Video Editing
How To Color Grade In DaVinci Resolve In 20 Minutes
A repeatable 6-node workflow for grading flat or Log footage in DaVinci Resolve. It covers exposure and LUT conversion, plus halation and grain. It is built to run start to finish in 20 minutes.
By Ediskool
How To Color Grade In DaVinci Resolve In 20 Minutes
Table of Contents
1. How to Color Grade in DaVinci Resolve in 20 Minutes
2. What You Need Before You Start
3. Project Setup: Preparing Your Source Footage
4. The 6-Node Color Grading Workflow
5. How to Color Grade Daylight Footage
6. How to Reuse Your Grade with Grab Still
7. How to Color Grade Night Footage
8. Advanced Technique: Outside Node Desaturation
9. Color Correction vs. Color Grading
10. 20-Minute Color Grading Workflow: Quick Checklist
11. Frequently Asked Questions
12. Final Thoughts
13. Learn Professional Video Editing & Color Grading with EDISKOOL
How to Color Grade in DaVinci Resolve in 20 Minutes
You can color grade any flat video clip in merely 20 minutes with ease. In fact, you can produce an advanced and high-end cinematic video grade within this exact timeframe without getting lost inside the application's complex menu system.
Whether you have failed to invest enough time to learn the fundamental principles of the software or you have difficulties following multiple video editing tutorials, this ultimate guide walks you through every single step of a professional-grade video colouration. With this powerful skill set, you will be able to tackle any flat camera clip in a short time and produce high-quality results.
If you are interested in building a proper video editing foundation, feel free to explore the Ediskool Video Editing Programs to discover ultimate solutions for your complete workflow, starting from raw clips and finishing with the client's delivery.
What You Need Before You Start
Before you dive into the Color page, you'll need some things in place. You'll need DaVinci Resolve installed on your system, your footage imported, and you'll need a clip that has sufficient exposure data to work with. This workflow is particularly good for flat or Log footage, but remember that the basic idea of first touching up the image and then building your look is also applicable for other types of footage.
Before and After: What You Should Actually Look For
Do not confuse the grade simply by asking yourself if the final frame looks “cinematic.” Instead, look for specific changes: the flat Log image should gain contrast during conversion, and its shadows should stop being hopelessly dark. Meanwhile, the highlights should hold their detail, so that the creative grade may add cool shadows, warm highlights, and fine texture without overpowering the image.
Project Setup: The Source Footage
For this breakdown, we are working with raw clips from an upcoming short film titled The Rumors. These shots were recorded on the Sony FX3 in a flat Log profile:
Daylight Shot: A clean, wide daytime outdoor composition.
Night Shot: A stylized low-light setup featuring split complementary lighting (cool blue exterior lighting mixed with practical warm orange interior lights).
Why Flat Log Footage Matters
When shooting on professional cameras like the Sony FX3, capturing flat Log gives you maximum dynamic range and retains image details across highlights and deep shadows.
Setting Up Your Timeline
Drag and drop your raw Log clips into your DaVinci Resolve Media Pool.
Go to File > Project Settings (or click the bottom-right gear icon).
Under Master Settings, match your timeline resolution to your capture format—set it to 4K UHD (3840 x 2160). Click Save and switch over to the Color Page.
The 6-Node Color Grading Workflow
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Every professional video follows a structured, repeatable node tree. By keeping tasks separated into discrete serial nodes (Alt + S), you avoid destructively stacking corrections onto a single layer.
Press Alt + S to generate 5 to 6 serial nodes in your graph:
Node 1: Base Exposure
Node 2: LUT / Conversion
Node 3: Color Temperature
Node 4: Gradient Depth
Node 5: Color Toning
Node 6: Halation & Grain
How to Color Grade Daylight Footage
Step 1: Technical conversion (node 2)
Go to Node 2 and open the LUT browser on the left panel, find the corresponding Sony conversion LUT, drag it to the node to apply. This will turn your flat Log footage into the standard Rec.709.
Workflow note: Keep Node 1 upstream before this LUT so that you are adjusting the primary color corrections on the wide Log information before any technical compression takes place.
