Cheat Code for Setting up Color Management in Resolve 

I literally consider Cullen a mentor. He doesn't know me of course. How could he. I am just a color student on the other side of the planet. But I will do my best to put his teachings to good use in my color practice. Thank you Cullen for always sharing your precious knowledge and approach with us. We all admire you!

Bro actually knows what he is talking about , so many losers on youtube pretend they know about color grading but this guy is the G.O.A.T

I am very new to learning color management and this really saved months of figuring out what to do. I cant thank you enough Cullen for being so detailed and thorough in explaining things. The project settings explained initially really helped in seeing how LUTs can pop up an image. I was doing it wrong the whole time and wondering why LUTs are not having any impact as my project setting was not right.

Thanks for making this available Cullen! The download only gave me the colorist cheat sheet, and it looks to be a different from the one in the video.

This channel is a blessing.

Another incredibly helpful video. I have been using your method for some time but it is great to have this information consolidated into one video and to have the cheatsheet beside me ready to go! Thank you very much.

Cheat sheet is exactly what I was looking for, thanks!

That raw information was a life saver!!!!

Brilliant as always. Thanks for the tips Cullen. It is interesting to see the workflow shift. I still use your original ACES workflow (your 6 part series) and enjoy the results.

Thanks for the fantastic video! I'm a photographer that started doing video work a few years age and was only shooting raw CinemaDNG which was surprisingly easy to grade in resolve but after moving to a system that only shoots log, it has been so difficult to find a channel that doesn't jump LUT first into a grade. This channel has been a breath of fresh air and Cullen's explanations are succinct and concise and he expounds on numerous concepts so many others seem to breeze past.

Great job CK! So useful.

Thank you. This video is particularly great as it sorta narrorws down all the various options you go through to eliminate and narrow down the choice. Its a good reference for quickly accomplishing that seeing what you do. Thank you again!

Thanks Cullen for the info well elaborated!!

Thank you Cullen - this is amazingly helpful 😎☀️🎬🎥

Thank you again! I come from a still photography background and have found your explanations of color mgmt to be clear, and easy to understand . . . and not too different, conceptually, from color mgmt in my still photography world. That, plus this is purely a hobby for me and the only log footage I shoot is from one camera so my situation is not as complex. Thank you!

Thank you Cullen

Excellent tutorial. Thank you.

This is very helpful. It's great to have a reliable strategy for dealing with uncertainty, in this case, when you don't know the color space of the camera original. This will help me to move forward with some confidence in this situation, which I encounter more often than I would like. Thank you, Cullen Kelly.

Thank you. This should be labeled #1 of Lesson 1.

Thanks Cullen I haven’t downloaded the cheat sheet but I took a screen grab because I read some of the earlier posts that it wasn’t the same as the video maybe that might help some people who want it right away:)

This came at the right time. Struggling with how to best set up project that deal with multiple source formats - and voila, Cullen to the rescue. Thanks mate 🙂

Amazing! thanks

I've been watching your tutorials for about a year. Everything in these are in line with what other pros do in practice. This particular video is proof. Thank you for the generous amounts of information.

So helpful! Thank you!

Excellence! Thank you

As always great content, thanks Cullen for the info, can you make a video explaining how to grade a project for both theatre release as well as OTT delivery?

Thank you, I have discovered that you have truly saved me from detours in my learning journey. Thank you for your selfless dedication

fabulous......

You have helped me colour-grade a music video I finished, my biggest project to date. I would not have been able to do this without learning so much from you. If I had followed some typical youtuber's colour grading advice, I would never be able to have any kind of shot-to-shot consistency even on a baseline, let alone anything past that point.

I've been using this settings since the first time you mentioned them a couple of years ago. (Thank you so much for this!) Except for the input color space. I frequently use the "split screen" option with outside references and for some strange reason, unlike "image wipe", it interprets the stills based on the input color space. Until they give us an option to color manage stills I'll go through the hassle of tagging everything manually.

It's good that you also show conditions that are not ideal. Just recently I was solving this problem, I got a rendered source video and the production wouldn't give me information about the cameras used. Thanks for this video:)

Thank u so much sir

Amazing video. Thank you very much

@Cllen Kelly. Absolutely love your videos, can you please do one on common export practices and trouble shooting!

Love this. I'm curious if you can make a video going over HDR grading with a XDR display from Apple, which the macbook pro max and iPad pro also have and can be used as a reference monitor to an extent with netflix before final pass through with a dolby vision reference monitor. HDR is so confusing by I want to tackle that so I'm not in the dark...quite literally with some of my exports. Thanks Cullen

The download link on the email does not link to the Color Management Cheat Sheet. Hope you can fix this soon. LINK NOW FIXED ! the document is NOT meant to be physically printed out in its current format - the pages have a black background and will use a LOT of printer ink.

