How to color manage RAW footage using nodes in DaVinci Resolve

Using DaVinci Resolve nodes to color RAW formats is challenging enough, I walk you through how to color multiple RAW formats in the same project.
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[@jeffjacksonfilm]

OOOOOOOHHHHH! Thank you so much for clearing up the RAW tab. That was not how I thought it worked AT ALL! Jeez, I feel so much better about that now.

[@llpreiss]

WOW!!! After watching hours (over days, weeks, months, years) of videos explaining how to navigate the camera input/output setup, you did it in one 11-minute video. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[@Hardik_P]

+1

[@MarkusFinholt]

WHAT ! I always thought you had to choose one camera to decode in the settings, and then do the rest in the raw tab! This changes everything

[@KristofhPozo]

Me too! :'D

[@JayandMack]

So, so helpful. Thank you so much.

[@CullenKelly]

Glad to be able to help!

[@JayandMack]

@@CullenKelly Been completely binging all of your content. Can’t thank you enough. Coming from FCP, the switch was confusing and overwhelming. You’ve broken it down to completely make sense.

[@adrianoclinquart]

Again, one more impeccable, straight to the point and absolutely necessary tutorial. I can’t thank you enough Cullen!

[@CodyMadewell]

Another great video. Thanks Cullen for explaining more in depth about this subject. I was always a bit confused about switching into different Raw formats.

[@pollloxxx]

Supernecessary tutorial!, thanks Cullen!

[@jhonastete]

Damn this is awesome cullen!!

[@justindingle]

Thank you once again for this knowledge. :). Really helping me with my red colour workflow right now.

[@TerrellPorterFilms]

Thank you Cullen!

[@LindsayBrooks]

So helpful! Thou doth verily rock!

[@gomezcreativemedia]

Thank you for this info!!!!❤❤❤❤❤

[@cwoods1294]

I know it would be for a very niche audience, but I would absolutely love a walk through for working with both Nikon RAW and ProRes 422 HQ shot in N-Log, there aren't many resources out there for us Nikon shooters!

[@movietrailer4113]

Amazing traffic stop effect

[@kezangdorji1993]

Wow, great lesson but if camera is unknown, how to go with that situations. Thank you

[@juhakinnunen5729]

Thanks for great channel Cullen. I also prefer node workflow where things are easily seen. Q: Does Color Transfer Node override the selelctions made in Project Settings how to handle camera RAW? If so, I do not need to even open Project Settings - Camera Raw panel; if I am doing this with Color Transform node

[@IkarianPictures]

Thank you!

[@gatosoul]

Thank you for sharing! great tutorial. Any advice for CDNG converterd from Apple ProRes Raw? , I am trying to learn how to handle Raw from a DJI Ronin 4D 8K sensor. Cheers from Atlanta Gracias!

[@clintclarkson1325]

What do you do if you need to go into the "camera raw" section of the color page and switch from "decode using Project" to "decode using Clip or decode using metadata" to adjust any RAW parameters for a single clip? My BMPCC6K metadata was color space "BlackMagic Design" and Gamma "Black Magic Design Film"

[@daydreamingcamera]

Two questions: 1. what happens when you grade and render from project settings DWG color managed without using CST to convert back to Rec. 709 in the last node? I've been doing this for the longest time and never thought I was doing it incorrectly. 2. when using HSV to adjust saturation, does it change the color space of all the nodes thereafter? I normally use HSV right before Cullen's DWG to DWG film look LUT.

[@CullenKelly]

First, as long as you've selected Rec 709 as your output color space in the project settings, your image will be transformed to 709, just like it would with a color space transform when color managing manually. Second, any adjustments to gamma or color space at the node level will only affect that one node. Think about it like this, when you change the node's color space to something like HSV, a round trip from your working color space to HSV and back is being performed by Resolve under the hood. Hope that helps!

[@fortifiedfitnesscoach]

Hi Cullen, I use an osmo pocket 3 for most of my colour corrections. Is it okay to use the specific osmo pocket 3 Lut then CST to Davinci to do more correcting then back to rec709 I don’t really like the CST dji d gamut look as much as the LUT. Any advice would be amazing Thankyou

[@brown2840]

I still would like to know what extra control you have when you do this at a node level as opposed to just color managed in project settings using DWG? I don't feel like people address the "having more control" aspect as much as them just telling you to use CST workflow because it's just the "right" thing to do? Hope that makes sense.

[@_carsonjones]

Felt the exact same way about it but trusted the judgment of both Cullen and Darren (and others) and began testing this in my node tree. From what I can tell the node method gives you direct access to subtle changes you can make in the settings (e.g. Gamut Mapping Method, Tone Mapping Settings, etc.) where the value seems to be either turning them on/off or fine tuning them. I do like having access to the the Gamut Mapping Method, especially for Saturation roll off. The other advantage, I think, to nodal colour management is that you're able to better control where the colour management is happening in the flow of grading. One example of this I found in my testing is with the 'Shot match to this clip' functionality, which doesn't seem to like being used in DWG and prefers Rec 709. By adding a node at the end of my node tree and after the CST out, I'm able to use this and grade underneath it. I do like having the access to the subtle controls under the hood and don't mind the added work in setting it up. Ultimately I think it's a matter of preference and not necessarily about quality. If activating colour management in the Project Settings works in your pipeline then I think it's a good way to go. If you prefer access and value the added control of a node based colour management workflow then that's the way to go. I think I'll likely drift between the two depending on project needs.

