The number one resource for information about HDR technology, workflows, tutorials, news and opinion.
We’ve squandered years watching useless YouTube tutorials on balancing shots and correcting skin tones, futzing around with the color wheels, power masks and hue versus hue, but it's always taken forever, we were always guessing and we were never completely satisfied with the results. So here's what we’re doing now - it's completely predictable, repeatable... Continue Reading →
Cullen Kelly will be hosting a free training session with Blackmagic Design entitled‘Exploring HDR & Dolby Vision with DaVinci Resolve’Aug 18, 2022 10:00 AMPacific Time (US and Canada)This “ watch & learn” session will teach you how to create and deliver a finished Dolby Vision Master from Resolve 18! Register now at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Q6k-gU7MSjm-woSNvoXmEQ Agenda items... Continue Reading →
De-noising is unquestionably high on the list of operations we like the least when it comes to post-production. For one thing, it's extremely taxing on computers, which is why we disable the noise reduction node until we're ready to render the entire project. For another, used incorrectly, it can introduce unwanted artifacts and destroy important... Continue Reading →
Ever notice how increasing the saturation of your footage just makes it look more video-ish? Instead of using the saturation knob to increase saturation, how about trying out this method instead: 1. Add a node, right click > Color Space > HSV. 2. Right click again, > Channels > Channel 1 (uncheck). Right click again... Continue Reading →
Grain is one of the key components of the film look but few things are more distracting than seeing clumps of film grain dancing around on the talent's face. One solution is to use the HSL qualifier to isolate skin tones and use the keyer to de-emphasize the grain. An even easier way is to... Continue Reading →
We applied the depth map, then went ahead and added some blur.
https://youtu.be/if7IzD9tl4w Not a few of us have dreamed of being able to work with native ProRes RAW files in DaVinci Resolve, but realistically, it appears as though that’s not on the horizon. We'd been transcoding to ProRes 4444 with variable success for a while when it was announced last year that a Czech filmmaker by... Continue Reading →
During an appearance on Cullen Kelly’s Grade School, the brilliant colorist Jill Bogdanowicz revealed a secret to accenting texture without it looking over-processed. While working on Joker, the colorist used Live Grain - which separates out the red, green and blue channels, creating grain that resembles scanned film - to accentuate texture in the cooler,... Continue Reading →
DaVinci Resolve firmware update 17.4.6 addresses an issue that caused the app to crash when using some of the HDR controls with Apple Silicon. Prior to the update, clicking on any of the range indicators in the HDR palette - the small icon to the upper left of each of the HDR wheels that allows... Continue Reading →
As consumer HDR displays have differing peak luminance and contrast capabilities that are not infrequently less than the mastering display, it's necessary to map PQ content to match the capabilities of the target consumer display device. This scaling or mapping is controlled and managed by metadata. According to YouTube's help page, "HDR videos must have... Continue Reading →
A little while back, we reported that Blackmagic Design had added support for HEVC 4:2:2 Main10 on Apple Silicon in DaVinci Resolve. What we didn't realize at the time was that the render page now had three selections for encoding HEVC: Main (8-bit), Main10 (10-bit 4:2:0) and Main 4:2:2 10. Using Invisor, an app brought... Continue Reading →
DaVinci Resolve Studio 17.4.4 brings many enhancements, chief among them being support for encoding H.265 4:2:2 Main10 on Apple Silicon, the codec used to upload HDR video to YouTube and the most demanding operation on our M1 Max MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM. In order to determine exactly how much of an improvement the update... Continue Reading →
Both clips were shot at base ISO 640. The internal codec was XAVC S-I S-Log3/S-Gamut3, the external was ProRes RAW HQ via the Atomos Ninja V which was then transcoded to ProRes 4444 in Apple Compressor. Sony a7s III in-camera noise processing is splotchy and enlargement reveals unsightly banding artifacts, whereas the externally recorded footage... Continue Reading →
We wrote about this back in August. Supposedly, Blackmagic was on top of it. The highlight tool hasn’t worked properly when using the HDR panel in Resolve 17 since day one. X-Rite WB Card Power Window + Highlight Tool Adjusting Global wheel in HDR tools breaks highlighter. Adjusting Offset wheel in Primaries, highlight behaves normally.
Saturation While the extended color volume of HDR results in perceptibly more vibrant colors able to retain saturation and brightness without compromise, it pays to be cautious with saturation. Glowing skin and radioactive foliage are indications that saturation is cranked up too high. To assess saturation, use the vectorscope. In order to see the highlight... Continue Reading →
The other day, we cautioned Mac M1 users against updating to Resolve 17.4 because of acknowledged issues with getting HDR on an external display and today we learn that Resolve 17.4 can't export Dolby Vision IMF files. Aaron Hayden, colorist and owner of Color Monkey, writes: "Trying to export a UHD Dolby Vision IMF using... Continue Reading →
A Blackmagic forum member writes: "I use a Mac M1 with HDMI directly connected to LG CX. Using the same settings, 17.3.2 can easily watch HDR. After upgrading to 17.4, the exact same color management settings and other settings were tried, but HDR could not be activated. After downgrading to 17.3.2, without making any changes, it directly shows HDR...... Continue Reading →
If your I/O device is recognized by Desktop Video but there's still no picture... Click on Preferences. Go to Video and Audio I/O, and be sure the I/O device is selected. The UI changed with Resolve v.17.3, which might account for Monitor device returning to 'None'.
This post explains how to use the HDR capabilities of an Apple MacBook or iMac built-in display when using DaVinci Resolve and also applies to external HDR capable displays such as the Apple Pro Display XDR, allowing you to preview HDR content directly via the Resolve viewer. The feature is only available on macOS 10.14.6 and above and... Continue Reading →
Walter Volpatto, Senior Colorist, Company 3 (Interstellar, Homecoming, Dunkirk), drops so much wisdom in this one hour, 45 min video! There isn't a dull moment, but perhaps the most interesting segment begins at one hour, 27 minutes where the colorist describes how he had to make the digital image match the film print of Dunkirk... Continue Reading →
The Daejeon Chronicles 