In this text, I’m going to debate some modifications I’ve made to the best way I strategy coloration grading. I’ve modified the best way I exploit my template node graph, and that has subtly modified how I work in DaVinci Resolve.
The template node graph
Let’s dive proper in. Above, you possibly can see my model new template node graph. If you’re aware of my workflow, it won’t look too completely different from what I’ve been doing previously. The graph nonetheless has 5 nodes. The one on the far proper finish is a parallel layer mixer, and the 2 nodes on the backside are placeholder nodes. That backside department is for engaged on my secondaries. I put it in a separate department as a result of that gives a very good visible separator. It additionally permits me to do issues like pull qualifiers or make energy window changes that aren’t going to be influenced by no matter I do in my high main stack.
The high three nodes are the place the meat of our work is. You may keep in mind that my previous template node graph additionally had three nodes: Exposure, Ratio, and Balance. Now, I’m calling these nodes Prime, Balance, and Saturation.
Essentially, I’ve achieved this to get extra performance out of Resolve with out including extra nodes. That’s one of many largest magic tips you possibly can pull off in coloration grading: determining how you can add performance with out including complexity. Let’s check out how this new node graph operates.
The Prime node
The largest change right here is that we not have separate nodes for adjusting publicity and ratio. In the previous, we at all times had one node for adjusting publicity and a separate node for adjusting the distinction ratio. This new graph combines these right into a single Prime node. Don’t get me unsuitable, we’re nonetheless engaged on publicity adopted against this ratio, and we’re nonetheless serious about them as separate issues. But now we’re combining publicity and ratio right into a single node.
There are a few causes for this, however the principle one is that more often than not I simply don’t want to regulate publicity proper off the bat. When I get footage, my first response normally isn’t, “I need to adjust the exposure.” If the publicity feels fairly good total, I’ll need to work on the distinction ratio first. So having publicity and distinction in a single node hurries up my workflow as a result of I don’t have to right away faucet previous an publicity node if there’s nothing for me to do there.
Let’s have a look at this primary picture. If I need to work on its publicity, I can tweak the offset after which instantly go in and begin engaged on elevate, gamma, and acquire. Then I can alter my distinction ratio nonetheless I desire.
With this clip, I wished to work within the Prime node to make the picture really feel a bit softer. I believe I achieved a very good end result.
The Luminosity Composite Mode
There’s one thing else that I do with the Prime node in my skilled observe. If we right-click on the Prime node, we are able to set its Composite Mode to Luminosity. Doing this ensures that our colours don’t change after we make publicity or distinction ratio changes.
If you watch the vectorscope after we choose Luminosity for the Composite Mode, you’ll see the colour gamut expands ever so barely, giving us a bit of bit extra coloration to work with. Essentially, the Luminosity Composite Mode ensures that our saturations and colours don’t change a lot as we alter issues like offset, elevate, gamma, and acquire.
That’s the brand new course of within the Prime node. You ought to nonetheless take into consideration publicity and distinction ratio as separate issues, and you must proceed to prioritize publicity earlier than distinction ratio. But I’d such as you to strive doing all of that in a single node as an alternative of in separate nodes. I believe that you just’re going to search out that freely flowing between publicity and distinction ratio in a Prime node is extra environment friendly and intuitive than switching between nodes. Using a single Prime node permits us to form the tonality of the picture multi function place.
The Balance node
Nothing a lot has modified in regards to the Balance node. It’s all the identical fundamental thought. This node is solely a spot the place we are able to alter the general steadiness of our picture. I’ve this node’s gamma set to Linear, which permits us to use linear acquire to get a cleaner balancing operation. To me, a Linear gamma steadiness feels evenly distributed throughout the underside, center and high of the picture, extra so than if we had been doing an offset adjustment.
The Saturation node
The third node within the high part of the graph is the Saturation node. This node has its Color Space set to HSV and its Channels set to Channel Two.
Some of you may know that I’m not the largest fan of saturation. I believe it’s a distraction. We usually attain for saturation after we must be serious about publicity, distinction ratio, or coloration steadiness. However, typically we already be ok with these issues and we need to improve or lower our saturation.
That’s the place our Saturation node comes into play. This is the place the place we are able to do issues like drive up gamma, drop acquire, and provides our photographs a bit extra dimension. These steps can provide us extra of a filmic response than just by twisting across the saturation.
A brand new grading course of
As you possibly can see, I’ve solely given this new template node graph a number of minor tweaks, however these tweaks change the best way that our grading course of works fairly a bit. Let’s undergo a few clips so I can present you the way this new template node graph works in motion.
