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A Deep Dive Into Rendering H.264 & H.265 from DaVinci Resolve

Mixing Light contributor and freelance colorist Luke Ross takes a deep dive into H.264 & H.265 render options on a Mac and PC in Resolve.

Upgrade Your Toolkit: Create Custom Highlight & Shadow Controls

Learn how to create a custom highlight roller tools tailored to your creative needs inside DaVinci Resolve.

Filmmaker Michael Henry - Being color blind in a visual industry

The Color Timer learns to turn a limited visual color palette into creative strength with professional insights from a color-blind filmmaker.

15 Minutes with Tattoo Artist Jhon Gutti - The Color Timer Podcast

What does an award-winning tattoo artist have to say about color? Special guest Jhon Gutti talks about shades of gray in his craft and art.

15 Minutes With Legendary Colorist Peter Doyle

The Color Timer Podcast speaks with legendary colorist Peter Doyle on the nature of color, metameric failure, and the 'why' of every grade.

The Color Timer Interview With High-End Colorist - Rory Gordon

In the first episode of a new podcast, colorist Vincent Taylor chats with Colorist Rory Gordon about painting, color clocks, & color science.

How To Manipulate Hue More Effectively In DaVinci Resolve

Learn how to dramatically improve your Hue vs. Hue adjustments in DaVinci Resolve by changing a node's color model - and why this works.

Using Custom Curves To Emulate Fill-Light Adjustments

Sometimes you want to 'open up' the shadows as if you added a bounce card or fill light to the scene. Custom curves make this easy.

Deconstructing Blur, Mist, and Unsharp Mask Operations

In Part 3 of Hector Berrebi's 'Texture Management' series, learn what blur is doing to your images and build an Unsharp Mask using nodes.

An Introduction to Texture Management (using DaVinci Resolve)

In the start of a new series, colorist & educator Hector Berrebi defines the terms and tools of the important concept: Texture Management.

Creating And Evaluating PowerGrade Tools - Tips and Tricks

Colorist Jason Bowdach teaches you his approach to developing and evaluating technical PowerGrades (and how it helps your creative grading).

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

Demystifying The Horseshoe - A Guided Dive Into The 1931 CIE Chart

We've all seen the 1931 CIE RGB Chromaticity Chart but do you understand its importance to film and video? How does it map to human vision?

Creative Coding With DCTL: Part 3

In part 3 of this ongoing series, with foundational knowledge in place, start coding your first DCTL a colorist Cullen Kelly guides you step by step.

Creative Coding With DCTL: Part 2

In Part 2 of his series on coding DCTLs, Cullen Kelly covers some additional setup and tools you'll need to successfully build DCTLs

Creative Coding With DCTL: Part 1

Cullen Kelly kicks off a new exciting series about DCTL coding. Learn the vocabulary, syntax, and techniques to create DCTLs to aid your color grading.

Webinar: The Birth Of Color Photography & The RGB Color Process

Help us celebrate the 160th Anniversary of the color photograph, its history, and the RGB color model! Presented by colorist Hector Berrebi.

Color Grading Challenge – Tri-X Style Black & White

Dan briefs you on a Black & White Tri-X look. If you grade to his brief and post in the comments, he'll play 'client' and offer feedback.

HDR Palette - Using Multiple Zones, Contrast, Presets, Global Control

In Part 2 of this series, we dig deeper into the HDR Palette and continue exploring its differences from the traditional Primaries Palette.

HDR Essentials: Vocabulary & Workflow Webinar

In this Mixing Light Webinar replay, join Mixing Light co-founder Robbie Carman as he explores HDR essentials, including vocabuarly & workflow

ACES and DaVinci Resolve 101 Webinar - Understanding the Workflow

Are you confused about what is ACES? What is it used for? How do you use and implement ACES within DaVinci Resolve? This webinar is for you.

Baselight Start to Finish - Series Overview Kodachrome Inspired Look

An introduction into building a Kodachrome inspired look on Arri Alexa footage using Basegrade, Looks, Grain and Color Crosstalk

Grading Challenge – Modern Sci-Fi Brief

Dan plays client and dishes out a grade brief for a Modern Sci-Fi film that he'd like you to execute. Remember there are no wrong looks!

Color Grading In Spectachrome Part 2 - Working With The Fuji XT-3

Working with new cameras is always a challenge. Get an inside look at what Dan does when working with the Fuji XT-3 camera

Color Grading 'Origins' In Baselight - Project Overview

In this new series, Dan's grading the short film 'Origins' (using Baselight). It's got VFX, ACES, multiple deliverables (and light sabers).

Why Is Color Grading So Hard (and what can you do about it)?

Do you doubt your ability to color correct moving images? Are you constantly re-doing your work? Learn what's going wrong and how to fix it.

Color Grading In Spectachrome - Starting With Grain

Dan answers some comments from members about why he adds his grain to the image at the very beginning of his node graph

Understanding the Future of Color Grading - Part 4

The film and television production and distribution pipeline is quickly evolving to support wide color gamuts. What's pushing this change?

ACES in Action Part 2 - Breaking Down the Imaging Pipeline

In Part 2 of this Series, learn the details of an indie film navigating ACES between DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, and After Effects.

ACES Color Correction in Action: An Indie Case Study Part 1

The ACES color management workflow is a key technology for major Hollywood productions. Learn how an Indie film implemented ACES.

