ACES workflow, Resolve Colour Management, skin tone protection, print emulation, and HDR delivery
Focus: DaVinci Resolve Colour Management (RCM) — setting up a colour-managed pipeline and understanding why it produces superior results.
Resolve Colour Management — what it doesRCM (enabled in Project Settings → Colour Management → DaVinci YRGB Colour Managed) automatically handles all colour space transforms without requiring you to manually add CST nodes to every clip. You define: Input Colour Space (S-Gamut3.Cine/S-Log3 for FX30 footage), Timeline Colour Space (DaVinci Wide Gamut/Intermediate — your working space), and Output Colour Space (Rec.709 for delivery). RCM then manages all transforms transparently. Grade in a consistent, well-defined working space without worrying about per-clip transform nodes.
DaVinci Wide Gamut — the working spaceDaVinci Wide Gamut Intermediate (DWGI) is Resolve's native wide-gamut working space — it encompasses all camera colour spaces and all delivery colour spaces. Working in DWGI means your grade is mathematically correct regardless of the input or output colour space. Colours that would clip or distort when transformed in Rec.709 space are handled gracefully in DWGI because the space is wide enough to contain them.
ACES — Academy Color Encoding SystemACES is an industry-wide colour management standard used on major feature films. It uses a scene-linear working space (ACEScct or ACEScc) that closely mirrors how light actually behaves. To use ACES with your Sony footage: set Input Transform to the correct Sony S-Log3/S-Gamut3.Cine IDT (Input Device Transform), work in ACEScct, and set the Output Device Transform (ODT) to Rec.709 for delivery. ACES is more complex to set up than RCM but produces excellent results across mixed-camera productions.
Node structure in a colour-managed pipelineIn a colour-managed pipeline, you no longer need a CST node at the start of every clip — RCM or ACES handles the input transform automatically. Your node structure becomes: Node 1 (Exposure/Balance) — primary corrections. Node 2 (Contrast) — custom curve shape. Node 3 (Colour) — creative toning. Node 4 (Secondary qualifiers) — skin, sky, selective adjustments. Node 5 (Output) — vignette, film grain, final refinements. This cleaner structure is faster to work with and more transferable between projects.
Matching mixed cameras in a colour-managed pipelineIn RCM, assign the correct input transform to each clip individually via the Colour Space tag in the clip inspector (right-click the clip → Clip Attributes → Colour Space). FX30 footage: S-Gamut3.Cine/S-Log3. a6700 footage: S-Gamut3/S-Log3. Mini 4 Pro footage: D-Gamut/D-Log M. The RCM pipeline transforms each to DWGI automatically, giving you a consistent starting point regardless of source camera. Remaining colour differences between cameras are then addressed with creative adjustments.
Drill 1
Set up an RCM project
Create a new Resolve project. Enable Colour Management: DaVinci YRGB Colour Managed. Set: Input = Auto (let Resolve detect from clip metadata), Timeline = DaVinci Wide Gamut/Intermediate, Output = Rec.709 Gamma 2.4. Import FX30 S-Log3 footage and a6700 S-Log3 footage. Confirm that both are correctly transformed without any CST nodes. Compare to a non-RCM project with manual CST nodes — the RCM version should look identical.
Drill 2
ACES pipeline setup
Create a second new project. Set: Colour Science = DaVinci YRGB with ACES. Set the Sony S-Log3 IDT. Grade a clip and compare the skin tone rendering vs your RCM project. Note any differences in how the ACES transform handles highlight rolloff and skin tones vs the RCM S-Log3 → Rec.709 transform.
Drill 3
Mixed camera match in RCM
Import FX30 footage, a6700 footage, and Mini 4 Pro D-Log M footage into the same RCM project. Set the correct Input Colour Space for each clip. Grade the FX30 clip to your target look. Then match the a6700 and Mini 4 Pro footage to it using scopes — check whether the RCM pipeline reduces or eliminates the camera-matching work compared to the manual CST approach from Module 7.
Drill 4
Node structure streamlining
Take a complex existing grade with a CST node as Node 1. Rebuild it in an RCM project without the CST node. Note how much faster the process is when the input transform is handled automatically. Time how long the grade rebuild takes and compare to your previous workflow.
