HOW TO BUILD A I don’t want to force people to use a specific color management workflow or node structure.

workflow or node structure. I think that’s something very

personal. You should take some time to learn how to set it up, so that it suits your needs. I built the PowerGrades to be

NODE TREE modular. They can be easily customized to fit your node tree and workflow. Nevertheless, in this PDF, I will show you

how to build a simple node tree from scratch!

The first NODE is a CST (Color Space Transform) from our „Camera Log Space“ (In this case RED Footage) to:

Output Color Space: Rec709

Output Gamma: Cineon Film Log

© MONONODES / Stefan Ringelschwandtner

HOW TO BUILD A It is totally fine to use a “Rec709 LUT Kodak 2383 D55” from DaVinci Resolve. Those LUTs have been used on Hollywood

Productions and are well-made. You can open the LUT with a text editor and see that the LUT expects “Cineon Log”

NODE TREE as Input Gamma. First, we need to convert our camera footage to "Cineon Film Log" gamma. In this example here, I am

converting Arri Alexa / LogC to "Rec709 / Cineon Film Log". Then I apply the DaVinci Resolve LUT.

If you want to learn more on how to apply a Print Film Emulation LUT correctly, please watch:

„Why Do Film LUTs Look Bad ? - FIXED in 5 MINS“ by Darren Mostyn. Link: https://youtu.be/A2OLQNSIJgU

In Node 02 we can now add the "Kodak 2383 LUT" to our node. We can also use the „LUT Split Kodak 2383 PowerGrade“

from the „Film Emulation” pack. The LUT split allows us to independently tweak the color and luminance of the LUT.

Further information in the PDF: COLOR-LUT-Split.pdf

© MONONODES / Stefan Ringelschwandtner

HOW TO BUILD A If we want to add a "Negative Film Stock" to this node tree, it looks like this:

NODE TREE Node 1 – CST from „Camera Log Space“ to ARRI Log C“. The „KD 5213 LUT“ expects „ARRI LogC“ as input.

Node 2 – KD 5213 LUT / PowerGrade

Node 3 – „LUT Split Kodak 2383 PowerGrade“

Node 4 – Deep Blacks PowerGrade. (To get deeper / neutral Blacks)

The “Deep Blacks” PowerGrade works best after the “Kodak 2383 LUT”.

© MONONODES / Stefan Ringelschwandtner

HOW TO BUILD A The next step is to balance our shots. I add three nodes:

NODE TREE Node 1 – Balance – I usually use Offset / Printer Lights for Balancing & Exposure.

You can also use the RAW Settings and/or temp sliders. It is up to you.

Node 2 – Contrast – For Contrast I use the „Contrast / Pivot“ sliders.

Node 3 – Saturation – For Saturation I use the Saturation Slider.

© MONONODES / Stefan Ringelschwandtner

HOW TO BUILD A EXAMPLE – „Male Dancer“

NODE TREE Node 1, 2, 3 – Balance, Contrast, Saturation

Node 4 – Hue Rotate (In This Node I rotate the „Hue“ Values to my liking)

Node 5 – Soft and Sharpen PowerGrade

(Experiment with the placement. You might get better results placing it more toward the end of the node tree!)

Node 6 – Chromatic Aberration (Yellow-Blue)

Node 7 – Density A – HSL/HSV - I prefer to place the „Density A“ right before the CST. (At the very end of the Node Tree)

Node 8 – Density B – Luminosity - I prefer to add "Density B" after the PowerGrade "Density A". You'll have to

experiment to see which placement works best for your project.

Node 9 – Gate Weave

Node 10 – Glow

Node 11, 12, 13, 14, 16 = CST, KD 5213 LUT, SPLIT LUT PowerGrade (Kodak 2383), Deep Black, Film Damage

© MONONODES / Stefan Ringelschwandtner

HOW TO BUILD A EXAMPLE – „Portrait of a Woman with Flowers“

NODE TREE Node 1, 2 – Balance, Contrast, Saturation. (Mostly Offset / Printer Lights. No Lift Gamma Gain)

Node 3 – Soft and Sharpen PowerGrade

Node 4 – Density A – HSL/HSV

Node 5 - Halation

Node 6 – Density B – Luminosity. Balanced the luminance of each color to create the „MAIN LOOK“.

Node 7,8 – Glow & Vignette

Node 9 – CST from „Blackmagic Pocket 4K Camera“ to „Rec709 / Cineon Film Log“

Node 10, 11, 12, 13 – Gate Weave, Film Damage, Flicker, 16mm Grain

Node 14 – LUT Split. (I reduced the "Luma Curve" to create the " MAIN LOOK".)

© MONONODES / Stefan Ringelschwandtner

HOW TO BUILD A Closing Words on Color Management. Here are two great

videos by Darren Mostyn about Color Management:

NODE TREE „Resolve Color Management EASY - BEGINNERS in under 15 minutes.“ - LINK: https://youtu.be/c4AVwVdKTHc

„PRO Explain Timeline Color Space in 10 minutes!“ - LINK: https://youtu.be/8geDbNpH5cI

And here another two videos on how to build a Node Tree. The first video is

something like a „masterclass“ by Walter Volpatto.

Quote from Company3 website:

„Walter Volpatto of Company 3 Hollywood (formerly EFILM) is a 15-year industry veteran whose

credits include 2019 Academy-Award Best Picture Winner Green Book, directed by Peter Farrelly;

Dunkirk, directed by Christopher Nolan; Star Wars: The Last Jedi, directed by Rian Johnson;“

„Walter Volpatto - Node Structure in Davinci Resolve“ - LINK: https://youtu.be/ymr4wyo7GcA

There are many ways how to build a Node Tree. Another good example is this video by Cullen Kelly:

„DaVinci Resolve: Understanding Node Trees“ - LINK: https://youtu.be/Ure3c6DdiVc

Summary: Separate each step and label your nodes. It makes sense to work as

long as you can in log space of your camera and place a CST to your final output

at the end of your node tree. Experiment with placing Lens, Texture, Color Nodes

in your node structure. I suggest placing the Color Density PowerGrades more

towards the end of the node tree.

© MONONODES / Stefan Ringelschwandtner