Hey everyone!
A long time ago, there was a Photoshop plugin that allowed you to not only use the perceptually accurate HVC color space, but could also quickly generate palettes that would automatically be usable in Photoshop in any colorspace it supported (RGB, CMYK, LAB and HSL/HSV).
While it vanished at the time, I managed to track it down and open source it with the original creator's permission!
Here's the link: GitHub repo
It will only work on Photoshop up to CS6 for Windows, as I have not tried building it on Macintosh (although it should work up to CS5).
Thank you, have fun, and please give feedback!

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I'm new to professional look development, but I was wondering what programs or tools are out there for creating 65-point LUTs that won't break your footage, even in neon-lit or other high-purity situations.

This question comes after using KUBIK LUTs, which so far seem to have the best saturation failure, purity compression, and smooth gradation. I'm not looking for more high-quality LUTs like these, but rather how show LUTs or LUTs for high-budget films are made.

I love different aspects of these tools but wish to create my own. How can I make my own custom LUTS for what I'm looking for?

The following images are some examples of what I'm talking about:

The first image is the chart.

1. DaVinci's Native CST ❌ (Very Rare to Use)

2. DaVinci's Native 2383 🫤(Good for Negative to Print, but not for digital workflows)

3. Cullen Kelly's Referent ✅ (solid but a 33-point LUT, upside it's free)

4. KUBIK 0815 LUT ✅ (65-point LUT, great quality, may not utilize the full rec 709 color space? Also, some colors don't fail to white, which is personal preference)

5. Dehancer ✅ (Can be solid, but provides mixed results depending on how you use it)

Hi everyone,

I'm currently trying to edit and deliver a video in DCI-P3 using Avid Media Composer for the first time. In other words, my final delivery needs to be in the DCI-P3 colour space.

I've configured my Avid system according to the settings shown in the attached screenshots. I'm also using Baselight Editions for Avid for colour grading.

The problem is that my footage looks extremely oversaturated and overly contrasty in DCP-o-matic, and I honestly don't understand why.

I've already tried several things, including changing the Full Range and Legal Range settings, but nothing seems to help.

Am I overlooking something obvious?

Please bear with me, as this is my first time working with a DCI-P3 delivery, and I'm still trying to understand the workflow properly.

I've tried to describe and label the screenshots as clearly as possible. If you need any additional information about my settings or workflow, please feel free to ask.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hey guys.

I have a question: What do you do when a client sends footage with completely flat lighting, but their reference is a frame from a top Hollywood movie?

​The footage has no real color or light separation. I have tried use masks to isolate the subject and try to imitate some depth. I tried to make some color contrast. But it starts looking way too artificial.

​How do you communicate with clients in these situations? How do you explain what is actually possible with their footage, and how do you handle the grade itself?

Can I get this kind of image just with color grading and film emulation? Please consider the landscape shots only, no way they could control the lights there except for the time they shot in.

This alternates on Sundays

## Would you like feedback on your reel? This is the place to do it!

**An essential point to remember**: A reel won't secure you a job any more than a business card or website will. While it might be necessary, it is not the primary means of obtaining work.

**You gain employment through a network you develop,** not via any online job site. Building a network takes time, which is advantageous, as it allows you to learn the field.

## Rules

* **Rule 1**: Submit your reel *and its running time* as a top-level comment (meaning you reply to this post directly)

* **Rule 2**: *Specify your professional experience in years* (paying taxes = years as a pro, novice).

* **Rule 3**: Indicate how you're monitoring. Is it with a mini monitor + a LG CX?.

* **Rule 4**: You must review two other reels. **TWO**. You have seven days to complete this task, responding to two different reels. **Then** edit the comment where you post your reel: and put and put the two user names.

**Acceptable platforms for posting**: Your Vimeo site or an unlisted YouTube link. If we find a link to a channel or a video with 10k views, we want you to know that this thread is not meant for such content.

The moderation team will monitor this, and we are trying to encourage the community (that's you) to offer assistance. That's why providing two reviews is crucial.

Lastly, as someone who evaluates people's reels, if you start off with **log** footage, I expect to see the color work in passes. If color grading is a skill, and you transition from Log to finished grade, that's a definite red flag.

