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Colourist Comparison Pt 2: Comparing Workflows and Techniques
Colorists Kali Bateman CSI and Luke Ross reveal gritty details of their node trees - grading identical footage to the same creative brief.
Colorist Comparison - Two Colorists Grade The Same Footage
Explore two distinct approaches to color grading on one spot. Join Kali Bateman and Luke Ross as they dive deep into technique and workflow.
Recreating the Kong: Skull Island ‘Toxic Yellow’ Look
Exercise your grading skills by matching Kong: Skull Island's 'Toxic Yellow' look in DaVinci Resolve. Luke Ross shares his approach.
Color Grading 101 - Defeating the Tyranny Of The First Move
Is color grading mystifying because you have trouble getting similar results as the pros? Reboot your confidence with this new series.
Creative Look Inspiration - Wes Anderson's 'Asteroid City'
Build a low-contrast, targeted saturation look inspired by Wes Anderson’s 'Asteroid City', by learning how to evaluate the production stills.
Part 2 - Color Grading and Finishing 'Avatar: The Way of Water'
In Part 2 we dive into Tashi's color management pipeline, Resolve project setup, and the kind of color work he did on this VFX-heavy film.
Color Grading 'Avatar: The Way of Water' With Colorist Tashi Trieu
Get a detailed look at Colorist Tashi Trieu's work color grading 'Avatar: The Way of Water'. His background, gear, workflow & deliverables.
Adding Colour Contrast To Night Footage (in DaVinci Resolve)
Colorist Luke Ross demos a creative technique he used recently, adding colour contrast to make a night image pop using foreground separation.
Grading An Animated Film: Speeding Up The Fusion Composition
In Part 2 of this series, colorist Patrick Inhofer shows you how he enabled complex Fusion comps for real-time, interactive color grading.
Using Color Grading To Tell A Decades-Long Story
Colorist Joey D'Anna breaks down his color grade of an indie feature - showing how he executed the goals & technical challenges of this film.
Behind The Curtain - Building a HDR Ready Show Look
In this Insight Dan (well known for his gritty looks) tries to bring a bit of that style to a cleaner, HDR ready show look created in Baselight
Color Grading An Animated Short Film - Part 1
Colorist Patrick Inhofer shares a behind-the-scenes look at color grading an animated short film - and how it differs from live action.
Look Development Part 3: Sweetening The Color Palette
In the last installment of his series on the essentials of look development, Cullen Kelly guides you through the concept of preferential color mapping.
Colorist Inspiration – January 2021
Dan looks back at a rollercoaster 2020 and his most memorable moments. Then he looks forward to a new color grading suite he's building.
Behind The Curtain – GH5 Music Video In Baselight Part Two
How easy is it to do final finishing in Baselight? Dan shares his approach to adding titles, audio, compositing and rendering
Look Development: Part 1
Learn how to establish good color management and clear definitions for your look development workflow.
Help Matching These Shots, Please!
A member asked for some advice on matching two shots that had distinctly different looks. In this Mailbag, we discuss strategies for matching these shots.
Behind The Curtain - GH5 Music Video In Baselight
Grading a one-shot music video shot on the Panasonic GH5 was challenging. Check out this Insight to learn Dan's approach.
Working With Reference Images Part 3: Building The Look
Cullen shows how to put the analysis of reference images + analysis of shots on the timeline together to create a cohesive, matching look.
Working With Reference Images: Part 1
In part 1 of a new series, learn the essentials of how to interpret and read references for contrast, tonality, and other key factors.
The 10-Minute Grade: Global Contrast
In the first installment of a new series, Cullen Kelly shares his strategies for quickly getting a grade on its feet by creating global contrast
Three Strategies for Increasing Color Separation in DaVinci Resolve
Do your images need to look more colorful? In this Insight, learn 3 color separation tools for increasing perceptual colorfulness.
Grading Challenge – Baselight Sci-Fi Grade
In this insight Dan reviews your submissions and shares his own Sci-Fi look using primarily Baseilght Base Grade
Is the Disney + Series 'The Mandalorian' Fake HDR?
