Grade School: Inside A Senior Colorist's Resolve Toolbox

This week we're going behind the scenes as I walk you through my personal Resolve tool-set, from plugins to powergrades, sharing what I have (and don't have) and why, how I came to choose the tools, how often I use them, and more!

3:00 - Node Trees
5:00 - Output Display Transform Powergrades
16:00 - Back to node tree // deeper explanation of nodes in node tree, the ways they're used, getting photometric adjustments, and project level color management
26:00 - Input Display Transform Powergrades
27:00 Nuances of different color management pipelines
33:00 Q: How do you ensure you are broadcast-safe?
37:41 Cullen's toolbox
40:00 The LMS Color Model
43:42 The miscellaneous toolbox
48:24 Q: How do you decide what color management pipeline you want to use?
51:00 Q: How would you determine 18% gray for a different log format?
53:00 Q: Why do clips in a bigger color space than what a display uses appear flat and desaturated instead of clipped and oversaturated?
56:47 Q: How to you organize your databases and projects within them?
59:32 Q: Would it be ideal to use the Arri LUT for your ODT?
1:05:00 Q: Do printer lights sometimes work better before luma adjustments?

--------

Get my free Kodak 2383 film print LUT for DWG and ACES here:

Get all of my freebies with my free Color Grading & Look Design Kit!

Want professionally designed, studio-quality LUTs for your LUT folder? Check out my Voyager LUT pack:

Check out my ebook, The Colorist's 10 Commandments:

[TharanTandale]

Hey Cullen! Have been watching every video you've put out over the past few days and there's just so much value jam-packed! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience with the community!

[adsmithtx]

watching you r entire play list content, this may answer the questions I had at the end of your 3 part contrast videos

[jtnfilm]

Another great grade school. In the next grades school can you share more info on the parade and waveform scopes. I've always done what i can to not let anything clip but i see lots of colourists now just letting things drop through the floor of the scopes. Be great to get your take on when to clip, how to control it and when to just let it go.

[percybhardwaj]

I've caught up to this video from the first one you posted on YouTube. I enjoy your insights and tightly packed information in these videos. My approach now has more of a scientific touch than a solely artistic one. My node trees have become much simpler and more organized. And I have a much better (3D) understanding of the LUTs, Resolve Color management and various colour spaces.

There were so many concepts that just went over my head when I started watching your videos. But as per your suggestion, I just swam with the current instead of going against it. And now, your enthusiasm has reeled me in, pulling me down the rabbit hole. I've started studying negative film and print film development history and the science & research behind the colour gamuts of different film stocks.

Thank you, Cullen, for your hard work and for sharing your knowledge.

[yensLave]

Very interesting toolbox! Great grade school episode. thank you!

[WIZZYYYYYYYYY-xj]

Bought your LUT pack FAM ! Looking forward to the video meeting <3

[MarvinFalz]

Hi Cullen! Love listening to you talking about colors. I'm still a newbie when it comes to color grading, and its technical side is overwhelming, but I've realized its importance, as you've explained in another video. So I can't yet talk much about what I've learned about the theory, since my brain is still processing all the information. What I can say, though, is that I've learned much about the proper look of images, just by watching you make changes to images, regardless what the topic was.

[osarash]

another great video. too many good tips. i would love to see the mid-gray encoding spreadsheet that you mentioned.

[antonisstavridis]

Dear Cullen Hi!
I had to catch up on to all of your videos and is the first time I do that with anyone but so far I find your classes the most constructive by far. And Just for laugh man how many times you had to answer certain questions!
Thank you very much for your hard work and all the excellent education you have passed to us. Thank you for your patience!
I wish I could join the extra classes you are running but my income situation doesn't help much at the moment to do so.
I hope so maybe in the future. I find particularly interesting the built LUT one.
If I could ask anything as a subject it could be I suppose building different looks without using your special tools if possible. You know popular ones that we meet in our times. And another thing maybe your thoughts on the new tool from DaVinci the custom mixer that feels very powerful!
Thank you very much again. Much appreciated!
All the best!
Antonis

[robertkwela]

Hi there I've start just about 2 weeks ago so much stuff to catch up lucky me I broke my leg a month ago so I got plenty of time hehe really enjoy with your time and sorry for so many questions on 26:57 for rec709 IN do you apply forward OOTF in advanced option Thanks

[robertdankowski]

Hi, first of all love the channel. It's packed with knowledge, hope you make it big. Do you think you could make a video about working with clients? As in what formats of files to ask for to be sent and what to send them, what to present them before they pay or if even start any work without any pay and what to deliver them? Just overall kinda business side of color grading.

[jshblackman]

Hi Cullen, such great episode of Grade School. Would love to take you up on your generous offering of sharing your Middle Gray Encodings spreadsheet, does that offer still stand?

[rajarshimukherjee]

First I thought Wakas has great in-depth stuff.... Then I came across this channel...

[blaisejadoul]

Hi Cullen!
Would you share your "synthetic print curve" DCTL?
I followed the whole series "Creative Coding with DCTL" and this DCTL seems to be what I kind of miss at the end of the series. Namely the ability to control the parameters of the toe and shoulder.
It's more or less easy to understand what you do in the "Creative Coding" but at the end I feel I lack the knowledge to develop more aspects and refinements of the Filmic Contrast DCTL.
I'd be so grateful for your sharing this "synthetic print curve" DCTL ;-)

[rumahpostpro]

Thanks for sharing this powerful tips. Could you share the details about export for the web ? Recently I had a client asked for web and we didn’t get the best result. So I need to improve for next project. TIA

[ericberger]

Hi Cullen, just discovered your channel and I've been learning a lot since i did! I particularly like your philosophy of making a minimum change the get the best improvements. One possibly stupid question though - I see that some of your clips in this lesson are labelled "Apple Prores 4444"? I thought Davinci doesn't do Prores? Am I misunderstanding something? Thanks again for all the content, very educational stuff!

[Resolve_This]

Another great video. These videos has changed my CM from being set on a project level to a node-based CM. 

One question though: If I have a project with Timeline Color Space set to ARRI Logc in the Project Management, and then one single clip is not shot on ARRI, how do I best change the Timeline Color Space for that single clip?

Thx for doing these.

[FCGColouristUK]

@Cullen I used a Film IC V2 IDT on Red footage because it gave me the best look. The Red footage was shot quite dark. Is it ok using that transform or am I degrading the footage in any way?

[franzmathauser]

Hey Cullen, thanks again for such concentrated load of information. This is so helpful.
You mentioned at 21:38 the Timeline settings affecting the transformation of the Node-settings ("Linear"-Gamma). I usually have set Davinci to "Use Mac Display Color Profiles for Viewers" with a Rec709A as Timeline setting (to have a 1-1-1 Tagging). If i set my TL-Settings to ArriLogC my Colorsync would go wonky caused by the Tag interpretation. Do you have any suggestions on this? Which route should i use:
1. Turn off "Use Mac Display Color Profiles for Viewers" and set the right Timeline colorspace
or 2. Ignore that the Node-Setting transforms my Footage with wrong math.
or 3. is there any workaround on this which i am not aware of?
Keep it up and thanks for your effort.

[STGOLDTRIDENT]

Thank you for another great one. Question: if you ever feel that you need the HDR palette for Global exposure adjustments, would you set the node's color space to Linear (using HDR in your first Exposure node) or would you trust Resolve's promise that HDR palette is photometrically accurate? Also, can you demonstrate next time how to create 18 percent ramp for Arri LogC? I used two CST nodes (LogC to Linear, Linear to LogC) for the ramps and I don't know what to do next. Should I just save it as a still?