Analog Damage effect is processor-intensive, so it’s a good idea to disable it until you are ready to
settings panel. export the project.

TIP  The Film Grain effect in the Resolve FX Texture category can similarly be
applied to achieve the look of celluloid film on digital footage. It comes with
a variety of film stock presets (8 mm, 16 mm, 35 mm) as well as a collection
of grain parameters for optimal customization on a timeline or clip-by-clip
basis. In the Advanced Controls, you can enable “Animate on Every Refresh”
to force the grain to move as you grade, giving you an even more accurate
representation of the final look as you work on a clip.

Adding Data Burn-In to the

Viewer and Final Video
Another common feature applied on a timeline basis is data burn-in, which overlays a
The top of the panel features a preset pop-up menu with a collection of common
timecode, clip data, or any number of designated text metadata over the viewer. It works
analog looks—B&W and color television transmission signals through the decades,
independently from the Node Editor, and you can use it in-program for editorial purposes,
VHS, and so on. Beneath, individual parameter controls enable you to adjust a wide
as well as for the final delivery of a video.
variety of damage components such as vignetting, noise, scan lines, chromatic
aberration, jitter, screen curvature and many others.

8 Set the preset to Old VHS.

Applying Timeline-Level Grades and Effects 263 264 Lesson 7  Using Groups

1 Choose Workspace > Data Burn-In. 6 Remove the black box behind the text by reducing the Custom Text Background
Opacity to 0.

7 Change the Font to Open Sans.

8 Increase the Text Size (140) to fill the viewer.

9 Reduce the Text Opacity (0.20).

10 Reposition the text to the center of the viewer using the Position Y parameter.

TIP  To apply a watermark over a video, use one of the Logo options in the
Data Burn-In interface. You can import a custom image/logo file and adjust its
opacity using the Transform controls on the right.

11 Close the Data Burn-In window.

The left side of the Data Burn-In window features a list of metadata that you can
superimpose over the video. The right side of the interface changes according to the
selected option and allows you to adjust the placement of text, font, color, and so on.

The Project and Clip buttons at the top of the Data Burn-In window allow you to apply
data across the length of a timeline or on a single instance of a clip. This option can be
helpful when leaving comments or feedback—for example, when communicating with
the audio or VFX department about the requirements of specific shots.

2 Select Record Timecode to display the timeline’s timecode on the video.

3 Select Source Clip Name to display the name of each clip as it plays in the video. Note
that in this case, because all the clips are sourced from a single flattened video file,
they will all have the same source clip name. Data burn-ins can be extremely useful for inserting quick and accurate communications
between departments and clients. Instead of describing clips visually, exact clip source
4 Select Custom Text1, and in the Custom Output Text field, type PLEASE DO NOT
names can be used in feedback. Likewise, the precise timecodes ensure that your
DISTRIBUTE.
collaborators are not using the general timecodes of their video players (which usually
5 In the Data Burn-In options, deselect Gang Render Text Styles. This will enable you to lack frame data). Frequently used data burn-in layouts can be saved as presets in the Data
modify the individual appearances of the data burn-in fields. Burn-In options menu.
In this case, you will use the Custom Text field to act as a form of distribution
protection for your video.

Applying Timeline-Level Grades and Effects 265 266 Lesson 7  Using Groups

 Office Group
NOTE  The Data Burn-In window includes fields such as Reel Name, Shot, Take, and
many others that display the information entered into those respective fields in the — Add clips 03–05 to a new group called Office.
Metadata panel of the media page. — Match the lightness of clip 03 to the other clips in the Office group.

In the Custom Text fields, type % to access an even wider range of — In clip 02, use the Magic Mask to track the man’s face and hands, and then use
metadata options. adjustment controls to add contrast and detail to the man’s skin.
— Create a post-clip group grade on the Office group. Begin by normalizing the lightness
in the room by spreading the waveform upward. Then create a Look node in which
By combining the knowledge you gained in previous exercises with the group-driven you add cyan to the lower midtones while maintaining neutral shadows. Return to Clip
workflow of this lesson, you can design more efficient project workflows with clearly mode in the Node Editor to tweak any inconsistencies revealed in the group grade.
allocated purposes for each group level and node.

Morning Group
Self-Guided Exercises — Add clips 16–18 to a new group called Morning.
— Perform contrast and color matching on the clips the Morning group using clip 02 as
Complete the following self-guided exercises in the Project 03 - The Long Workday timeline
the key shot.
to gain more experience with groups, primary and secondary grading, and creative grade
construction. Note that these exercises are designed foremost for group grading practice — In clip 01, use the Object Mask to select the sea and increase the contrast, pivot, and
and not necessarily to produce a single cohesive color narrative. midtone detail to make the ripples in the water more pronounced.
— Create a post-clip group grade in the Morning group. Use the Color Warper to gently

Home Group tint the mountains red and turn the atmosphere yellow. Return to Clip mode in the
Node Editor to tweak any inconsistencies revealed in the group grade.
— Create a post-clip group grade on the Home group. Import the GC_Island_Reference.png
image from the BMD 18 CC - Project 03 > References subfolder into the gallery as a When you’ve completed these exercises, open the Project 03 - The Long Workday
reference. Aim to create a light, warm look with a bit of contrast. Use HSL curves to Commercial COMPLETED.drp and review Lesson 07 Timeline COMPLETED to compare
emphasize the blue color of the sky and water outside the windows. your work with this “solved” timeline. If the media appears offline, click the red Relink
Media button in the upper-left corner of the media pool and specify the location of the
— In clip 02 of the Home group, use the Magic Mask to track the man, while excluding his
Project 03 media on your workstation.
coat. Invert the mask selection and use Lum vs Sat to desaturate his surroundings. Use
Smart Refine if edges of color remain visible around him.

Highway Group
— Balance clip 02 of the Highway group by reducing the red in the shadows and then
brighten the overall shot. Match clip 01 to clip 02, paying particular attention to the
color of the road in both shots.
— Add the Lens Reflections effect to clip 01 and change the reflection preset to Bokeh.
Adjust the reflecting elements until you have a string of faint, out-of-focus, white
bokehs at the bottom of the screen. Then append this node to clip 02.

Self-Guided Exercises 267 268 Lesson 7  Using Groups

Lesson Review Answers
1 False. A clip can have only one pre-clip and post-clip Node Editor mode. Adding a clip
1 True or false? A clip can belong to more than one group.
to a group will remove it from any previous group it was in.
2 Which group level is ideal for performing shot matching?
2 Clip mode is ideal for performing shot matching.
3 True or false? Placing clips into groups allows you to bypass the normalizing/balancing
3 False. If the clips in a group do not match each other, their differences will remain even
stages of the grading workflow.
when a group grade is applied.
4 Which Magic Mask feature can be used to mask a pair of gym shorts?
4 Gym shorts will be best tracked using Person Mask set to Features mode, with Clothing
5 How is data burn-in enabled? (Bottom) selected in the pop-up menu.

5 Choose Workspace > Data Burn-In.

Lesson Review 269 270 Lesson 7  Using Groups

Lesson 8 Understanding Timeline
Resolutions and Sizing
Adjusting Image Palette Modes
Properties In the following set of exercises, you will address the variety of ways in which you can
impact the frame of your project in DaVinci Resolve 18. Specifically, you will change the
project resolution, reframe individual shots, and sample portions of an image at the
node level.

Changing Timeline Resolutions

In this exercise, you will change the project resolution to evaluate how doing so impacts
the image quality and secondary grades of the clips in your timeline.
Although image colors tend to be Time 1 Select clip 05 on the Project 03 - The Long Workday timeline.
a primary concern for the colorist, This lesson takes approximately
there are also many transformative 110 minutes to complete.

changes that can be made in the Goals

color page to better accommodate
Understanding Timeline
the narrative and aesthetic needs Resolutions and Sizing
of a project. Such changes can Palette Modes 272
include alterations to the scaling Using Keyframes
and positioning of the frame, noise to Animate Grades  283

reduction, and the animation of Applying Noise Reduction 291

grades over time. Optimizing Performance
with Render Cache 296
Some of the tools required to achieve
Self-Guided Exercises 304
these transformations can impact the
2 Create a new node called Vignette.
Lesson Review 305
speed at which your computer is able
3 In the Window palette, apply the Vignette preset from lesson 3. Reposition and resize
to play back the media on the timeline.
it to focus on the man at the window.
For this reason, it’s helpful to leverage
the automated (Smart) and manual
(User) render cache methods to get the
most efficient processing of clips and
nodes across the multiple cache levels
in DaVinci Resolve.

272 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties

4 Drag the Gamma master wheel left to darken the edges of the frame and then drag 7 Click Save to exit the Project Settings.
the color wheel control point toward blue/cyan to give the room a cool atmosphere. 8 If the video appears zoomed in, press Shift-Z to fit the video frame to the viewer panel.

1920 x 1080 3840 x 2160

Compare the difference between the two resolutions. Note that the clip’s frame
and positioning in the viewer has not changed. Additionally, the vignette window is
rescaled to the new resolution while maintaining the placement in relation to the
media clip. The only evidence of change is the new anchor handle length in the center
5 Open the Project Settings and choose the Master Settings tab. of the Power Window.

This behavior is one of the most invaluable features of DaVinci Resolve when grading
and applying effects. The program is resolution independent, which allows you to
change the frame size and aspect ratio of a project without affecting the positions
of clips, images, secondary grades, effects, and generators created on the cut, edit,
Fusion, or color pages.

9 Open the Project Settings and reset the Timeline resolution to 1920 x 1080 HD.

10 Delete the Vignette node.

4K to 1080p to 4K Workflow
6 Change the Timeline resolution to 3840 x 2160 Ultra HD, which is a standardized 4K Switching the timeline resolution is an effective method for optimizing workstation
resolution with the same aspect ratio (1.77:1) as 1920 x 1080 HD. performance during editing. It ensures that clips are rendered and played in
real time without lag and without altering the quality of the final film. A common
TIP  When rescaling media to a higher resolution (for example, converting workflow for 4K footage is to set the timeline to 2K or 1920 x 1080 during the
720p content to a 1080p timeline or 1080p to a 4K timeline), you can activate editing process, and then reset it to 4K prior to rendering.
a high-quality upscaling feature called Super Scale. To do so, right-click a lower-
Be aware that the grading potential, as well as the accuracy, of key-dependent
resolution clip in the media pool and choose Clip Attributes. In the Video tab, in
secondary grading tools (such as the qualifier) is reduced at a lower image
the Super Scale pop-up menu, choose 2x (or higher) to double the resolution.
resolution. Therefore, you are advised to change the timeline to the full media
Doing so will substantially improve the method by which the image is upscaled
resolution before grading.
in higher-resolution projects, although it is a processor-intensive operation that
may compromise real-time playback.

Understanding Timeline Resolutions and Sizing Palette Modes 273 274 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties
Reframing Individual Clips 11 In clip 12, change Pan to -70.00 and Tilt to 150.00.

The Sizing palette becomes an increasingly versatile tool when you take advantage of
its sizing modes. These modes allow you to switch the sizing focus from clips to entire
timelines or to individual nodes. In this exercise, you will rescale and reposition clips on
an individual and timeline basis.

1 Select clip 15.

To ensure good playback during this exercise, you will temporarily disable the
processor-intensive Track node.
12 Switch between the clips to verify that they have retained their Output Sizing zoom but
2 Select the Track node (node 02) and press Command-D (macOS) or Ctrl-D (Windows) have adopted different pan and tilt values.
to disable it.

The Balance node features much lighter primary grading adjustments and can be left NOTE  Output sizing is also commonly used to adapt footage with a different
as it is for the reframing exercises. aspect ratio to a new standard—for example 4K DCI will appear to have
horizontal blanking (black bars) in a 4K UHD timeline. Output sizing can be used
3 Enter the Sizing palette and set the Zoom value to 1.500 to scale up the image.
to quickly fill the frame of the video.
4 Select clip 12.

Notice that clip 12 was not affected by the reframing of clip 15. In fact, every clip in the
timeline has remained unchanged because clip 15 was changed at the clip level (Input These changes made use of two modes (Input and Output) of the Sizing palette.

Sizing) in the Sizing palette. Previously, you rescaled and reframed a wiped still using the Reference Sizing mode.

The full list of sizing modes and their impact on the image is as follows:
5 Return to clip 15 and reset the Sizing palette.

6 In the upper right of the Sizing palette, choose Output Sizing. — Edit Sizing reflects the transform changes applied to a clip in the Inspector of the
edit page.
— Input Sizing applies transform changes to a clip in the color page. It targets clips
on the same level as Edit Sizing but isolates the function to the color page.
— Output Sizing applies to the entire timeline.
— Node Sizing applies to the selected node in the Node Editor.
7 Set the Zoom value to 1.500 again.
— Reference Sizing applies to the reference movie or still that is active in the viewer’s
8 Click the other clips in the timeline to verify that they were altered by the
wipe mode.
change in scale.

Sometimes, rescaling makes sense on a timeline-wide basis, such as when

appropriating media to a different resolution. However, reframing tends to be much TIP  To apply blanking to your timeline, click Timeline > Output Blanking and
more specific to the visual content of each shot. choose an aspect ratio. This method permits you to change the project aspect
ratio while preserving the original video resolution of the timeline.
Let’s reframe shots 12 and 15 based on content.

9 Change the Sizing palette mode back to Input Sizing.

10 In clip 15, change Pan to 45.00 and Tilt to 50.00.

Understanding Timeline Resolutions and Sizing Palette Modes 275 276 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties
 7 Change all the Softness values to 0.00 to give the window a sharp edge.
Custom Resolutions and Aspect Ratios
Under the Timeline resolution presets of the Project Settings, you may enter a
custom resolution that will result in a non-standard video resolution at the aspect
ratio of your choosing. Be aware that changing the aspect ratio or resolution to a
non-industry standard could mean that the rendered video may not be playable
on some projectors or video players. When outputting to equipment that only
recognizes standard video formats, it’s safer to use a common (preset) resolution
and apply custom blanking to change the aspect ratio. In either case, the custom
blanking will appear as black bars during playback.
8 Open the Sizing palette and set it to Node Sizing mode. From now on, all changes to
the Sizing palette will affect only the Crop node.

Sampling Visual Data with Node Sizing 9 Change the Zoom to 2.0 to scale up the linear window and its contents.

The backplate remains unchanged.

The ability to change an image’s sizing data at the node level allows for some interesting
creative (and practical) applications. You could clone an image to display multiple versions 10 Pan the window (375.000) until you can no longer see the backplate to the right of
of itself within the viewer or fix continuity errors by sampling portions of the image for the viewer.
cover-up work. 11 Tilt the window upward (300.000) to see more of the road in the scaled-up node.
In the following exercise, you will use node sizing to produce a dynamic layered look 12 Select the Backplate node.
in a shot.
13 In the Sizing palette, pan the image left (-300.000) to place the car in the left half
1 Reset the Input and Output sizing data from the previous exercise. of the viewer.
2 Select clip 15.

3 In the Node Editor’s Clip mode, create a new serial node called Backplate.

4 Press Option-L (macOS) or Alt-L (Windows) to create a layer mixer and label the new
node Crop.

5 Open the Window palette.

14 Select the Crop node again to begin grading the car close-up.
6 Activate a linear window and reposition the corners to frame the front half of the car.

Understanding Timeline Resolutions and Sizing Palette Modes 277 278 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties
15 Drag the Offset wheel toward blue to give the shot a cool metallic look. 1 Select clip 05.

16 Drag the Lift wheel toward red to slightly offset the blue in the shadows. This is a visually interesting shot with good set design and a great choice of
17 Drag the Gain master wheel right to brighten the highlights. location. However, one minor element is distracting from the luxurious office: the
wall thermostat. Your aim is to remove the thermostat by covering it with a sample
of the wall.

2 Create a new serial node and label it Coverup.

3 Open the Effects panel.

4 From the Resolve FX Revival category, drag the Patch Replacer effect onto the
Coverup node.

18 Play the clip to view the two versions of the footage simultaneously.

In layer-based compositing systems, this effect would be possible only by creating a

second video track, duplicating the clip over itself, and applying a crop tool. Due to its
less efficient method of reusing video data, layer-based compositing tends to be more
processor-intensive. Nodes provide a much cleaner approach to the duplication and
resampling of RGB signals.

Two oval outlines appear in the viewer. The left oval represents the source patch, which
Creating Cover-Ups with is actively sampling the portion of the video under it. The right oval is the target patch,

the Patch Replacer Effect which is receiving visual data from the source and actively grading it to match its
surroundings.
You can also use node sizing for more practical compositing solutions, such as sampling a
5 Drag the target patch over the wall and resize it to outline the thermostat and
portion of the video to cover up an undesirable artifact. This type of painting or cover-up
its shadow.
work is often used to fix continuity errors, conceal visible booms, and improve set design.
6 Drag the source patch over an empty area of the wall near the target.
In this exercise, you will use the more sophisticated Patch Replacer effect to quickly
perform cover-up work and automatically adjust the grade of the sampled area to match
the destination.

NOTE  DaVinci Resolve Studio is required to complete the following exercise.

Understanding Timeline Resolutions and Sizing Palette Modes 279 280 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties
7 If necessary, zoom in inside the viewer to refine the placements. 12 In the lower-left corner of the Tracker palette, click the Add Tracker Point button.

Blue crosshairs appear in the center of the frame. These crosshairs indicate the area
of the image that will be analyzed for tracking.