In this installment of From The Mailbag, we tackle a hot topic from the world of color grading this past week - is there such as thing as FAKE HDR?
Breaking Down A Black and White Film with a Violet Twist
Isolate an object in a black & white film, isolate its color, and use keys to shift hue, saturation, and gain. How hard can that be?
Resolve 15 New Color Page Features
In this Insight, colorist Joey D'Anna, fresh off demoing Resolve 15 at the Blackmagic booth at NAB 2018, shares his thoughts on the top new features that benefit the dedicated colorist the most in Resolve 15.
The Challenges (And Lessons Learned) Of Color Restoring Classic Films
The color restoration of classic films is one of the few 'Dark Arts' of digital color correction. Colorist Jim Wicks shares his challenges - and lessons learned - from this unforgiving niche of the craft of color grading.
Colorist Podcast Episode 019: 2017 Year In Review
In the last installment for 2017, the Colorist Podcast looks back at some key moments from the series this year with a year in review highlights episode
Can You Save This Shot? (while learning Resolve's Noise Reduction)
Download and color correct a challenging video clip - following the instructions of a supervising colorist. And learn about Resolve's noise reduction.
Grading Challenge - Reviewing My Car Brief Grades
In this insight Dan is reviewing your efforts on his car brief and also sharing his attempt at the shot to show his approach to the grade.
In Action: Working With The Key Mixer In DaVinci Resolve
In Part 2 of this series on working with alpha channels in DaVinci Resolve, learn how to use the Key Mixer to solve tricky a tricky problem on a commercial.
Creative Grading - Retro Sci-fi Look
Sometimes you have to go full cheese and pay homage to looks and films from the 70s and 80s. In this insight we create a retro Sci-Fi look
In Action: Working with Key Signals in DaVinci Resolve
Working with key signals in DaVinci Resolve isn't hard - but it's not intuitive either. Once you figure it out, it's also a power feature. Learn more.
Find Your Color Correct Inspiration -Best Colorist Nominations 2017
Dan Moran shares his thoughts on the best commercial color grade nominations 2016. Top work from excellent colorists are great sources of ideas.
From The Grading Room - Are We Sterilizing Images?
Now that most people have a basic knowledge of color correction thanks to Instagram what does that mean for us colorists?
From The Grading Room – Knowing When To Start From Scratch
Sometimes when grading you end up going in totally the wrong direction have to just stop what your doing and start from scratch.
Feature Inspired Color Grading Looks - Blade Runner 2049
Inspired by the Blade Runner 2049 trailer Dan shares his attempt at recreateing the intense warm washed look.
Colorist Podcast Episode 08
In this episode of the colorist podcast, Josh talks to industry veteran/legend Dale Grahn about his storied career & many other subjects
The Look Of 'Westworld' & Look Creation Philosophies
Robbie, Pat, and Dan discusses the look of the series 'Westworld' and our look creation philosophies when color grading.
Why We Love LUTs and How To Replace Your LUT Addiction
Most of us love to use LUTs behind closed doors. Dan shares his thoughts on why and how to break out of needing LUTs
How To Quickly Generate Color Correction Ideas At The Start Of A Session
Are you having problems deciding how to attack color correcting your images? Learn how to quickly generate ideas in this video.
Matching Pantone References - And When To Say No
Matching Pantone references to video can be tricky at the best of the times. Get advice on getting that exact match - even if it's not precisely correct.
An Interview with Professional Colorist Rob Bessette
In Episode 6 of the Colorist Podcast, Josh Petok talks to commercial colorist Rob Bessette about his career, grading commercials & more!
Colorist Inspiration – August 2016
The summer vacations are winding to a close, the kids are returning back to school and the post industry is winding up for that crazy blur that is the September…
From The Grading Room – Radiohead
Dan shares his story from the grading room on grading a short promo project for radiohead
Colorist Inspiration – July 2016
Dan shares his top grades from July as a source of great colorist inspiration
Dirty Color Grading Looks - Taking Your Image To The Limit
Dan shares his techniques for taking your image to the brightness, saturation, and sharpness limits while maintaining legal levels.