Week 1 Assignment
"RCM project grade"
Grade a 5-clip sequence using a full RCM pipeline with correct input transforms per camera. The sequence should include footage from at least two different cameras. Deliver the graded sequence, a screenshot of your Project Settings colour management page, and a brief written comparison of RCM vs manual CST node workflow.
RCM is correctly configured — input/timeline/output transforms set
At least two different cameras are correctly tagged with different input colour spaces
Grade is consistent and matching across both cameras
Written comparison demonstrates understanding of both workflows
Sony FX30Sony a6700DJI Mini 4 ProDaVinci Resolve
Focus: Advanced secondary corrections — skin tone protection, sky grading, and building complex qualifier masks.
Skin tone protection — the most important secondarySkin tones are the most scrutinised element in any graded image. Viewers are hypersensitive to incorrect skin tones — a green cast, an orange oversaturation, or a loss of the warm-cool dimension that makes skin appear three-dimensional. A skin tone protector qualifier: use the Qualifier (eyedropper) to select skin tones, then narrow the HSL range to isolate them. Apply a Hue vs Saturation curve to gently reduce saturation only in the skin tone hue range. This allows you to push overall colour aggressively without causing unnatural-looking skin.
Sky qualifiers — building a clean sky selectionIsolate the sky using the Qualifier: select a mid-sky blue hue, then use the luminance range controls to exclude any ground elements that are similarly blue. Use the 3D Qualifier (Resolve 18+) for more precise results. Once selected, apply: a saturation boost (sky looks richer), a slight hue rotation toward more blue (if it reads too cyan), and a graduated vignette toward the top of the frame. Always feather the sky mask aggressively — hard edges between sky and ground are one of the most visible grading artefacts.
Power Windows as secondary toolsPower Windows define a shape-based selection independent of colour — useful when a subject's skin tones are similar in hue to other elements in the frame (trees, walls). A circular window around the face, combined with tracking, isolates the face for precise skin tone correction. Resolve's Tracker (with 'Cloud' tracking mode) can follow a moving face through a scene, keeping the power window locked to the subject. This allows face-specific exposure and colour adjustments that don't affect anything else in the frame.
The Colour Warper — non-uniform colour adjustmentsThe Colour Warper (available in Resolve 18+) provides a grid-based colour adjustment where you can push specific hue/saturation points in multiple directions simultaneously. Unlike curves, which apply to broad hue ranges, the Colour Warper allows precise control over individual colour families. Useful for: pushing foliage from yellow-green toward a deeper green without affecting the skin tones that share the yellow-green hue region.
Tracking — applying corrections to moving subjectsResolve's Tracker follows a specific element through a shot and applies a Power Window's position to match that movement. Select the Power Window, click Tracker, set the tracking mode (Point or Cloud), click Track Forward. The window moves with the tracked element. This allows precise secondary corrections on moving subjects — face brightness, product colour, logo protection — without the correction affecting the background.
Drill 1
Skin tone qualifier build
Grade a portrait clip. After your primary corrections, add a secondary qualifier node: select skin tones from the subject's cheek. Narrow the HSL range until only skin is selected (check the matte — blue = unselected, white = selected). Apply a -15 saturation reduction specifically to the skin tones. Now push the global saturation up by +25 on a parallel node. The skin tones should stay natural while the rest of the image becomes more vivid.
Drill 2
Sky qualifier with feathering
On a clip with a clear sky, build a sky qualifier. Select the sky blue. Use the luminance range to exclude ground elements. Add: +25 saturation to the sky and a slight blue-teal hue rotation. Set the qualifier softness (feathering) to a high value. Check: the selection should fade smoothly into the horizon, not cut sharply.
Drill 3
Power window face tracking
On a clip where a subject walks or turns their head significantly, place a circular Power Window over the subject's face. Enable the Tracker and track forward through the clip. Apply a slight +0.1 exposure lift and -10 saturation reduction inside the window. Verify that the correction follows the face accurately throughout the clip.
Drill 4
Colour Warper — foliage without skin
On a clip with both green foliage and visible skin tones, use the Colour Warper to push the foliage from yellow-green toward deeper green. Check that the skin tones (which share the yellow-green hue region) are not adversely affected. If they are, use a skin tone qualifier to protect them while the foliage is adjusted.