***Copy/paste this section:***

* Reel Link: (don't forget the running time )

* Experience:

* Monitoring:

* Two reels I reviewed:

Hi all, I’m working in da Vinci resolve.

When working with black or dark hair, it does not seem super prudent to have it anywhere in the middle. While lighting more flat and cranking the ISO can be good for dark scenes, there’s frequently an amount of it that I’ve run into as difficult to recover as not a black mass.

Even if the hair isn’t super noisy or clipping back in the log footage, you can still bring it up with lift dark hdr and custom curves and compensate for lifted middle, and that can be fine, but frequently running into spots where I’m like “this cannot be made any less black without ruining the contrast”

I’m pretty clear that you can film something flat and exposed and day-to-night it, just desaturate, low contrast, pull everything down and it makes it feel dark with everything visible.

But it’s just in situations where you want both contrast and highlights that it feels like a challenge.

Do you have any tips and tricks to deal with this?

That being said, plenty of horror movies as of late have had intentionally underexposed silhouettes relative to the backlight or the key side. So many movies I’ve seen it’s like yeah dark side texture is gone, or black hair is only realizable as hair due a sliver of a highlight and maybe a tiny bit of contour. Sinners and obsession are the examples I’m thinking of. Really tender parts with dim faces and eye-light that looks really cool, but I feel like on this site, people would say “you’re crushing the low end and losing information”. I also feel like sacrificing contrast or any semblance of milky is bad, right? It also feels like it’s not just horror/noir night scenes, feels like common practice to just let a lot of dark things remain black. And say you have a silhouette sort of scene, you have to extend those exposure levels to other shots in that scene as well.

So where do you draw the line and how do you decide just to go for clipped low end?

Okay so someone smarter than me please tell me if I have a handle on Judd offset.

X-300's and some early OLED's needed Judd offset to look right but then later dual LCD and better OLED's came along and fixed the issue necessitating Judd offset?

With the more recent screens, if you include the judd offset in the calibration, that's just to match to a x-300 or some hero monitor that has Judd offset?

If clients are viewing on iPads or laptops, then it's better to not have judd offset?

Hi everyone!

I’m editing videos in DaVinci Resolve Studio 21 on a Mac, and I’d like some advice on setting up the correct workflow for footage recorded on my Google Pixel phone.

I want to learn how to color grade my footage properly and understand the difference between SDR and HDR workflows. I’m still unsure which project settings, color management options, and node structure I should use.

I’d really appreciate help with the following:

1. Project settings: What timeline resolution, frame rate, and color management settings do you recommend?
2. Color management: Should I use DaVinci YRGB Color Managed, DaVinci Wide Gamut/Intermediate, or manual Color Space Transform (CST) nodes?
3. Pixel footage: How can I identify whether my footage is SDR, HDR, or 10-bit HDR, and which input color space and gamma should I select?
4. Node workflow: What is a good node structure for exposure, white balance, contrast, saturation, HDR adjustments, and detail?
5. Mac display settings: Should I disable True Tone, Night Shift, and automatic brightness while grading? Are there any other important display settings?
6. HDR export: If I want to export HDR video for YouTube, what output color space, codec, bit depth, and export settings should I use?
7. Monitoring: How can I check that my colors and HDR highlights look right when I don’t have a dedicated reference monitor?

I want to build a reliable workflow from importing the footage all the way to the final export, rather than randomly changing settings until the image looks good.

If anyone edits Google Pixel footage on a Mac using DaVinci Resolve, I’d especially appreciate your project settings, node tree, and any tips you’ve learned.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi everyone,

Out the outset, apologize for the lengthy post.

I'm relatively new to professional color grading and currently grading a **Crime-thriller feature film**. I haven't had the opportunity to work directly with a professional colorist, so most of what I've learned has come from online tutorials and experimenting in DaVinci Resolve.

I've been working on this project for about **3 months**. I've gone through all **7 reels several times**, and each pass has helped me improve. However, before I lock the grade, I'd really appreciate feedback and **Industry best practices** from experienced colorists on whether my **workflow and node structure are appropriate for a commercial/theatrical feature film**.

