Secrets to Cinematic Color Grading

The "cinematic" look: we all want it, but most of us aren't really getting it. Learn my top three secrets to getting cinematic color inside Davinci Resolve WITHOUT relying on a LUT or plug-in.
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Get my free Kodak 2383 film print LUT for DWG and ACES here:
procolor.ist/freelut
Get all of my freebies with my free Color Grading & Look Design Starter Pack!
procolor.ist/starter-kit
Check out my ebook, The Colorist's 10 Commandments:
procolor.ist/ebook
Want professionally designed, studio-quality LUTs for your LUT folder? Check out my Voyager LUT pack:
procolor.ist/voyager-lut-pack

[@newtonlkh]

your introduction speech is so deep and concise that, not only i have no urge to skip of the tutorial, but when the tutorial started, I even felt, "oh that's it?"

[@emanueleboscofilms]

There are so many gems in just a few minutes. This channel is criminally underrated. Thanks for the amazning tips, Cullen!

[@AlbertKarhuFilms]

I need to watch this until i master everything i just saw. SO grateful i found your channel!!!

[@MrKwanni]

Colors can be bright or saturated but not both. This is what I was missing all the time when I tried to recreate film looks. Thank you for your great work!

[@joshuaalibet7085]

There's just something special about how you explain these color grading principles that make it so easy to understand. It's my first time here but I'm happy with what I've seen so far so, Thank you.

[@HanaStern-vc3xd]

thank you for this amazing tutorial

[@gasoline8548]

Came here just trying to get my 3D renders to look right in Resolve with ACES. However, your great teaching style has sucked me in and I'm looking forward to applying these concepts to my work! Thanks so much!

[@lulumink0]

This guy is the real deal. No bullcrap and straight to the point. Those tips are crucial.

[@juntingzhou6923]

love your tutorial so much, thank you!

[@markdreaneen9651]

Cullen … you are so awesome. I’ve been trying to understand my Blackmagic 6k pro and DaVinci. The more I sought information, the more confused I became. I have been binge watching your content for a couple of weeks now and it is hands down the best I have ever come across. So many things are starting to make sense! Thanks so much!

[@AutozammNZ]

Key highlights in a node at the start of the chain and fix that blown out hair as well by bringing down gain or use highlights control.

[@nanditdesai3384]

Great tutorial! Thanks so much :) this gives me more confidence to play with contrast..and the bit about colour density was very insightful.

[@Rogeras32]

Loving the content, man! That's the info I'm looking for. The details, the bigger picture, not the by-the-book orange/teal looks, but something that helps me understand color grading better! Subbed!

[@YOUAREMYKIN]

Looking forward to trying this!

[@xestfilms]

Hey Cullen, thank you so much for this. I am just a hobbyist starting out, and trying to involve my kids and have some fun. But these tips helped me put a slightly more professional look onto the short film I just finished. Now I've scratched the surface I realize I have so much more to learn, but I think its going to be fun. Thanks for your informative and calm approach. I find it easy to take in.

[@elenaastashova]

Thanks a lot for sharing your experience, Cullen! It's so essential and briefly!

[@stevebarnesmedia]

Well explained Cullen. Thank you!

[@BezDDelnik]

Thank you very much for this thoughtful and very helpful tutorial. I really appreciate you sharing!

[@AdamLangdon]

I have had tunnel vision on Color Grading education... and now i'm expanding my influences and really enjoying these types of lessons. Subscribed!

[@cinema8564]

Cullen; very helpful points. Here is a favorite of mine: "cinematic" means STYLE. That is, for any film with a story to tell there is a mix or balance of the three elements you mentioned: namely, contrast, split-toned color separation and chroma or saturation. That mix or balance is artistically variable and can give us teal-orange, bleach-bypass, or the Mad Max look. And the persistent use of some color balance choices might be called the "style" of the film. In short, cinema has style; and perhaps what people call a "video" look might be called the absence of "style." So that's ma story an' I'm stickin' to it. Love your on-screen style, too, Cullen! Keep it up!