13 Drag the crosshairs over the thermostat on the wall.

TIP  To navigate inside the viewer after zooming in, hold down your middle
mouse button and drag. If you do not have a middle mouse button, you can
Ctrl-scroll (macOS) or Command-scroll (Windows) and Shift-Command-scroll
(macOS) or Shift-Ctrl-scroll (Windows) to move vertically and horizontally in
the viewer. The crosshairs turn red when the default position is altered.

14 In the Tracker palette, click the Track Forward button to perform the track analysis.
8 In the Patch Replacer Settings, select Keep Original Detail to assess the position of 15 After tracking is completed, deselect Keep Original Detail to bring back the target
the thermostat behind the target window. Ensure that the circle outline completely patch cover-up.
encompasses the thermostat and its shadow.
16 If necessary, turn off the viewer onscreen controls to hide the tracking point and
9 Press Shift-Z to fit the video frame to the viewer panel. patch outlines.
The cover-up is successful, but only on the first frame of the clip. As soon as you play
the video, the thermostat moves with the camera while the target patch remains
static. To complete the composite, you will need to track the effect to the motion of
the camera.

10 Drag the playhead to the first frame of the clip.

11 Open the Tracker palette and in the upper-right corner set the mode to FX.

To perform motion tracking, you will need to specify a tracking point. Ideally, you
want to define the element you are covering up or a trackable area that is on the
same plane as that element. In the case of this clip, the original thermostat is an ideal
tracking point.

Understanding Timeline Resolutions and Sizing Palette Modes 281 282 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties
17 Play the clip to check the accuracy of the cover-up. Make further adjustments to the Animating Position Values with
size and placement of the source and target patches, if necessary.
Dynamic Keyframes
The result is a clean cover-up of the wall that is ready for further editing and grading. Dynamic keyframes uniformly adjust parameter values across frames, creating the effect
of smooth, consistent change over time. In this exercise, you will animate the transform
values and color grade of a clip to imitate a camera move and sunrise effect.
TIP  You can also perform this type of cover-up effect using node sizing. With a
backplate node in place, create a layer node and use a Power Window to sample 1 Select clip 01.
a clean portion of the video. In the Sizing palette, move the layer node over the This video was captured late in the evening and appears very dark. Before you can
portion of the image you want to cover up. In the case of moving camera shots, begin grading it creatively, you should expand its luminance range to take advantage
begin the workflow by tracking the video with the standard window tracker before of the available colors and contrast. You will use a similar process to the mountain
moving the Power Window over the sample area. range exercise in Lesson 1, where you combined color and log wheels to target and
expand a dark range of an image.

Node-based cover-ups are frequently employed to address the aesthetic needs of a scene 2 Label node 01 as Normal.
or to resolve issues that were not noticed during the shoot (for example, removal of visible
3 Drag the Gamma master wheel right (0.25) to increase the waveform spread, and then
set equipment). These workflows tend to work best on footage with limited movement and
drag the Shadow master wheel right (0.20) to further brighten the dark foreground.
good sample areas.
These steps reveal some substantial digital noise, which will be addressed after the
grade is completed.
TIP  Another tool that you can use for cover-up work is the Object Removal effect
(also in the Resolve FX Revival category). Whereas the Patch Replacer samples data
from the current video frame, Object Removal uses the data from surrounding
frames to cover up a moving object. To remove an object, first draw a Power
Window around it and track it through the shot. Then, drag the Object Removal
effect onto that node. Click Scene Analysis in the settings and wait. If the object
you’re removing is in motion, but the camera is locked, enable Assume No Motion.
If enough visual data is available, the object will be successfully removed.

Using Keyframes
to Animate Grades 
To understand keyframing, you need only to grasp the concept that you need just two The clip is a locked establishing shot. Even though it was captured in real-time, it has a
keyframes to create animation. And those keyframes need to communicate just two things time lapse feel to it. In the next few exercises, you will use animation to imitate the fast
to the program: their points in time and their values. By placing the keyframes at different passage of time.
points in the timeline, you indicate the length of time through which the change occurs,
Your first goal is to create a pan-and-zoom motion starting from the original wide shot
and by giving those keyframes individual values, you specify the nature of the change.
and ending on a close-up of the city skyline.

Using Keyframes to Animate Grades  283 284 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties

4 To the right of the palettes in the color page, open the Keyframes Editor. 10 With the Sizing palette in Input Sizing mode, change the Zoom to 1.500, the Pan to
-400.000, and the Tilt to -200.000.

The palette currently features two animation categories: the individual controls for
node 01 (Corrector 1) and the Sizing values of the overall clip.

5 Create a new serial node and label it Sunrise. Corrector 2 appears in the Two new dynamic keyframes are automatically added to the Keyframes timeline—
Keyframes sidebar. one for the Input Sizing parameter, and one for the general Sizing header in which it
Each new node you create will receive its own corrector header and controls in the is contained. Additionally, two dimmed triangles indicate that a dynamic animation has
Keyframes Editor. been generated.

6 Click the disclosure arrow next to Sizing to expand the category controls. 11 Play the clip to watch the animation in action. The shot begins with a wide view of the
city and then zooms in on the skyline in the distance.
7 Click the diamond-shaped keyframe symbol next to Input Sizing to activate animation
in that parameter.
TIP  If you click the Loop button in the viewer playback controls, the playhead
From now on, any changes you make to the clip will be logged as dynamic keyframes.
will play the same clip over and over instead of continuing to the next clip.
8 While on the first frame of the clip, right-click the circular keyframe next to Input Sizing
and choose Change to Dynamic Keyframe to convert the default static keyframe to a
dynamic one.
Changing Color Values Over Time
with Dynamic Keyframes
Next, to animate the color values of the clip, you’ll target the node’s corrector controls.

1 Drag the playhead to the first frame of clip 01.

TIP  Press the [ (left bracket) and ] (right bracket) keys to navigate between
keyframes in the Keyframes palette. This shortcut can save you time when
comparing the different stages of an animation.
The circular keyframe becomes diamond shaped.

9 Drag the playhead to the end of the clip duration in the Keyframes timeline.
2 Select node 02 (Sunrise).

3 In the Keyframes palette, expand Corrector 2.

4 Click the keyframe symbol next to Color Corrector to activate keyframing.

To imitate the look of the sun rising, you will first need to create a pre-dawn look.

Using Keyframes to Animate Grades  285 286 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties

5 Drag the Gamma master wheel left to darken the midtone ranges of the image, 11 Drag the Gain color wheel toward yellow to warm up the image.
and then drag the Gamma color wheel toward blue to imitate a cool night color 12 Increase the Highlights (50.00) in the adjustment controls to brighten the sunlight on
temperature. the horizon.
6 Reduce saturation to 35.00 to imitate the limited perception of color in
dark environments.

TIP  The Highlights and Shadows parameters in the adjustment controls

7 Drag the playhead to the last frame of the clip. feature unique tonal ranges that are designed for better retrieval of detail
from the highlights and shadows of an image. To study their impact, add a
compounded grayscale generator at the end of the timeline and drag these
TIP  You can click the Expand button in the upper-right corner of the Keyframes
ranges to identify their range and overlap.
Editor to increase the interface size. Doing so will move all other palettes to the
left of the color page, giving you more room to focus on keyframing.

13 Play the clip to see the colors animate over time.

You will now create the post-sunrise look in the same node. A common reason for keyframing color grades is to address color temperature
fluctuation. Shoots in which the camera operator might maneuver from indoor
8 Return the Saturation to 50.0 to bring back the original colors to the scene.
to outdoor locations (documentaries, wedding videography, and so on) benefit greatly
9 In the Primaries palette, click the reset arrow in the upper right of the Gamma wheel to from these types of animated grade workflows.
remove the dark blue look.

10 Increase the Contrast (1.300) to create a silhouette effect on the skyline. TIP  Resolve FX can also be keyframed. When an effect is added directly to a
pipeline, it will appear under its own name in the Keyframes palette sidebar.
When an effect is dragged onto a regular corrector node, it will appear in the
list under the respective corrector header.

Using Keyframes to Animate Grades  287 288 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties

Applying Dynamic Attributes 4 Set the Start Dissolve value to 2. The almost-horizontal shape of the line at the start
indicates that the animation will be slow and gradual before it accelerates and finishes
The animation in this exercise was created successfully, but the zooming motion appears in a linear fashion.
a little artificial because of the linear nature of the animation. In this exercise, you will
simulate a more realistic camera zoom by altering the animation speed and style using
dynamic attributes.

1 Drag the playhead to the first frame of clip 01.

2 Right-click the first keyframe in the Input Sizing parameter.

3 Choose Change Dynamic Attributes.

5 Click OK to confirm the change.

6 Play the clip and note the slow start to the animation. This small change makes the
simulated zooming effect more realistic, as if a camera operator was slowly rotating
the lens zoom and then sped it up toward the end.

Keyframe animation can take some getting used to, but in time, and with consistent
practice, generating keyframes and animating changes can become a common part of
The dynamic attributes interface controls animation behavior from the frame directly your grading workflow.
under the playhead to the next frame.

Using Static Keyframes

When creating a new keyframe in the editor, the alternative to dynamic keyframes
are static keyframes. Static keyframes don’t animate the change between values;
instead, they abruptly change the value when the playhead reaches them.

You can combine static and dynamic keyframes within a single animation, such
as when a change needs to be gradual but then abruptly appear/disappear at the
start or end of the animation—for example, a lightbulb that turns on abruptly and
then gradually increases in brightness and temperature over time.

Using Keyframes to Animate Grades  289 290 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties

Applying Noise Reduction 5 Open the Motion Effects palette.

DaVinci Resolve’s noise reduction feature runs on a powerful video engine that can
distinguish noise from environmental data by performing a temporal analysis of the
video frames. This feature allows for a strong reduction of noise while preserving a
high level of detail in the subjects of an image. Applying the additional spatial method
of noise reduction further cleans up the image by analyzing and removing repeating
noise patterns.

NOTE  DaVinci Resolve Studio is required to complete the following exercise.

This palette is divided into three control areas:
— Temporal NR analyzes the video across several frames to detect moving subjects
1 Continue to work on clip 01 in the Project 03 - The Long Workday timeline.
and backgrounds. It excludes moving elements from the most aggressive noise
2 Drag the playhead to the last frame of the clip to work on the scene at its brightest. reduction processing to prevent unwanted blurring of vital information.
Because of the low-light conditions in which this footage was captured, the — Spatial NR softens high-frequency noise while retaining the data in levels of high
brightening of the gamma has revealed digital noise in the shadows and midtones. detail. This tool is extremely effective for reducing fine-grain noise that Temporal
NR missed.
3 For a better view of the noise detail in the image, increase the viewer Zoom (between
— Motion Blur is not a noise-reduction tool but uses the same analytical engine
100%–150%).
as Temporal NR to produce its results. This tool helps make action shots more
dynamic by adding artificial motion blur to moving subjects.

6 Under Temporal NR, you will first need to choose the number of frames that will be
averaged to separate the subject detail from the noise. For this shot, which features no
camera movement or moving subjects, an analysis of 2 frames is sufficient.

The higher the number, the more accurate the analysis will be, but at the expense of
extra processing time. However, a higher analysis rate could also produce artifacts in
shots with overlapping moving subjects.

7 The Mo. Est. Type (Motion Estimation Type) setting enables you to indicate the method
used to detect motion in the image. A setting of Faster prioritizes speed of output over
quality, whereas Better produces a finer result at the expense of extra processing
time. When there is no movement in a shot, choose None to exclude motion analysis
4 Create a new serial node after Sunrise (node 03) and label it Denoise. from the result and apply noise reduction to the entire image.

For clip 01, choose Better. This will prevent the ripples in the water from being too
aggressively denoised and will take into account the Input Sizing animation.

8 Motion Range allows you to indicate the speed at which the subjects are moving to
exclude areas with motion blur from the noise reduction effect.

Clip 01 has almost no motion, so Small is a good choice.

Applying Noise Reduction 291 292 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties

9 The Temporal Threshold controls how aggressively noise reduction is applied to 15 Disable the Highlight view and toggle the Grade Bypass to compare the image before
luma and chroma levels. By default, these options are linked, but if the image has and after Temporal NR.
monochromatic noise (or vice versa), it’s advisable to unlink the two parameters and
The noise reduction is substantial. However, you still have room for improvement by
target the luma/chroma noise directly. reducing the more generic noise patterns in the image.
This setting will activate noise reduction in the image, so you can begin by entering
any number and then dragging left or right to increase or decrease the effect.
NOTE  Temporal NR avoids aggressive noise reduction in moving elements
Enter 15.0 as the starting Threshold. by analyzing the content of a scene. For this reason, it is optimal when applied
to locked shots. In a shot with quick pans or handheld camera motion, every
10 To see how much the Temporal NR is affecting the image, you can use the Highlight
element will be moving, which partially defeats the purpose of the Temporal
tool to assess the pixel difference.
NR analysis.
In the viewer, enable Highlight mode.

11 In the upper right of the viewer, click the A/B icon to activate the Difference mode.
16 Under Spatial NR, set the reduction mode to Better.
The patterns you see in the viewer show the amount of noise that has been removed
As with Motion Estimation Type, this setting is responsible for determining the speed/
from the original image.
quality of the final output; although, in this case, Faster, Better, and Enhanced all refer
12 When you start to recognize the dark outlines of objects in the noise pattern, it is an to different analysis algorithms.
indication that the noise reduction has become so aggressive that it is now removing 17 The Radius value indicates the area of the image that is analyzed to determine the
legitimate visual information. noise type within the frame.
Drag the Threshold left (5.0) until only noise remains. To begin, set the Radius to Small. When reviewing the final result, switch between
Radius sizes to check whether the Spatial NR is substantially improved. With most
noise types, Small is sufficient.

18 As with the Temporal NR, the Luma and Chroma Threshold settings determine the
intensity of the noise reduction.

Change the Luma and Chroma Threshold settings to 40.0 to see a further reduction in
the remaining image noise.

Good noise reduction Overly aggressive noise reduction

13 The Motion value acts as a pivot for the point at which moving objects are excluded
from noise reduction. A lower value excludes larger areas of the image, whereas a
higher value assumes less motion and targets more of the image.

Very little motion occurs in the image, so a high Motion value of 60.0 is appropriate.

14 The Blend value allows you to blend the original image back into the noise-reduced
version. This adjustment can be helpful when noise reduction gets too aggressive, and
Before noise reduction After noise reduction
areas of the image take on a plastic appearance.

Leave Blend unchanged for this clip.

Applying Noise Reduction 293 294 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties

19 Press Command-D (macOS) or Ctrl-D (Windows) to bypass the Denoise node and
compare the image before and after noise reduction. Pay particular attention to the
Optimizing Performance
preservation of the fine detail in the image—like the Ferris wheel spokes and the
windows in the buildings of the skyline.
with Render Cache
Almost anyone who has done graphic-intensive work on a computer will be familiar with
TIP  Noise Reduction is available in the Effects Library under the Resolve FX the frustration of experiencing lag when the workstation is incapable of processing the
Revival category and features all the same settings. You can use it to apply data in real time.
noise reduction to clips directly in the edit or cut page timelines. DaVinci Resolve offers a variety of methods for improving workstation performance.
For example, by reducing the playback resolution, generating Proxy Media, or using
transcoded media workflows, you can change the size of the footage to ensure faster
Before moving on, it would be worthwhile to check whether changing the location of
playback during editing and grading.
the Denoise node could improve the noise reduction.
Another powerful method for increasing playback speed is allowing DaVinci Resolve to
20 Select the Denoise node and press E to extract it from the pipeline.
render your footage while the application is otherwise inactive. You can then play the
21 Drag the Denoise node to the link between the RGB input and node 01 (Normal). cached media without the need to render effects-heavy clips in real time. The caching
Doing so will perform noise reduction on the original RGB signal before any grading or mechanism in DaVinci Resolve is made up of three independent stages that prompt
animation takes place. a render based on various criteria. This allows DaVinci Resolve to monitor each clip
and timeline and only cache renders when they meet one or more of the cache level
In this instance, the change softens the impact of the noise reduction and produces a
requirements. In order, these levels are:
better visual output.
— Fusion Output Caching
22 Disable the Denoise node before moving to the next exercise.
— Node Caching
— Color Output Caching (optional)
It’s always advisable to use a dedicated node for noise reduction. After the noise is
reduced to a satisfactory level, you can opt to disable the Denoise node to reduce the — Sequence Caching
amount of processing and caching that takes place while you proceed with the rest of the
grading process. Bear in mind, however, that a substantially noise-reduced signal might
have an observable impact on subsequent nodes, especially chroma- and luma-key based Enabling Smart Cache
ones like the qualifier. In such cases, it is recommended to keep the Denoise node active to
Caching in DaVinci Resolve can occur on the timeline, clip, or even on the node level.
get a more accurate representation of your final look.
Additionally, cache rendering can occur automatically, if meeting the criteria determined by
the Smart Cache feature, or manually, as determined by the user. You will experience most
of these cache levels in the next few exercises.
Where Should You Place the Noise Reduction Node?
1 Enter the edit page.
Applying NR at the start of the node tree is advisable because it analyzes and
affects the original RGB data to reduce noise. However, this placement may 2 If you have not done so in Lesson 7, enable caching by choosing Playback > Render
potentially impact the precision of key-based selection tools (HSL curves or Cache > Smart.
qualifier, for example) or introduce artifacting too early in the node pipeline. The first level at which caching takes place is known as Fusion Output Caching,
previously known as source caching. Its name refers to the position in the video
Applying noise reduction at the end of the node tree can bypass these issues (if
signal’s order of operations that prompts the cache. After media is imported and
they are present) but can also result in a slightly less detailed image. When unsure,
added to a timeline, its signal flows from the edit page to the Fusion page and is then
experiment with the placement of the NR node in the Node Editor until you find
the optimal position.