My Favourite New Feature In Resolve 16 - Analog Damage ResolveFX

Dan shares his thoughts on recreating tape based artifacts using the brand new Resolve 16 Analog Damage tool.

Understanding The Future Of Color Grading - HDR and 'Presence'

In Part 3 of this series, you learn about the evolution of digital video from Standard- to High- Dynamic Range. Why is it here to stay?

Look Inspiration - Emulating VHS Camcorder Footage

What's harder than faking a VHS-look from a high-end camera? Intercutting that look with actual crummy VHS. Learn one way to do it.

What Is A CDL And When Do You Use It?

Take an introductory look at the Color Decision List (CDL) and learn about the strengths and weaknesses of an ASC-CDL based workflow.

The Future of Work: Can computers be creative (and take your career)?

Creativity makes us human. What is the place of AI in this area? If computers become too human, will we become just machines?

Behind The Curtain - Not So Near-Set Grading

Dan shares his story from a recent "not so near-set grade" for an upcoming collaboration with friends on a short film.

Behind The Curtain - 16mm Style Grade Part Three

Dan is back in part three of his unfiltered look at a recent grade. In this part we take a look at matching the externals in this 16mm style

Elsewhere On The Web: The Fall 2018 Edition

These 'don't miss' color grading related articles and videos are culled from 2018's 4th quarter of the weekly curated Tao Colorist Newsletter.

Behind The Curtain - 16mm Style Grade Part One

Dan shares the opening part to his full unfiltered look at how he graded a music video in a 16mm film style.

Behind The Curtain - Cleaning Up For 2019

Dan shares his thoughts on trying to clean up his grades in 2019 and moving away from his favourite film emulation techniques.

Behind The Curtain - 80s Release Print Dirt & Texture

Finding the right balance of noticable and realistic is always a challenge. Dan shares behind the curtain on a film release print style grade.

Color Correcting With Blending Modes -Recovering Highlights With Multiply

Dan shares his technique of using the multiply blending mode to recover highlights easily and naturally via a layer node.

Understanding The Future Of Post Production and Color Grading: Part 1

Digital video post production and color grading is rapidly advancing. Which technologies do you need to prepare for? And why?

Behind The Curtain - Liberty Commercials: Adding Depth To Drone Footage

Drone footage is a very common occurance on timelines these days. Dan shares his techniques for adding depth to the footage.

Behind The Curtain - Liberty Commercials Sun vs No Sun

Sometimes we are gifted with better sun than other times. In this Insight Dan shares his experience on a job shot over multiple months.

Colorist Inspiration July 2018: Beyond the Usual Suspects

For Dan's Inspiration July 2018 he shares his list of top colorists inspiring him in the summer of 2018 with their amazing grading work.

Elsewhere On The Web: Managing Saturation, Live HDR, Resolve Fusion (& more)

Summer 2018 round-up of don't-miss color correction tutorials from other websites (with commentary). We wish we had them here, first.

Rediscover The Basics - Fixing Exposure Shifts

Exposure shifts creep up in projects regularly. With the right node structure and correct technique you can easily fix these in seconds.

How To (Improperly) Export LUTs in DaVinci Resolve 15

Learn the 'rules' when exporting LUTs in DaVinci Resolve 15. You also learn how to break a LUT to understand the problems with many LUTs.

Behind The Curtain - Live Concert Grade

Dan shares a tale of things going a bit wrong on a live concert grade w/ high powered LED lights and how moving over to ACES solved things.

Colorist Toolbox 2.0 - Building A Look Library 2018

The only person that is going to inspire you is yourself. A Look Library surrounds you with inspiration keeping you motivated and current.

Inspired By Lacoste, Timeless - Learning From An Award Winning Grade

What makes an award-winning grade so special? Dan attempts to break down what made the Lacoste, Timeless commercial so special and how we can pick up some tips to use on our own grades.

How Hard Is It To Export A 'Broken LUT' from DaVinci Resolve?

In an earlier Insight, you learned how to Stress Test your Look Up Tables (LUTs) to discover if they are introducing artifacts in your images. In this Insight, learn how easy (or hard) it is to generate 'broken LUTs' in DaVinci Resolve.

Is Your LUT Damaging Your Image? How To Do A LUT Stress Test

Look-Up Tables (LUTs) are black boxes that make it difficult to know what precisely they're doing to your image. Colorist Jason Bowdach shows you how to stress test and evaluate your LUTs.

Practical Beauty Color Grading Level One: Quick and Effective

Sometimes even offering the smallest level of beauty work for a client can go a long way. Learn quick skin-smoothing / eyebag-reducing tips .

Practical Beauty Work - Why You Need To Be Offering It

Beauty work and re-touching can be a great additional source of income as a freelance colourist. Dan shares his thoughts and kicks off a new series on getting involved in retouching.

Inspired by Mini 2018 - How One Colorist Emulates A Vintage Look

We've all seen amazing commercials and films that inspire us, but how do we turn that into color corrections that we can use on our own projects? Dan shares his approach to being inspired by a recent award-nominated color grade.

Colorist Inspiration -Best Colorist Nominations 2018

Dan Moran shares his thoughts on the best commercial color grade nominations 2018. Top work from excellent colorists are great sources of ideas.

A Filmmakers Guide to Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

The buzzwords at NAB 2018 were Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. This Insight is an introduction to those terms (for filmmakers). Learn how to put those buzzwords in context; and how they inform you about the technology being discussed.

