Blackmagic Forum

I'm new to Resolve and have issues exporting my files so that they look like the color grading I applied.

First export was codec Apple ProRes 4444 @ 3840x2160 UltraHD which is the initial Arri Alexa camera format.

Data Levels were set to : Video
Colors came out flat. Skin tone was greyish. The final export seems to have lost REDS and contrast.

Research on the subject said that Data Levels should be set to : Full (in Advanced Settings) and to check "Retain sub-black and super-white data). This did the opposite. Completely crashed the blacks to 0 ire making my 2 spots UN-BROADCAST safe.

I'm at a loss at to what to do.
What settings should I be exporting to in order for the result to be in accordance with the color grading I've applied?

How are you viewing the export?

This is not a "Broadcast Safe" problem -- this is a legal/video data level problem and a gamma problem, and possibly a colorspace issue. You might say it's a color management problem.

Read these:

"Grading for Mixed Delivery: Cinema, Home, and Every Screen in Between" by Cullen Kelly
https://blog.frame.io/2019/10/14/gradin ... -delivery/

"How to Deal with Levels: Full vs. Video" by Dan Swierenga
https://www.thepostprocess.com/2019/09/ ... l-vs-video

and
"A Deeper Look at Consistent Color with QuickTime Tags From Resolve To YouTube & Vimeo on Wide Gamut Apple Monitors" by Dan Swierenga
https://www.thepostprocess.com/2020/07/ ... ktime-tags

and I think they cover the issues and the solutions very well. Understanding color management is also helpful:

"Color Management for Video Editors"
https://jonnyelwyn.co.uk/film-and-video ... o-editors/

My simple method: always export a second or two of SMPTE color bars at the very head of the project, and then check them on scopes in whatever player you're using to see how it looks. If there's a shift (video level or hue or chroma), you'll see it very quickly in bars.

Exports are .mov so I am viewing them in Quicktime.

Marc Wielage wrote:This is not a "Broadcast Safe" problem -- this is a legal/video data level problem and a gamma problem, and possibly a colorspace issue. You might say it's a color management problem.

Read these:

"Grading for Mixed Delivery: Cinema, Home, and Every Screen in Between" by Cullen Kelly
https://blog.frame.io/2019/10/14/gradin ... -delivery/

"How to Deal with Levels: Full vs. Video" by Dan Swierenga
https://www.thepostprocess.com/2019/09/ ... l-vs-video

and
"A Deeper Look at Consistent Color with QuickTime Tags From Resolve To YouTube & Vimeo on Wide Gamut Apple Monitors" by Dan Swierenga
https://www.thepostprocess.com/2020/07/ ... ktime-tags

and I think they cover the issues and the solutions very well. Understanding color management is also helpful:

"Color Management for Video Editors"
https://jonnyelwyn.co.uk/film-and-video ... o-editors/

My simple method: always export a second or two of SMPTE color bars at the very head of the project, and then check them on scopes in whatever player you're using to see how it looks. If there's a shift (video level or hue or chroma), you'll see it very quickly in bars.

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The thing is, I'm watching the output clip on the same computer I'm color grading in Resolve. If the output clips are that different, something must be off in my render settings, no?

Re-import the results and compare on the scopes.
If they are identical, your render settings are fine, but your viewing settings are off.

muybien wrote:I am viewing them in Quicktime.

Not ideal.

You need to get the signal off the computer and onto a calibrated monitor. Until you do, you can't be sure you're seeing the image accurately.

Adding to the above, Data levels should be set to Auto unless they were incorrectly set in the source file.