Applying Noise Reduction 295 296 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties

 routed back to the edit page at the end of the Fusion pipeline, prompting this first This prompts a re-cache of the entire node. With caching enabled, the smallest change
caching stage. When in Smart Cache mode, Fusion Output Caches are generated to any cache-qualifying element will always prompt a re-cache, as the program needs
for processor-intensive video media codecs such as H.265/HEVC and most raw to produce a new rendered version of the video with the new effect parameters.
camera formats.

The Project 03 - The Long Workday timeline uses media compressed in an NOTE  If the node fails to render and turn blue, it’s possible that the project
intermediary codec (DNxHR) that is already optimized for editing; therefore, the does not have a cache location. To fix this, enter the Project Settings, and in the
program is able to play it in real time without triggering Fusion Output Cache. You’ll Master Settings, scroll down to the Working Folders. Ensure that the Cache files
have a chance to observe this level of caching in Lesson 9, where you will be working location is set up and has write access.
with raw media.

Generating a Node Cache You will now observe how changes to the node pipeline impact cached nodes.

6 Create a serial node after the Sunrise node and label it BW (node 04).
Node caching occurs in the Node Editor of the color page after the application of grades
and effects. Like with Fusion Output Caching, when Smart Cache is enabled, rendering 7 In the adjustment controls, drag the Sat value to 0.

occurs only when DaVinci Resolve deems the node processes to be intensive.

1 Enter the color page.

2 In the interface toolbar, ensure that the Timeline button is enabled. This will display the
Mini timeline, in which you can observe the video tracks and cache processes.

3 Select clip 01 in the Thumbnail timeline.

Your image retains its sunrise animation, although it is now black and white. The BW
4 The Denoise node was disabled in the previous exercise. Click the Denoise node name
node does not turn red and will not require node caching because the standard
to enable it.
color grading tools in the color page are usually not intensive enough to disrupt
The timecode above the clip thumbnail turns red to indicate that it is in the process clip playback.
of caching. In the Node Editor, the Denoise node name and number turn red for the
Adding the BW node has also not forced a re-cache of the Denoise node because
same reason.
the noise reduction tool is not affected by changes made down the pipeline. If you
follow the path of the RGB signal, it is denoised before it is desaturated, so the same
denoised version of the cached render can continue to be used.

8 Click the Denoise node and press E to extract it.

9 Drag the node over the connection line at the end of the pipeline to place it after
the BW node.

The Denoise node turns red as it re-caches the new RGB signal.

The cache line in the Mini timeline will eventually turn blue as caching is completed.

5 In the Motion Effects palette, raise the Spatial Threshold by 1 point (41.0).

Optimizing Performance with Render Cache 297 298 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties
10 After the Denoise node turns blue, click the BW node and adjust the Contrast in A red line appears over the timeline to indicate that a render cache is being generated
either direction. for all the media under the title tool.

This time, the change prompts the Denoise node to turn red and begin re-caching.
This is because the BW change affected the RGB input of the Denoise node, which
must perform a new render using the modified RGB signal.

Observing Sequence Caching 7 Enter the color page.

After the Fusion Output and Node Caches, a Sequence Cache is prompted in the edit page
when additional effects such as transitions, titles, or generators are applied to clips in
the timeline.

1 Enter the edit page.

2 Open the Effects Library panel. Note that the sequence cache for the title generator is still visible in the Mini timeline.
3 In the Titles folder under Toolbox, locate the Text title generator. If you don’t want to see or cache edit page effects during your grading work, you can
opt to disable them.

8 Click V2 on the Mini timeline to hide the project name text and stop its sequence
cache render.

Utilizing User Cache Modes

As you’ve seen, the decision to render clips and nodes on every level of the workflow is
made by DaVinci Resolve’s background processes. This allows you to continue focusing on
your project while Smart Cache detects when and if rendering is necessary.

4 Drag the title generator onto video track 2 and extend its length to cover the first five However, at times, you might want to control which clips or nodes are rendered. For
that, you can enable User Cache, which will not perform any media rendering until you
clips of the timeline.
specifically tell it to do so.
5 In the upper right of the edit page, open the Inspector palette.
1 Choose Playback > Render Cache > User.
6 Click inside the text box under the Rich Text header and enter the project name
The Long Workday. The blue highlights on clip 01 and the Denoise node disappear. From now on, all
render caching will occur only on your command.

Optimizing Performance with Render Cache 299 300 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties
 Some colorists prefer to work in this mode when they don’t want background caching Configuring Cache Quality
running through a whole project. One reason might be because they’re using raw
media and want to cache only the clips they are actively working on instead of the When you play media in the viewers of the edit and color pages, you can see the playback
entire timeline. frame rate in the GPU status indicator in the upper left of the viewer.

2 Select clip 01.

3 Right-click the Denoise node and choose Node Cache > On. Once again, caching is
enabled, and the node name turns blue.
A green light indicates that the media is playing in real time. A red light indicates lag,
TIP  When working on a larger project, you could use the Clips filter to with the numerical value displaying the actual playback frame rate. Caching should
isolate clips with noise reduction and manually cache them to avoid enabling result in the GPU status indicator always displaying a green light during playback. If it
Smart Cache. does not, you should consider lowering the Timeline Proxy Resolution in the Playback
menu or reducing the quality of the cache.

1 Open Project Settings and click the Master Settings tab.

In addition to selecting individual nodes in User Cache mode, you can manually render
a clip’s entire node tree. 2 Scroll down until you see the Optimized Media and Render Cache section.

4 Select clip 05.

5 Right-click clip 05 and choose Render Cache Color Output.

The clip’s timecode turns red in the timeline while the nodes remain white. In this The Render cache format field allows you to set up the quality and format of your
scenario, the entire node pipeline is cached, which results in even faster playback cached data.
when compared to rendering individual nodes. However, it also means that making Lowering the cache quality will reduce your cache file size and prevent your hard drive
changes to any of the nodes in the pipeline will require the entire clip to be re-cached. from filling up too quickly. However, this setting will also lower the visual quality of the
6 In the Node Editor, add a new serial node called Magenta Look. rendered media in your viewer. You should avoid reducing cache quality if precision of
color, luminance, and key data is important.
7 Drag the Offset color wheel toward magenta to add color to the clip.
Inversely, raising the cache quality will result in a faithful reproduction of your image
Although the process of adding color to a clip is not processor intensive, the clip’s
data, at the expense of very large render files.
timecode immediately turns red in the timeline because a new cache must be
generated for the entire node pipeline. 3 Set the Render cache format to one of the full quantization formats (444 or 4444).

Beneath the Render cache format menu are a few checkbox options.

You can specify the amount of time that needs to pass before background caching
begins in Smart Cache mode. By default, the interval is 5 seconds, but you can increase
the duration if you prefer to tweak your settings at a leisurely pace when grading.

Optimizing Performance with Render Cache 301 302 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties
 Additionally, you can enable automated transition and composite rendering when in
User mode, which will mimic the behavior of Smart Cache mode. NOTE  By default, the Cache files location of the Working Folders is assigned to the
topmost media storage location (Preferences > System) of your project library. To
4 Select “Automatically cache transitions in user mode.”
optimize playback, you might want to redirect the cache location to a drive other
5 Click Save to exit the Project Settings. than the one that contains the DaVinci Resolve application and your project files.

Clearing a Cache Proxies and offline media are vital for a clean editing workflow, but their use is discouraged
for the grading process because they often do not offer as accurate a representation of
Although caching is triggered on multiple levels, only one cached file is ever active for the image colors (or qualifier selections). Using Smart Cache with a high-quality render
each clip or transition. For example, if you apply noise reduction to a clip and then place format will allow you to work faster and with more accuracy, making it the recommended
text over it on the edit page, the active cache will be a rendered video with noise reduction optimization method.
and baked-in text. However, any further changes will prompt a new cache, which will
replace the previous iteration on the timeline. The renders of the all the previous iterations
will continue to be stored on your disc drive until you choose to clear your cache. You’ll
want to clear your cache periodically to make room for more cache renders or to delete
Self-Guided Exercises
unnecessary materials from older projects.
Complete the following exercises in the unfiltered Project 03 - The Long Workday timeline
1 Choose Playback > Delete Render Cache > Unused. to test your understanding of the tools and workflows covered in this lesson.

Clip 02—Read the tip at the end of the “Creating Cover-Ups with the Patch Replacer Effect”
exercise, and then use node sizing to cover up the speed limit signs at the top of the frame.
For an added challenge, see how you can cover up these speed signs by drawing a Power
Window directly over them, enabling Key Lock in the node sizing palette, and then panning
the image.

Clip 08—Use dynamic and static keyframes to flicker the lights in the garage.

A prompt will ask you to confirm that you want to delete the unused cache. Clip 15—Create a node before the Balance node and apply noise reduction.

2 Click Delete. The media in the timeline remains rendered, while all previous cached When you’ve completed these exercises, open the
Project 03 - The Long Workday Commercial COMPLETED.drp and review Lesson 08
versions of the clips are removed from your drive.
Timeline COMPLETED to compare your work with this “solved” timeline. If the media
Other options for deleting the render cache allow you to delete all cached media or appears offline, click the red Relink Media button in the upper-left corner of the media pool
selected clips on the timeline. It’s important to remember that no actual media is and specify the location of the Project 03 media on your workstation.
affected by clearing a cache, and even if you accidentally delete cached data that is
currently being used in your project, it will be regenerated when it is next needed.

TIP  Occasionally, you might come across a graphic anomaly in which the viewer in
the color page is outputting visual data that does not match the changes you made
to a clip. For example, a Media Offline message appears when you are certain the
media is connected. Clearing the render cache will remove the program’s memory
of the clip render and force it to re-render the clip correctly.

Optimizing Performance with Render Cache 303 304 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties
Lesson Review Answers
1 False. DaVinci Resolve is resolution independent, so all secondary tools automatically
1 True or false? If you change the timeline resolution of a project, you will need to go
resize to fit a new project resolution and aspect ratio.
over your secondary grade nodes and manually resize all the Power Windows to fit the
new resolution. 2 You can animate the sizing and color properties of a clip in the Keyframes palette.

2 Where can you animate the sizing and color properties of a clip? 3 Dynamic keyframes are keyframes that gradually change a value between two
points in time.
3 What are dynamic keyframes?
4 False. Noise reduction can be applied to any node in the pipeline, based on
4 True or false? Noise reduction should be applied only to node 01 of any clip.
effectiveness.
5 Would adding a vignette to a clip cause Smart Cache to render the clip?
5 No. Primary and secondary grading tools are not considered processor intensive
enough to prompt a Smart Cache render. However, if the clip was set to Render Cache
Color Output, any change, including a vignette, would trigger a re-cache.

Lesson Review 305 306 Lesson 8  Adjusting Image Properties

Lesson 9 Adjusting Raw Settings
at the Project Level
Setting Up The color management exercises you completed in Lesson 4 demonstrated how you can
configure a project’s color space/gamut and gamma to set up the starting point of a grade.

Raw Projects
Debayering raw footage works on a similar premise, although it’s a far more essential part
of the grading process. Without it, the raw media could not be displayed in the viewer.

Raw format sensors are defined by their ability to record the radiometric properties of
light. Rather than representing as a set of pixels with hard color data, raw formats record
the light intensity of a scene within the geometry of the sensor’s individual photoreceptive
elements, or photo sites.

Each photo site has a filter that allows the capture of only one channel of color (with green
captured at double the frequency of red and blue). Together, the filtered signals make up
the Bayer filter mosaic that contains all the data necessary to recreate a digital image.
Raw media refers to a variety of Time
For this reason, raw files are sometimes referred to as digital negatives: visual information
still and video image formats in This lesson takes approximately
that contains a wide dynamic range of light that remains unviewable until it is processed.
which visual data is captured as an 70 minutes to complete.
Debayering (also known as demosaicing) allows you to appoint values to the radiometric
unprocessed digital signal. In its initial Goals signals and produce a visible image in a designated color gamut and resolution.
state, raw media does not have any
Adjusting Raw Settings In this lesson, you will work with Blackmagic RAW media. This raw format is unique in that
visual properties. It is only through a at the Project Level 308 it undergoes partial debayering in the camera hardware, which results in much smaller
processing method called debayering file sizes and its storage as a single video clip (as opposed to image sequences). This
Adjusting Raw Settings at the
that you are able to assign a color Clip Level 314 format allows for much faster playback, media management, and file transfer compared to
space/gamut and gamma to the video traditional raw formats.
Grading High Dynamic
signal to view it on a monitor. Raw Range Media 317
media has far greater grading potential Setting Up a Render Cache
Determining Whether Clips Are Raw
due to its wide dynamic range and for Raw Media Projects 330
uncompressed approach to pixel data. You can generally recognize the raw video file formats supported by
Self-Guided Exercises 332
DaVinci Resolve 18 by their file extensions (.ari, .braw, .cin, .dng, .crm, .rmf, .nef,
Lesson Review 333
In this lesson, you will work with .r3d, .vrw, and others). Additionally, you can check the codec and file type of any
Blackmagic RAW (.braw) clips. clip in the Metadata panel or the clip attributes of the contextual menu.
Blackmagic RAW offers the same Another quick way to verify whether footage is raw (and supported by
grading latitude as other raw DaVinci Resolve 18) is to place it on a timeline and open the Camera Raw palette in
standards with the additional the color page. If a selected clip is in a raw format, the palette becomes active and
benefit of GPU-acceleration and displays options for the Decode Quality and Decode Using fields. If the clip is not
partial debayering, which results in raw, the Camera Raw palette remains dimmed and inactive.

dramatically smaller file sizes and

faster playback.

308 Lesson 9  Setting Up Raw Projects

 The Fusion Output Caching process will begin immediately on the Blackmagic RAW
NOTE  The exercises in this lesson build on the tools and skills you learned in the clips. Unlike the media you’ve used in the previous lessons, raw formats are not
previous sections of the book. If you skipped ahead to this lesson, you may need to intermediary and need constant debayering and caching.
review Lessons 1, 3, and 5 to gain a better understanding of primary and secondary
Reviewing the clips in the timeline viewer, you will see that two of the clips have
grading and the Node Editor pipeline.
black bars at the top and bottom of the image. This is known as letterboxing and
occurs when clips have a different aspect ratio to the timeline viewer. By default,

1 Open DaVinci Resolve 18. DaVinci Resolve will scale media with mismatched resolutions in a way that preserves
maximum video data. However, if you want all the clips to have the same framing, you
2 Create a new project and name it Blackmagic RAW Project.
can change your scaling options in the Project Settings.
3 In the media page, create two bins in the media pool: Media and Timelines.
11 Open Project Settings and click the Image Scaling tab.
4 In the media storage browser, locate the BMD 18 CC - Project 03 folder and enter the
12 In the Input Scaling category, set “Mismatched resolution files” to “Scale full frame
Blackmagic RAW subfolder.
with crop”.
5 Open the Media folder and drag the four .braw clips into the Media bin.

NOTE  When importing media, if a dialog appears informing you that your clips’
frame rates don’t match the project’s frame rates, click Change to adjust the
project frame rate to accommodate the media.

Before
6 Enter the edit page.

7 Set the media pool to List View and make sure the clips are sorted alphabetically in the
Clip Name column.

8 Select the four Blackmagic RAW clips. Right-click one of them and choose Create New
Timeline Using Selected Clips.

9 Name the timeline Blackmagic RAW Timeline and place it in the Timelines bin.

10 Choose Playback > Render Cache > Smart.

After

Adjusting Raw Settings at the Project Level 309 310 Lesson 9  Setting Up Raw Projects
 All imported media will now be scaled to fill the viewer frame. This happens at the 20 Leave the Decode Quality at Full Res. to continue debayering at the 1920 x 1080 HD
expense of some cropping on the edges of the clips, but this data can still be retrieved resolution.
using the Input sizing palette.
The Decode Using field allows you to specify how the color gamut of the raw signal
Next, you will set up the project color management. is debayered. By default, it is set to Camera Metadata, which is the color standard
set by the camera operator when capturing the media. Changing it to Blackmagic
13 In the Project Settings window, click the Color Management tab.
RAW Default will prompt it to use any associated sidecar files that contain additional
14 Set the Color Science to DaVinci YRGB Color Managed. information such as ISO, white balance, color temperature, contrast, and many others.
15 Deselect “Automatic color management.” Setting the decode method to Project will reveal the fully customizable project and
camera metadata settings at the bottom of the window.
16 Set the Color processing mode to HDR DaVinci Wide Gamut Intermediate. This gamut
is optimal for working with raw media, as it exceeds all current display standards.
NOTE  A sidecar file contains descriptive metadata that can be associated
17 Leave the Output color space as Rec.709 Gamma 2.4.
with Blackmagic RAW media for look management in-camera and during
Finally, you will review the raw project settings. post-production. You can generate a sidecar file to back up or share debayer
18 In the Project Settings window, click the Camera RAW tab. settings and to preview rushes in the Blackmagic RAW player. As a rule, sidecar
metadata files always take precedence over the embedded metadata in a .braw
These parameters affect how raw footage is debayered on a project-wide basis.
file. However, if the sidecar is deleted or moved, the decoding of the .braw file
19 Set RAW Profile to Blackmagic RAW to access the parameters for the clips in will fall back on the embedded metadata.
your timeline.