[@brown2840]

@@_carsonjones Thank you so much for taking the time to write such an informative answer for me! :)

[@lombardy3274]

Also good to unpack BlackMagic Raw into Arri Log for LUT’s / DCTL’s that require it. I also find BlackMagic Raw has too many different color spaces and gamma options during the CST, and it’s not clear which are native to the particular camera (BMCC6K FF in my case) and therefore not clear if the transform will be technically correct.

[@bopsi5145]

It is actually pretty easy to find out what you shot in with BMD cameras and RAW. It will tell you all of it in the metadata when you bring them into Resolve. Most are running Gen5 color science and shot on Log which is "film" for BMD.

[@ronnyjonah8342]

can u make a tuto about this Voyager LUT. i try but need help

[@adtasnadi]

What is your project setting color management for this? Thank you so much for this vid!!

[@CullenKelly]

Color management is all happening in nodes here -- check out this video for a detailed breakdown: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKa8c55jjtt2kKcsi=OlTQseaZgQ1aTRmK. Hope this helps!

[@wraithdreams]

Thanks.

[@connormandalla6272]

Great video. How would we debayer CDNG RAW shot from an Original BMPCC? When selecting 'Decode using Project', the only Color space options are Rec. 709, P3 D60, and Blackmagic Design - none of which put me into the Davinci Wide Gamut / Davinci Intermediate Working color space.

[@CullenKelly]

I'd recommend selecting Blackmagic Design for your Color Space option, then doing a CST from Blackmagic Design to Davinci Wide Gamut. Hope this helps!

[@TxabiNet]

Hi! I’m very curious about why did you set BRAW directly to DWG instead of choose the space/gamut/gamma that was set to check the image on set. 👀 I also would like to know if I can have better image if I choose IPP2 for legacy Red Scarlet raw files. Thank you ! 😊😊

[@CullenKelly]

Good question! I prefer to decode directly into my working color space if I can. It removes an extra step for me later for those shots that are Blackmagic RAW. Regarding Red Raw, IPP2 is the newest and most accurate color management pipeline from Red. I would definitely give that a try on your older Red Raw files!

[@TxabiNet]

@@CullenKelly Thank you ! 😊😊

[@majcyy]

Thanks for all the amazing videos, I've been a fan since long time. Just something I figured I'll ask you - do you think us, simple solo creators at home, can really benefit/feel the difference of colour grading in DWG? Realistically how different would it be to grade upstream of output colour transform with whole timeline remaining in these log profiles?

[@CullenKelly]

That's a great question! More times than not, it will be much more beneficial for you to work scene referred vs display referred. This may not apply right this moment for you as a colorist who might just be getting started with their career, but one big reason to not work display referred is that it will greatly limit your flexibility with project delivery. There will come a time in your career where you need that flexibility to translate the original creative intent across multiple delivery specs. Another reason that would be applicable for any colorist, is that working scene referred allows us to stay within a photographic realm for as long as possible. This will definitely lead to more consistent, naturalistic, and efficient results.

[@majcyy]

​@@CullenKelly love that explanation, thank you 🙏

[@gomezcreativemedia]

Unfortunately, I always get a lot of digital noise with BRAW. Do you have a workaround to reduce digital noise within BRAW footage?

[@pixelmedia_studio]

What is the color management setting for this at project level

[@ryanpaulretouch]

I can almost guarantee it would be Davinci YRGB, timeline Davinci Intermediate and output set to Rec 709.

[@JonPais]

Unless you’re creating a viewing LUT for the DP beforehand that takes into account your DWG timeline color space, the colorist will be starting with a totally different color & tonality that neither the DP, the director or the DIT had started out with or agreed upon in production nor what the DIT had made a CDL correction for.

[@CullenKelly]

Hey Jon! Not sure I follow…what circumstance are you saying would cause this problem?

[@JonPais]

@@CullenKelly When you change the timeline color space to ACES or DWG, you’re no longer seeing the color and tonality the DP saw on their production monitor. From a presentation in Poland last year entitled “Protect Your Creative Intent With ACES”: “The example that you see here is two test images processed through RED's IPP2 color science, which is a nice pleasing look to start with; but if this is what you're viewing on set and your colorist is going to start an ACES - and I'm going to flip back and forth a few times - then this is the first image that you'll see in your grading suite. It's relatively easy to see and to immediately acknowledge that you're gonna light differently on set for the one and the other. Neither of them are wrong, neither of them are necessarily the best option, but it's the starting point that your colorist will have in their grading suite, so you want to make sure that on set you're monitoring that same starting point so at the very least, even if you do not build a look, make sure that you receive from your colorist something that replicates their pipeline so that you're viewing that on set as a starting point." - Miga Bär, Workflow Consultant