Bad TV: Essential Steps For Creating The Bad TV Look
Every once and a while you'll need to create a stylized bad TV or surveillance camera look. In this Insight learn how.
Dirty Looks: Early '00s Looks
Dan shares some looks from his past focusing on two Early '00s looks in particular. One home digital camera one heavy 35mm music video
Dirty Looks - Emulating Early Film Looks with Light Leaks
Early film looks are a very popular request from clients.They can be tricky to build quickly so Dan shares his DRX files that you can download
From The Grading Room – Wonderful Life
Dan shares parts of his conversation about the grade on recent wonderful life commercial grade.
Dirty Looks - Pushing Your Images Toward Extreme Warmth
Some projects call out for extreme warmth to help back up the story. Learn methods to get an extremely warm feel that looks real.
Inspiration - Color Grading Methods In A Fashion Commercial
Get an inside look on methods and techniques a professional digital video colorist uses on a short-form fashion commercial.
Shot Matching Challenge – Match My Shot Part 2
Dan shares his node breakdown from his match my shot challenge including a downloadable Resolve project
Shot Matching Challenge – Match My Shot Part 1
Shot Matching – The Challenge I had an eye-opening experience in my grading suite this week. Some clients of mine asked me to match grade some new shots that were…
Showreel 2016 – Who Is Your Target Audience?
It's time to cut your reel and Dan shares his advice on his Showreel 2016
Colorist Inspiration - February 2016
Dan rounds up the best colorist inspiration from February 2016 with some of the best grades from the new year so far.
Look Inspiration - Getting the 70s TV Inspired Retro Look
There is a time in every colorist’s life when we need to add some retro 70s TV vibes to footage! This insight is based on both creating a parody of…
Look Inspiration - Adding To The Narrative In A Flashback
Sometimes we need to add more to our image to sell a flashback. Dan shares his tips for a firey look and adding diffusion and motion blur.
Look Inspiration - B&W Looks
Dan shares two of his favourite B&W Looks and the DRX files for you to download
Look Inspiration - Colorized Film Look
Dan shares his look and drx files for a Colorized Film Look
Colorist Inspiration – Dan’s Best Of 2015
Day 16: 25 Insights in 25 Days Holiday Marathon Colorist Inspiration – Dan’s Best Of 2015 As the year comes to an end I thought it would be the perfect…
Look Inspiration - Getting the Classic ENR Processed Look
Dan shares his ENR processed look with his nodes and footage to grade along with at home.
Look Inspiration - Executing the Cold Commercial Look
A cold commercial look can help bring bright natural commercial into a moody and grungy world
Skin Tone Essentials
In this Insight, Dan guides you through key aspects of getting proper skin tone in your grade.
Look Inspiration - Red Filtered B&W
Dan shares his thoughts on how to emulate shooting black and white with a red filter on front of the lens to give an interesting look.
Look Inspiration - Warm Commercial Look
Dan shares his attempt at matching the shot on 35mm film warm commercial look of one of his favorite commercials this year.
How to Build a Color Correction Demo Reel, Part 2
Watch a professional colorist share his process for creating a 3-minute Color Correction Demo Reel - including missteps.
Colorist Inspiration - November
Its time for the big christmas ads to roll out and more colorist inspiration. Dan share's some of the top work and one of his own.
How to Build a Color Correction Demo Reel
A Demo Reel attracts clients—but is it the 'right' kind of client? Learn to build a color correction demo reel that builds your career.
Finding Opportunities When Color Correcting
How do you stay creative when you're not feeling creative? Learn how one professional is always finding opportunities when color correcting.
Look Inspiration - Hyperreal Look
We all strive to create the most cinematic looking images possible but sometimes its fun to go for a harsh hyperreal sharp bright look.
Color Correction Breakdown: Solving Problems
In color correction we're solving problems. Sometimes they're handed to us, sometimes they're problems we created. See examples of both.
Tales From The Grading Suite - Lighting The Looks
When jobs look good you wonder why your own work might not look as good. In this insight Dan shares his thoughts on Lighting The Looks.