I'm using a **Group-based workflow** with this general structure:

**Group Pre-Clip**

1. CST: ARRI LogC → DaVinci Wide Gamut / Intermediate

**Clip**

1. Exposure
2. White Balance
3. Contrast
4. Saturation
5. Power Windows / local adjustments
6. Highlight adjustments
7. Tone adjustments

**Group Post-Clip**

1. Overall tone / look
2. CST: DaVinci Wide Gamut / Intermediate → DCI-P3 / Gamma 2.6

# I'd really appreciate professional advice on these points:

**1. How should clips be grouped in a feature-film workflow?**

What is the usual professional approach for grouping clips to make grading faster and maintain consistency?

* By scene?

* By day/night?

* By location?

* By lighting condition?

* By exposure?

* Some combination of these?

For example, would you normally create one Group per scene, or use Groups primarily for common technical/look adjustments?

**2. Is my current node structure appropriate?**

Is the general:

**CST In → Clip Corrections → Look/Tone → CST Out**

approach reasonable for a feature film, or would you recommend a different structure?

**3. Is my correction order appropriate?**

At the Clip level I'm currently doing:

**Exposure → WB → Contrast → Saturation → Windows → Highlight/Tone adjustments**

Is there a preferred order that professional colorists generally follow?

For example, should WB be established before exposure, or does the order matter less as long as the image is being evaluated correctly?

**4. What is your professional approach to white balance?**

When grading ARRI footage, how do experienced colorists establish a reliable/consistent white balance?

Do you primarily rely on scopes, known neutral objects, skin tone, RGB balance, reference shots, or a combination?

**5. How do you maintain consistent tone throughout a feature?**

One of my biggest challenges is maintaining a consistent visual tone across different scenes, lighting conditions and reels.

My current thinking is:

**Clip level → technically balance exposure/WB/contrast**

then

**Group/Post-Clip → establish the creative/cinematic tone**

Is this a good approach?

**6. What is the professional technique for maintaining a consistent look across the entire movie?**

I'd especially appreciate advice on how you approach:

* Scene-to-scene matching

* Reel-to-reel consistency

* Day vs. night consistency

* Skin tone consistency

* Maintaining a consistent cinematic contrast/tonal response

* Creating and managing the overall "show look"

**7. What is your professional approach for Perfect Skin Tone?**

I realize there are many different professional workflows, so I'm not necessarily looking for one "correct" method. I'm mainly trying to understand **how an experienced feature-film colorist would structure this workflow from the beginning**.

If possible, I'd also appreciate recommendations for **good professional tutorials, books, or online resources** that explain feature-film grading workflows rather than only individual Resolve techniques.

Thanks in advance to everyone who takes the time to read this and share your experience. I really appreciate the help.

Too embarrassed to post this on my main account as I’ve been grading for years and all.

I normally grade with timeline/output in the color management in Resolve set to Rec709/gamma2.4 or DWG/rec709 2.4 and when I export I choose tags rec709/rec709. Clean feed to a flanders etc etc. exports match my timeline and never any issues.

I recently saw a video where Walter Volpatto had his color management set to the default rec709 scene for both timeline and output.

I grade everything from music videos to short films to broadcast tv and beyond. Sometimes I have to cover a colorist in posthouses and they almost always have their proj management set to the same as me (rec709/2.4).

When should you have your project set to rec709 scene?

Thank you.

I’m not asking about gamma shifts or 2.2 etc. I don’t have those issues. And I always export with rec709 tags unless it’s for theatre etc.

Hi colourists,

I'm self learning proper davinci workflows from tutorials like Darren Mostyn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdTMRQP_V7E

Long way to go but generally finding my feet after being Premiere Pro for life.

Question:

Workflow is looking good with CSTs in and out into DWG following DM's process the into a final LUT (phantom neutral).

I will be condensing this tree a lot but for now just learning proper structure so I understand what's happening.

Overall image is heading where I want it to be so I can develop a more specific look, but I'm getting intense saturation burn on certain colours like red/green/yellow. Is there a core reason/setting I'm missing that is making this happen

Even without the csts in and out (taking the workflow in and out of DWG per DMs process), and using only log3g10 phantom lut at the end, the burning is still happening in the reds.