In this primary instance, I need to work within the Balance node to open issues up a bit. I additionally need to deliver the gamma down and alter the elevate in direction of the fitting.
To be sincere, it’s a bit of troublesome to relate what I’ve achieved on this picture. I normally go by really feel and by eye once I’m working within the Prime node, seeing what I like or don’t like in a picture.
Next, let’s do the identical factor that I did earlier than for the Composite mode. Right-click the Prime node and alter Composite mode to Luminosity. Again, the vectorscope pops again out a bit of bit. That pop-out is actually simply making the picture appear like it did earlier than I adjusted something within the Prime node.
The Prime node’s complete purpose for existence is to regulate the tones of the picture. We don’t need it to have an effect on our coloration when it comes to saturation, hues, or steadiness. We solely need the Prime node to have an effect on tonality. So, if I ever really feel like what I’ve achieved within the Prime node has modified the colour, I’ll usually flip the Composite mode to Luminosity to make every part constant.
Now, let’s transfer on to the Balance node. I need to transfer the colour steadiness away from inexperienced and a bit of in direction of gold.
This is the place it’s good to have a Saturation node. Let’s improve the saturation gamma a bit of bit, simply to get extra coloration up in these leaves. When you’re driving the saturation gamma in a preset node that’s arrange in HSV and Channel Two, you may get some very fairly outcomes that you just received’t be capable of get every other means.
But watch out to not go too far. Look at what occurs if I push the saturation gamma to its limits. We begin to get tearing up within the foliage and issues begin to look type of odd.
Finally, let’s return over our high three nodes and make some advantageous changes. After a number of tweaks, our picture is beginning to look fairly good.
Example two: be careful for Luminosity
Okay, check out this shot. The publicity feels fairly good, so let’s dive proper into the distinction ratio. Because we’re in a node that does every part, we don’t even have to change nodes to work on elevate and gamma.
That’s already trying very nice. We’ve saved issues deep but in addition rounded down within the shadows. Now, let’s swap the Composite Mode to Luminosity and see what modifications.
In this case, Luminosity introduces a change that I don’t need to see. This picture loses a bit of little bit of saturation in its unique mode, which I type of like, so I’m going to let it journey.
Let’s transfer on to the Balance node. For this instance, let’s pull the colour away from pink and push in direction of inexperienced. Then, within the Saturation node, let’s give the saturation a bit of nudge.
Some notes for managing coloration in nodes.
Before we go any additional, I need to offer you some context for a way I’m managing coloration in nodes. Going ahead, all of my coloration administration goes to occur in nodes. I really feel prefer it’s simpler to grasp what’s occurring once you’re working this manner. Plus, there are some snags which you could encounter whereas managing coloration in Project Settings that don’t exist once you’re coloration managing in nodes. Nodes are simply an effective way to have extra management over your complete coloration administration course of.
In this mission, I’m making the most of DaVinci Resolve’s Group operate. These photographs got here from an ARRI digicam, so I’ve already assigned them to a bunch referred to as LogC3. Because of that, these photographs are getting an enter remodel that takes them from the digicam coloration area into the working coloration area.
Our grading, and our new template node graph, is occurring on the Clip stage. Clicking over to the Timeline stage reveals our output remodel. One fast notice on the output remodel—in case you are mastering content material for viewing on the web or cell units, you’ll need to goal Gamma 2.2. For conventional broadcast or streaming, you’ll nonetheless need to ship Gamma 2.4, or no matter is stipulated to you. But should you’re creating net content material, Gamma 2.2 would be the higher possibility.
There’s additionally a glance occurring on our Timeline stage. This look comes from my Voyager LUT pack. That’s nothing new, I’ve been working with it for fairly a while. That’s the place the general inventive search for our complete timeline is coming from.
One final notice, in our Project Settings, below Color Management, I’ve the Color Viewer lookup desk set to MacOS Viewing Transform v1.3. You can grab a free download of it here.
This remodel makes certain that we get the very best copy of our picture on our built-in GUI show. Now, I wouldn’t advocate this for crucial coloration work. The finest option to work remains to be to output from a devoted output card to a calibrated reference monitor. But this can be a nice possibility if you wish to get the very best accuracy which you could out of your Mac show.
Grading darkish photographs with our new node graph
Let’s have a look at one other shot and see how we’d work with them utilizing our new node graph.
This one wants some publicity, proper? We’re fairly below on this shot, so we’re going to open it fairly a bit. Don’t fear about getting your complete picture good at the beginning. Let’s simply give attention to getting our topic to the place we need to be. Using elevate, offset, gamma, and acquire, we are able to begin to really feel our means by means of this large adjustment in our Prime node.