Creating a 'Film Look' and Managing Film Grain
Breaking down the color correction for a 'webisode' and creating a 'Film Look'. Plus, ideas for managing film grain.
Tales From The Grading Suite - Pains In The LUT
Dan shares recent issues from his grading suite and focuses on noise and keying issues when working with a lut on recent jobs
Using Resolve's 'Layer Mixer' to Switch Between Looks
If you need to switch between different Looks in a single shot, learn how to use DaVinci Resolve's 'Layer Mixer' node for fine-tuned control.
Colorist Inspiration - Best Color Grade Nominations
The 2015 Best Color Grade nominations are out and Dan wants to know who you would vote for and award best music video grade of 2015!
Advanced Key-Framing Tips: A Color Correction Breakdown
Learn advanced key-framing techniques as we break down a color correction of a short film for a real-life haunted house.
Look Inspiration - Metallic Monochrome
Sometimes you need to go hard and contrasty with black and white and Dan shares his experience when building a metallic monochrome look
Colorist Inspiration - September 2015
Septembers most memorable grades roll in and dan shares the best work he has seen from young colorists including one of his own!
Colorist Inspiration: August 2015 MixingLight.com
Colorist Inspiration – August 2015 The Best Grades From Around The World The world of color grading is mostly a thankless craft. Regular viewers don’t even know we exist and most…
Rebooting Your Eyes : How To Step Back From Your Grade
Rebooting Your eyes can be tricky after spending hours, days or even weeks on a project. Dan shares how to refresh your eyes for a grade.
Anatomy Of A Commercial Color Grade
The question of how to commercials look so good crops up constantly. Dan shares the in and outs of a grading session to show you how
Grade Breakdown - Challenge Your Imagination
In this insight Dan shares a Grade Breakdown on a recent commercial to challenge you to use your eyes to notice all his grades
Using DaVinci Resolve's Curves To Deconstruct A Look
In this Insight, contributor Josh Petok shows a straight forward but very effective way to use Resolve's curves to deconstruct a look.
Damage Control - Working With Tricky DSLR Footage
Working with Tricky DSLR footage can be frustrating. Dan pulls out some awful clips from his archive and does his best to fix them.
Rendering Filtered Timelines in DaVinci Resolve
Rendering filtered timelines in DaVinci Resolve is a two-step process... Learn how to get it done.
Color Correction Workflow: Seeing Like Your Client
What's a quick and efficient color correction workflow when collaborating with a client? Part 1 shows you, using Resolve's Grouping feature.
Colorist Look Inspiration - Car Commercials
How do they make car commercials look so polished and refined? Dan shows you some common techniques used on a car commercial.
Colorist Inspiration - The Best UK Commercials of 2014
We take a look at the Best UK Commercials of 2014 in the world of uk color grading.
Advanced Beauty Grading Part Two : The Fashion Look
Time to take the image into the next level with a fashion look in part two of the series on advanced beauty grading.
Advanced Beauty Grading Part One
Advanced Beauty Grading is quite a dark art in the world of color grading. Dan shows you his approach to beauty grading on a commercial.
Photochemical Grading - Part Two
In part two of this series Dan dives into Resolve and tries out the methods first hand. Enjoying the restrictions and relief of grading.
Adding Some Clarity: 3 Different Methods
The clarity slider in some Adobe apps is a popular way to add a little pop or punch to a shot. Learn 3 methods for emulating this control.
Photochemical Grading - Part One
Have you ever wondered why Christopher Nolan uses color timing instead of a DI for his grades? We take a look at the color timing world
4 Ways To Create The Leave Color Behind Look
The leave color behind look is something every colorist should have in their tool kit. Learn 4 different methods for creating this look.
Selectively Apply The "Instagram" Look With YSFX
YSFX tools in Resolve can be used to create vintage looks especially when combined with selectively applying them. Learn this technique now
Color Correction Breakdown - Spanning the Ages
Commercial Breakdown - Rolo. Dan shares another instalment of his series of behind the scenes insights. We build looks for different eras.
Look Library - Halloween Slasher
Dan shows you how he built a Halloween Slasher Look inspired by classic 80s movies for a recent teaser commercial for Halloween.