[@_eugenechia]

so much to learn in this channel! Thank you Cullen!

[@abbyrodebaugh6634]

I’ve been binge-watching your channel and I can’t believe the amount of wisdom you’ve given me. Thank you for sharing your expertise!!

[@MrNickMid]

Such a really well explained short piece, filled with useful aesthetic ideas thanks.

[@jorgequinterohmp]

First time Here, Wow I’m blown away, I consider myself intermediate, and Ive devoured the KZbin Colorist content, And EVERY single secret and point here was completely new concepts to me that turn the light bulb on, You sir have earned my subscription 10 fold❤

[@zico81]

this channel is such a gem, thank you sir!

[@Gordymax]

The algorithm has not be fair to me. I’ve been searching for solid lessons such as this one just to find one that was made 2 years ago. Thank you for making this video

[@CyprianIwuaba]

You’re awesome bro! Thank you for making these videos. It’s really helping me in this world of color grading. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@3idrian]

Wow cool techniques, nice video. Thanks for sharing

[@tebnuhotep217]

Found Many Videos On Color Grading But I Love Your Way Of Teaching. Thanks For Sharing The Knowledge You Have With Us

[@mellowmel2012]

Very well explained! Thanks!

[@TheDaniwh]

Honestly one of the best info out there. Agreed Cullen, you are vastly underrated… I’m going to give this a try and I’ll be in touch 🙌🏻. Thanks for these gems, keep at it!

[@ODHunte]

Wow I wasn’t expecting to learn so much in this video! Thank you.

[@PascalPayantfilms]

Love your explanation and confidence in your talking. Keep up the good work.

[@DashrathSangle]

OMG this amazing, I came across first time. Thank you for sharing.

[@tymoteuszchwistek9520]

Thank You for Your work!!!

[@kaiservelasquez47]

Holy Shit....finally Information backed up by knowledge and experience! This has friggin Foundation! You ended my long journey of searching detailed explanation of how to work with colouring! Gosh in KZbin there is so much misleading or insufficient information of this stuff. I mean, I feel like the majority do not even have the basic ingrained but they already want you to sell their courses....like wtf! I found you through Darren Mostyn! Thank you both for sharing your experience and practical approach and also explaining the whys!

[@TheEli008]

Absolutely so helpful!

[@graymarshall4116]

Good stuff, Cullen! Thanks for this!

[@joyoffilming9500]

Just wow, wow, wow! Best tutorial on how to get quickly to rock solid cinematic colors!

[@jamesc9274]

Just discovered your channel. I subscribed as soon as I saw your copy of Masters of Light. Excellent book with chapters from a couple of my old teachers, Billy Williams and Haskell Wexler. I enjoy your teaching style too, clearly and logically explaining the why as well as the how.

[@londonztoa6359]

Lots to think about and apply, in a way I typically wouldn’t. Many thanks for shaking my ideas up!

[@junojuno22]

wow..... great great tutorial!!! Thank you so much!

[@ianharper6015]

Thanks for a very informative and interesting video.

[@inspyremusicnl5826]

U have no idea how mich this blessed me. Applied this concepts in my footage on bmpcc 4k almost made me cry 😢 🤣 great value!

[@kcoppa]

THIS BLEW MY MIND!

[@whousefilms]

Wow, I learned something new. Great stuff Cullen!

[@stakolepsyko1]

Such a masterclass here, keep it simple is a great tool

[@leoquesto9183]

This is superb.

[@UraFlight]

Thank you so much for your secrets. Usually people are not to tend to share them with others.

[@pietervanderwal]

Thank you for making this great content 💪👍

[@melissahall7009]

Appreciate this. Thanks.

[@huggeebear]

Outstanding.

[@MrRajudeepak]

I was asked to do the same less contrast work you showed that we would be satisfied....but hearing you say more contrast is fine just made me happy....you are underated man....anyways great video...