Behind The Curtain - Can You Prebuild An Ideal Node Structure?

Can you prebuild a perfect node structure and use it to speed up your grading? Dan is taking a deep dive to find out how well it works, and if it's a genius idea or a total waste of time.

From The Grading Room – Is Yellow The New Orange?

In the last couple of years there has been a shift away from teal and orange to teal and yellow. Dan investigates that transition and looks at his own grades. He also asks do you miss teal and orange?

Behind The Curtain - Refining and Enhancing 'Bread'

In this insight, we take a look at the final pass on the bread short film. Dan looks at his matching with fresh eyes, checks his black and white levels and decides on the sharpening and grain levels of the film.

Behind The Curtain - Shot Matching 'Bread'

In part two of grading the bread short film, Dan dives into the matching side of things. Although it's the least glamorous part of grading it's also the most important.

Behind The Curtain - Bread Short Film Part One

In this new series, Dan is showing a real-time grade of the bread short film he graded recently. Shot in less than ideal conditions with natural light on a compressed camera, it's a great chance to see the good the bad and the ugly from the grading suite.

Behind the Curtain - Commercial #2: From Base Grade to Final Look

In this Insight, Dan covers another of his behind the curtain commercials. This time we look at a bright morning kitchen scene. In this real-world assessment and grade, Dan focuses on getting a bright airy feel without losing on the filmic sense.

Behind the Curtain - Commercial #1: From Base Grade to Final Look

Dan returns to his Behind The Curtain series with a real-time insight that shows his approaches to this commercial grade. He covers primaries, look theory, shot matching and Look refinement.

Grading A Short Film Part 2 - Testing The Feel Of The Footage

Dan shares his assessment of how to get the feel of the footage before you speak to the director. It helps when you can be upfront about what is and isn't possible.

Grading A Short Film Part 1 - Download The Footage

Dan is excited to launch a new series on Mixing Light that will feature a briefing from the real director of the project. In this intro Insight, download some RED 8k footage to attempt a grade before getting creative brief from the client.

Elsewhere On the Web... Insights You Shouldn't Miss 'Out There'

Our focus in our Insights Color Correction Library is on creating original content. But sometimes we see original thoughts on other websites that you need to read. In this post, we share a few of those don't-miss insights from the internet.

What Not To Do When A Client Asks For A New Direction

Dan shares a tale from the grading room of a film emulation gone wrong and how by missing the mistake was destined to fail in the grade with his clients.

Hollywood Restoration and Remastering: Colorist Marc Wielage

Film restoration and remastering is a specialty in the craft of color grading. Learn how a Hollywood colorist handles its unique challenges?

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.

Building A Show LUT to Keep Your Looks Consistent

When you have complex node trees, rolling it into a show LUT can make your life. Learn how to build your own LUT for your project.

Colorist Inspiration - January 2018 Edition

Colorist Dan Moran spends the first day of January 2018 looking back on his best work from 2017. Picking his favourite commercials, music videos and long form narrative projects and also sharing the stories behind when he enjoyed them so much.

Fixing VFX Colorspace Issues In A Problematic Pipeline

VFX colorspace issues are the last thing you need when you are on a tight deadline. Dan shares his experience solving issues like these.

Grade Rescue - Saving A DSLR Moving Portrait

Dan filmed some bad footage on his 7D with the wrong color temperature, harsh lighting & heavy compression. He offers up his best effort on a grade rescue.

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.

Color Grading Challenge - Beauty Grading Review

Dan critiques your beauty grading entries and shares his attempt. The challenge was quite advanced and the results are great. Dan's DRX is also downloadable

Grading Challenge - Beauty Grading Brief

Beauty grading is a discipline all on its own. Dan shares a typical client brief and will offer stages of feedback like a real world client

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.

Thinking Like A Colorist - The "Final Grade"

An old school technique that is still regularly used today in commercials. Having a break between grading the same footage has huge advantages.

How do you choose Gamma 2.2 vs Gamma 2.4 when color correcting?

When you start delving into the finer points of color correction you'll eventually learn about Gamma 2.2 vs Gamma 2.4. Learn how to choose between them.

Eye Training : Diagnose and Compare

In a new series Dan shares his guide to training your eye for contrast issues. Follow this four step process to learn how to diagnose and fix your images

Grading Challenge - Follow My Brief

Following a brief for unattended grades can be incredibly difficult. Dan sets up a virtual client grade and will give feedback on your grade in the comments

Colorist Inspiration – August 2017

Dan is turning 30 and shares his work from across the years to show how his grading has evolved and improved year after year

Thinking Like A Colorist - Assessing Tonal Range

Dan shares his new approach to Assessing Tonal Range and the initial grading moves by asking. Are you trying to make it look better or different?

Creative Color Grading - Blending LUTs | Mixing Light

Some jobs just call for the grade to be turned up to 11. A fun way to do this is by blending multiple LUTs together and enjoying the happy accidents!

Dust Busting - Removing Dirt In Resolve

Dust Busting in one of those tools you don't know exists in Resolve. Dan shares his tips on how and when to use it in the grade

From The Grading Room – Grading Lucy Rose

Dan shares the behind the scenes thoughts that go into such a stylised 70s era music video for Lucy Rose. 80% in camera and 20% in the grade

From The Grading Room – A Tribute To An Icon

Sometimes we need to go outside our role as traditional colorist. Dan shares his story form his work paying tribute to an icon

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

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?