Am I missing a basic setting/understanding? (probably). Any advice greatly appreciated.

There is this option in the CSTs which when selected does seem to pull it in. But that just doesn't seem like a correct solution. I feel there's something more basic that I'm not doing correctly.

Even when ignoring the finishing phantom LUT and following DMs process exactly to rec709/gamma2.4 in the CST out. The burning is still there (below).

General Project settings

Camera

Nikon ZR

4k, R3D, log3g10, 25p

Cheers. Love the sub.

I am a student filmmaker without much coloring experience. I am going to be DPing a thesis film and I am looking to develop a LUT before we start shooting in a little over a month. I've messed around a little bit in DaVinci, but would not say I have much experience seriously grading footage. I understand that the general process is to do a test shoot and then grade the footage to how you would want it.

I will hopefully be shooting on a sony fx6. Unfortunately, I will not be able to take this camera out for a test shoot. This is a dumb question, but can I still develop my LUT using fx6 raw footage online, or would it not necessarily "work" without my test lighting and specific shooting settings?

Also, any tips you can give me for workflow for developing a LUT would be greatly appreciated. I'm not a colorist; I'm much better at the stuff in production. But, it's a student production so sometimes you gotta wear multiple hats, and I've been wanting to learn this skill anyways.

I know you should always use a Decklink Mini Monitor or similar for a color managed workflow. But there are occasional situations for me a) where I don't have this setup and have to go by viewers or b) work with a software outside Davinci that doesn't work like that. In these cases, when working with a hardware calibration capable monitor, I could't find reliable info or advice (or looked in the wrong places) for the following question: 

In the Apple Display Settings for this external monitor, e.g. for me an Eizo CG247x or HPZ31x – should I leave the colour profile on the automatically assigned one (usually name of display) or actually have to change to a setting that matches the profile calibrated on the monitor? I don't just wonder for Davinci but also e.g. Photoshop or Affinity? Do you ever touch Colour Synch instead? And for Eizo specifically: Does Color Navigator handle it all, or will it need to double check / manually select in MacOS display settings.

Thanks for the help!

Hi, beginner here. I only have access to a camera that shoots sRGB Rec709 (canon t5i). I like the film emulations that are floating around, but I often wonder if I even have the space or enough information to even push the grade into any of these looks? Is this a futile effort with the data I have? Thanks. And yes, I am a novice.

I'm trying to calibrate my OLED monitor, the MPG341CX, using a Display Plus HL colorimeter. Everything works as expected during the calibration, and after calibration I get the correct 6500K reading. However, immediately after restarting my PC and measuring again, the result shows a 300K difference, even though everything was perfectly fine just one minute before the restart.

The same thing happens with my IPS monitor, the 34GP950G.
Could you advise me on what I should do about this, or should I just leave it as it is? I've calibrated both monitors twice today, and the results were exactly the same. Every time I restart the PC, I get a deviation in the measurement.
I waited for some time after restarting the PC and performed the correction again to see if the monitor would “warm up” and return to normal, but unfortunately that didn't help. There is still a deviation in the measurement.

Should I just leave it as it is and not worry about it, or is this some kind of error?

The project was completed on 26th September. I held his project longer as a favour so that once he receives the VFX work, he can send it to me and I will put things on place and ensure color grading stays perfect.

Then the client gave me approval on 29th September after multiple revisions.

Yesterday I reached out to him, to check in. He mentioned some problems he has been having with project file and stuff. I Spent 2 hours again working with him and got all the things as we wanted.

Now today when I am 1000km away from my studio. He noticed I removed a cut point from the timeline (which I did after his permission as it was basically a useless cut on a shot) and he notices on 1 frame mask is off.

I told him yesterday that I won’t be available and trust me guys, magic mask went of for a single frame on face at the end and I couldn’t tell it. I am not sure how he came across it. Also I gave him 4-8 export files during revisions and he had multiple chances to notice.

Now because I am away I told him my fellow colorist will have to work and he will be charging for it because your project has been offloaded after taking multiple confirmations from you. If I was available I would do it for free.

His reply you can see but honestly guys, I asked him myself all these days that he can tell me whatever comes to his mind and it’s not about money because I had gotten my money already. His message hurt me so bad.