Advanced Windows - Multiple Windows & Tracking
Using multiple windows and tracking them into your scene gives you total control of your image and allows you to build powerful looks.
UKMVA's Best Color
Dan showcases the best of the best in UKMVA's Best Color grading award catagory.
Commercial Breakdown - Smirnoff
Dan takes a look at his latest commercial grade and shares the thinking and techniques behind the grades.
Colorist Inspiration - Dave Hussey
We visit the colour grading work of Company 3 master colorist Dave Hussey – rock star colourist and all round awesome guy
Circuit Training - From Camera Rushes To Final Look
Dan breaks down a shot from camera rushes to final look. He shares the good the bad and the ugly grades from starting point to final grade.
How to make Blown-Out Highlights Look Intentional
Frequently we need to make blown-out highlights in our videos look intentional. I demonstrate doing that using Lens Flares from Sapphire 7.
Narrative Grading - Time Of Day
In this insight dan takes you through a journey of setting the time of day in a scene. The flow of the story is key when setting a time.
Narrative Color Grading: Practice Your Craft By Setting Time Periods
Have you ever had to build a look that helps put a shot into a certain era? Learn how to approach this challenge - and download a 6K RED Dragon shot to give it a shot and share with us.
A Straightforward Approach To Creating Blurred or Glowing Highlights
Learn how to quickly create a blurred or glowing highlights look using DaVinci Resolve
Adding Grain Efficiently Using The Overlay Blending Mode
Adding grain can be hard to manage in Resolve but handy to have in your 'toolbox'. Dan shows you a simple way to add grain, without a plugin.
How to create a light, airy feel by dropping the midtones
Are you having trouble getting bright, happy images that aren't also feeling flat? Learn how I get around this by dropping the midtones.
Reference Images - Matching To A Reference
Reference Images - Matching To A Reference. Have you ever had to match your footage to a famous movie or photo? Dan will show you how.
Colorist Circut Training Part 2
In Colorist Circuit Training Part 2 we take a look at a sample exercise where Dan assesses his grades to find the best version.
Double Side Technique: Getting Aggressive with Complementary Colors
Learn how the Double Side Technique can help you to create more dynamic color corrections on flat or boring shots. This simple technique can generate multitudes of stylized Looks.
Analysing Your Footage : Pieces To Camera
Get the most out of your 'Pieces To Camera' (on-camera Stand-Ups) using power windows and curves on footage that needs to look normal.
Techniques for Color Correcting Long Steadicam Shots
Color correcting long steadicam shots can be a challenge. Learn how a professional colorist cracks this nut with shapes, tracking and keyframes.
Color Correcting With Blending Modes : Using the Add & Screen Modes
In Part 2 of this series you learn how to use the Add and Screen blending modes to create glows, texture or light leaks to your moving images.
How To Creatively Use DaVinci Resolve's Splitter-Combiner Nodes
Learn how you can easily add some fun 'video distortion' to a music video or commercial using some creative Splitter-Combiner techniques in DaVinci Resolve.
Color Correcting A Film Trailer: Simple Compositing (in DaVinci Resolve)
Can you perform simple compositing in DaVinci Resolve? Yes. Plus, you can use blending modes and alpha channels to add visual effects or graphics.
Basic Visual Effects & Online Editing in DaVinci Resolve 10
Learn how to perform basic online editing tasks in DaVinci Resolve 10. This tutorial looks at compositing, titles and Sapphire plug-ins.
Color Correcting A Fake Film Trailer: Grading RED Dragon Footage
In this installment of the Fake Film Trailer, I start color correcting Red Dragon footage. It's my first time working with this camera.
Color Correction Time Management: Grading in Passes
It's easy to get lost in the weeds when color correcting. Learn a Color Correction Time Management technique that keeps you from missing deadlines!
How To Create a Dream Sequence Look: 'Heavenly Whites'
The Dream Sequence Look is commonly requested. You learn how to create a 'Heavenly White' Look for an indie feature film—and try it out on your next job. No plug-ins, just the standard tools you'll find in most software.