Colorist Inspiration – March 2017

Dan shares his inspiration for this month including BTS on Moonlight, Peter Doyle, A$AP Rocky and a Lorde video shot on 16mm

Becoming A Better Colorist - Stop Focusing On Individual Shots

We should be spending more time looking at the timeline as a whole than focusing on shots. Nobody ever watches a single shot!

Skin Tone Essentials: Hands, Arms, Legs and Feet Part One

Have you ever considered hands or legs when doing a beauty grade? We spend hours on faces but the skin should match all over the body.

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.

Lens Profiling - What Is It And Why Could It Be Useful?

Is lens profiling something we should be looking at as colorists or is it a lot of extra effort to save a small amount of time in the grade?

Feature Grading: Getting Started

Getting started on a feature film can be a daunting process. Dan shares his experience on getting the ball rolling slowly and carefully

How to Color Match using Color Charts with RAW (or LOG) Footage

DaVinci Resolve's 'Color Match' is terrific for Color Charts recorded on-set. Learn the tricks to this feature if your Footage is RAW or Log.

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.

How To Prepare And Quote A Bid To Color Grade A Feature Film

Dan jumps from commercials to features in this series and shares his guide to getting organized and plan for efficient feature grading

Developing Looks And Settling On Your Exposure Levels

In How I Grade Part Two Dan shares more steps in his grading process. We look at auditioning looks and checking the correct exposure

How A Colorist Makes Decisions Through The Grading Process

Dan attempts to walk through his thoughts when grading step by step from quality control to setting the first primary correction

Sky Replacement - Is It An Essential Skill For Colorists?

If a client asks for a sky replacement; as a colourist, should you? If so, how? Plus a tip on where to start when evaluating a sequence.

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

Creating Haze To Add Depth To Your Image Without Using Shapes

Using Haze as a grading tool is an alternative method to using Vignettes. Making things lower contrast helps them sit back in the image.

Finishing In Resolve - Reframing, Blanking & Delivering

Reframing in Resolve as become common practice. Dan shares his approach to finishing in the box and shares his tips and tricks

Creating the Classic Black and White Look By Thinking Like A Colorist

Dan shares the skills he learned in the darkroom and how he applies them to grading black and white in DaVinci Resolve

Thinking Like A Colorist: Breaking Down the Western Scene

Download the footage and follow along as professional Colorist Dan Moran, CSI color corrects a classic shot in the style of a Hollywood Western Look.

Thinking Like A Colorist - Color Correcting A Forest Scene

Colorist Dan Moran shares a color correction breakdown on how he approaches a new shot, sight unseen. How to make it an alien planet or a shed in a garden?

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.

Warm Looks: Yellow Warmth Vs Red Warmth (which are you?)

Warm looks don't always have to be rosy red and cozy looking. Take a look at a non-traditional warm color and learn how to add it to your color toolkit.

From Client Hard Drive to XML Export: Prepping a Timeline

If you need to move a timeline from Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro for color grading or finishing then learn how to prep it for an XML Export.

Getting To Know ACES Part 4: The Latest In ACES Updates

Continuing our introductory series on ACES, you learn about the latest updates to ACES, including a working color space added to the ACES 1.03 specficiation: ACEScct. Plus, how it effects DaVinci Resolve colorists.

From The Grading Room - Behind The Looks of 2016 UK Best Nominated Commercials

First, explore the list of the UK's 2016 Best Nominated Commerials - then ask a professional colorist to breakdown how they achieved their Looks.

White Balancing Shots and Solving Common Problems

Learn how to white balance shots with mixed color temperatures. Plus, how to deal with subtle color balance issues.

How To White Balance Shots Using Common Color Correction Tools

Watch how to White Balance (or Color Balance) digital video images. You'll explore 4 different tools and learn their differences.

Thinking Like A Colorist - Considering Final Contrast Pt 1

Considering Final Contrast before you make your first primary correction is a huge advantage creatively to help you get the best results

Getting To Know ACES Part 2: More Terms & Resolve Setup

Start digging deeper into ACES terms and acronyms that will have you sounding like a pro. And you learn how to set up ACES in DaVinci Resolve.

Getting To Know ACES Part 1: Introduction

ACES (Academy Color Encoding Specification) is a professional color management system used by productions of all types. In Part 1, you learn about the problem it solves and basic terminology.

Color Grading with the ResolveFX Lens Flare Plug-in

Dan shares his experimentation with the idea of grading using lens flares for subtle lighting effects to help match and lift scenes.

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

Should You Go For That Film Look Or Embrace The Digital Clean Look?

Sometimes going for the film look is not the right decision. Dan shares his tips on going digital to give us great punchy sharp images.

How to Protect Skin Tones While Color Grading with a Heavy Look

When working with heavy looks we sometimes forget about protecting skin tone and making our artist/actor look as good as possible

How to (mostly) Fix RGB Gamut Excursions in Software

If you're color correcting digital video for professional distribution, nothing is worse than having it rejected for RGB Gamut excursions!

How to Color Grade With Client Revisions In Mind

Sometimes we get lost in the heat of the moment and over complicate our grades. Dan shares his tips for responsible grading when time is short

Conform Issues Database – Introduction

Conforming timelines can be time-consuming before you even start color correcting. Learn the common issues (and how to fix them).

