You're Balancing Shadows Wrong- DaVinci Resolve 16 Tutorial

In today's tutorial we're Balancing shadows in Davinci Resolve 16. The objective is to get black shadows and there's a couple methods of achieving that. everything in todays video can be done in the free version of Resolve.
Download Davinci Resolve for Free: www.blackmagicdesign.com/prod...
Notes:
I've shown this technique on a number of different videos, but I figured it deserved it's own video. It also gives me a good chance to outline some of the differences between primary and log controls. I should also mention that this process can be helped by applying a grade in a way that balances the shadows and you can see it in your waveform. For example getting a teal look by using curves and you lower the bottom of the red and bump the bottom of the blue really helps balance out your shadows but I didn't want to cram too much info into one video.
So I usually record at Q5 compression ratio in black magic raw which can range from 12:1 to 8:1 as a ratio. Though this episode I accidentally recorded at a 3:1 compression ratio. So what was normally a 40GB video file turned into a 180GB video file. The video is uploading as a write this but I'f be really surprised if there was any noticeable improvement. Given KZbin's compression I'd imagine there'd be no telling the difference however it may have graded a bit nicer. Just thought some of yall would get a kick out of that.
References:
There's actually no real references for today's video. Though I recommend just opening up the DaVinci Resolve manual that can be accessed via the help tab of Resolve. It's where I've learned the vast majority of everything I know about Resolve.
Gear I use:
Camera - Black Magic Pocket 4k
Microphone - Rode NTK
Main Lens - Meike 12mm f2.8
Other lenses - Meike 35 mm f1.7, Rokinon 50mm T1.5, Rokinon 24mm T1.5
Tripod - Velbon Videomate 638
Computer Specs:
CPU - Ryzen 1700x
GPU - GTX 1070

[@mearslab]

That was an amazing demonstration of how the log controls work!

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thank you. When I first played around with that it made everything crystal clear .

[@MacherTV]

+1 Never seen it like that before. Best demonstration ever!

[@XxTRI5TANxXv2]

i have been working to shoot more in LA as opposed to crewing on sets. One of my limiting factors is a lack of understanding secondary grading or in depth grading that goes beyond exposure, contrast, saturation,etc. However i felt that the youtube coloring community was filled with people just pushing links to their LUTs in the description and were focused on copying different looks and LUTs that are popular for vloggers rather than trying to teach the basics of what a professional grader would need to know. I really enjoyed that last few videos ive watched from you, and really enjoy content like this that shows how to use different davinci tools to achieve similar effects while also teaching you the trade-offs/ situational advantages from choosing one tool over another. Great video thank you for showing a more informational side to color grading youtube, rather than trying to push Teal/Orange Looks 50 different ways in 50 different videos lol.

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thank you. That's exactly the reason I started making tutorials. There's so many different ways to tackle problems in resolve, and I'd be inclined to say there's no real 100% right way to handle a specific adjustment. I'd recommend checking out Juan Melara, and Avery Peck does a pretty good job too both on KZbin. Outside of that I really like Mixing Light, but there's a paywall there (all the power to them, they're a great educational resource). I'll do my best to keep making more content like this.

[@jpgdesign]

the gradient demonstration is superb! I really like when I know about what the technicalities are behind the tools as opposed to just feeling it all the time.

[@NathanCarterVids]

I completely agree. Understanding how a tool works and what it's doing really helps you figure out when to use it.

[@doggieshaman]

You're a good teacher man - never had any clear explanation as to what the log controls can do, as clearly as you've explained it

[@JoshCameron]

This is by far the most useful Resolve grading tutorial i've ever seen and has helped me so much! Thanks Nathan, really appreciate the effort you put into explaining this so concisely :)

[@afamiliarduckproductionsaf6157]

One of the best tutorials I have seen regarding color page work. Thank you!

[@NathanCarterVids]

You are so welcome!

[@Aaron_Smith_OM]

Oooh! So good! There are too many tutorials that talk about adjusting the Luma vs. Sat, clicking a point and dropping the first point all the down, like, that doesn't address the issue. What you've done is the absolute best way I've seen how to get that teal and orange look and then retain your blacks so they aren't becoming this deep blue. Thank you!!!

[@NathanCarterVids]

No worries. The tools inside of resolve make it so easy.

[@fermixx]

I really liked that you showed the entire process and chain of thought rather than going straight to the end part (actually adjusting the shadows saturation). For me as a beginner, the advanced examples that don't show any context on how to get there and why you are doing it make it very difficult. You made it very simple, but very complete and clear.

