Colour pipeline

Scene-linear everywhere, display transforms at the very end, and a grading node for each kind of decision.

Scene-linear, and why it matters

Inside the comp everything is scene-linear RGBA16F. Light adds the way light adds: a merge is arithmetic, a defocus averages energy, a grain sits at the right amplitude. The file's encoding comes off at Read (the colorspace knob) and the display transform goes on at the viewer or the Write — never baked into the middle of the comp.

Which grading node

You want to	Reach for
Set black and white, then balance	Grade
Work the tonal ranges separately	ColorCorrect
Three-way lift / gamma / gain	ColorGrade
Shape a channel's exact response	ColorCurves
Match one plate to another	GradeMatch
Do the whole colour page in one thought	BS_MasterColor

Driving a Grade properly

Sample the plate's white into whitepoint and its black into blackpoint — that sets the range before you touch a look.
Balance with gain (multiplicative, behaves like exposure) rather than offset (additive, lifts the blacks).
Leave gamma for last: it is a shape control, not an exposure control.

OCIO

Config-driven transforms are available at the doorways and as nodes. The rule does not change: linearize in, work linear, transform out.