21 Leave Decode Using set to Camera Metadata (default) and click Save to exit the
Project Settings.

22 Review the timeline to verify that the letterboxing has been removed and color
management is enabled.

NOTE  DaVinci Resolve automatically detects all supported raw formats. When
color managing, you do not need to indicate the input color space of raw
media, as it will be mapped automatically to your project’s working color space.
Changes to the Camera RAW Project Settings will have an immediate effect on
raw clips in the media pool and timeline, even when working with multiple raw
profiles. Non-raw clips will not be affected.

The Decode Quality is set to Full Res. (full resolution) by default, which means the
raw media is debayered at its full format resolution (4K, in the case of the media in
this project) and resized to the timeline resolution specified in the Master Settings.
Changing the quality to Half or Quarter will substantially reduce the amount of
processing required to play the footage (at the expense of the visual quality within the
viewer/monitor) but is a viable option for slower systems.

Adjusting Raw Settings at the Project Level 311 312 Lesson 9  Setting Up Raw Projects
Different Methods of Setting Up Raw Projects Adjusting Raw Settings
at the Clip Level
There is no single correct approach to the treatment of media prior to the start of the
grading process. In the first part of this book, you began working on media without any
special treatment. In Part 2, you enabled color management to automatically map log-
encoded source clips to the Rec.709 color space. In the final part, you took advantage You will often want to address the individual needs of clips when setting up raw media.
of DaVinci Wide Gamut to both remap and future-proof a grading project. The
Using the Camera Raw palette in the color page allows you to make adjustments on a clip-
following are some other common approaches when starting a new grading project in
by-clip basis.
DaVinci Resolve, in particular when working with raw media:
1 Enter the color page.
Camera RAW Project Settings and palette—DaVinci Resolve automatically detects
all supported raw media formats and debayers them accordingly. Additional controls in 2 Select clip 01 (C001).
the Project Settings and Camera Raw palette allow you to tweak debayer parameters
3 In the left palettes of the color page, open the Camera Raw palette.
throughout a project or on each individual clip.
4 Set Decode Using to Clip. Doing so will disassociate it from the Project Settings and
Lookup Tables (LUTs)—LUTs are digital files that transform color and tone pixel data
from one state to another. Unlike other color management systems, LUTs assign allow you to work on the clip independently.
specific RGB values during conversion, giving you identical results across applications.
However, due to the finite number of values they can represent, parts of the raw
signal are approximated during conversion, which can be limiting to the final grade.
This makes them popular for dailies workflows, in which the integrity of the final video
signal is not paramount.

Color Space Transform (CST) and Gamut Mapping (GM) Resolve FX —Effects panel
tools can be used to map the color and tonal data of clips or groups (on a pre-clip or
post-clip Node Editor level). CST is often used to remap scenes with unique mapping
requirements or placed at the end of the Timeline Node Editor pipeline to change the
deliverable standard of a project when not using RCM.

Resolve Color Management (RCM)—DaVinci Resolve’s internal mapping system

allows you to indicate the color standard of your source media, set up a working
timeline color space, and then change the output based on deliverable needs.
The Camera Raw palette gives you access to a variety of color, exposure, and gamma
Additional default parameters analyze and remap clip tonal data to produce optimal
adjustments that will affect how the image is debayered on the timeline. In terms of
visual results and consistent grading behavior in the color page.
the signal pipeline, debayering occurs before the video signal enters the RGB input of
Academy Color Encoding System (ACES)—ACES is a display-independent working the Node Editor.
color space being adopted as an industry standard in major production houses and
streaming services. ACES can be enabled in the Color Management settings and 5 Color Science refers to the version of the color science in the camera at the time the
operates similarly to RCM. Like DaVinci WG, its working gamut far exceeds current footage was captured. Leave Color Science set to Gen 4 for all the clips in this timeline.
monitoring standards, which makes it ideal for producing masters, archives, and
6 Change the ISO to 200.
deliverables. Due to its focus on standardization, ACES parameter setup and delivery
tends to be more rigid, aiming to produce an exact color space conversion rather than Although the image has already been captured, you can still adjust the sensor
the visually focused RCM approach. sensitivity to better accommodate the starting point of your grade to the luminance in
The decision to use one color approach over another can be based on several factors: the scene. This feature is unique to raw media workflows.
source media, delivery format, monitoring setup, LUT access, and personal preference.
7 Change the ISO back to 100.
In this lesson, you will continue to work with Resolve color management, with
additional consideration given to the treatment of the raw signal on the color page via 8 Select the Highlight Recovery checkbox.
the Camera Raw palette.

Adjusting Raw Settings at the Project Level 313 314 Lesson 9  Setting Up Raw Projects
 Highlight Recovery will debayer highlight sensor data that is usually clipped in the 13 Select clip 02 (C003).
standard decoding matrix. In raw clips with extreme waveform peaks, this option will
The clip is a little dark but is otherwise in a good starting position for balancing and
often reveal additional visual data in the highlights.
color grading. All its visual needs can be addressed using the standard primary
grading tools. Leave the ISO at 800 and leave Highlight Recovery unselected.

14 Select clip 03 (D007).

Reviewing the scopes will tell you that there is a substantial amount of highlight data
crushed at the top of the waveform graph. It will be difficult to target that area of the
signal while grading, so you need to take steps to spread the waveform downward.

15 Set the ISO to 200. This will darken the clip without damaging the shadows, and
expand the highlights, making them easier to access.

Another method of adjusting signal brightness is to use the Exposure parameter

Without Highlight Recovery With Highlight Recovery in the central column of the Camera Raw palette. Decimal values will allow you
to adjust exposure in smaller amounts than the whole values featured in the ISO
9 Temperature is another property of light that can be adjusted during the debayer
dropdown menu.
stage. Drag the Color Temp slider right (6000) to warm up the image.
16 Lower the Exposure parameter (-0.80) to further reduce brightness and leave room for
10 To reset the Color Temp to the original setting used during filming, click the White
the highlights to be raised at the top of the waveform.
Balance dropdown menu on the left and choose As Shot.
17 Select Highlight Recovery to reveal additional data outside the window.
When working on a raw timeline, you will often want to customize multiple raw clips in
a sequence. Two buttons at the bottom of the Camera Raw palette allow you to copy 18 Select clip 04 (E004).
palette data: Use Settings and Use Changes. This clip features a dark environment with unique lighting conditions. Although it
might be tempting to address the shadows using the Camera Raw controls, dragging
— Use Settings will apply all the Camera Raw settings from a selected clip to all
the Exposure value quickly reveals that it would not be possible to do so without
highlighted clips on the timeline. This option is best used when working with media
severely distorting the image. This clip is already at its ideal starting point, and you can
from the same source, with identical gamut and exposure needs.
further optimize it using the primary grading tools.
— Use Changes will ripple only the altered parameters, preserving the selected clips’
individual settings. This is ideal when working with visually diverse media that has With the clips successfully set up, you can proceed to grading in the Node Editor
unique ISO and Color Temp requirements. as usual.

11 With clip 01 still selected, Shift-click clip 04 to highlight all the clips in the timeline.
NOTE  The Color Space and Gamma parameters in the Camera Raw palette are
12 Click Use Changes in the Camera Raw palette. Because the only available parameters disabled when working in a color managed project. This allows for consistent
in clips 2–4 are the decode settings, all three clips will switch from Project to Clip color output when changing between deliverable formats in the Project
decoding, while keeping all other clip settings unchanged. Settings. If you wish to assign unique output color spaces to your raw clips and
adjust the Gamma Controls to the right of the Camera Raw palette, you will
need to work in a display-referred environment with no color management.
TIP  When saving stills from clips with manually adjusted Camera Raw settings,
you can specify that you do not want their camera raw settings included in
the still grade data. To enforce this, right-click in the gallery and choose Copy
Grade: Preserve Camera Raw settings.

Adjusting Raw Settings at the Clip Level 315 316 Lesson 9  Setting Up Raw Projects
The Camera Raw palette is best used for addressing the unique exposure needs of raw 3 In the left palettes, open the High Dynamic Range (HDR) palette, which is located next
media prior to grading. It is highly advisable to avoid balancing, correcting, or creating to the Primaries palette.
looks at this stage, because the Camera Raw palette leaves no evidence of such changes
in the Node Editor. The standard grading tools in the color page impact raw media just
as effectively and are far easier to keep track of in the node tree, which is important for
minimizing instances of destructive grading.
At first glance, this palette appears very similar to the Primaries color wheels. In fact,
much of the operation remains the same—the control point in the center of the wheels

Grading High Dynamic is used to add color to a tonal range, while controls underneath determine exposure
and saturation.

Range Media One of the first major differences is the number of wheels you control. A row of
buttons under the palette header allows you to navigate between the different tonal
One of the unique challenges of color grading high dynamic range (HDR) footage is zone wheels. This action is called banking.
targeting the wide tonal latitude of the available data. In a previous lesson, an overexposed
sky had to be selected using secondary grading methods in order to make a luminance
adjustment. Instances of such targeted tonal adjustment are much more frequent when
shooting HDR and would ordinarily require extensive secondary grading to achieve a
You can click the arrows on either side to bank wheels or click on the wheel icons
clean look.
themselves to jump one or more wheels at a time.
The High Dynamic Range (HDR) palette is a primary grading tool featuring color wheels
Another major difference is in the way the global wheel impacts the image. Whereas
mapped to customizable tonal ranges that can be used to grade the entire dynamic range
the Primaries offset wheel affects the image uniformly, the global wheel pinches the
of a raw image within a single interface.
black and white points of the signal, rolling the shadows and highlights in order to
compress, but never clip, either extreme of the waveform. As a result, adjustments
Targeting Individual Tonal Ranges to the exposure and saturation of a video signal have less effect in the shadows and
highlights, which produces more natural-looking changes.
As established, a major benefit of the HDR palette is its advanced tonal range control.
Instead of relying on just three wheels to determine the placement of the highlights,
midtones, and shadows, you can construct dynamic looks by adjusting each tonal step of TIP  The High Dynamic Range palette is designed for optimal performance with
the image independently. The gentle rolloff between the tonal ranges ensures that grades Resolve color management enabled. When RCM is enabled, the HDR palette
appear smooth and natural. adopts Color Space Aware behavior, meaning it automatically maps its own
operational color space to the source image, producing perceptually uniform
In this lesson, you will color grade a raw clip to gain an understanding of the HDR palette’s
results while maintaining careful control of image saturation. However, you can
unique global and tonal range parameters.
still use the HDR palette without RCM enabled on both SDR and HDR media.
1 Select clip 01 (C001).

2 Label node 01 as HDR Balance.

The Temp and Tint sliders on either side of the global color wheel are also uniquely
mapped. They are designed to travel the image across the Planckian locus line, which

Grading High Dynamic Range Media 317 318 Lesson 9  Setting Up Raw Projects

 represents the temperature path of natural light in the CIE graph. This results in more Overall, the trace looks good; there is no obvious clipping in the highlights or shadows.
natural temperature change in the image. Much of the midtone data representing the foreground appears bunched near the
bottom of the graph, resulting in flat, dark shadows. The top of the waveform appears
compressed along a narrow range, limiting the detail you can see in the clouds.
You will address both of these issues using the HDR palette.

5 The global wheel is a good starting point for establishing the overall exposure of a
clip. Raise the Global Exp (0.60) parameter until the foreground portion of the trace
reaches the middle of the scope graph.

6 To establish the overall image saturation, drag Sat (1.50) under the global wheel.
Note that due to the unique global luminance mapping, saturation is not increased as
aggressively in the foreground shadows or in the clouds.

With the global values set, you can move on to the individual tonal zones. The six
default zone wheels are split into two categories: dark zones and light zones.

Although you will be familiar with the adjustment controls across the bottom of the
palette, most of them exhibit behaviors unique to the HDR palette:

— Temp and Tint are numeric representations of the global wheel sliders and can be
used when you need more accuracy or to reset the values.
— Contrast and Pivot keep saturation perceptually constant when adjusted. This is
advantageous for HDR grading, where high contrast can lead to oversaturation in
the highlights.
— Black Offset determines the minimum value of the video signal (i.e., the darkest
The graph above represents the order of the default zones in the palette and their
shadow), while gently compressing the data above it.
respective tonal ranges. The closer to the edges you travel, the more dedicated the
tonal zones become.
4 Begin the grading process by reviewing the waveform scope.
The Shadow and Light wheels have the broadest impact and overlap each other by a
factor of two stops. They each have narrower tonal ranges within them that allow you
to create contrast in the dark and light zones.

You will address the dark zones first.

Grading High Dynamic Range Media 319 320 Lesson 9  Setting Up Raw Projects

7 Bank the HDR palette wheels until you see the three dark tonal range color wheels: 14 Drag the Light color wheel control point slightly toward blue to add more color
Black, Dark, and Shadow. to the sky.

8 Drag the Dark wheel Exp (-0.20) to accentuate the shadows in the foreground bushes.
This range is narrow enough not to impact most of the foreground midtones. TIP  In the HDR palette options menu, you can change the numeric
representation of the control point position under the Exp parameter.
9 To enhance the foreground saturation, increase Sat (1.20) in the wider Shadow zone.
Display X and Y allows you to adjust the control point horizontally and vertically.
Next, you will work on the light zones to reveal the details in the sky. Display Angle and Strength will move the control point in a circular motion to
10 Bank the HDR palette wheels until you see the three Light zone color wheels: Light, determine hue and on a radius to determine saturation. These controls can be
useful when you need to make very fine adjustments using the numeric fields
Highlight, and Specular.
instead of the color wheel control point.
To create room for expansion in the highlights, you must lower the top section of
the waveform.
Several options allow you to review and modify how the tonal zones affect the image.
11 Drag the Highlight Exp (-1.60) left until the top of the waveform falls mostly along the
third horizontal line from the top. 15 Click and hold the symbol next to the Light zone name to review which areas of the
image are being impacted.

This quick preview allows you to check the tonal range impact and determine whether
it needs adjustment.

You now have room to expand the very top of the highlights.

12 Drag the Specular Exp (1.70) right to lift the top of the waveform trace, revealing fine
cloud detail.

The default tonal range graph seen after step 6 shows that the Highlight and Specular
zones both overlap the broad Light tonal range. This means you can use the Light zone
to make broader exposure changes, while maintaining the established contrast in the
narrower zones.

13 Drag the Light Exp (-0.70) left to darken the sky, while keeping the cloud detail intact.

In this case, the Light zone is affecting too much of the foreground and should
be reduced.

Grading High Dynamic Range Media 321 322 Lesson 9  Setting Up Raw Projects

16 For a permanent view of the tonal zone selection, click the Highlight button in the 20 Increase midtone detail (20.00) to further sharpen the clouds and foreground data.
upper left of the viewer. Highlight mode will display the selection of the tonal zone you
are actively working on, leaving you free to make range and falloff adjustments.

NOTE  When using the viewer’s Highlight mode with other tools, such as the
qualifier, Power Windows, or Color Warper, ensure that the HDR palette is not
active in the left palettes to avoid seeing a tonal zone selection instead.

Before After
Every zone color wheel is surrounded by two sliders: Min/Max Range and Falloff. The
Let’s review the HDR Zone panel to better understand how the tonal zones were
Min/Max Range slider determines the zone limit, while the Falloff gently fades the
distributed across this image.
selection to avoid artifacting.
21 In the HDR palette header, click the Zones Graph button.
17 Drag the Light zone range slider up to 0.00. The selection in the viewer contracts to
show mainly the sky.

The Zones Graph is an additional panel in the HDR palette that allows you to further
customize the tonal zones.

18 Click the Highlight button to disable preview of the Light zone range.

With the majority of the tone adjustment work done, you can tweak some final On the left is a sidebar featuring the names of the zones, which you can click to
adjustments. highlight their range indicator on the graph. Drag the indicator by the handle to
19 Increase contrast (1.040) and pivot (2.000) to accentuate the details in the scene while change the minimum or maximum range of a zone. The range will impact the entire
keeping the saturation uniform. section in the direction of the handle arrow, with a falloff transition, which is indicated
by the soft red line. You can also use the sliders beneath to adjust and reset the range
and falloff values. These parameters are mapped to the sliders on either side of the
zone color wheels in the Controls panel.

Grading High Dynamic Range Media 323 324 Lesson 9  Setting Up Raw Projects

 Behind the graph is a histogram of the frame in the viewer. This histogram can be In a previous exercise, you changed how this scene was debayered in the Camera Raw
helpful for determining where range indicators should be placed and how soft the palette to better distribute the signal for grading. The resulting image features a dark
falloff should be. Note that if a histogram signal ends before the start of a range interior with bright windows. Your first priority will be to restore the interior, which is
indicator, that zone will have no impact on the image when adjusted in the HDR predominantly where the audience will be looking.
palette. In this instance, there’s nothing to the left of the Black zone, meaning that
3 Label node 01 as HDR balance.
changes to the Black zone color wheel, exposure, and saturation will have no impact
on the image. 4 Establish the overall scene brightness by raising the Global Exp (2.40). Aim to place the
majority of the waveform trace just below the midtone range of the scope graph.