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thank you. That the goal. I'm really happy you found it helpful

[@user-bj1xi5dm2m]

Been looking for this everywhere. You have just clarified it. Thank you very much

[@mrkumaran]

genius, was looking for something to get clean blacks for a while now, this is straight forward and to the point. Thank you .

[@JohnJonesRocketCity]

You are one of the few people who have videos that actually live up to or exceed the title of the video. Great job man. Plenty of aha moments here.

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thank you

[@steliosbitzilekis4423]

Great video thanks for all the information. Definately subscribed!!

[@tindoox]

This is awesome, thanks Nathan!

[@DrHansBrewery]

This was awesome!

[@mikehall5835]

Brilliant tutorial! Explains the root of my frustration in trying to remove colour casts the wrong way.

[@kjeld7483]

Great video, really helped me to understand pivot and log grading in Resolve! Thank you :)

[@awzone2552]

amazing tutorial. appreciate it.❣️

[@Geordiecrafts]

I don't know why I watched this whole thing, it's way too advanced for me right now lol. Looking forward to getting to this point in the future though!

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thanks for the support. Is there anything I can help explain?

[@giraffevideoproduction8045]

Wow! That was awesome. I admittedly always had trouble w/ shadows. This tip will help! It also cleans up some of the "gunk" or noise in the dark areas. Thank you!

[@NathanCarterVids]

You're absolutely right, it really helps tidy things up.

[@kondvi4329]

WOW!!! Amazing! Super helpful information!

[@pjtavera]

Thumbs up! Excellent tutorial for making me understanding easily how this Balancing Act works! Thanks Nathan.

[@NathanCarterVids]

Great to hear!

[@robcombs996]

Fantastic video !! Thanks!

[@stillcinematic3163]

Excellent tutorial! Keep up the great work 👍

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thanks, will do!

[@svnairr16]

The log wheels was so easily explained! Amazing brother! Thank you so much

[@NathanCarterVids]

My pleasure!

[@jimramer1012]

Great tutorial. I love how you just jump right into it without all of the inane lead up.

[@MZACADEMYYT]

Love your videos! So helpful! You deserve a lot more views and subscribers!

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thank you. I really appreciate the support

[@tonyshazam6271]

This helped alot with me understanding the color wheels vs primary, thank you

[@NathanCarterVids]

That's great. Thanks for the support. I really appreciate it!

[@didorock]

Hey mate. Tks for sharing your knowledge with us. We appreciate it! 🙏

[@NathanCarterVids]

No worries. Thanks for the support

[@mrkimonojr9400]

very good tutorial thank you, everything you said is top standart practice.

[@IndonesiaNanJaya]

Thanks man! Amazing tutorial.

[@NathanCarterVids]

No worries. Glad you found it helpful

[@kimo43334wrt2r243t]

Good work!

[@digital4dynamic999]

Thank You! Thank you for explaining what those colore wheels are doing with the greyscale. So many other tutorials are just trying to make a cook recipe by telling you what leaver to pull. You are the first speaking my language in terms of color correction science. Good job! you definitely got a like and a subscriber here ☺

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thank you I really appreciate that. My goal is to have someone be able to understand the technique, not just replicate it by the end of the video. Thanks for the feedback.

[@jonsirola]

Very well made video and great info man congratulations and thank you for your guidance!!

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thank you. Really happy you were able to get some use out of it.

[@manchumuq]

Thanks soo much for the tip, I've been using the Lum vs Sat panel to control the black tint since forever, and the overall looks always been lacking something to me, and I spent soo much time to fix the saturation in the darker part of the image, and technique using log panel is just briliant and inspiring!! Thank you sooo much!

[@NathanCarterVids]

No worries at all. That's exactly what I used to do too, but after understanding the log controls better I haven't looked back since.

[@adamperry82]

Good to see you! Keep goin. Subscribed!

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thanks Adam. It's been a fun way to pass the time during quarantine. Can't wait to see your movie.

[@niczoom]

Great explanation of this area, thankyou.

[@NathanCarterVids]

No worries at all.

[@MrCoffis]

Personally the real genius of this video is that you created a gradient to show what the controls actually do. This is the first time I’ve seen this and am wondering why I haven’t thought of this because it seems so straightforward. Every colour grading tutorial on youtube for any software should have such an example to demonstrate what the controls actually do with the image, since every software is different.

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thanks for noticing that. For me that was how I learned how the exposure controls actually work. I appreciate the feedback

[@BobTheSkateboard01]

I learned something new! Thanks for the tut!

