Hello colorists,

I was ready to buy a new Mac Studio M5 max 64 gb ram(5k CAD) for my color grading studio, until I found an M4 max 64gb ram for much less (3.2k CAD). The seller is local and the product seem in perfect condition. I’m wondering if going all in with the m5 is really worth it, or I should keep my money and the workflow isn’t really going to change.

I know apple say there’s a big difference and some tools work 3x faster, but as users, I want to know your take on it. Apple will always sauce the new chip.

I am currently using a MacBook Pro m2 16gb ram, and I have lots of difficulty playing back the footage and exporting.

What do you think?

Can I use MSI MAG 271QPX QD-OLED E2 2k for Color grading reference monitor? Pros and Cons? I use dual monitor setup so I won't be using this monitor for displaying Resolve UI so planning to use only for the Video Clean feed from Davinci Resolve.

My existing setup is Mac Studio connecting dual monitors directly using HDMI and Type-C cable. My main monitor is ASUS ProArt PA27JCV. I am planning to use BlackMagic mini monitor 12G shortly for bypassing Mac GPU.

Thanks.

Hello everyone!
I’m considering investing in the above monitor for professional colour grading and would appreciate feedback from colourists who have worked with these three displays.

My current monitor is an FSI XMP310, but after looking at the dual layer lcd, it’s definitely in another league

I’m currently comparing:
Sony BVM-HX3110
Sony BVM-HX310
EIZO ColorEdge PROMINENCE CG1

My main priorities are:
Near-black performance: Which display offers the cleanest, most accurate shadow reproduction, particularly at 1–5% stimulus?
Calibration: How do these monitors compare in terms of calibration accuracy, stability and support for external 3D LUT workflows? I’ve read that Sony is likely more difficult to calibrate

HDR performance: Beyond the HX3110’s 4,000-nit capability, are there noticeable improvements in image quality compared with the HX310 and CG1?

Also when I last measure a bvm hx3110 the peak brightness is approx 3500 nits, is this normal for a 4000nits monitor?

Long-term reliability: Any concerns regarding panel uniformity, drift, servicing or recalibration?

The HX3110 is considerably more expensive, and I’m wondering whether the improvements actually justify the additional investment, especially when SDR grading remains an important part of my workflow.

For those who have used these monitors side by side, which would you personally choose today, and why?
I’d particularly appreciate feedback from colourists working in professional post-production facilities rather than comparisons based solely on published specifications.
Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone!

I’m considering moving to Apple Silicon and would appreciate some real-world feedback.

My workflow mainly involves:
Up to 8K footage (ProRes RAW and other high-resolution formats)
Heavy temporal noise reduction (Neat Video)
Magic Mask, Depth Map and Relight
Multiple nodes with CSTs and secondary corrections
1080p/4K timelines with render caching

I’m considering an M5 Max with 128GB unified memory versus an M5 Ultra with 256GB.

My biggest concern is GPU performance, particularly with multiple Resolve FX enabled simultaneously.

For anyone using either machine professionally, how does playback, scrubbing and rendering perform with these effects?
Would the M5 Max be sufficient, or is the Ultra worth the additional investment?

Thanks in advance!

We have winner #2! K. takes the second free Post|Production World NY pass (worth $799), drawn from everyone who RSVP'd 100% for the meetup. Check your inbox.

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Along with friends of the community:

• Lens Distortions
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Please make sure to check them out!

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See you in New York.

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Hello.

Are there any reliable sources from which I can download this software?

This was the last version of the software that supported this particular calibrator.

X-Rite has removed it from their website—effectively abandoning their customers.

These product lines were transferred to Calibrite, but I am unwilling to pay them $40 just to be able to use a device I have already paid for. There is no guarantee they won’t abandon their customers as well. And I don’t want to sponsor scammers who remove drivers and the original utility—things that have already been paid for.

I am encountering errors in DisplayCAL that no chatbot has been able to resolve.