Step 2: Exposure Correction & Scopes (Node 1)
Return to Node 1 and open your Waveform Monitor.
Lift (Shadows): Pull the Lift wheel down slightly to deepen your blacks. Because The Rumors carries a moody horror/thriller tone, bring shadows down without letting the trace drop past the zero floor line on the graph (which causes black clipping and detail loss).
Gain (Highlights): Lower or balance the Gain wheel so bright sky and sunlight elements stay controlled within safe limits.
Step 3: Overall Temperature (Node 3)
Move to Node 3. Slightly increase the Temperature slider to introduce a natural, pleasing warm tone across the entire scene.
Step 4: Adding Cinematic Edge Depth (Node 4)
To give the daylight shot depth and direct the viewer's focus:
Open the Power Window panel and select the Linear Gradient Mask.
Position the gradient mask along the bottom border of the frame and feather the boundary arrow upward. Lower the Contrast and slightly pull down the Pivot value on this node.
This introduces a subtle dark band along the ground, immediately boosting depth.
Step 5: Stylized Color Separation (Node 5)
Create visual harmony by pushing complementary tones into your tonal ranges:
Shadows: Drag the Lift wheel toward Cyan/Blue to add cool shadow atmosphere.
Highlights: Drag the Gain wheel toward warm Yellow/Amber.
Combining cool cyan shadows with warm highlights gives every frame a cinematic edge.
Step 6: Halation & Film Grain (Node 6)
To add a soft, dreamy bloom, choose between two primary effects:
Standard Glow: Adds broad highlight diffusion (available in the free version).
Halation (OFX): For a more authentic look, Halation wraps high-contrast edges in an organic red film scatter rather than washing out the whole frame.
Drag Halation onto your node.
Under Secondary Glow, set Strength to 0.25 and speed to 1.0.
Adjust the threshold slightly so the effect hugs high-contrast silhouettes.
Film Grain: Add the Film Grain effect directly after Halation and choose the 35mm 400T preset. This adds rich organic texture while preserving crisp edge clarity.
How to Reuse Your Grade with Grab Still
You do not need to manually repeat this grade across every daytime clip:
Right-click anywhere in your Color preview window and select Grab Still.
Your complete node graph and settings will appear in the Gallery tab on the left.
Select any new daylight clip on your timeline, drag and drop the still directly onto the clip (or right-click the still and hit Apply Grade).
The entire 6-node tree is instantly applied.
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How to Color Grade Night Footage
Night scenes require a dedicated approach—never paste a daylight grade directly onto night footage, as it will crush details and create harsh, unreadable contrast.
Exposure Baseline: Create your node tree and apply the conversion LUT on Node 2. Because night scenes often drop too dark, return to Node 1 and raise the Lift wheel to protect shadow information.
Atmospheric Tinting: In Node 3, slightly increase the temperature slider. Adding slight warmth over the cool blue baseline yields an eerie, suspenseful green-teal aesthetic suitable for horror sequences.
Volumetric Light Rays (OFX):
Unlike standard glow effects, the Rays tool generates dynamic, realistic light streaks emanating from practical fixtures.
Drag Rays onto an isolated node and move the source point directly over your scene's practical light fixture.
Adjust the intensity and ray length. As actors move past the light, the volumetric rays break naturally around their silhouettes.
Finish: Apply Halation (Strength: 0.25, Speed: 1.0) and Film Grain (35mm 400T) to finalize texture.
Advanced Subject Isolation: Outside Node Desaturation
When ambient lighting creates an unwanted, uniform color cast (such as an overpowering orange wash): Go to the Power Window panel and draw a circular mask around your primary subject or vehicle. Right-click the mask node and select Add Node > Add Outside (Alt + O).
On this new Outside Node, drag down the Saturation slider and soften the mask feather. This desaturates distracting background elements while keeping your subject vibrant and front-and-centre.