Week 2 Assignment
"Complex secondary grade"
Grade a complex clip (a person in an outdoor environment with both sky and foliage visible). Your grade must include: a skin tone protector qualifier, a sky qualifier with proper feathering, and at least one tracked Power Window correction. Deliver the graded clip, a screenshot of your node tree, and a written description of each secondary correction.
Skin tone protector qualifier is present and correctly configured
Sky qualifier shows proper feathering — no hard edges
Tracked Power Window follows the subject accurately
Node tree screenshot shows all secondary correction nodes labelled
Written description explains each correction's purpose
Sony FX30DaVinci Resolve
Focus: Print emulation, film grain, and the art of the finishing grade.
Print emulation LUTs — simulating film chemistryPrint emulation LUTs simulate the colour response, saturation characteristics, and tonal curve of specific film stocks — Kodak Vision 3, Fujifilm Provia, Kodak 2383 print stock. Applied subtly (at 40–70% opacity as a final node), they add organic warmth, reduced saturation in the highlights, and a specific colour character that purely digital grades often lack. Apply as an LUT in a final serial node. Use a Key node to control opacity. Sources: Filmconvert, Dehancer, or free LUT packs from reputable manufacturers.
Film grain — adding texture for naturalismPure digital footage lacks the grain structure of film. Film grain adds perceptual texture that makes images feel more three-dimensional and organic. In Resolve: Effects → Film Grain (or Grain in the Colour page effects). Settings for naturalistic grain: size 1.5–2.5, softness 30–50%, and blend 20–40% (never 100% — it is a subtle effect). Match the grain size to your simulated film stock — Vision 3 200T has fine grain, Vision 3 500T has coarser grain.
Highlight rolloff — the most sophisticated tonal refinementHighlight rolloff describes how the image transitions from the brightest mid-tones into the absolute highlights. Digital footage, when not carefully graded, can have an abrupt, slightly harsh transition to the white point — the 'video look' quality that distinguishes amateur grades from professional ones. In Resolve's Custom Curves, create a gentle S-shape in the upper-right quadrant: pull the very brightest highlights very slightly down and to the right, creating a smooth shoulder rather than a hard ceiling. This mimics the way film gracefully handles overexposure.
HDR delivery — HLG and PQ basicsHDR delivery allows a wider brightness range than standard Rec.709. YouTube supports Rec.2020 PQ and HLG. Your cameras can record HLG natively. HLG is the simpler standard: footage shot in HLG from the a6700 or FX30 can be delivered to YouTube as HLG and will display in HDR on capable devices while looking acceptable on standard displays. PQ (Perceptual Quantizer) supports higher peak brightness values but requires an HDR-capable monitor to preview accurately.
The finishing grade — the last 10% that matters mostThe finishing grade is applied after the creative grade is locked. It consists of: (1) a final exposure check — is every clip within the safe luminance range for delivery? (2) a final skin tone check — are skin tones correct on a calibrated display or via the vectorscope? (3) a print LUT at 40–60% opacity (optional), (4) film grain at 15–30% strength (optional), and (5) a final vignette pass. These refinements take 10–20 minutes per project and are the difference between a good grade and an exceptional one.
Drill 1
Apply and blend a print emulation LUT
Take a well-balanced, neutrally graded clip. Add a new serial node as the final node. Apply a Kodak 2383 or similar print emulation LUT via the node's LUT panel. Watch at 100% opacity — it is almost certainly too strong. Use a Key node to reduce the LUT's opacity to 50%, then 40%, then 30%. Compare all four versions. Find the opacity where the LUT adds character without announcing itself.
Drill 2
Film grain addition
Add Resolve's Film Grain effect to a graded clip. Try three settings: subtle (size 1.5, blend 20%), medium (size 2.0, blend 35%), and heavy (size 2.5, blend 50%). Compare all three against the un-grained version. The subtle version should feel like it adds texture to the image; the heavy version should feel obviously processed.
Drill 3
Highlight rolloff curve
On a clip with visible highlights (a window, a sky, a light source), build a custom highlight rolloff curve in Resolve's Custom Curves: gentle S-curve in the upper-right quadrant that pulls the brightest highlights slightly down. Compare with and without the rolloff. The rolloff version should make highlights feel softer and more natural — similar to how film handles overexposure.