TIP  From left to right, the HDR palette Zones Graph sidebar features additional When you finish adjusting the global wheel at the start of a grading process, you

controls that allow you to disable the impact of that particular zone, switch have the option of banking it together with the other wheels so that your palette can

zones between light and dark, hide the zone indicator in the graph, or delete a represent four unique tonal zones at once.

zone (for custom zones only). 5 Click the options menu in the upper-right corner and select Bank Global with
Color Wheels. If needed, you can still access the global wheel by banking to the
rightmost wheels.

Correcting Scenes with Before continuing, you will review how the HDR palette tonal ranges are distributed

a Wide Dynamic Range across this image.

6 To open the Zones panel without hiding the HDR color wheels, click the Expand button
Scenes captured with HDR sometimes feature a dramatic shift in exposure over different in the HDR palette header.
areas of the same frame—common examples include windows in an interior scene or
when shooting someone against a light source. With standard correction tools, you would
need to use a combination of secondary grading techniques to get an optimal result.
The HDR grading palette allows you to address a range of exposure levels using just one
primary tool.
This action opens the Zones graph in the central palettes of the color page, allowing
1 In the HDR palette header, return to the Controls panel (color wheels). you to grade and modify the tonal ranges simultaneously.

2 Select clip 03 (D007).

TIP  If you cannot see a histogram projected in the Zones graph, adjust one of
the HDR palette parameters or move the playhead slightly in the viewer. This
will force the histogram to be cached.

Grading High Dynamic Range Media 325 326 Lesson 9  Setting Up Raw Projects

 Overall, the tonal range layout and distribution appears appropriate for the scene’s 13 Increase the Midtone Detail (50.00) to sharpen the details in the shop interior.
histogram, which is evenly spread through the graph. Because the window and the
14 Reduce the Temp (-1500) and Tint (-5.00) to balance the color cast on the walls.
light spill in the room compose a smaller portion of the image than the interior, you will
likely need to adjust the Light range at some point. However, it’s too early to determine With the normalization and balancing complete, you can proceed to apply a creative
how the Light zone should be defined, so you’ll return to make adjustments later. grade as usual.

15 Create a second node, and label it Look.

TIP  You can create a custom zone in the HDR palette by clicking Create New 16 Use the Curves palette to create a warm look with cool shadows. You can accomplish
Zone at the bottom of the Zones panel sidebar. Like the preset zones, a custom this by drawing a reverse S-curve in the B channel and a standard S-curve in the R
zone can be defined as either light or dark and will appear as a color wheel with channel. To brighten the image, isolate the Y curve and drag upward from the middle.
unique range and falloff parameters in the Controls panel.

7 Increase the Dark Exp (0.60) to brighten the shop interior.

Next, you will use the light zones to fix the overexposed window.

8 Lower the Light Exp (-5.50) until the waveform’s peak is between the top two lines in
the scopes.

9 Gently increase the Specular Exp (0.20) to restore some of the exterior highlights,
creating contrast.

This fixes the issue of the overexposed window, although there is now elevated
saturation in the red and orange objects outside.

10 Reduce the Highlight Sat (0.60) to target the bright elements outside the shop.
Before
With the Light zone being the broadest light tone range, you can adjust the Min Range
to produce optimal distribution of the light spill inside the shop.

11 Select the Light range in the Zones panel sidebar and drag the Min Range value (-0.70)
under the graph until the light spill in the shop appears more pronounced.

12 To remove any artifacting on the walls and floor, raise the Light range Falloff
parameter (0.90) until the daylight spills smoothly across the shop surfaces.

TIP  You can save a custom zone layout by opening the HDR palette options
menu and selecting Save as New Preset. Zone presets can be helpful if
you regularly process footage from the same camera with similar lighting
compositions (such as interviews or set shoots).

Now make some final adjustments to complete the scene balance. After

Grading High Dynamic Range Media 327 328 Lesson 9  Setting Up Raw Projects

When outputting to an SDR standard, grading raw media is almost no different from
grading non-raw media. The wide dynamic range demands increased attention and
Setting Up a Render Cache
handling, but the creative primary and secondary workflows remain mostly the same.

When outputting to an HDR standard, special care must be given to the distribution
for Raw Media Projects
of the waveform. Although there is some variety in industry approaches and In Lesson 8, you set up your project render cache to a full-quantization (444 or 4444),
individual colorist preferences, it’s generally considered a good idea not to overwhelm 12-bit depth codec, but the exercise did not go into detail about the effect this had on the
your audience with superbright elements. Aim to place the majority of midtone grading process. In this exercise, you will change the render cache quality to observe its
environments in the 100-nit range, allowing for some fluctuation to emphasize impact on the image in the viewer and gain an understanding of why the render cache
shadows and upper midtone detail. Reserve the areas above the 100-nit line for light format really matters when working with raw video.
sources and surfaces hit by direct sunlight.
1 Select clip 01 (C001).

2 Open Project Settings and click the Master Settings tab.

Mapping the HDR Palette to Color Panels 3 Scroll down to the Optimized Media and Render Cache section and set the Render
The HDR palette is designed to be mapped to the DaVinci Resolve Advanced and cache format to a lower-quality codec such as ProRes 422 Proxy (macOS) or DNxHR
Mini panels, even when incorporating custom tonal zones and presets. LB (Windows).

Advanced panel: Press SHIFT + AUTO COLOR. All HDR palette controls will be 4 Click Save to close the Project Settings.
mapped to the center panel soft buttons and rotaries, while the zones will be 5 If caching is not enabled in your project, choose Playback > Render Cache > Smart.
mapped to the trackballs and rings. Press the < and > soft keys to navigate all Wait until clip 01 is re-cached.
available zones.
6 If you do not see a change in the viewer, drag the playhead slightly to refresh the
Mini panel: Press USER and then press the HDR soft key above the left display. All active frame in the viewer.
HDR palette controls will be mapped to the soft keys and knobs, while the zones
Caching the raw video in a lower-quality format produces a distorted image with
are mapped to the trackballs and rings. Press the PREV ZONE and NEXT ZONE soft
pronounced banding in the sky.
keys to navigate all available zones.

Grading High Dynamic Range Media 329 330 Lesson 9  Setting Up Raw Projects

 Instead of a smooth blue gradient, the sky now appears to be made up of blue, When setting a render cache format, remember that it affects only what you see in the
purple, and gray stripes. This is the result of using a render cache format that can only viewer. If you were to render a clip from the deliver page while caching in a low-quality
represent a limited amount of luminance and color values. The impact is so severe that codec, the exported image would not have banded gradients or clipped highlights. This
it is even visible in the waveform. makes it particularly important to set up a high-quality cache when grading HDR and high
bit depth footage. If you don’t, your final project could end up looking very different from
what you saw in the viewer.

The intermediary codecs available in the Master Settings are all relatively high quality for
editing and review work, but as you can see from this exercise, not all of them are suitable
for grading media with a high dynamic range. Because of their lower bit depths, most
codecs are incapable of displaying the full scope of your grading work and could seriously
impede the quality of your qualifier selections and highlight details.

Self-Guided Exercises
Complete the following self-guided exercises in the Blackmagic RAW Timeline to get more
practice using the HDR grading palette.

Clip 02 (C003)—Use the HDR palette to produce a well-lit image with warm, saturated skin
tones. Increase the chromatic contrast in the sky by saturating the orange clouds against
the blue sky. In a new node, use the Color Warper to change the models’ shirts to green/
As well as being a poor representation of your grade, a low-quality render cache cyan. Use a window to isolate the shirt selection if necessary.
format can also interfere with your ability to accurately make qualifier selections or
Clip 04 (E004)—Use the HDR palette to illuminate the cable car against the dark
view the result of analytical tools, such as noise reduction or the Magic Mask. If you
background. In a new node, make the car stand out by turning the interior a cool blue. Use
use a slightly higher-quality render cache format, you might experience significantly
a Power Window and qualifier if necessary. Create a final node to denoise the clip and find
reduced artifacting in the viewer, but the image grading potential will still be
the optimal placement for it in the pipeline.
compromised.
When you’ve completed these exercises, open the Blackmagic RAW Project
7 Open Project Settings and click the Master settings tab.
COMPLETED.drp and review Blackmagic RAW COMPLETED to compare your work with
8 Set the Render cache format to one of the full-quantization (444 or 4444) or this “solved” timeline. If the media appears offline, click the red Relink Media button in the
HDR formats. upper-left corner of the media pool and specify the location of the Project 03 Blackmagic
RAW media on your workstation.
9 Click Save to close the Project Settings.

TIP  12-bit depth codecs (such as DNxHR 444 and ProRes 4444) are HDR compliant
and can be used for cinema and UHD 4K delivery.

Because of its high quality, you can use a 12-bit render cache in the final export
of a project. When preparing the Render Settings in the deliver page, expand the
Advanced Settings and select “Use render cached images.”

Setting Up a Render Cache for Raw Media Projects 331 332 Lesson 9  Setting Up Raw Projects
Lesson Review Answers
1 Trick question! DaVinci Resolve automatically detects the camera format of imported
1 When adjusting project-wide raw debayer settings, where do you indicate the
raw media. To access the appropriate raw settings, open the Camera RAW project
camera format?
settings and select the RAW profile you wish to adjust.
2 True or false? You can change ISO and white balance of raw media at any time.
2 True. Because of the high dynamic range of raw media, it’s possible to adjust the
3 What does banking accomplish in the HDR palette? ISO and white balance of any clip in the Camera Raw palette at any stage of the
4 Which tonal range is wider, Shadow or Highlight? grading process.

5 True or false? Caching should always be disabled when grading. 3 Banking refers to the process of navigating between the tonal zone wheels in the
HDR palette.

4 In the default preset layout, the Shadow wheel has a wider tonal range than the
Highlight. However, both of these zones can be modified as needed.

5 False. When using a lower-quality render cache format, you might want to disable it
when reviewing your final grade before delivery but enabling cache rendering during
grading will help substantially with real-time playback. If using a higher-quality render
cache format, it’s acceptable to leave caching on at all times, and even include the
cached files in the final project render.

Lesson Review 333 334 Lesson 9  Setting Up Raw Projects

Multi-User Collaboration on the Blackmagic Cloud
Every project in this training manual was launched using a unique method—
restoring a DaVinci Resolve archive, conforming an XML timeline, cutting a self-
contained video file with scene cut detection, and importing a DaVinci Resolve
project file. These projects were purposefully designed to demonstrate the variety
of ways that colorists launch timelines for grading. One option we have yet to
explore is the use of a collaborative workflow on the Blackmagic Cloud.

The collaborative workflow allows multiple users to

log in to a DaVinci Resolve project simultaneously.
With the help of clip and bin locking, collaborators
can edit, composite, mix, and grade a film project at
the same time.

A key requirement for collaboration is that all user

workstations must have access to the same project
file on a shared project library server. Blackmagic Cloud project libraries are
hosted on secure online servers, allowing DaVinci Resolve users to connect and
collaborate on the same project from any location in the world. Click the Cloud
button in the header of the Project Manager to begin creating libraries and
projects in the Blackmagic Cloud.

If you don’t want your workstation on a network with internet access, you can opt to
use the included DaVinci Resolve Project Server app to create, manage, back up, and
share project libraries with any other workstation on a local area network (LAN).

The Blackmagic Cloud and DaVinci Resolve Project

Server grant multiple-user access to DaVinci Resolve
projects, but collaborators still need to have access to
the same media to see the contents of these projects.
One way to ensure that everyone can see the same
media is by sharing a copy of the project assets with
every collaborator on hard drives or RAIDs. A more
manageable and cost-effective method is by hosting
the media on a shared server or third-party cloud
system. Blackmagic Design offers several network
storage solutions—the Blackmagic Cloud Pod acts as
a hub to which any USB storage device can be
connected to turn it into high-speed network storage,
and the Blackmagic Cloud Store devices provide the
same function, as well as internal storage options Blackmagic Cloud Store
This page intentionally left blank.
that range between 8 TB to 320 TB.
Lesson 10 Using Lightbox to Check
Timelines Prior to Delivery
Delivering Projects The Lightbox feature of the color page gives you an alternative, expanded representation
of the timeline. It provides a general overview of clips in the edit rather than the default
viewer-focused layout of the color page. It is particularly powerful when combined with
filters and can be used to quickly assess the grade status of timeline clips.

1 Launch DaVinci Resolve 18.

2 Import and open Project 03 - The Long Workday Commercial COMPLETED.drp.

If necessary, relink the media by clicking the red Relink Media button in the upper-left
corner of the media pool and specifying the location of the Project 03 media on your
workstation.

3 Enable caching by choosing Playback > Render Cache > Smart.

When you’re ready to export a Time 4 In the Project Settings, set the Render cache format to one of the full quantization
project—whether at the end of a This lesson takes approximately formats (444 or 4444).
workflow, at an intermediate point, or 60 minutes to complete.
5 Enter the color page.
when generating dailies—its render Goals 6 Use the dropdown menu at the top of the viewer to open Lesson 10 Timeline.
settings are configured in the deliver
Using Lightbox to Check
page of DaVinci Resolve. 7 In the upper right of the color page, click the Lightbox button.
Timelines Prior to Delivery 338

In this lesson, you will review existing Understanding the

Render Workflow and Presets 342
presets, prepare a project for delivery,
output for digital cinema, and set up Creating Custom Renders
and Saving Presets 348
your own custom renders.
Configuring a Timeline for
Digital Cinema 350

Exploring Advanced
Render Settings 356

Lesson Review 363

The Lightbox is a full-screen representation of your project timeline from left to right,
top to bottom. A ruler to the right of the window indicates the timecode of the clips
and turns into a scrollbar when a timeline has more clips than can be displayed in a
single panel.

338 Lesson 10  Delivering Projects

 This expanded overview of the timeline’s thumbnails can be helpful for colorists who 11 Select both clips and choose Groups > Garage > Assign to Group.
find the Thumbnail timeline in the color page too restrictive. With a single glance at the
Most of the grading in the Garage group was carried out in the post-clip stage, so
Lightbox, you can determine which clips are graded and which aren’t.
the two clips will immediately adopt the look of the rest of the group. They will remain
8 Click the Information button in the upper-left corner of the Lightbox panel to in the Lightbox panel until the next time you change the filter, after which their new
display clip numbers, timecodes, video track numbers, codecs, source names, and status as graded clips will be acknowledged.
version information. The third and fourth clips in the ungraded filter results have not been touched at all.

12 Select clip 03.

13 In the upper left of the page, click the Color Controls button to open the grading
palettes in the lower half of the screen.

9 Next to the Information button, click the Clip Filter button to expand the
filtering options.

10 In the clip filter list, click Ungraded clips.

If you’re working with an external monitor, you will see a full-screen output of the
selected clip in the Lightbox. This allows you to continue grading and tweaking your
media in Lightbox mode.

14 Raise the Offset master wheel (35.00) until the bulk of the image’s waveform occupies
the bottom half of the scopes graph. Lower the Lift master wheel (-0.01) to address the
raised shadows and establish a deeper contrast.

15 Select clip 04.

This clip was part of the final exterior sequence after the Home group, which had a
distinctly warm appearance.

16 In the Primaries palette, raise the Temp (200.0) to maintain a consistent look at the end
The Lightbox panel is reduced to just five clips. The first two clips clearly belong in the of the timeline.
Garage group but must have been overlooked during grading.
The last filtered clip is the solid white matte at the end of the sequence, which doesn’t
require grading.

Using Lightbox to Check Timelines Prior to Delivery 339 340 Lesson 10  Delivering Projects
17 In the sidebar filter, select Noise Reduction. 22 Select Clips > All Clips to remove the timeline filter.

TIP  The Timeline Thumbnail mode is another great option for visually assessing
the status of clips in the timeline while in the Lightbox panel. Choose View >
Timeline Thumbnail Mode > Source (C Mode) to switch the order of the clips in
the timeline from their edit order to the order in which the media was created.
When working with original camera footage, this will display the order in which the
footage was recorded. C Mode will place clips that were captured on the same day/
location next to each other, which makes for faster matching, grade copying, and
visual assessment. When done, remember to set the Timeline Thumbnail Mode
back to Record (A Mode).

The media has now been checked to verify that all relevant clips are graded, and all their
nodes are active. When working on your own projects, think about the types of workflows
you use and what is important to verify before delivering a project.
When performing noise reduction in Lesson 8, you learned that disabling the Denoise
node would facilitate faster playback during the remainder of the grading process and As well as the standard filters already present in the sidebar, you can also use the Smart
result in a more efficient workflow. Filters option at the bottom of the list to design filters based on the metadata of the clips
in the timeline.
If you use this method of performance optimization, you must remember to re-enable
Denoise nodes before outputting a project.

18 Click the Lightbox button in the upper-right corner to close the Lightbox interface.
Understanding the
The Noise Reduction filter is still active in the timeline on the color page.

19 Click the two clips one-by-one and verify that their Denoise nodes are not disabled. Render Workflow and Presets
In Lesson 8, you also disabled the Magic Mask track in Clip 02 for faster playback. The deliver page is designed to help you quickly set up one or more render jobs. Before
we dive into the intricacies of individual render parameters, it’s helpful to remember that it
20 In the color page Clips filter, select Magic Mask.
takes only four steps to export a project from DaVinci Resolve:
21 Go through the filtered timeline and verify that all Magic Mask nodes are enabled
and tracked. A In the Render Settings panel, set up the video output format. These settings include
the file type, codec, and audio format of the rendered video; its name and location
Enable the Track node in clip 02. Re-run the track if necessary.
on your workstation; and a variety of advanced controls to optimize the render speed
and file size.