If you were to continue this video further and state why the Input Color Space is not available for R3D & BRAW files.... is that you can state the Color Space & specific Gamma in the CAMERA RAW tab on the Color Page... Thank you for pointing out that assigning a mystery log file (happens all the time) to be in the DW color space is the best solution rather than choosing a random space that just happens to look good. Appreciate the insight. :)

This video is going to be really helpful for a lot of people - so good topic - and the cheat sheet will help a lot of people too. So good idea. The last one is the tricky part and happens way too often. I tend to look for other clues as well. The name of the file if not changed from the camera originals a lot of time can tell me where to start looking as well. Especially on Prosumer cameras like Sony or Panasonic - they tend to be named by default - i.e. Sony alpha footage with names like c0031.mp4 - or Panasonic using P12345.mov etc. and MVI_ for Canon etc. But the one you showed looked like it was renamed before you received it - but it did say 6k - so I probably would have gone to BMD first or RED to find the camera. Sure would be better if the camera manufactures forced the meta data onto any copy. Thanks for this Cullen. Your videos, even if I already know or have my own methods, get me thinking. And that is an important part of the whole process. Thanks again

Hi Cullen, again a great video. In one of your videos you were explaining about input DRT and Output DRT. I wanted to revisit the video to learn about them, but couldn't find. Can you please point out or mention the link of that video? I would be very thankful. Thank you.

Followed the link but it downloads something different. the colourist cheat sheet.

The cheat sheet downloaded from link received via email is different from the one shown in video, it has only a single page. Please check and update with new link

Id say good tips in general. 2 additions: if you dont know the input colorspace ask the dop, 95% you get the answer, if not also check out the resolution of your clip. If its larger than like for example 5k you could mostly think of red etc and then test it out. Also most footage is either arri, red or sony (some Blackmagic aswell i guess in lower budgets).

love it

Just be aware that setting your input DRT different to your output DRT will lead to images that should not be altered (like already finished 709 material or graphics) will come out differently and you will HAVE to grade these even if you don't have to. Also setting your input luminance leads to having most of your image data "to the left" of your curves for example, meaning highlights (that won't necessarily always be there) taking up most of your histograms. Also that luminance value had "step" and resolve will apply different math above or below certain values (try 48 and 49 for example or 200 and 500). I highly recommend playing with this value until you feel comfortable with it. I prefer having a bit more "space" in the shadows than in my highlights so I go for a lower value line 2000 or 4000. Just my 2 cents, open for criticism :)

Thank you so much for your videos! What about if my output color space is aimed for Cinema, Film Festival's?

Thank you very much!!

both very interesting and helpful. did the link to the LUT ever get updated

Hey Cullen, great episode. The cheat sheet that downloads isn't the one you reference in the video...

Wish there was a cheat sheet for HDR too

Cullen would be great if you do a video about creative ways using negative 3x3 matrix in resolve, please

Great video as usual but I have a question for you. So where does having to tag Rec709A , when using a Mac, so that there is no colorshift, when you render come into play?

1:15 How do you work with LUTs (like the Film look luts in resolve) that expect rec709 if your color management is set up like this? I’ve tried different option within the cst but it looks weird most of the time

You can change input colorspace of SonyRAW in Raw menu. Do not need it, but have this option)

Can you make a video/cheat sheet of how you would configure your project settings when color managing using nodes? Do you change anything such as timeline and output colorspace (does it even make a difference). That's my confusion 😥

Question on the raw tagging. Completely makes sense with Blackmagic, ARRI, and R3D files that they will auto-tag the space because it's embedded in the raw file, but in the case of recording raw from external monitors from something like a mirrorless camera (Canon, Sony, Fujifilm, Panasonic, Nikon, etc.) that operate in different spaces, does that change the workflow at all or will Resolve not auto-tag them because their metadata is different?

Do we also need to apply colour space management when we shoot video from normal mode and not in raw mode? I have canon m50 mark2 camera. I bought it for normal RU-vid video making.

It appears to link to the wrong cheat sheet.

hey cullen , what's the difference between this and idt / odt workflow?

Thanks for your video. Can you provide the equivalent settings for Lumetri in Premiere Pro?

Would it be smart to check Automatic Color space if I’m always using BMPCC 4K Log?

Question for those that work with graphics and overlays when editing videos together, should I adjust the "Graphics white level" to something different here to make this easier?

I have a question for you Cullen. I have some sony cine 4 footage using color mode Cinema. How would I set this up in color management or even a node. There are no presets for Cine flavors in resolve. I understand they are rec 709 based but finding the right settings is? Well ,frustrating LOL! I am really not laughing at this point but have lost a few hairs. ; ) Any help for settings would be incredible. Thank you for your awesome help and knowledge on everything color!

Hello, one question Cullen, what if all of the clips are log and you cannot find de color space metadata, and you dont know in which color profile it has been recorded, what should it be your input color space in the color managment settings?

is there any different for windows user?

What is the difference between the colour management project settings vs using Node CST's?

What if your working with 3d renderings or animations or motion graphics? Will those settings work?

Dear Cullen Assuming I have a custom camera conversion LUT from Log to Rec.709. Where and how should I integrate it into my color grading pipeline? In the project color management I can only set the the manufacturer LUT. Should I extend the Node Tree to [Conversion with custom LUT] - [Exposure] - [Contrast - [Balance] - ... - [Conversion to DaVinci Wide Gamut?] And what would I put as the project's input color space? Thank you in advance.