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.

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

Dirty Looks - Looks Throughout The Ages

At some point in every colorists career you will be asked to make some looks throughout the ages like 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s. Dan shares how.

Colorist Inspiration – June 2016

Summer has arrived and the annual down turn in business begins. My clients first head off to the cannes lions festival and then off on their summer holidays. It’s the…

Dirty Looks – To Grain Or Not To Grain

Adding grain can help add a wonderful cinematic feel to a project but in the world of heavy compression is it a smart decision?

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.

Getting Started with Lightspace DPS - Do You Need To Calibrate?

'Does my color correction display need recalibration?' Getting Started with Lightspace DPS (a free app) helps you answer that question.

Reference Display Profiling: Is Your Display Accurate?

If you do video color correction, do you know if your reference display is accurate? Learn how to find out. The first video in a series.

Colorist Inspiration – April 2016

NAB is over and a whole heap of new tools and toys have arrived for us colorists. The perfect time for another installment of colorist inspiration. This installment is slightly…

From The Grading Room Grading Underwater Footage

Grading underwater footage is like grading footage from an alien planet. Dan shares his approach and technique for working in that world

Shot Matching 101 - Techniques for Matching Black Levels

In this insight dan shares his approach and methods to matching black levels. Matching is hard but with practice you can become much faster!

4 Things To Know About Working With Look Up Tables

Using Luts in a color correction workflow is common, but everything doesn't always worked as planned. Learn 4 ways to work around look up table limitations

Shot Matching - Learning Through A Commercial Case Study

Dan shares a job as a commercial case study in shot matching - from pristine stock footage to constantly changing clouds.

Showreel 2016 – Who Is Your Target Audience?

It's time to cut your reel and Dan shares his advice on his Showreel 2016

Working with LUTs in Premiere Pro - Part 1

Learn how to color correct with LUTs in Premiere Pro and the Lumetri Panel. Especially if your color correcting with RAW-, Log- or flat- recorded images.

An Introduction into Shot Matching

Shot Matching is one of the hardest areas of being a colorist. Dan shares his approach to going head to head with mismatched shots.

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. 

Data Levels or Video Levels — How To Choose Wisely

DaVinci Resolve allows you to choose between 'video levels' and 'data levels'. Learn how to choose wisely and if you should be making a choice at all?

Look Inspiration - Inspiration From Unlikely Sources

Sometimes inspiration can strike in the strangest of places. In this insight Dan shares how he finds inspiration from unlikely sources.

Look Inspiration - Bond Movie Inspired Retro Look

Dan shares his attempt and look inspiration in DaVinci of a fabulous Bond movie inspired 35mm film look from the music video Genghis Khan by Miike Snow.

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 - 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.

Christmas Clean Up: Refresh Your System

In this Insight Dan explores some things to think about when it comes to doing a refresh of your system.  

Skin Tone Essentials

In this Insight, Dan guides you through key aspects of getting proper skin tone in your grade.  

Colorist Inspiration - Adding Sunshine

Adding Sunshine In post can be tricky but Dan shares his techniques in DaVinci resolve to turn dull and grey images into warm and sunny!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Tales From The Grading Suite - DP Colorist Communications

Have you ever wondered what it's like to speak to a DP before a job is shot? Dan shares a real world discussion on a tricky job.

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…

Color correcting raw footage using Camera Raw controls

DaVinci Resolve provides RAW controls for color correcting raw footage. Here are three rules if you want to use those controls.

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

Is Changing ISO in Post Production Accurate?

When working with RAW-recorded video in post-production is changing ISO in software the same as doing it in-camera? Click and find out.

Changing Exposure in Post-Production: A Thought Experiment

Does the Exposure control for a RAW-recorded video file work the same as changing the iris on your camera? This video explores this concept.

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

Grading CG Footage - An Introduction To Video Game Footage

Video games are just as visually stunning as films these days but how to you approach color grading CG footage from one?

Rediscover The Basics - Invisible Look Technique

What do you do when a client says keep it natural? Dan shares tips for getting the most out of your image by building an invisible look

RGB Gamut Errors A Broadcast Colorists Nemesis

In this Insight, learn what RGB Gamut errors are and how to identify them before a broadcaster catches them for you!

Advanced Beauty Grading : Stills Techniques

In this insight I borrow my Stills Techniques and try and apply them to my video work. The standard is very high and the results are amazing

Advanced Beauty Grading : Borrowing From Stills

The world of stills retouching has such an amazing standard. Dan looks at those techniques and will borrow them for the video world

Colorist Health - My Campaign For Eye Awareness

How much time have you spent thinking about your eyes? Dan starts a new series about health issues including eye awareness.

Rediscover The Basics - Defining Texture In Your Image

Defining Texture is a great decision to make early on when grading. Do you want it to look glossy and commercial or textured and filmic?

Getting To Know Lattice

With LUTs so common place in modern color grading sometimes you need to visualize and convert them - Lattice can help!

Advanced Beauty Grading Part Three : Smoothing Skin Tones

When working with people we always need to smooth skin tones. In this video I explore my three favorite skin smoothing tools.