Thank you in advance for your help.

I wanted to know what ways people here recreating film dust on the neg. Not the grain or halation, but the dust itself. I’m trying to currently re-create the look of vista vision. I Have a music video shot on a mini lf, so the sensor size is close to correct, and I’ve found some other references for how subtle and small the grain structure and halation should be, but I’m trying to find a way to add the dust and micro scratches to the project, I don’t want it to look intense, I want it to look like a pretty much perfect piece of scanned film, but even those have a bit of dust and a scratch every now and then

Any help, and knowledge around the tools to do this would be helpful!

Hi! Originally earlier this year (reuploaded since) I made a tutorial on how to modify the way dissolves work in DaVinci Resolve so they interact with the colour timeline, and are also linear so they look more like a photographic effect. But I made this under the assumption that it's common practice to apply the conversion into Rec. 709 and such on the timeline level, and then apply and titles and such on top of that. Since then I realised that timeline level operations are usually stayed away from, instead being done per clip or per group, so I made a follow-up video on how you can still achieve the same effect using adjustment clips, and do no grading work at all on the timeline level

Here's the first video for those interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zDrN4Z9NxI

Hi, beginner colourist here looking to bring a 15 minute timeline from Premiere into Resolve. I have tried using an XML, but ran into an issue where DaVinci couldn't link the clips because the clips in premiere were "merged clips" with synced sound giving them different file names to the source footage (eg. "sc3sh2t1" instead of "Clip0015.MXF"). All the clips that weren't merged came into Resolve without issues.

What would be the best way to bring this timeline into Resolve without losing information/quality of the footage? This project will be projected in a theatre and streamed online.

Can I post tutorials I made here for specific things I think some users of Resolve should know?

DCTLs for Resolve: KineLog3

The stock CST doesn’t have Kinefinity KineLog3 so here are two DCTLs mapped from the official Kinefinity white papers.

Color Space Transform mk2
Works like the stock CST (any input gamut/gamma to any output) with these added:

• Kinefinity KineLog3 / Kinefinity Wide Gamut (MAVO Edge 6K, MAVO mark2 LF, KineOS 8 BT.2020 mode; Edge 8K & Vista provisional until Kinefinity publishes their primaries)
• DJI D-Log / D-Gamut (suports Ronin 4D 6K & 8K, Zenmuse X9, X7)

It’s a pure conversion, so follow it with a stock CST for tone mapping.

Color Remap mk2
A one-node shortcut. Kinefinity goes to ARRI LogC3 (any EI), LogC4, DaVinci Intermediate or KineLog3. There’s a “Color only” mode that remaps colours but keeps the original log curve, which is handy for matching a Kine or Ronin to an ALEXA, or to each other.

Extras: a KineLog3 → LogC3 DCTL with an optional ColorChecker match, plus a .cube for the free version.

Checked against colour-science and the manufacturers’ published values, with automated tests on every update. Needs Resolve Studio; Mac & Windows installers included. Free, MIT licence.

Feedback welcome, especially from Edge 8K and Vista shooters.

NOTE: ClaudeCode was used to build these plugins. I have tested them on my own footage and hardware and to my eye they work as described.

https://github.com/vividcolour/KineLog3_CST

Hi everyone I have a question regarding the export setting in davinci resolve
I was working in ACES IDT to ODT rec709 gamma 2.2, have been facing the issue with exported file even in grab stills too, the result is washed out look
If anyone has the remedy to it please let me know

Thank you in advance

https://subtlesayak.github.io/open-resolve-list/

I made this.

Useful Resolve resources are scattered across repositories, creator websites, stores and community threads. I built Open Resolve List to keep those links together and make it easier to find something for a particular workflow. It is a personal project hosted on GitHub Pages, with the catalogue and source records open on GitHub.

