Node types and grade controls

Each node type comes with certain grade controls. They can be found next to the node list at the bottom of the main screen.

Types of grade controls#

All node types and the corresponding grade controls are explained below.

CDL#

The CDL node provides controls for slope, offset, and power (SOP) values of the ASC-CDL formula. It can be controlled by an external hardware grading panel or a Stream Deck device.

There are four interaction types with different controls for different interaction styles. All work on the same set of CDL values, so changing controls in one interaction type changes control positions also in other interaction types.

Tip: To load ASC-CDL files directly to the node, click the gear button on the left side of the CDL node and select whether you want to load or save a CDL.

Color Decision List (CDL)#

The CDL interaction type allows for manipulating values of the SOP triples (for each color channel R, G, B) of the CDL.The values in the text fields are the same values as in an exported ASC-CDL file.

The color wheels have a global control (in the bottom left of each wheel).

An indicator around the ring shows if the global control is modified. Changing the wheel control doesn’t change the global luma of that control, e.g., the channels are balanced, and the global control doesn’t change by changing the wheel position.

Lift, gamma, gain (LGG)#

Allows for the manipulation of lift, gamma, and gain (LGG) values as known from other grading systems.

These control values are mapped to CDL values in the background. The nine text fields show lift, gamma, and gain values (not ASC-CDL values) – switch back to the CDL interaction type to see the CDL values of a certain setting of LGG values.

The color wheels have a global control (in the bottom left of each wheel), and an indicator around the ring shows if the global control is modified. Changing the wheel control doesn’t change the global luma of that control, e.g., the channels are balanced, and the global control doesn’t change by changing the wheel position.

Note: Although ASC-CDL doesn’t specify limits of its values, some 3rd party software products limit values in their ASC-CDL grade controls. An indicator (“i”) on the very right of the grade UI Livegrade indicates that values are out ofthe range that is commonly accepted.

Simplified (SPL)#

The SPL interaction type allows for manipulating the values of the CDL filter with the controls Contrast, Stretch, Warmer, and Greener.

Increasing the “Contrast” control makes the resulting curve steeper by clipping black and white.
Increasing the “Stretch” control increases contrast in the highlights, while decreasing the stretch control increases contrast in the shadows.
Increasing the “Warmer” control gives the image a warmer appearance by giving the shadows a warmer tint while the whites stay unmodified.
Increasing the “Greener” control gives the image a greener appearance by giving the shadows a greener tint while the whites stay unmodified.

Printer Lights (PRT)#

The PRT interaction type allows for simulating a color correction based on printer lights. Printer lights can be approximated by an offset in camera log encodings. Additional buttons for each color channel allow for changes in fixed steps.

Saturation#

Drag the slider to either side to increase or decrease the saturation on your look.

When exporting a look as ASC-CDL, all values of saturation nodes will be merged into one value and will be exported together with the CDL values in the ASC-CDL file.

3D LUT node#

The 3D LUT node is designed to load your own 3D LUTs by pressing the Load… button. Alternatively, you can also use one of the available preset 3D LUTs to convert the image to a certain color space.

1D LUT node#

The 1D LUT lets you load your own 1D LUT file. Click the Load… button and select the 1D LUT you want to load to the node.

RGB curves#

The RGB Curves node lets you apply precise curve adjustments to master RGB values or to individual luma, red, green, blue, and/or custom color channels. Click on Edit button to open the RGB Curves Editor window, which allows you to precisely grade your footage:

There are two modes to choose from:
- “RGB-Based” adjusts the selected color channel, including its luma and saturation values, while the “Master” curve is a ganged RGB curve influencing the red, green, and blue channels at the same time
- “Luma-Based” adjusts the colors red, green, blue, and/or the custom set color without influencing their luma and saturation values, while the “Luma” curve can be adjusted independently
In the “Custom” color curve, you can pick a custom target hue for adjusting a certain color in your image precisely.
To add a curve point, just click on a curve, and to modify its value, just drag and drop. You can adjust curve points using the left/right and up/down arrow keys as well.
To remove a point, select the point and press Backspace.
When you move your mouse over the curve editor, the graph shows you the value of the exact point where it is. When the mouse pointer is not moving or it is outside of the curve editor window, the values of the currently selected curve point are displayed.
There is a color picker tool that lets you pick a specific target color value in the viewer window. Picking a color automatically creates a curve point in the graph of the current tab. The color picker tool can also be used to pick the target hue of the “Custom” color curve.

HSL curves#

The Hue-Sat-Lum (HSL) Curves node lets you apply precise secondary curve adjustments based on hue vs. hue, hue vs. saturation, hue vs. luma, luma vs. saturation, and saturation vs. saturation values. The associated tabs in the HSL Curves node allow you to precisely grade your footage:

The graphs on the x-axis in the individual mode windows (Hue vs. Hue, Hue vs. Sat, Hue vs. Lum, Lum vs. Sat, Sat vs. Sat) represent the target values of the associated mode. Added curve points can be dragged to change the values accordingly along the x-axis and y-axis.
To add a curve point, just click on a curve, and to modify its value, just drag and drop. You can adjust curve points using the left/right and up/down arrow keys as well.
To remove a point, select the point and press Backspace.
When you move your mouse over the curve window, the graph shows you the value of the exact point where it is. When the mouse pointer is not moving or it is outside of the curve editor window, the values of the currently selected curve point are displayed.
There is a color picker tool that lets you pick a specific target color range in the viewer window. Picking a color automatically creates curve points in the graph of the current tab.

HHS node#

The HHS node –Hue to Hue and Saturation– is a new kind of node that allows you to map a certain hue on the image and replace it with another color with a different hue and saturation. Here is an example where the red has been desaturated, but the other colors remain the same:

The HHS editor allows you to drag and drop the hue circles to another location on the color space to replace the original color with another one.

Knee curve node#

The Knee Curve node lets you create simple technical curve adjustments with three parameters for “Black (toe)” and “White (knee)”:

Limit: Increases/decreases the limit for white or black on the curve’s y-axis
Offset: Increases/decreases the offset between the limit and the knee or toe curve point
Threshold: Increases/decreases the x + y coordinates of the knee or toe curve point

Amount slider#

CDL nodes, RGB curve nodes, HSL curve nodes, and HHS nodes have an amount slider that allows fine-tuning the effect of the associated grading node. There is an intensity level indicator on the right-hand side of the node. When clicking on it, you can adjust the intensity in a popover window, either with a slider or by typing in a value from 0-100%.