B Define the timeline range you want to export. By default, each job is set to render the
entire timeline, but you can use In and Out points to define a custom range.

C Click Add to Render Queue to send the job(s) to the Render Queue.

D Select the job(s) in the Render Queue and click the Render button.

Using Lightbox to Check Timelines Prior to Delivery 341 342 Lesson 10  Delivering Projects
In the following exercise, you will create a render job based on a preset in the Render YouTube, Vimeo, and Twitter optimize the Render Settings panel based on video
Settings of the deliver page. configurations recommended by user-generated content and social media websites.
Enter your login details in Preferences > Internet Accounts to upload videos directly to
1 Enter the deliver page.
your account upon render.

Dropbox and Replay facilitate faster playback and review, as well as automated
uploading, when using Dropbox file-hosting services. It is even possible to sync a
timeline to Dropbox Replay to see collaborators’ comments and annotations directly in
the DaVinci Resolve viewers.

At the top of the Render Settings panel, you will find a horizontal list of render presets. IMF features a set of SMPTE ST.2067-compliant resolutions and codecs for tapeless
deliverables to networks. In DaVinci Resolve Studio, this option does not require a
Custom Export opens the full range of render settings in the panel beneath.
license and supports multiple media streams for video, audio, and subtitle tracks.

ProRes, H.264, and H.265 Masters produce common video files for a variety of
uses, from high-end exports appropriate for broadcast (ProRes) to compressed HD/
NOTE  The Interoperable Mastering Format (IMF) is used for broadcast
UHD files for client review or online playback (H.264 and H.265). Note that the ProRes
distribution and online streaming services like Disney+, Netflix and
Master preset is available only on macOS systems.
Sony Pictures.

Understanding the Render Workflow and Presets 343 344 Lesson 10  Delivering Projects
 Final Cut Pro 7/X, Premiere XML, and AVID AAF accommodate return trips to their The Render Settings panel changes to display the most relevant values for the selected
respective NLE software. This assumes a workflow in which media is edited in a third- YouTube preset.
party NLE, migrated to DaVinci Resolve for grading/VFX, and then returned to the
same NLE for final delivery.

TIP  Another way to roundtrip color grades between applications is to

export a CDL (color decision list), provided that the receiving software supports
the format. When generating CDLs, only primary color grades in the first node
are retained. The Lum Mix of this node must be set to 0 for the color data to
travel accurately.

Audio Only disables video output and delivers a single audio-only file. You can specify
the audio file format in the Audio tab of the Render Settings.

Pro Tools renders out three files: a self-contained video for reference, individual
exports of all audio clips and their channels, and an AAF file for Avid Pro Tools
migration. This preset accommodates workflows in which the final audio mix is
mastered by an external audio engineer in Pro Tools.

To name the video file, you will use the File Name and Location fields under the
preset list.

3 Click the empty text field next to File Name and enter Workday_YouTube_1.1.

The Location field identifies where the video file will be rendered to. A job cannot be
2 Click the disclosure arrow next to the YouTube preset and choose 2160p to load the 4K sent to the Render Queue without an assigned location.
UHD version of the preset.
4 Click the Browse button next to the Location text field.

5 In the File Destination window, navigate to your Desktop, create a new folder called
Exports, and assign it as the render destination.

Understanding the Render Workflow and Presets 345 346 Lesson 10  Delivering Projects
6 In the Timeline panel, ensure that the render range is set to Entire Timeline.
Supporting Multiple Resolution Options
for User-Generated Content Websites
Video players on user-generated content (UGC) websites such as YouTube or
Vimeo often offer the option to choose a playback video resolution. A lower
resolution video allows for smoother playback on a low-bandwidth internet
connection, whereas a higher resolution will produce a better-quality image.

7 With the render settings configured and timeline range defined, click Add to Render This change in resolution does not occur in real time within the UGC player.
Queue at the bottom of the Render Settings panel. Instead, every resolution of every video is generated at the time of the video’s
upload, which is why there is usually a wait period before an uploaded video goes
live. When switching between resolution options, the user is actually switching
between separate renders of the video as generated by the host website.

For this reason, it is advisable to render and upload your video in the highest
possible quality and leave it up to the UGC website and the end user to determine
which resolution is best suited for playback.

A pop-up dialog asks whether you want to export the project at a higher resolution than
your timeline. For the purpose of this exercise, you will confirm that this is intentional.
Creating Custom Renders
TIP  If you’re rendering out a video project at a higher resolution than the
original footage, it is best practice to upscale the timeline in the Project
and Saving Presets
Settings using the Timeline resolution parameter of the Master Settings tab. Presets are an efficient method of exporting projects quickly with the confidence that the
In addition to improving the rendered result, this method will also give you a settings are appropriate for the intended destination. However, it’s valuable to understand
more faithful representation of the final image in the viewer and allow you to how and why certain settings are used and to be able to configure them to meet more
apply your grades and effects directly to the upscaled clips. specific needs, especially when your project deliverables extend beyond the destinations
targeted in the presets list.

8 Click Add to close the dialog window. Most post-production professionals, from editors and compositors to audio engineers and
colorists will configure render settings based on a wide range of factors—for deliverables,
9 In the Render Queue panel, click the Job 1 title and rename it to YouTube.
it will be the industry or technical standards of a broadcast, transmission, or display
format; for collaborative workflows, it may be the software and hardware specifications of
the receiving department.

In this exercise, you will set up a render job to deliver dailies to an editor who is working on a PC.

1 At the top of the Render Settings, click the Custom Export button.

2 Under the File Name and Location fields, choose to render Individual Clips. Doing so
will export every clip in the timeline as its own video file. In the case of dailies, you’ll
want to place untrimmed clips on the timeline to ensure that the editor receives all the
media for every take.

Understanding the Render Workflow and Presets 347 348 Lesson 10  Delivering Projects
3 Set the Video Format to MXF OP-Atom. 11 In the Exports folder on the Desktop, create a subfolder called Dailies and select it as

4 Set the Codec to DNxHD and the Type to 1080p 145/120/115 8-bit. the location.

When collaborating on a largescale project, or working consistently with the same

TIP  Click the Expand button to the left of the Render Settings button in the editor, you may want to generate a preset of your settings so you can set up future

interface toolbar to expand the panel to the height of the deliver page. Click renders more quickly.

the button again to collapse the Render Settings panel, expanding the timeline 12 In the options menu of the Render Settings panel, choose Save as New Preset.
across the full width of the deliver page.
13 Name the preset Dailies for PC.

The custom preset appears on the left of the horizontal menu at the top of the Render
Settings panel.

14 In the Timeline panel, ensure that the render range is set to Entire Timeline.

15 Click Add to Render Queue.

5 The lessons throughout this training manual did not focus on audio syncing or editing;
however, in a dailies workflow, it is assumed that the audio from an external recorder 16 In the Render Queue panel, change the Job 2 title to Dailies.

would have been synced to the video files prior to them being assembled in a master

Configuring a Timeline
timeline. For this export, the option to export audio can remain selected under the
Audio tab using the high-quality Linear PCM codec.

6 Click the File tab to the right of the Audio tab to configure the naming convention of
the dailies.
for Digital Cinema
By default, “Filename uses” is set to “Custom name.” When working with dailies, it’s A digital cinema package (DCP) is a collection of media and metadata files used to project
highly advisable that you preserve the original filenames (“Source name” in the Render digital movie files in a theatrical venue. DaVinci Resolve makes it possible to create a digital
Settings). Doing so will enable you to quickly switch between offline and online media, cinema package with its integration of the DCP plug-in. The next few exercises combine
as well as maintain consistency between post-production departments. some practical information about DCPs with the configuration steps necessary to generate
a DCP in the deliver page.
In this case, you don’t want to use the source name because all the clips came from
the same video file (Project 3 - The Long Workday SCD.mov) and will overwrite one When creating a DCP, the timeline must be set to one of three 2K resolutions:
another. Leave “Custom name” selected. — 2K Native (1.90:1) 2048 × 1080 @ 24, 25, 30, 48, 50, or 60 fps
7 Enter the Custom name underneath as Workday Dailies. — 2K Flat (1.85:1) 1998 × 1080 @ 24, 25, 30, 48, 50, or 60 fps

8 To prevent them overwriting each other upon export, select “Use unique filenames.” — 2K CinemaScope (2.39:1) 2048 × 858 @ 24, 25, 30, 48, 50, or 60 fps

9 Choose Suffix as the method by which the files will be distinguished from one another.
Or one of three 4K resolutions:
10 At the top of the panel, click Browse to change the Location file path. — 4K Native (1.90:1) 4096 × 2160 @ 24, 25, 30, 48, 50, or 60 fps
— 4K Flat (1.85:1) 3996 × 2160 @ 24, 25, 30, 48, 50, or 60 fps
— 4K CinemaScope (2.39:1) 4096 × 1716 @ 24, 25, 30, 48, 50, or 60 fps

Creating Custom Renders and Saving Presets 349 350 Lesson 10  Delivering Projects
1 Continue working in the Lesson 10 Timeline. The project resolution and aspect ratio are now DCP compliant. The timeline frame rate
is 24 fps, which is also appropriate for DCP delivery. In fact, if you were working on a
The resolution for your DCP will be 2K Flat because it’s the closest resolution option
23.976 fps project, DCP would still interpret it as 24 fps and audio playback would be pulled
when starting from full HD. You’ll need to slightly scale up the project and crop the top
up to match.
and bottom of the frame.

16 x 9 frame 1.78:1
Rendering a DCP
With the resolution and frame rate appropriately set up, all further output parameters can
Native 1.9:1
be configured in the Render Settings panel.
Flat 1.85:1
The DCP format in DaVinci Resolve 18 Studio features two codec options. The Kakadu­
Scope 2.39:1 based JPEG 2000 standard needs no license and delivers unencrypted digital cinema
packages. The easyDCP format encrypts digital media but requires the purchase of a
licensing package.

1 In the Render Settings panel, click Custom Export.

2 Near the top of the panel, select Single Clip. Unlike the dailies, you want this timeline to
be rendered as a single, self-contained video file.

3 In the Video tab, set the Format to DCP.

4 Set the Codec to Kakadu JPEG 2000.

TIP  4K DCPs use a lower bit rate than 2K DCPs when played on 2K projectors. 5 Set the Type to 2K DCI Flat.
For that reason, when your target projector is 2K, always make a 2K DCP, even if
your content supports higher resolutions.

2 Open Project Settings.

3 In the Master Settings, set the Timeline resolution to 1998 x 1080 DCI Flat 1.85.

TIP  DCP uses the XYZ color space. The conversion of your project color space
to XYZ is performed automatically during the creation of the DCP file. In the
Project Settings, your project color space is determined by the Timeline color
space, even when DaVinci YRGB color management is not in use.

4 Click the Image Scaling tab and set Input Scaling to “Scale full frame with crop.”

5 Click Save to close the Project Settings.

Configuring a Timeline for Digital Cinema 351 352 Lesson 10  Delivering Projects
 The “Use interop packaging” checkbox determines whether you are generating the This launches the Composition Name Generator window. Here you can enter the
DCP based on the older but more widely supported Interop standard or the more metadata that will be used to create a content title compatible with DCP servers and
current and feature-rich SMPTE standard. One of the benefits of using the SMPTE theater management systems.
standard is that it supports a wider range of frame rates. The major benefit of using
4 Enter the Film Title as TheLongWorkday, leave the Content Type as ADV
the older Interop standard is that it is compatible with more theater projection
(Advertisement), and set the Audio Language to EN (English).
systems, although it is limited to either 24 fps or 48 fps.

6 Ensure that “Use interop packaging” is selected.

7 Leave all other settings as they are.

TIP  Unencrypted DCPs can be played back on any DCP player/encoder without
restriction. The alternative DCP codec option, easyDCP, features an “Encrypt
package” checkbox for additional file security. This option will set the encoder to
generate a Digest containing the keys used during file encryption. With the Digest,
you will be able to play the resulting DCP on your system and generate Key Delivery
Messages (KDMs) to allow the DCP to be played on other servers.

Naming and Outputting a DCP

DCPs follow a somewhat specific, yet voluntary, Digital Cinema Naming Convention for
the content title. For each version of a movie you create (such as the English 5.1 version,
the Spanish 5.1 version, the stereo version, the in-flight version, and so on), a composition
playlist (CPL) is created containing the appropriate content name. DaVinci Resolve’s DCP
preset creates this CPL for you and includes a straightforward way to generate a name that
follows the appropriate naming convention.

1 Continue in the Video tab of the Render Settings.

2 Scroll down and expand the Composition Settings.

3 Click the Edit button next to the “Composition name” field.

TIP  Separate the words in your project title using initial capitals—not spaces,
hyphens, or underscores.

The selected metadata is added to the composition name at the top.

5 Click OK to close the window.

The composition name is not to be confused with the package name that contains the
DCP. The package name is managed in the File tab of the Render Settings panel.

Configuring a Timeline for Digital Cinema 353 354 Lesson 10  Delivering Projects
6 Click the File tab and enter the Custom name as Long Workday DCP test.

Lastly, you need to select a destination for this DCP.

Exploring Advanced
7 Click the Browse button and select your Desktop as the render location. Render Settings
When delivering a real film project, you can output the DCP to a hard drive in a Cru In addition to choosing how your footage is compressed, you have additional control over more
Dataport DX-115 enclosure that will load directly onto many digital cinema servers and nuanced aspects of the rendering process. This exercise is designed to familiarize you with
is often required by film festivals. More conveniently, you can output to a USB 2 or these settings and empower you to set up your future custom renders with more purpose.
USB 3 hard drive or even a USB stick, if it accommodates the film’s file size. No matter
which storage device you choose, it must be formatted as a Linux Ext2 or Ext3 drive. 1 In the Project Settings, reset the Timeline resolution to 1920 x 1080 HD and click Save.

You can use online resources to find various ways of accomplishing this on macOS and 2 In the Render Settings panel, select the Vimeo preset at the default 1080p resolution.
Windows workstations.
Presets are convenient as a quick starting point for renders, but they can be further
customized if unpacked in the Custom Export controls. In this exercise, you’ll produce
TIP  Some projection servers don’t provide enough power to mount certain a video with a lower data rate than the default.
USB-powered drives. To guarantee playback, use USB drives with an external
3 At the top of the panel, scroll to the left of the presets list and click the Custom
power source.
Export button.

The panel reverts to its custom layout but has adopted some of the Vimeo
8 In the Timeline panel, ensure that the render range is set to Entire Timeline. preset settings.
9 Click Add to Render Queue. 4 Ensure that the Video Format is QuickTime and the Codec is H.264.
10 If you previously changed your project timeline resolution to 1998 x 1080 DCI Flat 1.85, 5 For certain codecs, encoder acceleration options will appear under the Codec
you should not see the pop-up dialog informing you of the higher resolution render. If parameter. If you’re using a workstation with an Nvidia NVENC GPU, you will see
you didn’t change the resolution and see the dialog, click Add to proceed. a dropdown menu allowing you to accelerate your Native and GPU encoders.
11 A second dialog pop-up will inform you of an Invalid Audio Track Count. This is due Workstations offering QuickSync hardware encoding will display an option to use
to the DCP job anticipating a 5.1 audio mix, which is common with digital cinema hardware acceleration.
deliverables. Your project has a stereo output and will play without issue on most Select Auto from the dropdown menu or select “Use hardware acceleration if available”
projection systems. Click Add Anyway. if you see either of these encoder options.
12 In the Render Queue, change the Job 3 title to DCP. 6 Leave the Resolution at 1920 x 1080 HD and the Frame rate at 24.

7 The Quality parameter in the Render Settings panel specifically refers to the data rate
When rendering a real film project, you will want to test it after generating the DCP file. of the digital data—that is, the data per second required to transmit the audiovisual
The only definite way to test your DCP is to rent a theater and run the projection just as
stream. A higher data rate contains more visual information, which results in better
you would for an audience. That is the only way you can absolutely verify that the color
motion representation and detail quality, whereas a lower data rate selectively
conversion (from your Timeline color space to XYZ) worked correctly. DCPs can also be
discards some data in the interest of generating a smaller file size.
tested by importing them back into a new DaVinci Resolve project file and managing the
color space from DCI X′Y′Z′ to your monitoring standard. It’s a quick way to verify that the Restrict the Quality setting to 7500 Kb/s. Doing so will reduce the data rate of the file,
colors have not been corrupted due to incorrect color conversion, but a computer screen significantly lowering the file size while still maintaining a good level of visual quality.
will never be able to truly represent how a project will appear when projected.

Configuring a Timeline for Digital Cinema 355 356 Lesson 10  Delivering Projects
 experience some extremely specific artifacting in your rendered video. You can
TIP  As counterintuitive as it seems, the resolution of a video has no impact on confidently leave these controls as they are (for now and likely forever).
its file size. Only the data rate determines the file size of a rendered video. If
12 Click the disclosure arrow to see the Advanced Settings.
you export 720p and 1080p versions of the same video at 8000 Kb/s, they will
have the same file size, although the 720p will likely look a little crisper, while
the 1080p video will have more macroblock artifacting because it’s forced to
use the same amount of data to reproduce the image in a larger frame.

This is not true when using an Automatic Quality setting (such as Best), which
will configure the data rate based on the resolution of the timeline.