[@NathanCarterVids]

Awesome. Really happy to help

[@rediadvertising]

Great tutorial, thanks!

[@NathanCarterVids]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@mastixmastix]

Great tutorial. Thank you

[@NathanCarterVids]

Glad you liked it!

[@franklinmichael671]

Really useful, thanks!

[@NathanCarterVids]

Happy to help

[@Yevgen_Splash]

Fantastic, thank you Man!!!

[@XPEHATA]

You made my day man! 🔥

[@NathanCarterVids]

Glad to hear that!

[@TheCreativeModellerHO]

Great video!!!👌👌💯👍 Keep it up!

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thank you! More coming

[@yarshasound-relaxingmusic8459]

Thank you so much for this. I used to not separate skin tone at first. used to add colour to whole image and it would feel like white balance is off after grading.now i i get :)

[@NathanCarterVids]

Awesome. Happy to help

[@triethylborane49]

I've been trying to work out black balance for a while now; that tip on watching the scopes is a life-saver! Thank you!

[@NathanCarterVids]

No worries. The scopes can be useful for that for sure and also (can't remember if I talk about it in this video) the wb eye dropper when dragged over top of an area tells you the RGB values and that can be super helpful too.

[@triethylborane49]

@@NathanCarterVids Yeah. I knew _about_ it, but didn't know how to use it. Thanks again!

[@TwaynePereira]

Dude, you've been a big help as I've transitioned to DaVinci as my main editor! I also detect a bit of East Coast Canada? Appreciate the tutorials and stay safe out East!

[@NathanCarterVids]

Haha what gave it away? Born and raised in PEI! Living out West now though. Thanks for the kind words. I switched over from Adobe a few years ago now , and haven't look back.

[@TwaynePereira]

@@NathanCarterVids it’s the classic way Canadians pronounce the “ar” together 😆

[@kubilaysener88]

Man Im really impressed how you explain how the colors work

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thanks I'm glad you found it helpful.

[@akcivan]

Thanks for info bro, you are very good

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thanks man!

[@timbo3009]

Thanks for the Visualization Nathan! I never figured out what the Difference between Gamma and Gain is.. You got my sub m8 :)

[@NathanCarterVids]

Glad I could help! Thank you.

[@janssenbalneg3752]

it helps a lot, especially for my footage that it has only 8bit color

[@zsolyvatany]

thank you! this was good to know :)

[@NathanCarterVids]

Happy to help

[@PKsTravelDiary]

Very Good!

[@EvanSchneider]

THANK YOU for saying this. Pet peeve for sure

[@-maxx-]

I'm pretty sure it was you that - inadvertently - got me understanding log controls in an earlier video too, great to see a video dedicated to it ;)

[@NathanCarterVids]

That's great to hear. Thanks for letting me know.

[@davidschwan]

wow thank you bro!

[@Larrythebassman]

Smooth operation🥇🏆🎗🤽🤽🤽🤽✨👏👏👏👏🍿🍿🍿thanks mate

[@NathanCarterVids]

No worries

[@jcinewilliams8819]

Nice tip!

[@Fedor_Tkachev_Music]

so good!

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thanks

[@CarlAustinGregory]

Thanks for this video! Question: Could you also use printer lights in the log or hdr shadows to adjust the rgb values to achieve black?

[@RydeEnt]

So dammmm good! Been staring at an image that I've been happy with but not ecstatic with- use the white balance colour tool to check those shadows and it was the green creeping into them. Fixed and 10x better- ALSOOOOO the adding a new versions is amazing when playing with grade. Thank you thank you thank you

[@NathanCarterVids]

No worries. Really happy it's getting good results for yah

[@tomasb3191]

you made me understand something. nice.

[@NathanCarterVids]

Awesome

[@enjoythelittlethings3359]

Just Brilliant !

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thank you I appreciate the support

[@AllThingsFilm1]

Excellent tutorial! Subscribing.

[@NathanCarterVids]

Awesome, thank you!

[@the-secrettutorials]

Nice to know thanks

[@diegogilly7416]

Good man!

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thank you

[@CesarAugustoTejada]

Nice tutorial!!! 👏👏👏 Now I have a question. What will be a practical scenario when we use Lum Vs SAT?

[@NathanCarterVids]

Sunsets is the first thing that comes to mind, or maybe a light bulb in a shot. Something that's really bright that you want more or less saturated, when it comes to darker though I tend to just stick with my shadow controls. You could also use your highlights too though.

[@ozzmanzz]

Likes and subscribed, thanks for posting!