[@carlmurungi27]

Verryy informative!! More Davinci Resolve and color please...👌🏾👌🏾

[@dmzdj]

great~~~ thank you so much

[@rhewes100]

Amazing, I appreciate the use of historical strategies to achieve historical results. It is also refreshing to watch a video on KZbin where the presenter has a solid command of the English language. My next action is to subscribe

[@alexbeltrao2535]

Thank you for the tips, the hair 9:34 is anoying me somehow but the rest is awesome!

[@Cgolheiros]

Very good channel!

[@topicruben]

This was excellent, Cullen. I just saw you in a video with Darren Mostyn and came running to check your channel out. Happy to have discovered it! Thanks for all the great tips. Cheers

[@MiMEDesignStudio]

AWESOME!

[@edwinxcampos]

Amazing!!

[@marchmadecollective7983]

Love this explanation! Any updates to this since all the Davinci Resolve updates over the past few years? Thanks again!

[@HarisKohi]

excellent content! much better than most guys on youtube!

[@redkitevideo5352]

Thank you so much for sharing this! If I may make a suggestion. I'm sure this isn't an issue for people who are super familiar resolve, I find the way you lay out your nodes to be a little difficult to keep track of things (i'm a complete novice). Just a suggestion, if you could be mind to keep your node structure from left to right (beginning to end), it may be a quality of life adjustment that really helps beginners. Again, thank you so much for the free educational content. It's greatly appreciated.

[@stevebarnesmedia]

Can you do a video on matching video and stills please? For example, my DJI Mavic 3 Classic has very different color between stills and video. I know you say the first pass should be exposure, but I need to camera match first - between stills and video from the same camera! I can supply some beautiful footage and photographer of tall ships bound for the Australian Wooden Boat Festival this year.

[@ryanwang371]

Very inspiring

[@figedx3338]

Pure Gems🔥🔥

[@DRAMAFLS_official]

This awesome we need more……🔥🔥🔥

[@nwasoul]

Thank you

[@SweetSourTravel]

Thank that’s huge 😮

[@mrkumaran]

Thank you, I have been learning a lot from you. Can you do a video on why one would want to use a Kodak Film emulation out at the end. I personally find it very ugly, perhaps I am doing it incorrect, even while using a CST

[@vladimirpavlov6802]

Such a great channel!

[@vladimirpavlov6802]

@@CullenKelly I do, sir! Please keep it going!

[@vladimirpavlov6802]

@@CullenKelly I’m a professional editor for over 13 years now and looking to refine my colour skills, or to become a pro colorist someday! Your channel is as close as the real world work in my humble opinion.

[@GuanRytheFantastic]

Hey Cullen! I’m new to your channel and man, I gotta say I’m learning a ton! Do you have any videos for styling color? I’m working on a sci-fi/action/fantasy show right now and it would help give some signature looks(I.e. greens and blue themes for outdoors scenes, warmer tones for indoors or familial settings etc). I was looking thru your library and didn’t see anything on that topic. Thanks for all your content!

[@changecollar]

KZbin around lot of content this one master.. Why this channel so many people not subscribed.. i find this channel google search

[@eddiep4940]

Thanks for the video, this has helped me a lot with my project! For some of the clips in the project they were shot on a green screen, so I had to pair the moving background and my footage in fusion. I have created a grade in the color tab I like a lot, but I cannot see an easy way to move this to the fusion page without messing up the color of the background node. Do you have a workaround on this?

[@zagabry7]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, it's so eye-opening to me! I wanna ask you if it's correct to analyze feature films inside DaVinci or other software, to really understand how they managed contrast and saturation in a cinematographic work. Which parameter is important to preserve? File resolution or bit depth? Or what else?

[@Sound_Cuts]

Thank you so much Cullen your videos have been so helpful! Also what's the ID on the acid track playing in the background? :)

[@misperlasfilming]

EXCELENTE

[@kimkrohnberle]

@Tip 2 Split toning scheme .. Is there any difference between using the individual RGB curve adjustments like you are doing and using the Color Wheels (dragging Lift towards cool and Gain towards warm)? Besides having better control of the parameters.