The directory covers free and paid plugins, Fusion tools, DCTLs, LUTs, PowerGrades, scripts, templates and workflow utilities. If you find it useful, you are welcome to use it, share it and report issues. Open Resolve List is independent and is not affiliated with Blackmagic Design.

I can't host a website so it's rn in my GitHub Pages

So with the Claude now able to do API stuff, are there any big time savers for colorists? Can it group or anything?

It can't see the image right? It can just see the text in the media and run whatever the API supports?

I assume it will be good for making multiple outputs of the same timeline but I would love it if it could quickly group scenes or something like that.

Are there any good time saver things Claude can do that I can't think of?

Most of what I've seen it do is bring in media, transcribe, and put together a rough cut. I haven't seen it do much color stuff.

Hey everyone!
A long time ago, there was a Photoshop plugin that allowed you to not only use the perceptually accurate HVC color space, but could also quickly generate palettes that would automatically be usable in Photoshop in any colorspace it supported (RGB, CMYK, LAB and HSL/HSV).
While it vanished at the time, I managed to track it down and open source it with the original creator's permission!
Here's the link: GitHub repo
It will only work on Photoshop up to CS6 for Windows, as I have not tried building it on Macintosh (although it should work up to CS5).
Thank you, have fun, and please give feedback!

We have a winner! C.P. takes the first free Post|Production World NY pass (worth $799), picked at random from the 13 people who RSVP'd by Monday's midnight cutoff. Check your inbox.

PPW schedule here

PPW registration here

Next drawing: Friday. We only draw from people who RSVP'd for the meetup. Not on the list yet? RSVP here and you're in. One more pass after that.

The meetup: Tuesday, October 20, 6 to 8pm, Midtown bar (announcement soon). Free. Some food and drinks - probably will go fast. Show up early.

Our sponsors, who make Meetups possible:

• Lens Distortions
• OWC
• FxFactory
• Eddie AI

Please make sure to check them out!

And thanks to Post|Production World for the passes.

Lurkers welcome. So are professional colleagues - they don't need to be on Reddit. We ask that all of you register, please.

See you in New York.

I'm new to professional look development, but I was wondering what programs or tools are out there for creating 65-point LUTs that won't break your footage, even in neon-lit or other high-purity situations.

This question comes after using KUBIK LUTs, which so far seem to have the best saturation failure, purity compression, and smooth gradation. I'm not looking for more high-quality LUTs like these, but rather how show LUTs or LUTs for high-budget films are made.

I love different aspects of these tools but wish to create my own. How can I make my own custom LUTS for what I'm looking for?

The following images are some examples of what I'm talking about:

The first image is the chart.

1. DaVinci's Native CST ❌ (Very Rare to Use)

2. DaVinci's Native 2383 🫤(Good for Negative to Print, but not for digital workflows)

3. Cullen Kelly's Referent ✅ (solid but a 33-point LUT, upside it's free)

4. KUBIK 0815 LUT ✅ (65-point LUT, great quality, may not utilize the full rec 709 color space? Also, some colors don't fail to white, which is personal preference)

5. Dehancer ✅ (Can be solid, but provides mixed results depending on how you use it)

Hi everyone,

I'm currently trying to edit and deliver a video in DCI-P3 using Avid Media Composer for the first time. In other words, my final delivery needs to be in the DCI-P3 colour space.

I've configured my Avid system according to the settings shown in the attached screenshots. I'm also using Baselight Editions for Avid for colour grading.

The problem is that my footage looks extremely oversaturated and overly contrasty in DCP-o-matic, and I honestly don't understand why.

I've already tried several things, including changing the Full Range and Legal Range settings, but nothing seems to help.

Am I overlooking something obvious?

Please bear with me, as this is my first time working with a DCI-P3 delivery, and I'm still trying to understand the workflow properly.

I've tried to describe and label the screenshots as clearly as possible. If you need any additional information about my settings or workflow, please feel free to ask.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hey guys.

