Using look information from set for the creation of dailies saves time and communication efforts. Blackmagic Design’s “DaVinci Resolve” (http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/davinciresolve) is a powerful and widely used software to create dailies on or near set. This article shows how color information from Livegrade can be used to save extra grading time in Resolve by using the looks created in Livegrade.
CDL Grade mode
Livegrade’s CDL-Grade mode lets you export ASC-CDL files of current color settings in Livegrade. These CDL files can be used in various dailies and post-production tools.
To transfer ASC-CDL files to Resolve or Resolve Light follow these steps:
1. Export ASC-CDL file from Livegrade
- Make sure that your are in “CDL Grade” mode in Livegrade. Do so by switching the grading mode above the color controls or apply a grade from the grade library of the type “CDL Grade”
- Choose “File” -> “Save current Grade as…” or “Save selected Grade as…” and save the .cdl file. You can open this file with a text editor and see the typical ASC-CDL XML syntax.
- Hint: To simplify matching of the CDL files with the clips you can use an automatic name scheme when exporting.
2. Import ASC-CDL file in Resolve
- In Resolve go to the “Color” room.
- In the “Stills” panel right-click and choose “Import”.
- Select “CDL files (*.cdl)” at the bottom of the Open Dialog and navigate to the CDL files just saved in Livegrade.
- A new “Still” with the name of the CDL file will appear in the “Stills” panel.
- Select a 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.
- You should see the controls in 3-WAY COLOR of the selected clips be set according to the CDL values initially coming from Livegrade.
3.Applying a lookup table (3D LUT)
If you are using a 3D LUT in the LUT panel of the CDL grading mode in Livegrade (for example as a preview LUT for log-material), make sure that this LUT is also used in DaVinci Resolve.
Depending on the order of filter panels in Livegrade you might configure Resolve for Loading a “3D Input Lookup Table” or a “3D Output Lookup table” in the “Config” room.
- If in Livegrade the CDL controls are in the upper slot, the LUT is applied after the CDL values and you need to set the LUT in Resolve as output LUT.
- If in Livegrade the CDL controls are in the lower slot, the LUT is applied before and you need to set the LUT in Resolve as input LUT.
Learn more about Livegrade’s CDL grading mode.
Alexa Look mode
Resolve doesn’t support the import of Alexa Look files (xml) directly, but you can instead export a 3D LUT in Livegrade and import that on a per-clip base into Resolve.
1. Export 3D LUT from Livegrade
- Make sure that your are in “Alexa Look” mode in Livegrade. Do so by switching the grading mode above the color controls or apply a grade from the grade library of the type “Alexa Look”
- Choose “File” -> “Save current Grade as 3D LUT…” or “Save selected Grade as 3D LUT…” and save the look as a “DaVinci Resolve” .dat file.
- Hint: To simplify matching of the LUTs with the clips you can use an automatic name scheme when exporting.
2. Install .DAT files for Resolve
- In Finder navigate to /Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/DaVinci Resolve/LUT/Arri
- Copy the created .DAT files into this folder.
- Either restart Resolve or click on “Update Lists” in the “LUTS” tab of the “Config” room.
- In Resolve go to the “Color” room.
- In the “Clip” panel right-click the node and navigate to the right LUT
Read more about Livegrade’s Alexa Look grade mode.