I have some Alexa WG Linear EXR ftg, I tried using this setup and the image is fringing and artifacts appear on the edges near the bright areas? Could it be the Vendor did not Debayer these .EXR files correctly out of Resolve??😱

In " How to Color Manage using Nodes in DaVinci Resolve " you say you prefer using nodes. Yet here you use global color management. So which should I use? T_T

Hi Cullen, great video! I’m using your method for setting up my Color Management project settings, with the default input color space as Apple Log. In my clips, I also have some RED footage. When I right-click a RED clip, there is no option for setting Input Color Space. But if I right-click an Apple Log clip, there is an option for setting input color space. Now, since I have Apple Log as my default input in my project settings, I don’t need to set those clips. But, how do I set my RED clips without creating a Color Space Transform node? I really liked your workflow, but was surprised when the Input Color Space wasn’t available for RED when right-clicking the RED clips.

I'm so confused with all these color management settings.. there's so many of them and all are different.. I just want to have 2 simple ones. One for SDR & HDR One for Cinema. I always work in a davinci wide gamut timeline where I use double cst at the start and end (slog3 to dwg, than from dwg to rec709 /rec2020 for hdr?) EDIT: Great video btw! Will this color management workflow work for both sdr and hdr? And when I use this color management setting I don't need to use cst's anymore? I only work in slog3 so this would be great! 😁 Also would like to see how you export for Cinema (DCP) stuff. For Short / Feature films for example. 😁

I am using fuji and even if I copy the same settings my image is still pale and not converted in rec 709, any suggestions? (Because fuji is using rec 2020 color space I choose that in the Input color space section).

Do you have a course?

In-depth video, how to work in proxy please🙏

What do you set your output colour space when you don't know the ICC profile of your monitor and you can't find it either? I'm using a cheap monitor (HP 24f) - because that's all I currently have access to. Worked for a week on a project colour correcting/grading, and then during the render process all the colours look horrible. Now I'm trying to figure out what went wrong, and I think it was my colour profile. So - I'm stuck trying to figure out if I need to change the colour management on the project or the settings on the export. But either way, the question still stands. What colour space do I use if I don't have an ICC profile for my monitor?

Thanks for your video. I still have a problem with this workflow when using graphics such as logos. Colors are never correct even when trying various input color spaces for those medias. I tough 18.5 fixed that, am I missing something?

Hi Cullen, thanks for this. What happened to the recommendation to use node based CST? I just finished setting up a project with the node structure but my system seems to be choking on all the nodes and edits. Thinking of starting over.... Node CST or system CM? All clips shot on Fuji log.... Thanks! Also F-log is rec2020 in the documentation. Use that or DVWG for the color space

The flow chart is missing?

Thanks for this video. I am using Rec 709 for jpeg and png files, then I set each Blender sequence files to Linear color space. When I set the timeline to DaVinci WG, the colors became too saturated in Fusion. I can't match the timeline colors inside Fusion as well as for the external monitor.

What about if all your clips are RAW clips, you don't need to set any input color space/gamma then? Just leave at default REC.709 (Scene)? And this apply even for cinema DNG raw?

So I don’t need to use a CST after this correct?

Hi! I tried to access your links in the description, but each link returns this: 429 Too Many Requests. Can you fix it please?

The V-Log input is so bad on DaVinci Resolve. it always makes my footage looks horrible.

Most powerful video or am later 😂

Wonderful video! I downloaded the cheat sheet, but it's only one page and doesn't match the discussion in the video.

Please, please, please pay your electricity bill and let a little light into your room. It’s like squinting into a dungeon.

Good morning, Cullen. I am writing to you because I am really desperate. I am making a documentary film series to show on RU-vid and I cannot in any way be able to correctly decode the color space. I have asked the people on RU-vid for help and I also wrote to the Davinci Resolve technical service, but no one has been able to clarify anything for me. I have spent money paying a professional to do color correction for film and, unfortunately, his advice hasn't helped me either. I shoot my raws in BRAW format with my BMPCC 6K PRO and edit in DAVINCI STUDIO with a mac monitoring with a BenQ screen. What I need to know is what color space I should configure my project with and what is the output color space that will guarantee greater image fidelity when people play my videos on their mobile devices, smart TVs, tablets, etc. And above all, how should I adjust my screen (both in the BenQ settings itself and the Mac screen settings) to be able to achieve this. The professional I hired told me that he should always monitor in P3 and the result has been worse than when I did some tests in REC709. I also asked him how I should store my master copies so that I would have HDR options in case I needed to display my work on other platforms in the future, but he insisted that only the P3 faithfully shows what I'm doing. I can't do the color correction work (P3 and REC709) twice for the youtube copy and the backup copy of each of my chapters... It's absurd and seems crazy to me! I beg you to help me, please. I don't know who else to turn to. How should I configure all this?

So helpful! Thank you!