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thank you. I really appreciate it

[@kimkrohnberle]

Great tutorial! Thank you. However: Why did you not just qualify the skin directly in the lower Layer Node? Instead you qualified the previous Serial Node and linked the alpha channel. Does this method have any benefit? The Printer Light Hotkeys was also a giant tip for me! Thanks :)

[@saviwaves5337]

how did this little gem go under my radar for 6 months??

[@NathanCarterVids]

Awesome. Glad you found it

[@CarlBergsdorf]

Great tutorial my dude! I also noticed that I was losing color but had no idea how to fix it :P

[@NathanCarterVids]

No worries.

[@tomoakitakagi238]

Amazing 😉

[@milquetoes]

Would you need to neutralize shadows after balancing? Also I feel like I need to balance shadows several times in the node pipeline, does that make sense to do?

[@zillaman0916]

You Gon have me re grade my whole movie if you don't cut it out. 😆 Awesome video as always!!

[@NathanCarterVids]

Haha thank you. I've totally been there, where you wanna go back to past projects with the knowledge you have now.

[@rossmpostpro]

Really enjoyed the video and subscribed man. Just one question from me, why use the layer nodes instead of an inside outside method, to be able to isolate the skin and background? Thanks mate!

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thanks. Great question. So with this method I'm able to isolate the skin and keep it seperate from the background adjustment. Because the look is being applied to the entire image underneath the skin layer I can then use the key tab to control how much of that skin adjustment layer is blended into the background look. With an inside outside set up you'd have the skin qualified and then the background adjustment, so it doesn't really allow for fine control blending the two as the background adjustment isn't being applied to the skin cause it's an outside node. Hope that makes sense.

[@rossmpostpro]

@@NathanCarterVids Thanks Nathan, will definitely try your method next time! 🙂

[@BrentRoss]

You deserve more subscribers. Here is +1

[@anandphsbc]

Great........... hi would you be able to put across a video tutorial for teal and orange looks for different kind of situational videos

[@NathanCarterVids]

I'm not entirely sure I understand the question. You're looking for the same look applied to different lighting scenarios?

[@anandphsbc]

@@NathanCarterVids yes different lighting situations/scenarios and from a to z of changing a video shot in log to teal and orange look

[@Kingofpunk]

The Luma vs Sat curve adjustment trick was not meant to clean the dark parts of the image but to reproduce the response curve of a film just like Arri does in its color science.

[@NathanCarterVids]

Interesting, I haven't seen that explanation for this technique online. While I could see how that could produce similar results, wouldn't using the soft clip feature in the curves tab achieve this without desaturating?

[@Kingofpunk]

@@NathanCarterVids in all cases what you showed in your video is in my opinion very instructive, it shows for those who are affraid to play with log wheels how these technics are powerful

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thanks, yeah that was the goal. The ability to make adjustments based on tonal range and channel is very powerful like you said.

[@coin777]

that's exactly what i was doing!

[@fernandoguerrerofraile8175]

👏👏👏 gracias

[@megustainvincible]

Dude cool Thankyou! But I have a question. This method doesnt work when we shoot not in RAW format. Am I right?

[@NathanCarterVids]

Absolutely would work in raw. I would recommend using a colour managed workflow or CST's, but it would totally work.

[@Herfinnur]

How the hell do you not have a hundred times more subscribers!? I would take it personally

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thank you!

[@mikelollyp]

Do more color grading tutorials...really great

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thank you. More on the way for sure

[@MC_Theta]

Beautiful. Quick question: why did the Luma v Saturation method only affect the red in the jacket and not the red in the stained glass?

[@NathanCarterVids]

Great question! So that curve selects portions based on luminance, and the glass in the window is brighter than the darker parts of the jacket.

[@MC_Theta]

@@NathanCarterVids Got it. You are absolutely right. The glass is a lot brighter. Thank you for the quick reply, Nathan!

[@NathanCarterVids]

@@MC_Theta happy to help!

[@user-kh5sh6ko1d]

Is the dropper on the bottom left a plugin?

[@NathanCarterVids]

No that's in standard Resolve.

[@HalloFilmz]

u are awesome super duper muper cool!

[@MrRagool]

quick Q - do we need to stabilize before tracking? Will doing stabilization later upset the tracking?

[@NathanCarterVids]

Great question. I think stabilization before tracking is the best plan of attack. As far I know stabilization done in the color page is not tied to a specific node so you don't need to worry about where you add it on your node graph too.

