LOOK / LAB / PRINT
v3.5 (BETA)
DCTLS
BETA RELEASE NOTES
This is a beta version of the DCTL pack. It is provided
for testing, look development, and feedback purposes.
This beta will expire on:
December 31, 2025
After this date, the DCTLs will no longer function in DaVinci Resolve. More
detailed documentation is provided further down the page. Feedback is welcome.
DOWNLOAD:
317 kb
Please read the INSTALL.pdf file included in the ZIP.
NEW FEATURES
• Support for 8 color spaces
• PRINT now includes Hue controls
• PRINT also has an optional “Show Curves” overlay for visualizing tone mapping
• LAB now includes Temp and Tint sliders
NOTES – November 8, 2025:
- The code for the “Show Curves” overlay will be improved in the final version.
CHANGES
1.
LAB is now a single DCTL. Color space selection is performed directly in the UI. The visible Pivot slider automatically aligns to the correct mid-gray for each format.
2.
PRINT loads with LUT disabled by default. This provides a neutral film-informed base before blending in a print LUT if desired.
3.
Printer Lights:
“Auto Hue Rotate” is now OFF by default.
DCTL
This DCTL is a film-informed display transform. It takes camera-encoded footage and renders it into standard viewing spaces like Rec.709 / 2.4 or DCI-P3 / 2.6. It reshapes tone, gamut, and highlight roll-off to echo how film handles exposure and color, giving you a natural, photographic foundation for grading.
An optional Print-Film Emulation mode uses and seamlessly integrates with DaVinci Resolve’s native print LUTs (e.g. Kodak 2383). The DCTL first normalizes the image for consistent response, then lets you blend Color and Luminance from the LUT independently.
Additional controls include global and per-channel shadow offsets for fine tonal balance, and hue-rotation tools that apply perceptually weighted shifts while maintaining contrast and saturation.
KEY FEATURE
Blend the film-informed base with
authentic print-film character.
Film-Informed DRT
A photographic foundation for modern color workflows.
Conventional Color Space Transforms (CSTs) convert log footage with fixed math. Accurate, but often too electronic.
The PRINT DCTL adds a film-inspired rendering stage that shapes tone, compresses gamut, and preserves highlight energy for a more organic, photographic feel. It’s informed by film response but not tied to a single stock. The result is a neutral yet cinematic base that combines CST predictability with filmic depth.
It can be seamlessly combined with print-film emulation when desired.
Print Film Emulation
Blend the neutral base with a classic print look.
The film-informed base of the PRINT DCTL can be extended with print-film emulation, for example using DaVinci Resolve’s Kodak 2383 LUT. Enabling Apply LUT activates this mode.
The DCTL provides a carefully balanced foundation so that print-film LUTs respond in a stable and visually consistent way.
With LUT Color and LUT Luminance, you can dial anywhere between a clean, modern rendering and a more traditional film aesthetic.
Move the slider to blend between both stages.
HUE ADJUSTMENT
Film naturally guides saturated colors toward neighboring hues in a smooth and gradual way, so strong reds lean slightly into orange, neon blues ease toward cyan, and greens settle into more grounded foliage tones. This gives film color its cohesive, photographic character rather than a synthetic or “digital” feel.
The hue controls in this DCTL allow you to introduce that same behavior, so saturated hues shift smoothly while lower saturation areas, including skin and neutrals, remain stable. It is a film-informed response rather than a strict reproduction of a specific stock, reflecting how film color tends to settle.
LOOK
DCTL
This DCTL draws from the color and tonal characteristics of classic Kodak and Fuji negative film. Each look carries the character of analog film while remaining flexible enough to grade in many directions.
The intent is not strict stock emulation, but a translation of what makes film visually appealing. Color separation, highlight behavior, and tonal shaping are designed to respond naturally as you grade.
A Skin Bias control is included for subtle refinement of skin tones, allowing a gentle shift toward either magenta or green when needed.
DEFINED BY
40 PARAMETERS
The look is shaped by a set of 40 internal parameters that define how hue, saturation, and tonal ranges interact. They form the internal structure of the look. They define how saturation behaves at different brightness levels, how secondary hues move in the highlights, and how color density is preserved in the shadows. Working at this level allows the look to respond to exposure and grading adjustments in a stable way, similar to how film behaves.
MONROE
Inspired by the color character associated with classic Kodak film palettes. Named after the Monroe district in Rochester, New York, where Kodak’s headquarters is located.
NAGANO
Influenced by the tonal qualities often linked to Fuji film. Named after the Nagano region of Japan. It sits not far from Tokyo, where Fuji’s headquarters is located in Akasaka, Minato.
RIDGEFIELD
Inspired by the natural landscapes surrounding Rochester, home to Kodak’s headquarters.
LOOK & PRINT
WORKFLOW
Combine both DCTLs to recreate
the complete film process.
The LOOK DCTL establishes a film-negative foundation, shaping exposure, color, and highlight behavior to respond like analog film. The PRINT DCTL builds on that foundation, applying film-informed tone mapping and optional print-film emulation for display.
