How To Manipulate Hue More Effectively In DaVinci Resolve

Exploring node-based color micro-management in the HSL color model

 In a perfect world, video files, DaVinci Resolve (and related tools), as well as our hardware (monitors and screens) all share the same color model – say, some RGB variant. From capture to final output, in this perfect world we’d never require mathematical transformations “under the hood” as our images are moved and manipulated.

But the real world isn’t perfect. Our video files are encoded in the Y’CbCr color model. Our monitors output in the RGB color space. And DaVinci Resolve, the middleman, works in YRGB – a ‘best of both worlds compromise.

However, Resolve’s compromise isn’t perfect, and some of Resolve’s tools are designed around the HSL color model. In the transform between (Y)RGB and HSL color models – stuff happens. What kind of stuff? All sorts… some negligible, others just taken for granted, but once in a while, there are corners where our images pay the price – such as hue adjustments.

Manipulating Hues more effectively

A student recently asked me why some hues don’t easily transition to others. Every colorist runs into this issue once in a while when trying to change from one color to another. So… Green becomes blue, and blue becomes red rather nicely – but try changing a nice bright blue or red to yellow or cyan, and you’ll get disappointing results.