In another blog post that nobody asked for, I thought I’d summarise what I’ve learned and updated in my color grading journey hobby in the last year (instead of updating the 2024 post ad absurdum).

What has changed since 2024? TL;DR – not much.

Mostly because of two things:

1. I feel I’ve reached a happy place where I (at least think) I know what I’m doing and I can consistently and predictably get to results that I like (thus radically reducing the urge and curiosity to keep digging, 80/20 and all that I guess).

2. I’ve been busy doing other things (aka “work“), leaving less time for the “hobby”.

So what am I doing differently in 2025 compared to 2024?

Current default clip-level node tree:

Of note, I’ve added Pixel Tool’s “Prime Grade” plugin (it was on sale) to experiment with one node to rule all primary grading as it looked like it would save me a lot of time and work. And so far, I find it gets me to a great spot faster than hopping around in more nodes and places in DaVinci Resolve manually, making great results easier and faster to achieve. It’s a keeper.

But I’ve also left my old default nodes for primaries in there to lean on just in case – a comfortable and easy fall-back to what I already know how to use – should I ever get lost using this new “Prime Grade” thing.

In the RATio/CONTrast node, I’ve pre-added a .336 pivot point on the Custom Curves (as I’m working in DaVinci Wide Gamut / Intermediate) using Cullen Kelly’s middle gray / exposure DCTL, locking down my middle gray as a default (no-brainer – no idea why I didn’t do this sooner). BTW, you can also use the excellent – and also FREE – Middle Gray dctl from MONONODES.

The rest, like my custom “MTF Sim” and “Lens Degrader” compound nodes, I’ve previously described in the 2024 post.

I’ve also been experimenting with turning OFF the “use S-Curve” setting in DaVinci. Undecided if I should keep it ON or OFF so far. I guess I need more time with OFF to decide, as the vast majority of my time spent in DaVinci Resolve so far it has always been ON, I’m heavily biased.

Current default Timeline node tree:

The main difference in my current Timeline node tree is a bit more of thought and organising going into separating the “Creative” or “Look” part(s) and the “Print” (FPE – Film Print Emulation) parts, also getting them in a more “correct” order – I think. Kinda. Maybe?

Density is still occupied by Iridescent Color’s Density Pro dctl as I tend to stay away from the native ColorSlice options (good intentions, faulty execution) in fear of breaking the image in horrible ways.

My main “goto” for the Look is (still) the native Film Look Creator (FLC), Cullen Kelly’s Voyager Pro v2 taste LUTs, the official Arri LogC4 Look LUTs, and just a hint of JP’s Custom Curves for LOG2499 dctl (applied in DWG/I, without going into Log 2499 first – YOLO!).

I’ve also kept the free trial version of Cullen Kelly’s wonderful “Contour” lookdev plugin in there to get more mileage with it – should I decide to get even deeper out of pocket with into this hobby in the future.

The ACES FPE node is a compound node first going into ACES using CST and then ADX using ACES Transform before applying the FPE LUT to get the most out of the native DaVinci FPE LUTs (they are actually pretty good when used this way!), as suggested by Cullen Kelly.

Just make sure to turn OFF OpenDRT (or any old cst / drt you’re using to go to display space) for going out to display space if you turn this compound node ON – The native FPE LUTs supplied with DaVinci Resolve have their own working color space transform to rec709 display space thing baked in:

When using a single FPE LUT compatible with or made for DWG/I, my main goto is still the Fuji 3510 FPE LUT by Cullen Kelly. I’m a Fujicolor Fanboi, still.

That huge parallel node fan thing is just a way for me to better organise a bunch of on/off “checkers” like Zones, Heatmap, and SweetSpot (in lieu of “False Colors” – which I hate), Skintones, Blanker, etc – basically all the utility dctls I use put in a single stack in parallel to fit them all on one screen and to keep the whole Timeline node tree somewhat usable.

The Halation node is DaVinci Resolve’s native Halation plugin. I’ve left it in there to turn on and tweak if I’m not getting to where I want with the other things in the node tree (e.g. by using the Halation in the FLC), e.g. sometimes adding just a bit to enhance the glow of skin – because I like.

I’ve left free trial versions of both Cullen Kelly & Co’s brilliant “Genesis” FPE plugin and the older (but still very good) Dehancer plugin in there to eff around with and get some experience with – if and only if this hobby would somehow turn into to paid ops in the future, justifying – to myself as a non-pro – the purchase(s).

Of note, what is completely new is that I’m using the latest version of OpenDRT to convert out to rec709 / Gamma 2.2 (yes, I’m still exporting to screens-only, no Gamma 2.4 for me) from working in DaVinci Wide Gamut / Intermediate. I find that the later versions of OpenDRT provide more pleasing (waaaaay more pleasing than using the native CST – no going back by now) results, arguably also nicer faster than the fantastic (and also FREE) 2499 DRT.

The results I get on my own footage by just using a provided preset in OpenDRT like “high contrast” usually does it for me – and on the off-chance it doesn’t, I find it easier and faster to tweak to good taste than using the other DRT candidates.

