In this blog post I would like to answer questions that arise when getting started with DaVinci Resolve. Questions like: “What are the best courses, the best YouTube channels? Which monitor should I buy? Which hardware? Why do the colors look different in Quicktime Player or on YouTube? What format should I render my movie in?” This blog post is a collection of links paired with my own experiences and tips that will hopefully help you to evolve your color grading skills.

These books are about color in general. They deal with subjective perception and objective color principles and present the key to understanding color. If you click on the covers, you will be redirected to Google. (Support your local bookstore if you can.)

If you are new to DaVinci Resolve I highly recommend to start with the Training Videos by Blackmagic Design. Also check out the “Training Books”. (All FREE)

I have mixed feelings recommending courses. I am more of a minimalist, as you can tell by this site. I often like “fundamental courses” more than “creative ones”. Sometimes “advanced courses” are going in a direction I personally would not recommend (For example: “Qualifying the skin”). In any case, it’s important to understand that there is not ONE right way when it comes to color grading – there are many.

With that in mind, I’d recommend starting with DaVinci Resolve’s tutorials first. Learn the basics. Learn how to read the scopes. The next step is to find a teacher / course that suits you. Every technic is just a tool and just because some professionals prefer certain tools it doesn’t mean you have to use the same tools if they don’t feel right to you.

Learning tools is one thing. What I also highly recommend is to take a closer look at the philosophical aspects of grading and communication with clients. I really enjoy watching interviews from colorists whose work I admire. What I do is this: I go to IMDB of a movie I like and click on “Full Cast & Crew” and search for “colorist”. I copy the name into google and search for videos, articles and interviews. This way you will find some great and inspirational content.

I encourage you to do the same. Here are just two examples:
1. Walter Volpatto interviewed by Edi Walger. ColorDoctor.
2. Colour on Stage: Eric Weidt / Creating the unique look for ’Mindhunter’

One last advice on this matter: Don’t get lost in courses and training videos. Learn the basics and then grade projects. You only get better by practicing and working on real projects.

demystify-color.com

For advanced users. Lots of color science research, DCTL and more.

Quote from Nico Wieseneder:
“I strongly believe sharing knowledge is the way we’re all together getting better rather than keeping all the secrets to oneself. Whether you’re just kicking off your colorgrading career or want to push yourself to the next level. I’m here to demystify all the tools, workflows, tips and tricks.”

tacresolvetraining.com

Another fantastic site.
Check out:

Learn with Masters
12 noted colorists.
10+ hours of training.
More information on TAC Website.

Here are some of my favorite YouTube channels. There are many more great channels out there. This is just my personal list that I can recommend to 100%. Be sure to check out Goat’s Eye View. Daria Fissoun talks a lot about DaVinci Resolve 12.5, but most of her advice is still valid today.

Darren Mostyn

Senior Colourist and founder of Online Creative post facility in the UK – established in 1999. He regularly color grade for BBC and most of the UK terrestrial broadcasters.

Goat’s Eye View

Daria Fissouns old youtube channel. Daria is the woman that teaches you how to start Color grading in the Video “The Art of Color Grading” on Blackmagics Website.

CookeOpticsTV

Interviews with some of the world’s renowned cinematographers, who share their advice and behind the scenes stories from their experiences throughout their careers.

Farbkanal

Color Grading / Filmmaking / DaVinci Resolve Tutorials.
(German Channel)

Cullen Kelly

Professional colorist, image scientist, and educator obsessed with the power of a well-crafted image.

© Tim Yemmax / Farbkanal

A good starting point is this article called:
Colour Management for Video Editors
by Jonny Elwyn / jonnyelwyn.co.uk

It covers the following questions:

• Which colour profile should you set your monitor to for video editing?
• How do you know what colour space to be working in?
• How do I correctly colour grade for internet delivery?
• Do you need to have an external video I/O box between your computer and the monitor?
• Why does the colour look different in Quicktime vs VLC vs YouTube vs Vimeo vs Chrome vs Safari, all on the same monitor?

Another great article comes from Cullen Kelly for frame.io:
Grading for Mixed Delivery: Cinema, Home, and Every Screen in Between

Please also check out these three articles that give you more Information about Levels, Rec709-A and color shifts. All three articles are by Dan Swierenga.