Damage Control - DSLR Music Video Case Study

DSLR Music Video are pretty common and can be incredibly tricky. Dan shares one of his favorite music videos shot on DSLR

Damage Control - Creating A Look With Difficult Footage

Grading high quality is fun but what happens when you have difficult footage to begin with? Dan takes a look at Damage control when grading

Colorist Look Inspiration - Food Commercials

Food commercials can be the trickiest of grades as they push your skillset and leave little room for error. Here are some techiniques

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.

Rediscover The Basics - Node Operations

Have you ever paused to think of the order that you place your nodes? Dan shares his approach to getting the most out of your image.

Rediscover The Basics - Color Temperature

Color temperature allows us to control many factors from time of day to adding to the mood of your image by warming or cooling.

Rediscover The Basics - Contrast

Its tempting to dive in with many nodes & advanced techniques but spend more time getting your contrast right & you'll love the results

Rediscover The Basics - Saturation

In a world where you can apply 20 nodes to build a look Dan challenges you to rediscover basic grading concepts starting with Saturation

Resolve's 'Color Match' Is Easier Using 'Brightness First' Rule

DaVinci Resolve's 'Color Match' feature can be tricky. But if you follow the 'Brightness First' Rule, you'll probably get better results.

Why Is Camera Matching with Color Charts So Hard?

If you've tried to match multiple cameras together using color charts, you've likely found it difficult. What's the problem you're having?

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.

Saturation in Final Cut Pro X: Is Your Image Colorful Enough?

How do you know if your images are colorful enough? When's the best time to set your saturation in Final Cut Pro X? Find your answer here!

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.

Why You Need To Dig Deep: Final Cut Pro X Exposure Slider

Understanding the Final Cut Pro X Exposure Slider is critical to knowing how to color correct in Final Cut Pro X. Click and discover: Why?

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.

Dealing with Saturation in LAB Colorspace

In Part 5 of our LAB in DaVinci Resolve series, we answer members questions about dealing with saturation in LAB colorspace.

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.

DaVinci Resolve Node Trees for LAB Colorspace

Explore the different types of DaVinci Resolve node trees for LAB colorspace. Should we do all our work in one node? Or multiple nodes?

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

Neo Noir B&W - Using Hardlight Blending Mode

Creating a feature film neo noir look can be tough. Dan shares his look using hardlight blending modes instead of his beloved curves.

LAB Color in DaVinci Resolve: Is it effective?

Explore several types of source footage to determine which one are best suited for working with LAB color in DaVinci Resolve.

Infrared Look - Emulating Aerochrome

Building an Infrared Look can give you some beautiful results if you have the right projects and feel adventurous!

LAB Color in DaVinci Resolve - Foundations Part 2

In this video, transfer those Photoshop skills color correcting LAB color in DaVinci Resolve - plus how the tools don't translate directly.

LAB Color Correction Foundations - Photoshop

Learning how to color correct in LAB color space with DaVinci Resolve is easier if we start with how the Photoshop experts are doing it.

LAB Colorspace: An Introduction (using DaVinci Resolve 11)

Photoshop pros are learning the power of LAB Colorspace. This is the first of several videos on applying those Insights to moving images.

Footage Quality Control - When To Reject Footage

Footage Quality Control in a modern file based world can be tricky. Dan shares his advice on how and when to reject source material.

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 - Difficult Shape Masking

We take a look at difficult shape masking and combining multiple windows in DaVinci Resolve to give you total control over difficult images.

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.

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

Shot Matching - Working With Skin Tone

Making people look as good is part of the dayjob for colorists. Working with skin tone can be tricky but Dan shares his tips and approach.

1D Vs 3D LUTs - The Colorists Prespective

Look Up Tables can be complex subject. In this Insight get a colorists perspective on the difference between 1D and 3D LUTs.

Essential Skills For Assistant Colorists

Essential Skills For Assistant Colorists to help you get the job in a big facility. Being an assistant is hard work but you'll learn so much

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.

Shot Matching - Matching Skies

Shot Matching - Matching Skies. In this Insight, Dan shows you his techniques for color matching skies between multiple set ups and scenes

Resolve 11 Highlights And Shadows Controls

New Tools For Resolve 11 Are The Highlights And Shadows Controls. They offer up new creative options for setting the contrast in your scene.

When Color Management Fails : Dan's Strategy

Have you had a client reject a grade after they left the color correction suite? Learn how handle this problem without losing your client.

Attended Grading - Starting A Session

Attended Grading - Starting A Session is the hardest part of the grade. You need to understand what your new clients want from the grade

Resolve 11 - New Matte Finesse Controls

Resolve 11 - New Matte Finesse Controls brings some great refinements to the qualifier controls. Clipping and noise reduction make pulling keys easier than ever!

Managing Contrast Across Multiple Scenes

Stop using the full video contrast range on every shot in every scene. Learn to start managing contrast between scenes for visual interest.

How to Compress Video for YouTube

How do the pros compress video for YouTube at the highest quality? Listen to this interview with specialist Jeff Greenberg.

Narrowing Your Color Palette

Grading isn't always about adding to your image. Taking away and controlling colors is just as important when building strong images.

Legalizing With No Legalizer & R3D Trimming

In this installment of From The Mailbag we discuss two questions about video legalization & using R3D trimming in Resolve with Remote Grades

Sky Replacement Challenge

Using a sky replacement we change a simple beach scene into a moody tropical sci fi establishing shot

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.