[@martinvalverde4493]

Bro you should have put a glow in those windows. Nice tutorial btw

[@Richybeat]

One of the things that I discover is that you can achieve the same results with RGB curves, and it's cool because you can manipulate all colors (RGB) differently in the shadow part of the curves. It's better than log wheels but log wheels are better tha luma vs curves for this purpose (I've been discovered those tricks on 3D lut creator and Lightroom)

[@NathanCarterVids]

Curves are totally viable. I personally don't find it "better" than wheels, but it's fairly subjective. I find you really have to fiddle to get specific in curves, but in wheels I can adjust the RGB channels in quantized amounts in a specific tonal range.

[@Richybeat]

@@NathanCarterVids My example is only about a specific part which is keeping the dark part of the image dark, in other cases log wheels are better than curves

[@Aziz-kw6ct]

great

[@robinwebster3690]

I know this is an old video but yellow should be used to counteract blue, not red. I see for this example it worked almost the same but technically yellow is the opposite of blue.

[@nigeljameshughes3722]

Just downloaded davinci resolve and after watching g this I feel like giving up???? Up to press I am finding the whole experience with the software very frustrating....

[@NathanCarterVids]

It's a learning curve for sure, but you can absolutely do it. This video has a ton of info, I say start with the basics and go from there. I imagine diving into every intricacy right off the bat would be super overwhelming.

[@nigeljameshughes3722]

@@NathanCarterVids not wrong there mate..... I have bought the official davinci beginners guide it wasn't cheap but comes with all the files you will use. Looking at the special effects section using nodes is very alien to me after using layers etc. I will keep at it though think I just reached info overload last night. Stay safe and thanks for the reply I have subscribed as any help or advice I can get at this point is welcomed...

[@NathanCarterVids]

@@nigeljameshughes3722 best of luck. That guide is a really great starting point, just take your time. I also found moving from a layer structure to a node structure super confusing.

[@thomas_weinreich]

I can absolutely not find the Low Range and High Range options anywhere

[@NathanCarterVids]

It's only available in the log controls. So if you select the color wheels tool this has the "primary wheels, primary bars, and log controls) in that order. They are indicated by text in the top left and it'll be the right most dot up top.

[@artisarium]

Ok, so after 3 videos on our channel I'm still going back to this video every time I'm colorgrading 'cause I keep forgetting how it's done, LOL! ;D

[@NathanCarterVids]

Haha that's awesome. Thank you. With practice I'm sure you'll be breezing through it in no time.

[@artisarium]

@@NathanCarterVids Why practice when I can go back and watch this every time! ;D

[@NathanCarterVids]

@@artisarium haha fair enough. Thanks for the support!

[@artisarium]

@@NathanCarterVids And thanks back for great tutorials!

[@TigreDemon]

Me trying to start post prod changes on my 3D renders : "Ahah I don't understand anything"

[@eduardoespinosa5299]

Lol I finally learned what high range and low range did

[@NathanCarterVids]

Really happy to hear that

[@ichbrauchmehrkaffee5785]

1st reaction: meh, why you not adjusting the shadows propperly? this is bullshit 2nd reaction: WHOOOOOOW, I DIDN'T KNOW THE CONTROLS WORKED LIKE THAT!! THAT'S AWESOME Edit: The first reaction was definetely a little exaggerated, but that's often what some people do, they will shit on others, just because they do it differently Great video, definetely learned something

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thanks. No worries about the first reaction. It was kinda meant to catch your attention, especially if you already use your log controls.

[@Daniel20030]

I still think you were a bit agressive with that luma/sat-curve..

[@NathanCarterVids]

Use that option if you want to, but no matter how gentle you are with it, you're gonna lose color data. That's the main point I was trying to make. However a situation I would use it is if there was some extreme mixed lighting and the client was still wanting balanced blacks, that I could imagine that would be a real pain with log controls if there were different hues across the image in the dark regions.

[@Daniel20030]

@@NathanCarterVids I 100% do get your point tho! On a side note, I wonder if it's easier to grade with a luma filter that excludes the whites and blacks instead of going back and doing the oposite color shift for them afterwards?

[@florinbalaican7419]

is what i didn't see at Waqas Qazi, or maybe i didn't see all his videos

[@aneelramanath]

You paid money to not see through the full Module?, You are a rich dude.

[@roosterandguppy2373]

Hi! If i pay you in beer can you CC my movie?? (haha). This video is great but you are going so fast...., DO you sell a tutorial ? A slower tutorial? Thanks

[@NathanCarterVids]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll keep that in mind in the future. Send me an email at [e-mail] for any business/beer inquiries haha