Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Unlock my full pro tools, grading system & community here: https://colorist.inc
Most people working in Resolve’s Color page have learned the importance of color management, whether that’s with RCM, CSTs, ACES, or even just a camera manufacturer LUT. But the only thing these standard solutions do is “tick the box”: none of them give us the strong starting image that great grades build on.
In this video I’ll walk you through the most common forms of color management — plus the *uncommon* one no one is talking about that can supercharge your grades in less than 5 minutes.
Grab Referent, my go-to viewing transform. It’s the heartbeat of the next-level color management I show in this video, and it’s completely free: cullenkellycolor.com/toolkit/referent
Notes:
-I don't show my Project Settings in the video, because they're not affecting my color management since it's all node-based. But here's how you should set things up for best results with things like the HDR Palette and metadata tags in your exports:
Project Settings ➡️ Color Management
-Color science: Davinci YRGB
-Timeline color space: Davinci Wide Gamut Intermediate
-Output color space: Rec. 709 Gamma 2.4
-When I'm demonstrating two-stage color management using nodes, this could just as easily be ACES -- the framework, setup, and core problems are the same.
______________________________________________
0:00 Introduction
0:43 Single-Stage Color Management
4:50 Two-Stage Color Management
9:16 Look + Output Transform
11:34 Terms for display transformations
11:52 Look + Output Transform
12:03 Robusts DRTs vs default solutions
18:02 improving beyond a robust display transformation
19:49 Conclusion
Unlock my full pro tools, grading system & community here: https://colorist.inc
Most people working in Resolve’s Color page have learned the importance of color management, whether that’s with RCM, CSTs, ACES, or even just a camera manufacturer LUT. But the only thing these standard solutions do is “tick the box”: none of them give us the strong starting image that great grades build on.
In this video I’ll walk you through the most common forms of color management — plus the *uncommon* one no one is talking about that can supercharge your grades in less than 5 minutes.
Grab Referent, my go-to viewing transform. It’s the heartbeat of the next-level color management I show in this video, and it’s completely free: cullenkellycolor.com/toolkit/referent
Notes:
-I don't show my Project Settings in the video, because they're not affecting my color management since it's all node-based. But here's how you should set things up for best results with things like the HDR Palette and metadata tags in your exports:
Project Settings ➡️ Color Management
-Color science: Davinci YRGB
-Timeline color space: Davinci Wide Gamut Intermediate
-Output color space: Rec. 709 Gamma 2.4
-When I'm demonstrating two-stage color management using nodes, this could just as easily be ACES -- the framework, setup, and core problems are the same.
______________________________________________
0:00 Introduction
0:43 Single-Stage Color Management
4:50 Two-Stage Color Management
9:16 Look + Output Transform
11:34 Terms for display transformations
11:52 Look + Output Transform
12:03 Robusts DRTs vs default solutions
18:02 improving beyond a robust display transformation
19:49 Conclusion