Have a look and decide for yourself – DRT-only, no grade, look, or FPE applied:

The source material above is Blackmagic DNG Film Gen 1 shot on a s16mm BMD Micro Cinema Camera (MCC) using a vintage Canon FD S.S.C. 50mm f1.4 lens on a 0.58x Metabones SpeedBooster with a 2 stops Lee Filters proglass IRND filter.

Also new in the hardware department is using an additional dedicated ASUS ProArt display with a middle gray background, sporting LX1 Bias Lighting backlights on the display, input signal coming from a BMD UltraStudio Monitor 3G calibrated with DisplayCAL and Argyll using my X-Rite i1, resulting in a correction LUT applied on the input signal running it through a Blackmagic Design MiniConverter 6G SDI to HDMI LUT Box.

Now, did adding all of this fancy (albeit non-pro / non-reference) hardware improve my color grading? No – at least not directly in proportion. I would say that it has enabled me to be bolder, though. I now push things that I would previously be kind of hesitant to. Now that I can be more confident that the results will hold up, it feels a bit liberating – but it’s more of a 20/80 than an 80/20 improvement for me, though.

<RANT>

Dear Blackmagic Design, could you please fix the meh user experience using the BMD UltraStudio Monitor 3G with DaVinci Resolve on a Mac? The device gets so hot you can fry eggs & bacon on it – so feel I need to disconnect it when I am not using DaVinci Resolve.

Now, to be able to use it in DaVinci Resolve again, I have to first connect the device – again, then start DaVinci Resolve (again, because usually I first forget to connect the device and only notice once I’ve started DaVinci Resolve), go into preferences and select the monitoring device, then QUIT DaVinci Resolve again for the changes to take effect, and finally START DaVinci Resolve AGAIN to be able to use the device for monitoring the output?

Seriously? Why? Why? Why? This feels like a shitty MSFT Windows 95 experience in 2025 – WTF?

Conversely, could you perhaps do something to make the device not feel like it will burn down the entire neighbourhood (and instill the fear that it will just stop working prematurely because of thermal weathering / decay) if I leave it connected when not using?

</RANT>

That’s about it for my color grading in 2025.

TODO:

I’m interested in checking out MONONODES’ new v2 of Film Elements demo in-depth – when I get the time – for a couple of reasons:

1. I hear the Film Grain is awesome. (I’ve never been 100% happy with the results of native or FLC grain on my own content).

2. The Vignette, Chromatic Aberration, Lens Blur, and Lens Distortion dctls included are bound to be much better at doing their things than my own “Lens Degrader” power grade kludge that is only (ab)using DaVinci Resolve native stuff.

Also, on the subject of emulating lens characteristics (of lenses we cannot afford or justify affording), I need to get more time with Lewis Potts’ new and exciting “Lens Node” plugin (a shame it seems the free trial has a limited number of available lenses to emulate?).

3. CAN HAZ MTF DCTL!!! ZOMG – MOAR Modulation Transfer Function Curves!

No seriously, that part got me super excited – I get VERY excited for anything MTF-related – because MTF is THE ONE THING that makes the digital content (that I’ve shot myself using my own gear, at least – which is currently 100% of what I grade) instantly look more analogue or “cine”. MTF is It’s the one thing that finally tips the scale, it’s my missing ingredient to actually sell the illusion (for me).

If you can’t tell already, MTF is where I really get my nerd-rocks off, because the science is incredibly fascinating and it’s a terribly undervalued and underappreciated aspect in digital film grading – and I guess that is mainly because most “pro” colorists are used to grading “pro” footage shot on “pro” cameras using “pro” “cine” glass by “pros” – MTF is just not a thing they have to deal with on a regular basis, as most likely there’s been a “pro” DoP involved in advance too, making sure – in theory – that the MTF part of what goes into creating that “cine”feelz is already checked off. But what do I know…

Currently, I’m still using an MTF emulation power grade inspired by Marieta Farfarova to feed my MTF addiction – and the results are great, but it is a bit cumbersome to use, not very intuitive when changing settings around, so any MTF that is easier to use, provides more intuitive control, and could possibly deliver even better results would be extremely welcome in my default node tree!

I might also look into effing around more with how to do more interesting stuff in the the bottom of the image, aka how to achieve more nuances in the blacks – however, I’m quite happy with some crunch in there, so I’m not sure if I need to “see into my blacks” more – but it’s worth experimenting with more, though. It’s on my to-do list in custom curves experimentation, aka creating more looks and feelz just using my own custom curves and no plugins/LUT/dctl/etc.

Also, one of these days I’ll add Thatcher Freeman’s brillant RGB Chips utility dctl to my default node tree – or at least as a convenient power grade. RGB Chips is a great utility dctl for checking what your grading and look / print are actually doing to your image. It’s also great for auditioning unknown “found” LUTs for unwanted side-effects (or at least for instantly getting a better understanding of what they are doing to the image) before you apply them, in my experience.

Update: I just did. Added “RGB Chips” to the “checker” parallel stack in the Timeline node tree, default OFF.