Now, this picture wants a bit of extra love than we can provide it within the Prime node alone, so let’s make some changes in Custom Curves. Navigate over to Custom Curves and faucet the overexposed foliage in our picture to get a way of the place it’s residing. Then, Option-click down within the Custom Curves and see if we are able to roll in these highlights a bit of bit.
Now, you won’t count on issues to maneuver round to the left of that first anchor level set within the Custom Curves, however they do. I get round this by including a second anchor level to the curve, simply to make sure that every part outdoors of the area I’m engaged on holds regular.
Next, let’s work on coloration steadiness. We’ve bought some good lush foliage that we don’t need to lose, however we additionally shouldn’t let your complete picture get dragged into the inexperienced zone. This is a superb instance of when you must make your Balance and Saturation nodes work collectively.
First, we are able to use the Balance node to make our picture a bit hotter. This will skew the colour a bit of extra yellow. The picture received’t be fairly as inexperienced because it was earlier than, which is our aim, however we’ll lose a few of that good saturation in our foliage. Don’t fear, we are able to use the Saturation node to get that lushness again. Usually, I work by adjusting the gamma and acquire intuitively till I arrive at one thing that I like.
Using the secondary node department
Now, the luxurious foliage in our instance is holding up fairly nicely, and we’ve got a pleasant little bit of total heat, which feels good. But the colour within the shiny finish of the picture is a bit of too saturated for me. We can repair that by using the secondary department of our node graph.
In the secondary node department, select the Lum Vs Sat adjustment and drop the peaks down. Doing this causes your picture to lose a few of that extreme saturation because it climbs the tone scale.
As you possibly can see, there’s nonetheless a number of life in the dead of night foliage and in our topic, however that heavy coloration saturation tapers off because the picture climbs into the intense areas. That could be a good, filmic factor to do to your photographs. Using the Sat Vs Lum curve could make the picture really feel a bit extra restrained and higher rounded.
When to do nothing in any respect
I like this shot. The publicity feels fairly good. I would cease down a bit of bit due to the environment that’s hitting the lens. Or perhaps that’s simply one thing I might need to hit with my elevate or with my gamma. In conditions like this, it’s not at all times clear, however you possibly can strive each and see what works higher for you.
Sometimes I’ll attain for my knobs and nudge a pair issues round, however once I examine what I’ve achieved to the unique, I’ll notice that I haven’t really modified a lot in any respect. That’s a extremely good signal that you just’re already pleased with the picture and nothing wants to alter. In conditions like that, I’ll normally simply reset the node and transfer on. There’s no sense in making an attempt to repair one thing that’s not damaged.
Color correcting for temper and tone
Let’s grade another shot only for enjoyable. First, within the Prime node, let’s open up the publicity. Even although I just like the moodiness of this picture, it might stand to have a bit of extra cease. Let’s additionally deliver the highlights down and open up the underside finish of the picture.
My favourite factor about working with elevate, gamma, and acquire is which you could work with all of them on the identical time and simply strive stuff. You don’t must have the reply to maneuver the knobs. You can simply go in, mess around, and see what feels good. Let’s additionally use the Sat vs Lum trick we realized earlier to avoid wasting a bit of little bit of the colour that we misplaced with our tonal changes.
I believe that’s a pleasant enchancment. Next, let’s work on steadiness. I really feel like we might get extra character out of this picture by pushing it right into a cooler, moodier register. Let’s lose a few of these heat magenta tones and nudge every part right into a cool cyan world.
I don’t really feel like there’s something we should always change when it comes to saturation. I type of just like the low-sat feeling on this case, so I’m going to depart that precisely the place it’s.
Wrapping up
I hope that gave you a very good style of how this new template works. Using template node graphs undoubtedly advantages my observe when it comes to effectivity. It additionally provides me a extra intuitive relationship with my picture as a result of I can do all my tonal changes within the Prime node. It additionally provides me the flexibility to make use of HSV saturation with out having to create it as a separate node each single time. That comes up so much, so it’s actually helpful to have HSV saturation already constructed proper into the template node graph.
My grading observe is at all times evolving, and I’m doing my finest to maintain all of you readers within the loop. You don’t essentially must undertake all or any of the concepts that I’ve proven you right here at this time, however I might encourage you to present them a strive. Hopefully, this template node graph workflow will assist you consider your grades differently and will provide you with outcomes that perhaps you wouldn’t get in any other case.
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