Color Correction vs. Color Grading
These two terms are often used interchangeably, but they solve different problems. Color correction is about getting the image into a clean, balanced place: exposure, white balance, contrast, and consistency. Color grading comes after that and is where you shape the mood. In simple terms, correction makes the shot look right; grading helps make it feel a certain way.
20-Minute Color Grading Workflow: Quick Checklist
The 20-minute target works best when you avoid endlessly tweaking every control. Spend the first few minutes setting up the timeline and getting your exposure under control. Move into the technical conversion, then temperature and tonal shaping. Leave the final few minutes for creative color, texture, and a quick quality check. The exact timing will vary with the footage, but the order keeps you moving.
Final Quality Check Before Export
Before you call the grade finished, play the sequence from beginning to end. Check the Waveform, look at highlights and shadows, and compare nearby shots for consistency. If there are people, check skin tones again. Then watch the footage without stopping every few seconds. Sometimes an adjustment that looks great on one still becomes distracting once the image is moving.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: Why should I place my technical conversion LUT on Node 2 instead of Node 1?
Placing your LUT or Color Space Transform on Node 2 allows Node 1 to function as an upstream pre-LUT exposure controller. This lets you adjust shadows, highlights, and contrast using the camera sensor's full uncompressed Log dynamic range before the image is compressed into standard Rec.709 color space.
Q2: What is the exact shortcut to create a new serial node in DaVinci Resolve?
Press Alt + S on Windows or Option + S on macOS to generate a standard serial node. To create an inverted outside node from an active mask, press Alt + O (Windows) or Option + O (macOS).
Q3: How do I prevent black crush and blown highlights when color grading?
Always monitor the Waveform Scope in the Color Page. Ensure your Lift (shadows) does not sink below the 0 IRE baseline to avoid losing shadow texture, and keep your Gain (highlights) below the 1023 IRE threshold to prevent harsh white clipping.
Q4: What makes the Halation OFX plugin better than the standard Glow effect?
The standard Glow tool creates a uniform, bright haze across all light areas. The Halation plugin accurately simulates analog film emulsion physics by scattering a subtle warm red-orange halo specifically along high-contrast boundaries (best dialed in at 0.25 Secondary Glow Strength and 1.0 Speed).
Q5: Can I copy a single color grade across multiple clips at once?
Yes. Right-click the preview window and select Grab Still to save your node tree to the Gallery. Select your target clips on the timeline, right-click the saved still, and choose Apply Grade. You can also copy grades instantly by middle-clicking any previously graded clip on your timeline.
Q6: Can I use the same grade for both day and night footage?
No. Applying a daytime grade to a night shot usually results in crushed shadows, extreme digital noise, and harsh contrast. Always create dedicated Gallery Stills tailored specifically for daytime high-key scenes and low-light night scenes.
Q7: Where can I learn end-to-end professional video editing and color workflows?
You can explore step-by-step masterclasses and industry workflows by checking out the specialized courses on Ediskool.
Final Thoughts
A good color grade does not come from using the largest number of tools. It comes from making a few deliberate decisions in the right order. Keep the technical work separate from the creative work, protect your shadow and highlight detail, and use texture effects with restraint. Once this six-node approach becomes familiar, grading a new sequence becomes much less intimidating—and much faster.
Conclusion
Color grading doesn't have to eat up your whole afternoon or feel like guesswork every single time. Once you've got this 6-node structure down — exposure, conversion, temperature, depth, toning, and texture — you're not reinventing the wheel on every project. You're just running the same reliable process on different footage. Keep your scopes honest, keep an eye on skin tones, and let the grade support the story instead of fighting for attention. That's really all a good grade needs to do.
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Disclaimer: The software features, tools, plugins (including Halation OFX, Standard Glow, and Rays), and workflows discussed in this article are provided for educational purposes only. DaVinci Resolve's interface, node behaviour, LUTs, and OFX plugin availability may change with future software updates. Always refer to Blackmagic Design's official documentation for the most current information. Ediskool is not affiliated with or endorsed by Blackmagic Design unless explicitly stated.
Last Updated: Sept 2026
Reviewed regularly as DaVinci Resolve features, color grading tools, and professional editing workflows evolve.