Drill 4
Complete finishing grade pass
Take a completed creative grade. Run through the full finishing sequence: final exposure check (waveform confirm blacks and whites within safe range), skin tone vectorscope check, print LUT at 50%, film grain at 25%, final vignette pass. Time the process — the full finishing pass should take under 20 minutes on a clip that was correctly graded to start.
Week 3 Assignment
"Cinema-grade short"
Grade a 2–3 minute short film or sequence to your highest standard. The grade must include: a colour-managed pipeline (RCM), at least one secondary qualifier, a skin tone protector, highlight rolloff curve, print emulation LUT at appropriate opacity, and film grain. Deliver the finished grade, your Resolve .dra project archive, and a 200-word grade rationale.
RCM pipeline is correctly configured
At least one secondary qualifier with correct feathering
Skin tone protector is present and working
Highlight rolloff is visible in the curves page
Print LUT opacity is tasteful — grade feels cinematic, not preset-heavy
Film grain is subtle and adds texture rather than noise
Grade rationale accurately describes each decision
Sony FX30DaVinci Resolve
Focus: Speed and efficiency — building a professional colour session workflow that is replicable on any project.
The professional colour session — time managementA professional colour session on a 5-minute short typically breaks down as follows: 30 minutes for scene-by-scene primary corrections (getting all clips to a consistent balanced baseline), 45 minutes for creative grade (building the look), 30 minutes for secondary corrections (skin, sky, selective adjustments), 20 minutes for finishing (print LUT, grain, vignette), 15 minutes for quality review (full watch, check for any problems), and 30 minutes for export. Total: approximately 2.5–3 hours for a 5-minute piece. This timeline improves with practice — experienced colourists work faster because their decisions are more deliberate.
Remote grades and group grades for efficiencyWhen you have a complex timeline with many clips from the same scene, Remote Grades (right-click → Use Remote Version) link multiple clips to a single grade — any change updates all simultaneously. Group Grades (select clips → Right-click → Add into a New Group) allow Pre-Clip and Post-Clip nodes that apply to all clips in the group: the Pre-Clip node is ideal for input transforms; the Post-Clip node is ideal for the finishing grade (print LUT + grain). This group structure is the standard professional workflow for feature film colour sessions.
Exporting grades — stills, LUTs, and DRX filesAfter any significant grade: Grab a still in the Gallery (right-click the viewer → Grab Still). Export as a .drx file for backup and portability. Export the creative grade as a .cube LUT (right-click the clip → Generate LUT) for use in other applications or as an on-set monitoring LUT on the Neewer F700. Build a personal grade library — stills organised by look type — that grows throughout your career.
Collaborative colour — delivering EDL and AAF filesWhen colour grading is separate from the edit (as it often is in professional workflows), the editor delivers an EDL (Edit Decision List) or AAF file to the colourist, who re-links the footage in the grade suite. In Resolve: File → Import AAF/EDL/XML. This allows the editor and colourist to work simultaneously on the same project. Understanding this workflow is important for Phase 4 client work.
Monitoring — getting a calibrated displayThe most significant single investment for improving your colour accuracy is a calibrated display. Consumer monitors are rarely accurately calibrated and can vary by up to 10–15% in luminance and significant colour gamut differences from a professional reference. The BenQ SW270C, EIZO ColorEdge series, or LG UltraFine OLED Pro are commonly used by video colourists working at your level. Short of a calibrated display, use an external broadcast monitor via HDMI from your Mac — the Neewer F700 has reasonable colour accuracy for monitoring purposes, though it is not a professional reference monitor.
Drill 1
Time a full colour session
Take a 3-minute edit that you have not yet graded. Time your entire colour session: primary corrections, creative grade, secondaries, finishing, review, and export. Compare to the expected professional timeline described in the theory. Identify the stages where you spent the most time and assess whether that time was justified by the result.
Drill 2
Group grade setup
Create a Resolve project with 20 clips from the same scene. Select all clips, right-click → Add into a New Group. In the Pre-Clip node, apply the input colour transform. In the Post-Clip node, apply your print LUT at 50% and film grain at 25%. Apply individual creative corrections in the clip nodes. Verify that changes to the Pre-Clip and Post-Clip nodes update all clips simultaneously.