8 The Encoding Profile determines the level of complexity involved with encoding an 13 The “Pixel aspect ratio” allows you to indicate whether the video pixels are Square
H.264/H.265 file. The listed profiles allow for the selection of higher encoding and or Cinemascope (rectangular). This option pertains to older workflows in which
playback qualities in exchange for computational intensity. They are listed from lowest digital footage recorded for analog television (at a rectangular 1.33:1 aspect ratio)
(Base) to highest quality (High 4:4:4), with Auto determining the optimal profile based was converted for computer displays (which had a square 1:1 aspect ratio). If your
on the timeline’s media resolution and bit depth. video looks horizontally distorted (too squashed or stretched out), change the pixel
aspect ratio.
For this render job, set the Encoding Profile to Auto.
Since you’re working on digitally recorded and encoded media, you can leave the “Pixel
9 Key Frames are full-data, intra-coded frames (also known as i-frames) that are inserted
aspect ratio” as Square.
into a lossy video stream at regular intervals, such as every 30 frames. These i-frames
are reference points for recreating the temporally compressed p- (predicted) and b- 14 Data Levels specify the data range of an image based on its source. The default Auto

(bi-directionally predicted) frames that make up the majority of the moving image in setting renders the media at the data level appropriate for the selected codec. Video

a distribution codec (such as H.264). The default Key Frames setting is ideal for most refers to YCbCr formats that constrain to pixel data values between 64–940 in a 10-bit

project types. If you have very fast-moving imagery and see glitch effects in your system in formats using a Rec.709 video standard. Full expands the range to the film

rendered video, increase the Key Frames frequency. standard of 4–1023 values utilized in high-end digital film formats. If you find that your
final video looks substantially darker or lighter than it appears in the viewer of the
Set the Key Frames to be grabbed every 24 frames to ensure slightly less distortion
color page, it’s likely that the data levels are incorrectly assigned. This can sometimes
during the temporal compression and playback of the video.
happen when offline media is transcoded with a different codec from the original
10 Frame reordering allows for the encoding of b-frames to improve the quality of media. To fix this, make test exports with the Data Levels set to Video and/or Full until
the resulting video file. It can be disabled for faster encoding at the expense of you find the correct data level.
visual quality.
For this render job, leave the Data Levels on Auto.
Leave Frame reordering enabled.
15 Color Space and Gamma tags allow you to embed colorimetry metadata into the video
11 Depending on your workstation, you might see Entropy Mode listed under the file that can be read and interpreted by operating systems and applications. These
Encoding Profile or at the bottom of the video parameters list. A dropdown menu lets tags allow you to overcome the color shift that can occur between the DaVinci Resolve
you choose which algorithm the encoder should use for compression. Auto will choose viewer and video players/browsers with an internal color profile.
the most appropriate option for your workstation.

In both cases, this mode will also reveal additional controls that allow you to further
configure how the video is compressed. As a rule, these controls are already optimized
to produce the best temporal compression results, but they can be modified if you

Exploring Advanced Render Settings 357 358 Lesson 10  Delivering Projects
 Leave the tags set to Same as Project. The resulting video file will be tagged with the The current project is set to render caches at a high-quality 12-bit depth codec, so it
project’s Output color space. When not using RCM, the tags will reflect the Timeline makes sense to use the cached files in the final render.
color space.
Select “Use render cached images.”

19 The “Force sizing to highest quality” and “Force debayer to highest quality” settings
NOTE  In Lesson 4, we identified that Macs have a unique internal color bypass the quality settings for resizing and debayering in the Project Settings.
management utility that affects how videos are displayed in its native
Selecting these is convenient when working on a processor-intensive timeline that
applications. By enabling DaVinci Resolve to use the Mac Display Color Profile
uses high-quality images or raw footage. You can adjust the Project Settings for lower-
in the Preferences, you can get DaVinci Resolve’s viewers to match how the
quality visual output during editing but bypass these settings for the highest possible
footage appears in macOS applications. However, this is only a monitoring
quality output upon final render.
configuration and does not affect how the footage is rendered out. To export
clips from a macOS workstation without experiencing a color shift, you will Select “Force sizing to highest quality” to ensure that the optimal resize filter is used
also need to include gamma tag metadata in the rendered video. Click the during rendering.
dropdown arrow in the Gamma Tag field and choose Rec.709-A. This will map
It’s not necessary to select the debayer option because this project does not contain
your rendered videos to Apple’s internal Rec.709 curve when viewed in its
any raw media.
applications, while bypassing the tags when displayed in players and browsers
that do not use internal color management. 20 “Enable Flat Pass” allows you to bypass grades as indicated in the version settings of
clips in the Thumbnail timeline. The default choice is Off, which means all grades will
remain intact. Choosing “With clip settings” means the render will consider the bypass
16 Set the “Data burn-in” to None to ensure that the viewer’s data burn-in information will
status of each version (as set in the Versions contextual submenu in the color page).
not appear in the rendered video.
Choosing Always On will disable all the clip grades in the timeline, thereby providing a
17 Selecting “Bypass re-encode when possible” will render a direct copy of the original quick way to export an edited timeline or a set of dailies without a grade.
media file when possible. This option will have no effect if you have graded or
Set Enable Flat Pass to “With clip settings.”
composited your media or if you’re exporting to a format different from the source.
An example of when this setting is beneficial could be if you were editing a project 21 Selecting “Disable sizing and blanking output” removes any transform changes and
using ProRes 422 media, with the intention of delivering in ProRes 422. Bypassing re- blanking that were applied to the clips in the edit or color pages. Leave it deselected.
encode will deliver such a project at the highest possible quality. 22 In the File tab at the top of the panel, set “Filename uses” to “Timeline name.” The File
Name field will adopt the name of the timeline (Lesson 10 Timeline) as the filename.

23 In the Timeline panel, navigate to the last frame of clip 05 and press O to place an out
point (01:00:26:09). The dropdown at the top of the panel will show that you will be
rendering a custom In/Out Range.

Leave “Bypass re-encode when possible” selected.

18 The following options, “Use optimized media,” “Use proxy media,” and “Use render
cached images,” allow you to employ previously-generated renders of the footage in 24 Click Add to Render Queue.
the export process. It makes sense to select these options when your optimized or
25 In the Render Queue, change the Job 4 title to Preview 1080p.
proxy media and render cache are set to a high or lossless quality such as 444 or HDR.

Exploring Advanced Render Settings 359 360 Lesson 10  Delivering Projects
26 In the Render Queue, in the options menu, choose Show All Projects. 5 Click Update Job at the bottom of the panel to exit the Edit mode.

The change overwrites the original YouTube job settings.

6 Click the YouTube job in the Render Queue panel.

You should now see all the jobs that were added to the Render Queue in any project 7 At the bottom of the panel, click Render 1.
associated with the project library you’re using. If you split longer projects into reels,
or if you’re working on timelines with different frame rates, you might want to create
all your render jobs first, and then access and render them from a single project
Render Queue. This way, you won’t have to wait for a project to finish rendering before
launching the next project.

27 In the options menu, deselect Show All Projects to return to the current project’s Note that the remaining, unselected jobs do not get rendered. When delivering
Render Queue. multiple timelines or formats, ensure that you select all necessary jobs in the queue
before clicking the Render button. When no jobs are selected, the button is set
to Render All.

Editing Render Jobs

TIP  The fastest way to export a timeline from DaVinci Resolve is to choose File >
A job can be removed or modified even after it has already been added to the
Quick Export. This export feature is designed to produce light video files for
Render Queue.
immediate viewing or uploading to social media.
1 Find the DCP job in the Render Queue and click the X in the upper-right corner of the
job to delete it from the queue.
Using the correct render settings is vital for delivering technically correct, visually
2 Find the YouTube job and click the pencil icon in the top-right corner to edit it.
optimized video project files. Understanding these settings has even greater benefits; it
elevates your skillset as a colorist and imbues confidence that your projects are delivered
at their optimal quality while adhering to industry standards.

Remote Rendering
The Render Settings panel changes to reflect the YouTube job settings. The presence
DaVinci Resolve Studio allows you to offload rendering to another DaVinci Resolve
of additional buttons (Cancel, Update Job, and Add New Job) at the bottom of the panel
workstation. This feature requires that all workstations have a copy of
indicates that a job is currently being edited.
DaVinci Resolve 18 Studio installed, a shared Postgres project library, and access
3 Change the Resolution to 1920 x 1080 HD. to all necessary media files using the same filename paths. With one computer

4 Change the Format to QuickTime. acting as a render station, all other DaVinci Resolve workstations can continue to
be used for editing, grading, compositing, and mixing.

Exploring Advanced Render Settings 361 362 Lesson 10  Delivering Projects
Lesson Review Answers
1 True. You can view and grade media in the Lightbox if you enable color controls and
1 True or false? You can continue to view and grade media in the Lightbox.
have an external monitor.
2 True or false? The deliver page supports roundtrip workflows with other
2 True. The presets at the top of the Render Settings panel allow you to select an NLE
NLE programs.
program for a roundtrip delivery of individual video clips and an XML timeline.
3 How would ensure that the highest quality debayer settings are used for the final
3 Select “Force debayer to highest quality” in the Advanced settings for the highest
render of a raw project?
debayer quality when exporting a raw project.
4 How do you save a custom render preset?
4 In the Render Settings options menu, choose Save as New Preset.
5 True or false? It is possible to continue editing a render job after it has been added to
5 True. Clicking the pencil icon in the upper-right corner of a render job allows you to
the Render Queue.
continue modifying its settings.

Congratulations!
You have completed The Colorist Guide to DaVinci Resolve 18 and are now ready to
explore more editing, visual effects, and audio mixing workflows using the additional
certified books in this series.

Completing all the lessons in this book has prepared you to become a certified
DaVinci Resolve color page user. You can take the free online exam by following this link:
https://bit.ly/3PBqwwo or by visiting the DaVinci Resolve training page and clicking the
Complete Online Exam button under the Colorist Guide lesson files. When registering,
please select the BMD training partner country as ONLINE and the BMD training partner
name as BMD Training Page.

The exam is made up of 50 multiple choice questions that must be answered within
a 1-hour limit. A passing score requires 85% accuracy or better. Every user has
three attempts at the exam, with a 24-hour wait period between attempts. If you
are unsuccessful after the third attempt, please wait 6 months before contacting
[email protected] to request that a further three attempts be added
to your account. The exam is open book and open software to encourage you to research
the questions as you answer them. Upon passing, your certificate will be emailed to you.

We also invite you to become part of the DaVinci Resolve community by joining the web
forum on the Blackmagic Design website (https://forum.blackmagicdesign.com/). There,
you can ask further questions about the creative aspects of filmmaking and connect with
industry editors, colorists, compositors, and audio engineers.

We hope that you have found DaVinci Resolve 18’s professional nonlinear editing and
world-class color correction tools to be intuitive to learn and a perfect fit for your
creative workflow!

Lesson Review 363 364 Lesson 10  Delivering Projects

Appendix A DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel
The DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel is a high-quality, portable, low-profile panel that features

Using the DaVinci
three high-resolution trackballs and 12 precision-machined control knobs for accessing
essential primary correction tools. Above the center trackball are keys for switching
between log and offset color correction, as well as a key to display DaVinci Resolve’s full-

Resolve Panels
screen viewer, which is great for use with laptops. Eighteen dedicated keys on the right
side of the panel give you access to many commonly used grading features and playback
controls. The DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel is perfect for anyone who needs a truly portable
solution. It’s great for use on set to quickly create looks and evaluate color, and it’s ideal
for grading in broadcast trucks, for education, and for anyone whose work relies mostly on
Blackmagic Design manufactures a variety of control surfaces for use with
the primary color correction tools.
DaVinci Resolve 18. The DaVinci Resolve panels allow you to make faster, more
nuanced changes to your images. Instead of being limited to color grading Y LIFT Y GAMMA Y GAIN CONTRAST PIVOT MID DETAIL COLOR BOOST SHADOWS HIGHLIGHTS SATURATION HUE LUM MIX

one click or drag at a time, you can use the panels to adjust multiple controls
LOG OFFSET VIEWER
ALL ALL GRAB
LEV LEV UNDO REDO
STILL
RGB EL RGB EL

PLAY PREV RESET

ALL STILL MEM
LEV
RGB EL

simultaneously. This is why professional colorists worldwide working on

LOOP BYPASS DISABLE

PREV NEXT
NODE NODE

PREV NEXT
FRAME FRAME

commercials, television shows, and feature films prefer using control surfaces
PREV NEXT
CLIP CLIP

 

rather than grading with a mouse and keyboard. It can be the difference between 

taking 5 minutes to taking just 30 seconds to complete a shot. Three control

panels are available for DaVinci Resolve: Micro, Mini, and Advanced.

DaVinci Resolve
Advanced Panel
DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel
The DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel is a compact device packed with a massive number of
features and controls. You get three professional trackballs along with a variety of buttons
for switching tools, adding color correctors, and navigating your node tree. In addition to
every tool and feature available on the Micro Panel, the Mini Panel also includes two 5-inch
color LCD screens that display menus, controls, and parameter settings for the selected
tool. Eight soft buttons and eight soft knobs give you direct access to the menus of most
of the palettes in the color page. The Mini Panel is ideal for users who regularly switch
between editing and color grading, users who wish to access both primary and secondary
color correction tools from their panel, and for freelance colorists who need to carry a
panel with them when moving between facilities. It’s also great for colorists working on
location shoots, for corporate and event videographers, for houses of worship, and more.

DaVinci Resolve
Micro Panel

DaVinci Resolve
Mini Panel

Using the DaVinci Resolve Panels 365 366 Appendix A 

 The Advanced Panel also features a unique T-bar for playing back gallery stills, shuttle
controls for cycling through frames and speeding through your timeline, as well as a slide-
out keyboard. Used in many of the top color grading facilities around the world, the Davinci
Resolve Advanced Panel is the ultimate control surface for Davinci Resolve.

Y LIFT Y GAMMA

ALL
Y GAIN

LEV
CONTRAST PIVOT

LOG OFFSET
MID DETAIL

VIEWER
COLORBOOST SHADOWS HIGHLIGHTS

ALL
LEV
SATURATION

GRAB
STILL
HUE

UNDO
LUM MIX

REDO
DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel Overview
B EL B EL
RG RG

The Mini Panel is mapped to virtually every tool and parameter in the color page while
PLAY PREV
RESET
ALL STILL MEM
LEV
B EL
RG
LOOP BYPASS DISABLE

PREV
NODE

PREV
NEXT
NODE

NEXT
sporting a compact design and an accessible price point. This makes it incredibly popular
FRAME FRAME

PREV
CLIP
NEXT
CLIP
among both professional colorists and industry newcomers. The following overview will
introduce you to its layout and key functions.
 

1 2 3
HOME v w SERIAL PARALLEL LAYER

4 5 6
RAW PRIMARY MOTION NODE + NODE + APPEND
LINEAR CIRCLE

7 8 9
CURVES QUALIFIER WINDOW COPY PASTE FULL
VIEWER

10 11 12
TRACKER BLUR KEYER PREV NEXT HIGHLIGHT
STILL STILL

13 14 15
SIZING FX USER PREV NEXT REF
KF KF

DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel Y LIFT

RGB
Y GAMMA

ALL
Y GAIN

LEV
EL
CONTRAST

RGB
PIVOT

LOG OFFSET

ALL
MID DETAIL

VIEWER

LEV
EL
COLOR BOOST SHADOWS

RGB
HIGHLIGHTS

ALL
LEV
EL
SATURATION

GRAB
STILL

PLAY
STILL
HUE

UNDO

PREV
MEM
LUM MIX

REDO

RESET

LOOP BYPASS DISABLE

For the ultimate in speed, power, and control, Blackmagic Design offers the
PREV NEXT
NODE NODE

PREV NEXT
FRAME FRAME

PREV NEXT
CLIP CLIP

DaVinci Resolve Advanced Panel. The Advanced Panel has been designed in collaboration 




with professional colorists to work in total harmony with the software. This large panel
consists of left, center, and right consoles that give you quick, one-touch access to
virtually every parameter and control in the color page. The DaVinci Resolve Advanced
Panel lets colorists instinctively reach out and touch every part of the image, adjusting
multiple parameters simultaneously with complete responsiveness for a smooth grading The lower half of the Mini Panel contains the primary control tools. The largest controls
experience. While the Mini Panel gives you access to nearly all the color correction tools in on the Mini Panel are the three trackballs and rings that control Lift, Gamma, and Gain.
Davinci Resolve, the Advanced Panel gives you even more flexibility with physical buttons Their behavior and layout mirror the color wheels in the Primaries palette, with the
and knobs to control Memories, Open FX tools, Dolby Vision, and many other speed and trackballs controlling hue, while the rings control brightness. When the Lift ring is rotated
workflow-based tools that will increase your efficiency even further. counterclockwise, the image shadows darken. When the Gain trackball is moved toward
the upper left, the lighter areas of the image become warmer. The Offset soft key maps the
right trackball to the Offset wheel and the two left trackballs to the temp and tint controls.
These tools are identical in the Micro Panel.