The Tangent Element In SpeedGrade & Good Skin Tone

In this episode of From The Mailbag, we discuss using the Tangent Element In Adobe SpeedGrade & what goes into getting good skin tone.

How to use the Offset Control in DaVinci Resolve

The Offset Control in video color correction looks quite rudimentary. Learn how to use it powerfully and to great effect.

Best Exposure From Your Raw Files

Working With raw files allows you to to get the best possible results with your footage. Lets start with getting the best exposure

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.

Creating An S-Curve Using The Contrast & Pivot Controls

Learn how to quickly create an S-Curve using the Contrast and Pivot controls in Resolve to add more filmic contrast to shots

Using External Mattes In DaVinci Resolve

When you need precise separation using External Mattes from a Rotoscope artist makes precise grading in DaVinci Resolve a breeze

Colorist Tip: How to Build a Color Correction Showreel

How do you build a colorist showreel / demo reel that condenses your whole career into 3mins? Dan shares with you his approach.

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.

Photochemical Color Timing + Cinematographers and Colorists

What is photochemical color timing? What is the role of the cinematographer while color correcting? Learn what three colorists think.

Managing A Grade – The Music Video

Grading a music video can be challenging from a time perspective. In this Insight learn about Managing A Grade for when time is tight.

Offset Controls - Introduction To Offsets

Dan takes a look at the offset controls. The oldest and most overlooked primary controls in Resolve. Great for shot balancing.

Matching Shots While Working With Look-Up Tables

In this video we try matching shots with LUTs applied - and leanr how using the RGB parade scope helps us get the job done.

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 Inspiration – Jean-Clément Soret

Jean-Clément has been the most influential post production professional in London and for many years. Here is a look at his work.

Archiving and Restoring Jobs

In Part 3 of our series on the workflow for Commercial color correction projects, we discuss how we handle archiving and restoring jobs.

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.

Colorist Circuit Training Part 1

In Colorist Circuit Training Part 1 we take a look at some exercises to help strengthen your style and color grading skills.

Legalizing Video in SpeedGrade CC Part 1

If you're wondering how to legalize video in Speedgrade CC, this video will show you.

Multiple Aspect Ratios

Learn an innovative approach to framing filmed images for multiple aspect ratios. Also - how to view these framings inside DaVinci Resolve.

Six Approaches for Primary Color Corrections (featuring Davinci Resolve)

The first step in color correction is to do your 'primary correction'. What controls should you touch first? This video explores 6 options.

Commercial Workflow : Labeling And Ingest

Have you ever wondered how other colorists organise and run their jobs? Now is your chance to see a real commercial workflow in action.

Getting Up To Speed With Monitor Calibration

Monitor Calibration is essential to have success color correcting and grading projects. Check out this Insight to learn the essentials.

Colorist Communication Dealing With Difficult Clients

Sometimes clients can have a very different vision of the project than you had.I offer some tips on grading in this situation

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.

How To Analyse Your Footage For Color Correction: Beach Sunset

Learn how a professional colorist analyses an image. Learn what they focus on and how they grade using contrast, color and secondaries.

Understanding the Arri LUT Generator: Do's and Don'ts

Learn how to create LUTs for the Alexa using the official Arri LUT Generator. Develop your own set of best practices when working with this tool.

How To Work With Arri Alexa LUTs, Part 1: In Action

Are you confused about how to use Arri Alexa LUTs on your projects? Learn one approach to using them creatively, based on Arri's own LUT Generator.

Color Correcting A Film Trailer: Sony FS700 Footage

In this color correction tutorial, we explore color correcting FS700 footage in our Fake Film Trailer. We'll also use Sapphire plug-ins for DaVinci Resolve.

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 Prepare A Film Trailer For Color Correction

Learn how a professional colorist evaluates a project (film trailer) before a single shot is color corrected - a critical step for smooth sessions.

How to Color Correct Using LUTs (By Preparing Your Images)

If you're confused on how to color correct using LUTs, this video (one in a series) shows several different approaches for you to try.

How to Reverse Engineer Look-Up Tables (LUTs)

Learn how to deconstruct a LUT (Look Up Table) to understand its impact on your image. This will improve your color correction using LUTs.

How to Use DaVinci Resolve's Splitter Combiner Nodes

Learn how to split color channels into RGB, YUV or LAB with the Splitter Combiner nodes in DaVinci Resolve. Watch me put them to work.

How To Color Correct With Blending Modes : The Overlay Mode

You can use the Overlay blending mode to add grain and get great colour and contrast pop, with the click of a button. Watch me put it to use.

How To Color Correct Green Screen Footage (in DaVinci Resolve)

I like to work with background plates in Resolve. This allows me to color correct my product or actor in place, allowing creative choices. Watch me work.

Color Correction Looks: Creating Black and White Looks

Creating a Black and White Look seems like an easy prospect, initially. But they can be some of the most difficult jobs. Learn how to execute this Look.

Creating Color Correction Looks: The Low Contrast Look

The Low Contrast Look is a flat style of color correcting. In this video, learn how we execute it without making our images look lifeless.

Creating Color Correction Looks: Emulating the Film Look

Has a client ever asked you to create a 'Film Look'? Yes, us too. In this video, learn how we get to this Look using some new features in DaVinci Resolve.

Building Color Correction Looks: Tinting Your Shadows

Sometimes when you're color correcting you need to give the job an extra wow factor. My favorite technique at the moment is tinting the shadows. Learn how.

