Dailies workflow with DaVinci Resolve

Livegrade’s “CDL + LUT” and “CDL Advanced” mode lets you export ASC-CDL files from saved shots. These CDL files can be used in various dailies and post-production tools, such as DaVinci Resolve.

To transfer ASC-CDL files to Resolve follow these steps:

1. Export ASC-CDL files from selected Shots

Select the shots you want to export
Right-click on your selection and choose [Export Shot(s) As…]

In the opened dialog

select ASC-CDL (*.cdl) and choose a naming scheme that fits the needs of your post production pipeline.
Choose to Export Still Images with/without applied looks to save reference images together with your CDLs.
Save them to a location, from where you can hand-over your CDLs to Resolve.

2. Import ASC-CDL files to Resolve

In Resolve go to the Color room.
In the Gallery panel right-click and choose Import.
Select CDL files (*.cdl) at the bottom of the dialog and navigate to the CDL files just saved in Livegrade.
New “Stills” with the name of the CDL file will appear in the Gallery panel.
Select one or multiple clips in the timeline that you want the CDL apply to.
Right-click the new Still and choose Add correction in the context menu.

3. Import reference images to Resolve

If you exported still images in step 1, you can import them to Resolve in the same way you imported your CDLs
Go to the Color room
In the Gallery panel right-click and choose Import.
Select *TIFF files (*.tif, .tiff) at the bottom of the dialog and navigate to the CDL files just saved in Livegrade.
New “Stills” with the name of the CDL file will appear in the Stills panel.
Now you can use them as reference in Resolve

4.Applying a lookup table (3D LUT)

If you used a 3D LUT in Livegrade, make sure that this LUT is also used in DaVinci Resolve.

This can be done via the Color Management Settings tab in Resolve’s settings, or via adding a LUT into the node graph of your grade in Resolve.