Used together, they recreate the full photochemical chain, from camera negative to projected print, producing a natural and film-like image.
LAB
DCTL
This DCTL gives you precise control over the look of your footage. It provides detailed, film-oriented adjustments for exposure, contrast, tone, and color, enabling a refined and cinematic grade.
The LAB DCTL currently supports eight of the most widely used color spaces, including ARRI LogC3, ARRI LogC4, ACEScct, DaVinci Wide Gamut Intermediate (DWG), Blackmagic Film Gen 5, Panasonic V-Log, RED Log3G10, and Sony S-Log3.
When you select a color space, the DCTL automatically sets the correct internal pivot point for that format, so the visible Pivot slider starts at 0.0, representing the default mid-gray for your chosen color space.
MONO-Lab DCTL is designed for users who prefer to balance their image beforehand using HDR wheels, Linear Gain, or Printer Lights, and therefore do not need Temp and Tint controls inside the DCTL.
MONO-Lab-TempTint DCTL provides an additional set of Temp and Tint sliders for those who prefer to make these adjustments directly within the same DCTL.
FILMIC CONTRAST
Contrast & Pivot
Adjust overall contrast while keeping midtones balanced. The pivot acts as the anchor point that tones shift around.
Tone Compression
Smooths the brightest tones for a natural, filmic highlight curve. Protects midtones while easing transitions into white.
Highlights
Shapes how bright areas roll off. Prevents harsh clipping and maintains smooth detail in the upper range.
Black Point
Sets the darkest value. Lower for richer blacks, raise to soften and lift the image.
Shadows & Shadow Range
Refine the depth and shape of dark areas. Preserve shadow detail or deepen the lows without crushing them.
SUBTRACTIVE
SATURATION
& DENSITY
Subtractive Sat
This tool adjusts hue values through subtractive color adjustments.
Deep Sat
Excludes the brightest portions of the image from the subtractive saturation effect.
RGBCMY Density
Individually adjust the brightness of Red, Green, Blue, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow, allowing you to lighten or darken specific hues with fine control.
Deep Density
Limits the impact of the density sliders on highlights, allowing you to focus density adjustments primarily on midtones and darker regions without affecting brighter details.
TWO STRIP
The Two-Strip Technicolor process was an early color film technique that used red and green filters to create its signature look. Our Two-Strip slider lets you apply this effect to your digital films, adjusting the intensity of those classic tones for an authentic vintage feel.
BLEACH BYPASS
Bleach Bypass is a film processing method that skips the bleaching step, leaving silver in the emulsion. This reduces color saturation while boosting contrast, creating a gritty, high-impact look often used for dramatic effect.
PRINTER LIGHTS
DCTL
Master Light
Simulates raising or lowering all printer lights equally.
Auto Hue Rotate
Auto Hue Rotate performs a global hue rotation, much like the standard Hue control in DaVinci Resolve. The difference is that it automatically calculates the rotation amount based on your printer light adjustments. This helps maintain natural-looking skin tones by keeping them closer to the skin tone line as you grade.
See the walkthrough here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vcXP61n_f0
Hue Rotate
A manual global hue rotation control. Useful for correcting color shifts or applying creative color styling.
Half-Scale Mode
Reduces the intensity of the printer light controls.
Printer Lights
Printer lights adjust the balance of the red, green, and blue channels in the image. When you increase or decrease the green channel, for example, the image shifts toward magenta or green. This affects every hue in the frame. As a result, skin tones may move away from the natural skin tone line on the vectorscope. This is expected behavior when using printer lights without any form of hue compensation.
Auto Hue Rotate
Auto Hue Rotate analyzes your printer light adjustments and applies a global hue rotation to counteract the color shift. This helps guide skin tones back toward the correct position on the vectorscope, keeping the image more natural and balanced. Since the rotation is applied to the entire image, all colors are influenced. For example, blue areas may shift slightly toward cyan. The goal is to preserve proper skin tone while still allowing creative printer light control.
NODE TREE
WORKFLOW
Start with the LAB DCTL, then apply the LOOK DCTL, and finish with the PRINT DCTL. If you are using Printer Lights for image balancing, place the PRINTER LIGHTS DCTL before the LAB DCTL. This ensures a clean, neutral foundation. If you are using Printer Lights for creative look development, place the PRINTER LIGHTS DCTL between the LAB and LOOK DCTLs.
Since the LOOK and PRINT DCTLs are designed for global look development, they can also be applied on the timeline level. This allows you to maintain a consistent filmic response across all shots, while doing individual balancing and corrections at the clip level.
This pack is fully compatible with other DCTL packs such as Color Shift, Hue Twist, RGB Crosstalk, and RGB Split Tone.
VIDEO
YouTube: https://youtu.be/i6cKoJ14sIw
INSTALL GUIDELINES
Copy the entire MONO-LLP-v4 folder (the one that contains the DCTL files) directly
into your LUT directory. Do NOT place it inside any additional subfolders. If the
folder is nested incorrectly, the PRINT DCTL will not function properly.
