Uploaded August 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
In today's video we're talking about Color Grading Under water skin tones in DaVinci Resolve 16. Everything shown today can be done in the free version of Resolve.
Download Davinci Resolve for Free: blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve
Notes:
As I mention in the video, it's all a matter of taste so if you want orange skin under water go for it. My main intention is to show that keeping your skin on the line is not a rule, just a general guide and I figured showing the history of this feature would give some insight and better inform folks.
I will admit that I understand the desire to have rules to stick to, ensuring you get the correct result. Coming from a science background (I actually have a chemistry degree believe it or not haha) These are the sorts of things I always look for, however this is art. Color grading is all subjective, there's no hard rules, just general guides that keep you in the ballpark most times. I think it's important to remember that especially when you're getting bogged down with technical information.
I should also mention that the whole I & Q thing comes from NTSC Broadcasting though the technical reason is kind of above my head. I know that I and Q components are very much a thing with Oscilloscopes (your scopes are oscilloscopes) but I don't have a solid foundation what exactly their purpose is, so I didn't want to misspeak on the subject and give inaccurate information.
References:
Problematic Music video: youtube.com/watch?v=JB2z3hIeqaM
"Skin Line" Forum Discussion: forums.creativecow.net/docs/forums/post.php?forumid=277&postid=17493&univpostid=17493&pview=t
Alexis Van Hurkman Response: vanhurkman.com/wordpress/?p=1930
Tektronix Guide to using Oscilloscopes as artistic tools: tek.com/document/primer/guide-using-waveform-monitors-artistic-tools-color-grading-high-resolution?fbclid=IwAR1Gg7cWlprIEyt19pgN2sNdeoLOC39rZmGIPcIRDYkzp4dDAzQ9SA3jWUk
Learn more about the Vectorscpoe: Pages 2382-2389 of the DaVinci Resolve Reference Manual which can be found in the help tab of Resolve
Gear I use:
Camera - Black Magic Pocket 4k
Microphone - Node NTK
Main Lens - Meike 12mm f2.8
Other lenses - Meike 35 mm f1.7, Rokinon 50mm T1.5, Rokinon 24mm T1.5
Tripod - Velbon Videomate 638
Computer Specs:
CPU - Ryzen 1700x
GPU - GTX 1070
Monitor - Eizo CG2420
In today's video we're talking about Color Grading Under water skin tones in DaVinci Resolve 16. Everything shown today can be done in the free version of Resolve.
Download Davinci Resolve for Free: blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve
Notes:
As I mention in the video, it's all a matter of taste so if you want orange skin under water go for it. My main intention is to show that keeping your skin on the line is not a rule, just a general guide and I figured showing the history of this feature would give some insight and better inform folks.
I will admit that I understand the desire to have rules to stick to, ensuring you get the correct result. Coming from a science background (I actually have a chemistry degree believe it or not haha) These are the sorts of things I always look for, however this is art. Color grading is all subjective, there's no hard rules, just general guides that keep you in the ballpark most times. I think it's important to remember that especially when you're getting bogged down with technical information.
I should also mention that the whole I & Q thing comes from NTSC Broadcasting though the technical reason is kind of above my head. I know that I and Q components are very much a thing with Oscilloscopes (your scopes are oscilloscopes) but I don't have a solid foundation what exactly their purpose is, so I didn't want to misspeak on the subject and give inaccurate information.
References:
Problematic Music video: youtube.com/watch?v=JB2z3hIeqaM
"Skin Line" Forum Discussion: forums.creativecow.net/docs/forums/post.php?forumid=277&postid=17493&univpostid=17493&pview=t
Alexis Van Hurkman Response: vanhurkman.com/wordpress/?p=1930
Tektronix Guide to using Oscilloscopes as artistic tools: tek.com/document/primer/guide-using-waveform-monitors-artistic-tools-color-grading-high-resolution?fbclid=IwAR1Gg7cWlprIEyt19pgN2sNdeoLOC39rZmGIPcIRDYkzp4dDAzQ9SA3jWUk
Learn more about the Vectorscpoe: Pages 2382-2389 of the DaVinci Resolve Reference Manual which can be found in the help tab of Resolve
Gear I use:
Camera - Black Magic Pocket 4k
Microphone - Node NTK
Main Lens - Meike 12mm f2.8
Other lenses - Meike 35 mm f1.7, Rokinon 50mm T1.5, Rokinon 24mm T1.5
Tripod - Velbon Videomate 638
Computer Specs:
CPU - Ryzen 1700x
GPU - GTX 1070
Monitor - Eizo CG2420