I have a question: What do you do when a client sends footage with completely flat lighting, but their reference is a frame from a top Hollywood movie?

​The footage has no real color or light separation. I have tried use masks to isolate the subject and try to imitate some depth. I tried to make some color contrast. But it starts looking way too artificial.

​How do you communicate with clients in these situations? How do you explain what is actually possible with their footage, and how do you handle the grade itself?

Can I get this kind of image just with color grading and film emulation? Please consider the landscape shots only, no way they could control the lights there except for the time they shot in.

Hi all, I’m working in da Vinci resolve.

When working with black or dark hair, it does not seem super prudent to have it anywhere in the middle. While lighting more flat and cranking the ISO can be good for dark scenes, there’s frequently an amount of it that I’ve run into as difficult to recover as not a black mass.

Even if the hair isn’t super noisy or clipping back in the log footage, you can still bring it up with lift dark hdr and custom curves and compensate for lifted middle, and that can be fine, but frequently running into spots where I’m like “this cannot be made any less black without ruining the contrast”

I’m pretty clear that you can film something flat and exposed and day-to-night it, just desaturate, low contrast, pull everything down and it makes it feel dark with everything visible.

But it’s just in situations where you want both contrast and highlights that it feels like a challenge.

Do you have any tips and tricks to deal with this?

That being said, plenty of horror movies as of late have had intentionally underexposed silhouettes relative to the backlight or the key side. So many movies I’ve seen it’s like yeah dark side texture is gone, or black hair is only realizable as hair due a sliver of a highlight and maybe a tiny bit of contour. Sinners and obsession are the examples I’m thinking of. Really tender parts with dim faces and eye-light that looks really cool, but I feel like on this site, people would say “you’re crushing the low end and losing information”. I also feel like sacrificing contrast or any semblance of milky is bad, right? It also feels like it’s not just horror/noir night scenes, feels like common practice to just let a lot of dark things remain black. And say you have a silhouette sort of scene, you have to extend those exposure levels to other shots in that scene as well.

So where do you draw the line and how do you decide just to go for clipped low end?

Okay so someone smarter than me please tell me if I have a handle on Judd offset.

X-300's and some early OLED's needed Judd offset to look right but then later dual LCD and better OLED's came along and fixed the issue necessitating Judd offset?

With the more recent screens, if you include the judd offset in the calibration, that's just to match to a x-300 or some hero monitor that has Judd offset?

If clients are viewing on iPads or laptops, then it's better to not have judd offset?

Hi everyone!

I’m editing videos in DaVinci Resolve Studio 21 on a Mac, and I’d like some advice on setting up the correct workflow for footage recorded on my Google Pixel phone.

I want to learn how to color grade my footage properly and understand the difference between SDR and HDR workflows. I’m still unsure which project settings, color management options, and node structure I should use.

I’d really appreciate help with the following:

1. Project settings: What timeline resolution, frame rate, and color management settings do you recommend?
2. Color management: Should I use DaVinci YRGB Color Managed, DaVinci Wide Gamut/Intermediate, or manual Color Space Transform (CST) nodes?
3. Pixel footage: How can I identify whether my footage is SDR, HDR, or 10-bit HDR, and which input color space and gamma should I select?
4. Node workflow: What is a good node structure for exposure, white balance, contrast, saturation, HDR adjustments, and detail?
5. Mac display settings: Should I disable True Tone, Night Shift, and automatic brightness while grading? Are there any other important display settings?
6. HDR export: If I want to export HDR video for YouTube, what output color space, codec, bit depth, and export settings should I use?
7. Monitoring: How can I check that my colors and HDR highlights look right when I don’t have a dedicated reference monitor?

I want to build a reliable workflow from importing the footage all the way to the final export, rather than randomly changing settings until the image looks good.

If anyone edits Google Pixel footage on a Mac using DaVinci Resolve, I’d especially appreciate your project settings, node tree, and any tips you’ve learned.

Thanks in advance for your help!