[@murthy85]

That was super helpful Cullen. Do you give critiques to student work? If I want my work to be critiqued by you, then how should I go about it?

[@phongkhac3596]

love you

[@proteus1]

What buttons / keys on a mac do you use to add an up-stream Node? Thanks

[@fixmyscrew1]

Hey Cullen , should a creative contrast curve come before or after a film s-curve?

[@proteus1]

What's the best Picture Profile to record in with the A7s3. The most dynamic range?

[@UraFlight]

How to use that option click ? How do you know where to click on the curve ? Please explain I’m still learning

[@michaelruebusch2275]

So are you saying that you can do the same contrast and curves tweaks to all your clips? Im especially interested in the curves changes, Im sure that how much you tweak the curves depends on the clip correct?

[@oreggieo4357]

Nice

[@kiranaparadh4545]

Revolutionary techniques over traditional one. Thanks a lot for giving all new direction for experimenting. Keep creating 👍

[@anamorphicalan]

great content, as hobby videographer. do you have playlist of basics and principles of coloring? I would like to learn as philisocial level and basics for my hobby videos. beginner colorist

[@CullenKelly]

Hey! You could try starting with this three part series: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYW6laR_mdV6b7M There are quite a few videos on the channel that cover the fundamental principles to help get you going!

[@anamorphicalan]

@@CullenKelly nice thank you will storm in GZ china. I plan to make more hobby videos experimenting with temp lights various green blue and amber yellows

[@anilaboutme]

What was meant by the option click?

[@diamondlabelfilms]

I thought it looked decent on the last shot. Then you showed the arri rec 709 then switched back to the contrasty shot and I was like ewww no she's way too dark and saturated. But overall great points. I think you should make a video talking about who you are and what you do. Like why and how you are am expert. I've been trying to learn color grading and I'm noticing a lot of these guys are just learning but somehow feel like they can make a video and teach this.

[@The_Doc_Rocks]

Just discovered this channel. Lots of excellent information, really well explained. My only criticism is the really annoying and distracting background music. Do we really need music in a spoken video? Apart from that, great stuff.

[@The_Doc_Rocks]

@@CullenKelly Wow - excellent! Thank you :) Looking forward to more superb content!

[@marcoantonio2600]

Fortune favors the bold!

[@TANZANIAFILMMAKINGTV]

Your G.o.A.T

[@obe3]

Hi there Cullen, I am most likely just confused, so if you would kindly clear it up for me I'd highly appreciate it! Typically you mention keep things objective, use the mathematical transforms etc. Then go creative with the contrast. However, here you skip the mathematical transform/LUT and keep the footage in log in this case and do the contrast curve manually, why is this? Did I miss a step perhaps?

[@obe3]

@@CullenKelly Ah thank you so much, I really appreciate you clearing that up! Will there be another opportunity to see how your compound nodes are structured. I found this channel after your live stream unfortunately and am extremely disappointing I missed it!

[@obe3]

@@CullenKelly Where do I get the link! Forgive my lack of searching please.

[@ST7GOLDTRIDENT]

👍

[@Leukick]

Are you familiar with how color grading is done in CGI animated films? Like how they get those super bold and glowy looks

[@Leukick]

@@CullenKelly Yeah they get the pleasure of playing with 32-bit footage, whereas most of us have to color grade 8-bit or 10 bit footage. What a difference! lol

[@amigr4926]

Hi, where are the pictures you are working with from?

[@amigr4926]

​@@CullenKelly Thanks (: Looks interesting, is there a link to it? Or somewhere it can be viewed?

[@amigr4926]

@@CullenKelly Hi, what's the name of the film please? (:

[@CinemaJacket]

I spent 1 day too long learning grading from -name redacted- I have 0 clue what I'm doing now.

[@PhilippeOrlando]

Thanks a lot, very, very good tips, but please, get rid of the background music, if you call that music!