Secondary Corrections in DaVinci Resolve

'Secondary corrections' are isolations to areas of an image to make specific color corrections. Here are tips on getting quick results.

Color Correcting Food for Commercial Clients in Digital Video

How does a professional colorist color correct food? Our guest colorist Rob Bessette shares his secrets and the keys for a successful session.

Tips & Tricks for Time Remapping in DaVinci Resolve 9 & 10

Dealing with Time Warps in a color correction workflow is difficult to manage. I found a workflow, saving time and money for you and your clients!

Preparing A Color Correction Session For A Commercial Client

You can learn my tips and tricks to prepare for a client-supervised commercial color correction session. it's not just about your skill. Preparation counts.

How to Color Correct the Blackmagic Pocket Camera

Are you looking for ideas on how to color correct the Blackmagic Pocket Camera? I share how I work with it in DaVinci Resolve.

Ask Me Anything: Color Correcting the Birthmark Music Video

After color correcting the music video 'Birthmark' by Cass Lowe, here's your chance to 'ask us anything' of the Colorist and Cinematographer.

Color Correction Tips: Matching Shots To A Brand Logo

Have you ever been asked to color match a shot to a reference image for their video? Here are a few ideas on how to do that in DaVinci Resolve.

DaVinci Resolve Tools: Using The Key Mixer Node

You will learn two ways to use the Key Mixer Node: How to set it up as a master control for multiple masks; and how to build garbage masks for cleaner keys.

Color Correction Looks: Creating The 7D Korean Horror Look

If you're looking to create a Look and want something a bit different (and even noisy)... here's how you can create the 'Korean Horror' Look.

Color Correcting with Log Controls in DaVinci Resolve: An Overview

Have you wondered how to use the Log Controls in DaVinci Resolve? This video is an overview of all the controls and some basic theory of how they work.

How To Blend Between Color Corrections Into The 'Day For Night' Look

DaVinci Resolve's node tree makes it tough dissolving between two completely different Looks. Learn how to do it easily, without getting lost in keyframes.

How to Build A 'Day For Night' Look - Color Correction Technique

What does it mean to shoot film or video as 'Day for Night'? Learn the terminology and how to do it in this video tutorial.

Color Correcting A Music Video: Ask Me Anything

Do you have burning questions about color correcting music videos? Professional colorist Dan Moran, CSI is here to give you his answers.

The Case For Completely Avoiding LUTs (And Going DIY)

You shouldn't be a slave to LUTs... learn how to quickly decide if they're working. And if not, learn to throw away those LUTs and just 'Do It Yourself'.

Build Out Your 'Colorist Toolbox' By Building A 'Look Library'

Learn why you need to save your color corrections to build your personal 'Look Library' of skin tones, skies/grass/water and for general looks and feelings.

What Are the Limitations of LUTs When Color Correcting in 32-bit Float?

When using Look-Up Tables you've got be careful with LUTs and 32-bit Float... otherwise you may end up clipping out valuable image detail. Learn why.

How To Apply Custom Aspect Ratios In DaVinci Resolve

When a client asks for a specific pixel dimension or Aspect Ratio learn how you can precisely set it up in DaVinci Resolve, even if no preset exists.

Adding Depth-of-Field to Video: Sharpening & Blurring In Action

As part of our series on adding Depth-Of-Field while color correcting, learn my final step when executing this technique, making the image look sharp.

Adding Depth-of-Field To Video: Localized Contrast In Action

I spoke about the theory of adding depth earlier in this series but lets take a practical look at executing the theory so you can do this on your footage.

Waveforms, Legal Range And The Differences Between Avid and Resolve

Avid's Y Waveform sets black above the bottom of the scale whereas Resolve's Waveform sets its blacks at the bottom of its scale. Which is correct?

Adding Depth To Video : Putting Theory Into Action

After my 3-part series on the theory of Depth-of-Field and techniques simulating it, the theory is put to action—learn how you can use these techniques.

Understanding the Color Pucks In The FCP X Color Board

Are you struggling with getting good results from the FCP X Color Board? Learn how to analyze its image processing and build a custom workflow.

How to Split Your Brightness and Color Channels For Creative Control

When color correcting, learn how to split your image into separate brightness and color channels for creative reasons (and additional technical benefits).

Adding Depth-of-Field Using Selective Sharpening and Blurring

Are you looking to control depth-of-field in your video images during color correction? This video shows you how to use selective sharpening and blurring.

The Fundamentals of Color Correcting for Beauty

Have you ever needed to improve how an actor 'looks' in a video? Learn the basics of how the pros do it in this Beauty Grading 101 video.

How To Simulate Depth-Of-Field In A Shot Using Localized Contrast

Learn how to simulate depth of field in your video using the concept of localized contrast. Part of a 'Simulate Depth' series.

How to Simulate Depth of Field for Filmic Images: The Theory

How do you simulate depth of field in video? This is the first in a series of tutorials on helping your images feel more 'filmic'.

Color Correcting with LUTs: The 3-Node Approach

Learn a node structure for using LUTs in DaVinci Resolve (and the reasoning behind it). Segmenting your workflow into clear distinct actions speeds you up.

What is a LUT (and how do you use a LUT for color correction)?

Look-up Tables are mathematically precise. Understanding LUTs requires you to accept that a single LUT can NEVER be used for all your shots.

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