1. How to Deal with Levels: Full vs. Video

2. A Deeper Look at Consistent Color with QuickTime Tags From Resolve To YouTube & Vimeo on Wide Gamut Apple Monitors

3. Matching Color: DaVinci Resolve’s Viewer & Mac P3 Displays and Applications (for macOS High Sierra)

All three articles by Dan Swierenga. He is a colorist and Flame artist with over 10 years of experience in post production coloring and finishing feature films, shorts, documentaries and commercials. Dan is the co-founder of the post production blog ThePostProcess.com.

This graphic is very simplified. Yes, DaVinci Resolve Studio “supports” some h264 codecs. But often it is still stuttering. DaVinci Resolve (Studio) doesn’t like “GOP” (Group of Pictures) formats, and that is fine. H264 is NOT an “editing format” so it is best to convert those files into DNxHR for example. DaVinci Resolve works smooth with ProRes, DNxHR, braw, red, arri files and many more. On slower Computers, go to Project Settings and set the Timeline resolution to 1080p (instead of 4k) before using “Optimized media”. Lowering the resolution often is enough to give you smooth playback. But don’t forget to change your Project settings back to 4k if you want to render “true 4k”.
For more information, check out these links:

AVC / H.264 / HEVC and DaVinci Resolve | Why You Need to Transcode
by Richard Lackey / richardlackey.com

What H.264/H.265 Hardware Decoding is Supported in DaVinci Resolve Studio?
by Matt Bach / pugetsystems.com

Supported Formats and Codecs / DaVinci Resolve / April 2020 (PDF)
by Blackmagicdesign / documents.blackmagicdesign.com

YouTube, Vimeo, and every other video platform often provide detailed guidelines for video and audio. There is no trick how to get better Quality on those platforms. The only “trick” is to upload in 4k. Because your video will be transcoded with a higher bit rate. And instead of uploading a h264/h265 file, you could also upload ProRes and DNxHR files. But do your own tests and see if it is worth it.

YouTube: Recommended upload encoding settings
Vimeo: Video and audio compression guidelines

Vimeo also provides an article how to use “HandBrake” to compress and prepare MP4 videos for the upload on Vimeo. Click here.

99% of the time, I am rendering a DNxHR master out of Resolve. In the second step, I use HandBrake to convert those file into h264 before uploading it to Youtube or Vimeo. Another good converter might be shutterencoder. I did not yet test it out, but I know a lot of people are using this one.

liftgammagain.com

“Lift Gamma Gain is a forum for motion picture and television colorists, as well as anyone interested in color science, color grading, and technology for film, television, and digital media.”

blackmagicdesign.com/support

This is the Blackmagic Design support center. Here you will find the latest software updates, support notes, instruction manuals and all kinds of helpful information. If you need extra help, you can also check out the community forum.

yedlin.net

Steve Yedlin is a cinematographer. Best known for films like “Looper”, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” and “Knives Out”. On his website you can find great videos on “color science”, “resolution” and much more. On this site you will find a series of his “nerdy film tech stuff” posts.

Why You Shouldn’t Use ACES

by Cullen Kelly
4 min. Video / YouTube
Part1:
Davinci Resolve: ACES Explained, Part 1
by Cullen Kelly – 11 min. Video / YouTube

acescentral.com

A GUIDE TO ACES
“The ACES Primer provides foundational knowledge for understanding and using ACES. It outlines the history of ACES, including why it was developed, as well as its current and future value in production and postproduction workflows..”

What Is ACES And How Do You Use It?

mixinglight.com
“In this Flight Path, you learn what ACES is and how the post-production pipeline is executed. ACES-related acronyms are broken down and you learn how to set up ACES on several different, common software platforms.”

shotdeck.com

“The Industry’s best research tool. We are the largest library of fully searchable high-definition movie images in the world.”

film-grab.com

“The largest growing archive of stills from the best films ever. 160,000+ beautiful stills from 100+ years of cinema.”

evanerichards.com

“On this site you can view some of my past work and on the blog you can read my thoughts on film, cinematography and visual effects and look at the reference library of cinematography from some of the greatest movies ever shot.”

filmcolors.org

The Timeline of Historical Film Colors.
More than 20.000 photos of historical color film prints.