How to Color Grade Video in DaVinci Resolve

Edited 4 weeks ago by ExtremeHow Editorial Team

DaVinci ResolveColor GradingPost-ProductionFilm EditingCinematographyVideo EditingWindowsMacLinux

Color grading is the process of enhancing the color, tone, and overall look of a video to evoke specific emotions or achieve a particular aesthetic. Davinci Resolve by Blackmagic Design is one of the most popular and powerful tools for color grading, offering a comprehensive suite of features for both beginners and professional editors. In this guide, we'll walk you through the steps of color grading in Davinci Resolve, explaining each feature and process in simple terms.

Set up your project

Before you begin color grading, you'll need to set up your project in DaVinci Resolve. This includes importing your footage, organizing your clips, and making sure your timeline settings match your desired output settings.

Importing the footage

The first step is to import your footage into DaVinci Resolve. Open DaVinci Resolve and create a new project by selecting the 'New Project' option from the Project Manager screen. Name your project appropriately and click 'Create'.

Next, navigate to the 'Media' tab at the bottom of the interface. Here, you can browse your computer's files within Resolve and drag and drop footage into the media pool. Alternatively, you can right-click in the media pool area and select 'Import Media'. Once your files have been imported, they will be available for editing in the 'Edit' tab.

Organizing your clips

Once your footage is imported, it is beneficial to organize your clips for easy access. This may involve creating bins for different scenes or types of footage. To create a new bin, go to the Media Pool, right-click, and select 'New Bin'. Label your bins clearly to indicate their contents.

Timeline settings

Make sure your timeline settings match the settings you want for your final output. To do this, click on 'Project Settings' (gear icon) located in the bottom-right corner. Here, you can adjust the timeline resolution, frame rate, and other necessary settings to align with your source footage or desired export settings.

Basic understanding of the interface of Davinci Resolve

Davinci Resolve includes several 'pages' designed for different aspects of post-production. The primary pages you'll use for color grading are the 'Edit' and 'Color' pages.

• Editing page: This is where you can cut, arrange, and fit your clips into the timeline.
• Color pages: This specialized workspace provides all the tools needed for professional color grading.

Explore coloring pages

The Color page is where you'll spend most of your time when color grading in DaVinci Resolve. It contains several panels and tools that allow for intricate control over the appearance of your image.

Primary grading tools

Color wheels

The primary color wheels (Lift, Gamma, Gain, and Offset) allow you to adjust shadows, midtones, highlights, and the overall image tonal range. Adjust these sliders to balance the image and achieve the desired look.

• Lift: Affects the darkest areas of your image, also called shadows.
• Gamma: Targets the midtones, which are the middle gray values in your image.
• Benefit: Affects the brightest areas, called highlights.
• Offset: Acts as a global exposure adjustment, shifting the brightness of the entire image.

Curves

The Curves tool is a powerful way to make fine adjustments to an image. Common manipulations include softening contrast, adjusting the S-curve for dynamic range, or targeting specific colors. You can switch between different curve modes, such as RGB, hue vs. hue, and luma vs. saturation.

Workspace

Scopes such as waveform, parade, histogram, and vectorscope provide a visual representation of your image's color information. These tools help you make informed adjustments based on real data rather than relying solely on visual interpretation.

Working with nodes

DaVinci Resolve uses nodes for its color grading workflow. Each node represents a container for a set of color adjustments. Using multiple nodes provides more control and flexibility.

Creating and modifying nodes

To create a new node, right-click in the node graph area and select 'Add Node'. You can choose from different node types, such as Serial, Parallel or Layer Mixer nodes, each of which serve different purposes.

Serial nodes

Serial nodes process adjustments sequentially. You'll use them primarily for standard grading tasks. For example, the first node might correct exposure, the next might adjust color balance, and the third might add creative LUTs (look-up tables).

Parallel and layer mixer nodes

Parallel nodes allow adjustments to be made in parallel rather than sequentially, which is ideal for corrections that should not affect each other. Layer Mixer nodes combine multiple inputs into one output, which is useful for mixing different corrections or special effects.

Doing color grading

Now that you understand the tools available, it's time to do the actual color grading. Here's a general workflow that includes basic techniques as well as advanced correction.

Primary reform

Start with primary corrections to balance the image. This may include adjusting exposure, contrast, white balance, and saturation. The goal is to achieve a neutral and natural-looking starting point for further enhancements.

Exposure and contrast

Use the color wheel to set proper exposure and contrast. Adjust the Lift, Gamma, and Gain wheels to ensure shadows are deep but not crushed, highlights are bright but not clipped, and midtones are well-defined and balanced.

White balance

If your footage appears too warm (yellow/orange) or too cool (blue), use the Temperature and Tint controls under the colour wheel to correct the white balance.

Completeness

Saturation increases the intensity of colors. Use the Saturation control to enhance colors without over-saturating them, as this can make colors look unnatural.

Secondary reform

After the primary corrections, move on to secondary corrections. These involve more specific changes, such as isolating certain colors or areas in the frame.

Qualifier

Qualifiers allow you to select specific hue, saturation, and brightness values in your footage for targeted adjustments. For example, you can adjust only the color of the sky without affecting the rest of the image.

Power windows

Power windows let you create masks to isolate parts of the frame. You can track these windows to follow moving objects, which is useful for local adjustments like brightening a subject's face.

Tracking and keying

Tracking power allows Windows or OpenFX plugins to follow motion in the video. Keying helps isolate areas based on color for further editing, which is useful for green screen or sky replacement tasks.

Applying LUTs

Look-up tables (LUTs) apply predefined color grades to your footage. They can be used to create a specific film look or to match the style of other footage. Apply LUTs at the end of your grading process, after primary and secondary adjustments.

Final touches

Skin color

Skin color is very important to maintain a natural and attractive look. Use a scope such as a vectorscope that focuses on the 'skin tone line' to ensure a realistic skin representation.

Noise reduction

Noise can be introduced through underexposed footage or aggressive grading. Use DaVinci Resolve's noise reduction tools to clean up footage, focusing on delicate application to preserve detail.

Exporting your graded video

Once you're satisfied with your color grading, it's time to export the final video. Go to the 'Deliver' page to choose your preferred export settings.

• Render settings: Choose the format and codec that best suits your final delivery needs. Common formats include ProRes for high quality and H.264 for web delivery.
• Output resolution: Confirm your output resolution and frame rate, making sure they match your project settings, unless you're intentionally exporting a different format.

Once the settings are finalized, specify the name and location of the file for export. Click 'Add to Render Queue', and then start the rendering process by clicking 'Start Render'.

Conclusion

Color grading in DaVinci Resolve may seem tricky at first, but with practice, it becomes a creative and rewarding process. By understanding and applying the steps outlined in this guide, you will be able to transform raw footage into visually stunning cinematic pieces. Experiment with the available tools, let your imagination inspire your work, and over time, you will master the art of color grading. Happy grading!

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