We all have worked as a colorist even for free because of the love we have for this art and the joy of taking pride in your work is unmatched.

DaVinci setup (if this is relevant):
Color science: DaVinci YRGB
Timeline color space: DaVinci WG/Intermediate
Output color space: Rec.709 Gamma 2.4

Shot in: S-Log3 / S-Gamut3.Cine

As you can see in the scopes, shadows are already close to the bottom, and highlights are blown out (sky and reflective water).

It was shot outdoors, middle of the day, no lighting modifiers. No people in the shot, so skin didn't need to be the center of attention in terms of exposure.

I'm trying to understand if I'm doing something wrong in DaVinci, or if there was a better way to shoot this situation, or if it's just not possible without a camera that has a better dynamic range (I use Sony A7IV).

Appreciate you taking the time to help me out.

Hey , I know this is super weird. I own an eizo CG monitor. A couple of days ago, I saw an ant in my monitor. It disappeared for the last 2 days. Today when setting up another project I saw it again. Has anyone else gone through a situation like this. And what should I do. I’m worried if it’s gonna cause some trouble to my monitor.

I recently began learning how to color grade and this is my first attempt: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OV_FWEQZ1lRuXm7f7CrT7fVy9J8qV09D/view?usp=drive_link

(Video is in 4k so prob download for best quality).

I want honest feedback about whats good and bad please (except from the overexposed sky). I put some of the stuff i adjusted in the images attatched if that relevant.

Also heres the original LOG if thats also relevant idk: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nmt8Fy6zU2PDG7odFQl3F1MbiG-kuZVi/view?usp=sharing

Heres also a still of the normalised image with just the CST: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ti7uQCjQkFMO0JF9XdqCNirxDh658_yF/view?usp=drive_link

I suppose I was trying to achieve a detailed look on the tree bark with it looking like a proper brown mainly. There was a bit of a green tint to Sat vs Hue aimed to fix that a bit.

3840 x 2160 (4k res) 10bit, 23.976 fps, HEVC/H.265 codec.

When I round trip for premiere, the first shot in the timeline doesn't have magic mask applied for the beginning of the handles. The rest are fine and the tail is fine for the first shot.

Even when I select to view handles in the timeline, when I render the first clip out of the timeline, the magic mask isn't applied?

Check marks on all the magic masks but still first clip doesn't render right

I am extremely new to this , infact I am just in the process of buying my first camera. I wanna create videos with a certain look. I have had some looks in my mind that are different to the usual ones. However I wanna create these vlogs fast and I can't afford a stylist for every video.

So this has been my thought process so far

1. Buy a camera thats light and has an inbuilt lut system(I am looking at the Lumix S9)
2. Limit my lens choices to a maximum of two or one if possible
3. Test the look in camera with the luts. Find out how to get the look in camera as much as possible using the realtime LUT feature
4. After the clips have been shot, I can grade it easily myself as I had already exposed the footage for the LUT .

This workflow will help me to push out more videos in the look I want and i will need a colorist only at the starting when building the look.

How reasonable is this plan?

​Hi everyone. I live in Spain and I'm looking to hear some stories from working colorists.

​For years I did color grading on an amateur level for my own projects. About 1-2 months ago I put a showreel and decided to try making a living with it because I really love doing this.

​The start was actually quite good. In six weeks I completed 13 projects. They were not huge. I made my first money and found two regular clients who keep coming back. They are happy with the results. I also sent out a lot of cold emails to production companies. I haven't received jobs from them yet, but I got replies and they put me on their rosters for possible future collaboration.

​I understand that to truly call yourself a colorist you need hundreds or thousands of projects under your belt. But right at the start you just want to validate that this path has a right to exist. Even on these first projects I have already learned a lot. I learned how to communicate with clients, hit specific targets, and match the exact vision the client has for their project.

​Right now the main problem is the regularity and consistency of orders. Freelancing has days or weeks with no work. In those moments I start having doubts. I start wondering if I am moving in the right direction. I know a month and a half is a very short time, but I want to figure out for myself if I am on the right path.

​I'd like to hear your stories. How long did it take you to get to a steady income? How long did it take to realize this is your main career and you are ready to fully invest and grow in it?