Drill 3
Build your grade template — 2025 version
Taking everything from this module, build a new Resolve project template: RCM enabled (DWGI working space, Rec.709 output), a 5-node group structure (Pre-Clip CST, Clip Exposure, Clip Colour, Clip Secondaries, Post-Clip Finishing), your best print LUT pre-loaded in the Post-Clip node at 50% opacity, and film grain in the Post-Clip node at 25%. Export as a .dra archive. This is your professional colour pipeline template — replace the Module 6 template with this more sophisticated version.
Drill 4
Grade comparison study
Take a 60-second clip and grade it four ways in sequence: (1) basic primary grade only, (2) primary + creative secondaries, (3) full grade with print LUT and grain, (4) full grade but with the print LUT at 100% opacity (too heavy). Compare all four side by side. Write a note describing what each stage adds and where the 'too far' threshold is for the print LUT in your aesthetic.
Week 4 Assignment
"Timed professional colour session"
Grade a 3-minute sequence using your full professional pipeline: RCM, group grade structure, secondaries, skin tone protector, print LUT, and film grain. Complete the entire session in under 2.5 hours (time yourself). Deliver the finished grade, .dra archive, grade rationale, and your time log showing how long each stage took.
Full RCM pipeline with group grade structure
At least one secondary qualifier on every clip with significant subject
Skin tone protector applied where skin tones are present
Print LUT at tasteful opacity
Film grain at tasteful strength
Completed in under 2.5 hours (log provided)
Sony FX30Sony a6700DaVinci ResolveM4 Mac Studio
Over-saturating — the beginner's colour cliché
Pushing saturation far too high produces unnaturally vivid colours that look nothing like cinema. Skin tones in particular suffer badly from over-saturation — they turn orange, then red, then terracotta.
Fix: Use the vectorscope as a saturation limit: skin tones should not exceed approximately 30–35% of the way to the edge of the vectorscope. Reference professional films — most are far less saturated than beginners assume. When in doubt, reduce saturation by 10–15% from where you think it looks right.
Applying creative LUTs to unbalanced S-Log3 footage
A creative LUT is designed to receive correctly exposed and white-balanced footage. Applied to underexposed, overexposed, or off-white-balance footage it produces muddy shadows, blown highlights, or wrong skin tones.
Fix: Always neutralise before LUTing. Input transform and basic balance/exposure must be correct before a creative LUT is applied. Think of the LUT as a finishing coat of paint — it requires the surface to be correctly prepared first.
Grading without checking scopes — the eye adaptation problem
After 20 minutes staring at a grade, your eyes adapt to whatever they are looking at and convince you it looks correct. Grades built by eye alone drift toward oversaturation, excessive contrast, or incorrect white balance without the grader realising it.
Fix: Check scopes after every significant adjustment. A correctly graded clip should have balanced parade channels on neutral areas, blacks near 16 IRE, and whites below 100 IRE. Use scopes to achieve technical correctness, then use your eyes to refine for creative intent.
Save your best grades as stills and .drx files after every session
Every grade you are proud of should be saved as a still in Resolve's Gallery: right-click the viewer → Grab Still. Export as a .drx file for backup. Organise the gallery into albums: Natural/Documentary, Warm/Golden, Cool/Minimal, High Contrast, Experimental. This library grows with every project and becomes one of your most valuable professional assets.
DaVinci Resolve
Use the Neewer F700 as an on-set monitoring tool for colour accuracy
Load your creative grade as a .cube LUT onto the Neewer F700 via SD card. Use the F700 with the LUT active during the shoot — you see a monitored version of your intended final look in real time on the large 7" screen, rather than the raw LOG footage. This is how professional DPs work: they approve the look before the shoot rather than hoping it will grade correctly in post.
Neewer F700 7" monitor · DaVinci Resolve
Grade the highlights and shadows separately, not together
When using the colour wheels, resist the urge to push all three wheels simultaneously in the same direction. Instead: decide what the shadows should feel like (cool, warm, neutral?) and set the lift wheel. Then decide what the highlights should feel like and set the gain wheel. The gamma/midtones follow naturally. This sequential approach produces more coherent, intentional grades than pushing all three wheels at once.