Timeline thumbnail view of unbalanced clips

Small or large, unintended variations from one shot to the next can call undue attention to the
editing, and jar the audience’s attention in ways that throw them out of the program. Evening out
these differences and balancing the clips in each scene to match is another of the fundamental
tasks of the colorist. You know you’re finished when the color in the scene flows unnoticeably from
one clip to the next.

Thumbnail view of balanced clips, rainbow graphic indicates graded clips

Resolve has a variety of tools that you can use to help you compare images with one another, the
most important of which is the Gallery, in which you can save still images of clips that you can then
compare to other clips using an adjustable split screen.

An additional set of features let you manage grades by copying them from clip to clip, or by linking
similar clips, either automatically, or manually using groups.

Link icon indicates clips are grouped for grading

Adding Style
Of course, it’s not all about subtlety and correction. It’s often appropriate, when grading music
videos and commercials for instance, to add some radical style to a piece. Here, too, DaVinci Resolve
provides an abundance of features for manipulating unexpected aspects of the image; for example,
by abusing the Custom Curves to create the illusion of chemical cross-processing.

Resolve’s node-based image processing makes it possible to use more exotic node structures to
create effects using composite modes, such as a colored glow generated by adding two differently
graded versions of the same image together using a Layer node.

Composite effect applied via a parallel node

You can also create complex node trees to build specific mattes, to use for isolating specific
elements of the image. For example, if you wanted to isolate an actor in color against a background
turned monochromatic, you can create multiple keys (pulled via HSL Qualification) and combine
them using a Key Mixer node to build that effect.

Finally, Resolve doesn’t just have tools governing color and contrast. A Blur palette provides controls
over blurring, sharpening, or adding mist to all or part of the image. When combined with the other
tools that are available for isolation and color adjustment, these are powerful additions to your
creative arsenal.

Defocus effect created in real time

All of these features are discussed in much greater detail later in this manual.
Quality Control
Lastly, it’s important to keep in mind that, for all the creative possibilities that DaVinci Resolve affords,
it’s still important that the final deliverables that you give to your client has appropriate signal levels
relative to their requirements. In particular, programs destined for broadcast have specific outer
boundaries of luma and chroma that you must not exceed, or you’ll risk having a show rejected for
QC (quality control) violations.
However, even if you’re not delivering a show for broadcast, it’s important to be aware of the
mathematical limitations of a digital video signal to make sure you’re not clipping or crushing image
detail through overzealous adjustments that you may, in fact, want to preserve.
For example, if you take a look at the next two images, you can see the perils of overzealous
adjustments when compared to a clip that, while graded creatively, has been adjusted with respect
to the mathematical boundaries of image data.

Here, too, Resolve provides tools designed to help you exercise control over the fine-tuning of
the image. A Video Scopes window provides the standard Waveform, Parade, Vectorscope, and
Histograms that are used to analyze your image data. These scopes let you see the boundaries of
what’s possible, and make it easy to spot subtle problems, and compare the characteristics of one
image to another.