[@JonPais]

@@CullenKellyFrom a presentation entitled ‘Preserve Your Creative Intent With ACES’ in Poland last year: “The example that you see here is two test images processed through RED's IPP2 color science, which is a nice pleasing look to start with; but if this is what you're viewing on set and your colorist is going to start an ACES - and I'm going to flip back and forth a few times - then this is the first image that you'll see in your grading suite. It's relatively easy to see and to immediately acknowledge that you're gonna light differently on set for the one and the other. Neither of them are wrong, neither of them are necessarily the best option, but it's the starting point that your colorist will have in their grading suite, so you want to make sure that on set you're monitoring that same starting point so at the very least, even if you do not build a look, make sure that you receive from your colorist something that replicates their pipeline so that you're viewing that on set as a starting point." - Miga Bär, Workflow Consultant

[@JonPais]

@@CullenKelly I thought it was pretty obvious.

[@CullenKelly]

@@JonPais Hmmm…are you suggesting it’s problematic to debayer into a different space than the one debayered to on set?

[@ctcwired]

BMD should have made that RAW dropdown simply a row of tabs, would have confused less folks.

[@thatcherfreeman]

First question to prep for for grade school: how are you handling CDNG clips? It's a trick question though because basically "Blackmagic Design Film" appears to just be a log curve applied to the camera native image. For most cameras, you really just need to make your own 3x3 matrix to get it to the right starting point.

[@he.smile_]

I like to set them to Rec709 or P3 Linear and go to DWG/DI from there!

[@thatcherfreeman]

@@he.smile_ Seems kinda suboptimal though right

[@BrianMarcWhittaker]

So BM cameras don’t need a CST in the Group Pre Clip? That makes sense.

[@user-gd6pj6oh8p]

how you type right arrow so fast?

[@stefanocson6237]

great

[@mr.continuity]

MAN. This is exactly what I'm looking for but I is there a way you can explain this with out the grouping? I think it's complex for my workflow and brain. I'm a Sony shooter

[@CullenKelly]

Using groups is probably the cleanest and simplest way to setup your project when color managing with nodes. However, an option that avoids using groups would be to add your color space transform that takes you from your camera space to your working space at the head of your node graph at the clip level. Hope that helps!

[@BadRadBR]

At the risk of asking a stupid question I am getting stuck early on. Around 1:20 in you're in 'Timeline' and the node disappears. Then you say 'I would just drop this preset that I already saved...' and right before you do a node appears, and at the same time in the Keyframes window 'Corrector 1' appears. What did you do to make these two things happen? I can't figure it. Thank you much!

[@CullenKelly]

Hey! I believe that's just me adding a new serial node? On a mac, they keyboard shortcut would be opt + s. There's also a key on the panel I use that will add a new serial node. But I think that's all that you're seeing!

[@BadRadBR]

@@CullenKelly Fantastic! Thank you!

[@_carsonjones]

Curious why you've switched to gamma 2.2?

[@tepidfruit]

Cullen goes over it in his video titled "My New Year's Approach to Color Grading" ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3ebnayKrrWefqc ). I believe in essence his point was if you are targeting a primarily online space (e.g. YT, insta, etc.) then gamma 2.2 makes more sense. However, broadcast still targets gamma 2.4. Basically, it depends on where you are aiming to deliver to, so check your delivery requirements.

[@_carsonjones]

@@tepidfruit Thanks for the link @tepidfruit - missed that video. Appreciated

[@soraaoixxthebluesky]

People always thought that on RAW section when you select different cameras, the other cameras RAW settings got disabled. Which is not the case at all.

[@BrianMarcWhittaker]

How would you process Canon RAW?

[@dominic81634]

I have the same question. What did you ended up doing Brian?

[@BrianMarcWhittaker]

@@dominic81634 I believe that I left it on camera metadata into Canon C-Log 3.

[@clintclarkson1325]

What's your process for DJI drone footage?

[@CullenKelly]

Hey Clint! Assuming you're footage is in camera log, you should be able to get a nice result using a color space transform to go from d-gamut/d-log into a working color space, such as Davinci Wide Gamut. From there, you can use a color space transform to move into 709 like we typically show here on the channel.

[@clintclarkson1325]

@@CullenKelly thank you

[@Nobru001]

Hi, do you have any online courses?

[@CullenKelly]

Yes! You can get added to my newsletter by downloading any one of the freebies available within the video descriptions. You'll get all the info you need in the newsletter about upcoming courses and a whole lot more!

[@BANGBONSCHANNEL]

❤

[@bobbydrake8965]

😭 My God Mr. Cullen, the heavy audio processing you’re using is not allowing us to enjoy your sweet voice any longer.

[@huntingannieton]

5:22 😑🫠🙃🙄 are you kidding me? this whole time? that's how this drop-down functions? with this knowledge i am healed. i'm free

[@equisetuminc]

Yeah. Same 😅