Y LIFT Y GAMMA Y GAIN CONTRAST PIVOT MID DETAIL COLORBOOST SHADOWS HIGHLIGHTS SATURATION HUE LUM MIX

LOG OFFSET VIEWER

ALL ALL
GRAB
LEVE LEVE UNDO REDO
B B STILL
RG L RG L

PLAY PREV
RESET
ALL STILL MEM
LEVE
B L
RG
LOOP BYPASS DISABLE

PREV NEXT
NODE NODE

PREV NEXT
FRAME FRAME

PREV NEXT
CLIP CLIP

 

Using the DaVinci Resolve Panels 367 368 Appendix A 

 Above the Lift, Gamma, and Gain controls are the Primary knobs, which are mapped to the
adjustment controls in the Primaries palette. They control frequently used DaVinci Resolve
tools such as Contrast, Pivot, Saturation, Color Boost, and Hue. These knobs (as well as
all knobs on the panel) have 4,098 points per turn and can be pushed to reset the tool
they control.

CONTRAST PIVOT MID DETAIL COLORBOOST SHADOWS HIGHLIGHTS SATURATION HUE LUM MIX

LOG OFFSET VIEWER

ALL
GRAB
LEV LEV UNDO REDO
EL B EL STILL
RG

PLAY PREV
RESET
ALL STILL MEM
LEV
B EL
RG
LOOP BYPASS DISABLE

PREV NEXT
NODE NODE

PREV NEXT
FRAME FRAME

PREV NEXT
CLIP CLIP

 

To the right of the Gain trackball are useful playback and shuttle controls to help you
quickly navigate between clips, nodes, and frames. Some additional playback options
include Loop, which will repeat the playback of the currently selected clip; Bypass, which
will temporarily bypass all the nodes/color corrections on the timeline; and Disable, which
will temporarily disable the selected node of a clip.

1 2 3
HOME v w SERIAL PARALLEL LAYER

4 5 6
RAW PRIMARY MOTION NODE + NODE + APPEND
LINEAR CIRCLE

7 8 9
CURVES QUALIFIER WINDOW COPY PASTE FULL
VIEWER

10 11 12
TRACKER BLUR KEYER PREV NEXT HIGHLIGHT
STILL STILL

13 14 15
SIZING FX USER PREV NEXT REF
KF KF

The lip of the Mini Panel consists of palette soft keys; two 5-inch, high-resolution color
Y LIFT Y GAMMA Y GAIN CONTRAST PIVOT MID DETAIL COLOR BOOST SHADOWS HIGHLIGHTS SATURATION HUE LUM MIX

displays; and even more node, keyframing and selection controls. All the palettes found
RG
B
ALL
LEVE
L
LOG OFFSET VIEWER

RG
B
ALL
LEVE
L
GRAB
STILL
UNDO REDO

in the color page toolbar are mapped to their own buttons on the Mini Panel. The two
PLAY PREV RESET
ALL STILL MEM
LEVE
B
RG L

LOOP BYPASS DISABLE

displays—as well as the eight soft buttons and eight soft knobs above and below the PREV
NODE
NEXT
NODE

displays offer advanced control over the active color page palette. PREV
FRAME
NEXT
FRAME

PREV
CLIP
NEXT
CLIP
This page intentionally left blank.
 

Using the DaVinci Resolve Panels 369

Index ColorSync utility, 148
ColorTrace, 203–209
DPX and DRX files, 201–202
Dropbox render preset, 344
Compound node, creating, 183–184 .drp file extension, 7, 128, 141
Conflict Resolution window, 138 dynamic attributes, 289–290
conforming, 133–141 dynamic keyframes. See also keyframes
contrast and tonal range, 10–19 animating position values, 284–286
copying changing color values, 286–288
NUMBERS C grades from clips and stills, 188 dynamic range, maximizing, 145–149
4K to 1080p to 4K workflow, 274 cache, clearing, 303–304 grades using Timelines album, 209–210
cache quality, 302–303 nodes from stills, 196–198
E
A caching, enabling, 226, easyDCP format, 352–353
timeline grades using
AAF file type, 131, 345 Camera Raw palette, 308, 311–312 ColorTrace, 203–209 Edit Sizing, Sizing palette, 276
A/B difference button, 72, 293 Chroma-Luma grid, Color Warper, 101–105 cover-ups, 279–283 editing render jobs, 361–362
ACES (Academy Color Cinema Viewer, 192 curves Effects and Definitions panel, 206
Encoding System), 313 clips. See also pre-clip grade; post-clip adjusting luminance, 16–19 Effects Library panel,
Advanced Panel, 367 grade; raw clips balancing colors, 19–22 Analog Damage, 263
Analog Damage effect, 262–263 adjusting after post-clip grade, 258–262 Mini Panel, 22 Depth Map, 30
animating grades, 283–290 comparing, 46–59 Face Refinement, 105
Custom Export render preset, 343,
Aperture Diffraction effect, 259 copying grades from, 188 348, 352, 356 Noise Reduction, 295
appending grades and nodes, 194–198 creating versions of, 189–193 Patch Replacer, 280
archive project file reframing, 275–276 D opening, 30
creating, 5 resetting, 159 data burn-in, 134, 264–267 Sky Replacement, 89
opening, 4–5 Clips filter, 42–43, 301 DaVinci Resolve, downloading, xii Tilt-Shift Blur, 66
aspect ratios, 276–277, 358 color and log wheels, comparing, 23–29 DaVinci Wide Gamut, 222–226 exam, taking online, 364
atmosphere, adding, 86–89 Color Boost, 110 DCP (digital cinema package) exporting
Audio Only render preset, 345 color charts, 230–233 2K and 4K resolution, 350–352 DPX and DRX files, 201–202
AVID AAF render preset, 345 color management, 140, 146–152, 222–226 naming and outputting, 353–355 timelines, 362
Color Match palette, 230–233 playing back, 353
B color monitoring, 151 F
rendering, 352–353
backups, 5–7 color page XYZ color space, 352, 355 Face Refinement effect, 105–113
balancing footage, 19–22 layout, xv–xix debayering (demosaicing), 308 Film Grain effect, 264
Beauty effect, 112 opening, 5 deliver page workflow, 342 Final Cut Pro 7/X render preset, 345
Bézier curves, 88, 108 color space, 146–152. See also delivery flags, using to organize shots, 40–43
Black Offset, HDR palette, 319 Rec.709 color space checking timelines prior to, 338–342 frame mode, tracking in, 76–78, 182
Blackmagic Cloud, xiv, 335 Color Space Transform (CST) effect, 313 frame size, changing, 272–277
render workflow and presets, 342–348
blanking, 276–277 color temperature, 14, 315, 319 Depth Map effect, 30–33, 66–67
Blur palette, 71–73 Color Warper palette, 95–104 depth of field. See shallow depth of field
G
color wheels. See Primaries color wheels depth planes, isolating grades to, 30–33 Gain, Primaries color wheels, xviii
digital cinema, configuring timelines Gain master, 13, 24
for, 350–352 gallery, xv, xvi
downloading DaVinci Resolve, xii Gamma, Primaries color wheels, xviii

Index 371 372 Index

Gamma master, 14 I Lift, Primaries color wheels, xviii node grades, disabling/enabling, 15
Gamut Mapping effect, 313 IMF render preset, 344 Lift master, 13, 24–25 node order, 157–166
grades importing Lightbox, 338–342 Node Sizing, Sizing palette, 276–279

animating using keyframes, 283–290 LUTs (Lookup tables), 140 Live Preview, changing behavior of, 191 node trees, bypassing, 33
XML timelines, 128–131 Live Save feature, 5–6. See also saving nodes
appending, 194–198
Input Sizing, Sizing palette, 275–276 local versions, working with, 189–193. adding, 44, 263
copying from clips and stills, 188 See also remote versions; versions
ISO, changing, 314–316 anatomy of, 156–157
isolating to depth planes, 30–33 log and color wheels comparing, 23–26 appending, 194–195
resetting in clips, 159 K Loop button, viewer playback controls, 286 disabling, 15
saving for projects, 198–203 Kakadu-based JPEG 2000 standard, 352 Lum Mix, 55 labeling, 44
grading workflow, 7–9 key inputs and outputs, 156–157 removing Resolve FX plug-ins from, 112
M
groups key mixer, 84 switching order of, 158-159
Mac displays, using noise reduction, 291–295
balancing with color charts, 230–233 keyboard shortcuts
DaVinci Resolve with, 148
creating, 227–228 bypassing node trees, 33
Cinema Viewer, 192
Magic Mask palette, 240–253, 241 O
markers, using with filtering, 43
H copying and pasting, 51 Object Mask, 241–244
Mask button, 88
creating clip versions, 191 Object Removal effect, 283
H.264 render preset, 343 master wheels
cycling through versions, 193 objects, tracking, 74–78, 241–244
H.265 Masters render preset, 343 adjusting luminance, 10–15
enlarging viewer, 17, 58 obscured objects, tracking, 74–78
HDR (High Dynamic Range) media, Primaries color wheels, xviii
keyframe navigation, 286 offline references, 131–133
grading, 317–329 matching. See also shot match
layer mixer, 171 Offset, Primaries color wheels, xviii
HDR palette between clips, 43–57
navigating cut points, 228 Offset mode, enabling, 16
customizing zones in, 327 shots at clip group level, 234–238
navigating viewer, 281 Output Sizing, Sizing palette, 275–277
mapping to color panels, 329 matte data, sharing across nodes, 90, 181
resetting grades in clips, 159 overcast skies, fixing, 79–95
memories, saving stills as, 199
options menu, 326 Select All, 147, 220, 224
tonal ranges, 320–327 serial nodes, 44, 263
memory colors, 121. See also colors P
Micro Panel, 366
Zones Graph, 324 toggling grades on and off, 15 panels
Mini Panel
Highlight master wheel, 25 toggling wipes, 53 Advanced Panel, 367
curves, 22
undoing actions, 15 Micro Panel, 366
Highlight mode, viewer, 64, 80, 165, features, 368–369
178, 293, 323 keyframes. See also dynamic keyframes; Mini Panel, 366, 368–369
hue curves, 121
static keyframes Parade, Scopes palette, 11, 27
Highlight Recovery, Camera RAW Offset mode, 16
palette, 314–316 navigating between, 286 parades
Power Windows, 70
using to animate grades, 283–290 comparing, 47-51
HSL curves qualifiers, 83
Keyframes Editor versus waveforms, 27–28
Curve palette, 113–119, 256–258 tracking, 77
description, xvi parallel mixer nodes, 167–170, 174
Qualifier palette, 80, 164–165 mini-timeline, xv, xvi
Expand button, 287 Patch Replacer effect, creating cover-ups
hue curves Motion Effects palette, 292 with, 279–283
Mini Panel, 121 L people, tracking, 244–246
N performance, optimizing with Render
naming convention, 114 layer mixer node, 169–184
layer nodes, creating, 171. See also nodes node cache, 296–299 Cache, 296–304
Hue-Saturation grid, Color
Warper, 101–105 lesson files, acquiring, xii–xiii Node Editor Person Mask mode, 244–246
decluttering, 184 physical features, masking, 247–253
grading workflow in, 9 Pivot control, 14

Index 373 374 Index

plug-ins, removing from nodes, 112 Render Settings. See also remote rendering serial nodes, creating, 44, 263 Timeline resolution, Project Settings,
position values, animating, 284–286 Advanced Settings, 356–361 Shadow master wheel, 26, 28–29 272–274, 277, 347
post-clip grade. See also clips “Bypass re-encode when possible,” 359 shallow depth of field, mimicking, 66–67 timelines
adjusting clips after, 258–262 Color Space tag, 358–359 shared nodes, 198 applying blanking to, 276
applying, 254–258 “Data burn-in,” 359 sharpening, 71–73 associating HQ footage with, 141–143
Power Windows, 63–65, 68–69 Data Levels, 358 shot match. See also matching checking prior to delivery, 338–342
PowerGrade stills, 198–202 “Disable sizing and blanking output,” 360 applying, 43–45 configuring for digital cinema, 350–355
pre-clip grade, 203–233. See also clips “Enable Flat Pass,” 360 manually, 51–57 conforming, 133–141
Premiere XML render preset, 344 Encoding Profile, 357 using stills, 46–51 exporting, 362
preset render settings, saving, 348–350 “Force sizing to highest quality,” 360 Sizing palette, opening, 53, 57, importing, 128–131
Primaries color wheels Gamma tag, 358–359 236, 275, 278 sharing, 141
accessing, xv Key Frames, 357 skies, fixing, 79–95 Timelines album, 209–210
described, xvi “Pixel aspect ratio,” 358 skin, color grading, 105–121 Tint field, Primaries palette, 14
overview, xviii Quality parameter, 356–357 skin tones tonal ranges, HDR palette, 317–329
toggling between log wheels, 25, 28 render workflow and presets, 342–345 adjusting manually, 113–121 tracking
Primary knobs, Mini Panel, 369 enhancing with face refinement, 105–113 features, 247–253
renders, customizing, 348–350
Pro Tools render preset, 345 Sky Replacement effect, 89–95 objects, 241–244
Replay render preset, 344
project backups, setting up, 5–7 Smart Cache, enabling, 226, 296–297 obscured objects, 74–78
Reset UI Layout, 10
ProRes render preset, 343 sorting contents of bins, 220 people, 244–246
resolution
proxy workflows, 144 source file locations, switching, 141–143 tracks, fixing, 74–78, 250–253
and aspect ratios, 276
smart filters, 342 Training and Certification Program, xi
Q versus file size, 357
translation errors, fixing, 135–141
rescaling media to, 273 Spatial NR, Motion Effects palette, 292, 294
qualifiers, 79–89 split-screen views, using to compare clips, Twitter render preset, 344
Resolve FX plug-ins, removing from
nodes, 112 xvii, 58–59
R static keyframes, using, 285, 290. U
RGB parade, 11, 27, 27–28, 47–51
raw clips, identifying, 308. See also clips See also keyframes undoing, 15
RGB Mixer palette, 158, 172–175
raw projects, setting up, 307 stills User Cache modes. See caching
raw settings S copying grades from, 188
adjusting at clip level, 314–317 copying nodes from, 196–198 V
sampling visual data, 277–279
adjusting at project level, 308–313 saving as memories, 199 versions, 189–193. See also local versions;
saving
RCM (Resolve Color Management), using to match shots, 46–51 remote versions
140, 146–152, 222–226. See color grades for projects, 198–203
subtractive strokes, 252 Vectorscope, 96, 99, 115–118
management render presets, 348–350
Super Scale upscaling feature, 273 viewer
Rec.709 color space, 146–152. See also scene cuts, 219
color space syncing offline references, 131–133 adding data burn-in to, 264–267
stills as memories, 199
Reference Sizing, Sizing palette, system requirements, xi enlarging, 17, 58
Scene Cut Detection, using to prepare
54, 236, 276 expanding, 109
media, 216–221
remote rendering, 362. See also T features, xv–xvii
scene cuts, saving, 219
Render Settings Temp field, Primaries palette, 14, 315, 319 Highlight mode, 64, 80, 165,
scopes, using to match clips, 46–57
remote versions, 193. See also local Temporal NR, Motion Effects 178, 293, 323
versions; versions Scopes palette button, 10–11
palette, 292–294 Loop button, 286
Render Cache, optimizing performance Scopes palette, Parade, 27–28, 47–51
thumbnail timeline, xv, xvi navigating, 281
with, 296–304. See also caching secondary grading, performing, 8
Tilt-Shift Blur effect, 66–67 warping colors in, 95–101
render jobs, editing, 361–362 Select All command, 147, 220, 224

Index 375 376 Index

 The Colorist Guide to

DaVinci
zooming in and out of, 81
vignettes, 68–69, 272–274
Vimeo render preset, 344

Resolve 18
W
warping color ranges, 95–101
watermark, applying over video, 266
waveform, 10–29
versus parade, 27–28
settings window, 12 DaVinci Resolve 18 is Hollywood’s most popular color correction
windows software and is used to color grade more feature films, television
customizing, 87–88 shows, and commercials than any other application. This official
using to draw attention, 62–65 Blackmagic Design hands on training guide takes you through
using to limit qualifiers, 84–86 a series of practical exercises that teach you how to use DaVinci
wipes Resolve’s color correction tools in detail. You’ll learn a wide
inverting, 47 variety of workflows, effects, and the tools necessary to perform Color Page Workflows
toggling on and off, 53 Hollywood caliber grades.

X What You’ll Learn

XML file type, 127
• Launching DaVinci Resolve project files and restoring archives
XML timeline, importing, 128–131
XYZ color space, DCP (digital cinema • Normalizing, balancing, and matching footage
package), 352, 355 • Analyzing and color correcting images with the help of scopes
Reading Scopes
Y • Tracking people and objects with windows and the magic mask

YouTube render preset, 344–348 • Migrating XML timelines and roundtrip workflows
YRGB color management, • Preparing projects for film and television with color management
140, 146–152, 222–226
• Working with nodes to create sophisticated grades
Z • Managing and copying grades with stills, versions, and color trace
zooming in and out of viewer, 81
• Creating groups to streamline your workflow
Zones Graph, HDR palette, 324
• Color grading high dynamic range raw footage Secondary Grading

• Render cache and delivery settings for optimal quality

• Dozens of tips and tricks that will transform how you work!

Who This Book is For

This book is designed for video editors who want more control over
the final appearance of their projects and colorists who want a more
advanced understanding of industry workflows and best practices. It
Node Editor Pipeline
contains clear and concise lessons, along with dozens of tips and tricks
from professional colorists to help you create cinematic images that
stand out! You’ll learn about the primary grading tools used for balancing
and matching images, secondary tools for isolating parts of an image,
how to read scopes, create unique looks, and much more!

Index 377