VFX Pulls in Resolve

1. a.

   Change the Color science setting to ACEScct. If you do not have a specific reason to use ACEScc, it is recommended to use ACEScct.

2. b.

   We recommend using the latest ACES version.

3. c.

   Set your ACES Output Device Transform to match the calibration and capacities of your display — which will be SDR for pulls. For SDR, this will be Rec.709.

   This corresponds to a monitor calibrated to Rec.709 / BT.1886 with 100 cd/m² peak luminance.

1. a.

   For non-RAW formats (such as MXF, DPX, ProRes, XAVC, etc.), Resolve may not automatically detect the colour space and will read the footage in with the native camera log colour space. An indication of this is if your image looks washed out, which is typical of log footage.

   

2. b.

   In such cases you will need to manually select your ACES Input Device Transform (IDT). Do this by right-clicking a shot or group of shots in the Media Pool and setting the ACES Input Transform to the appropriate camera log colour space — below, RED › REDcolor2/REDgamma3.

   

   

3. c.

   You may also set your project to default to a specific ACES Input Device Transform. This may be handy if most of your clips will be in a common colour space and cannot be auto-detected.

4. d.

   TIP: Sorting your Media Pool by the “Format” or “Video Codec” columns can help batch-assign IDTs to groups of clips highlighted at one time.

   

1. a.

   When rendering images in display colour spaces, make sure your ACES Output Transform is Rec.709 and matches the intended display type. The QuickTime is a reference of how the image should look in your final film, including any grades done on the shot.

2. b.

   An MP4 works well for these files as it keeps the file size down, and the resolution can be set to a maximum of 1080 HD for the reference QuickTime. These reference QuickTimes should be a visual exact match to the proxy media you are sending to offline editorial — the only difference being size, since proxy media for offline edit would be full resolution and typically ProRes.

1. a.

   Set the colour space to ACES2065 (AP0). In Resolve this is done by disabling the ACES Output Transform — set it to No Output Transform. This puts the clip in ACES2065-1, used for interchange of images between facilities or software in an ACES pipeline, such as VFX plates. It will make the image appear dark.

   Not to worry — this is expected and correct. Scene-linear files are not intended to be viewed in their raw state without the Output Transform. The purpose is to store all the information captured by the camera, independent of any display transform (Rec.709, P3-DCI, etc.), which we have temporarily turned off for exporting the EXR files. This preserves all the wide colour gamut and dynamic range of the original camera RAW file.

   

   

2. b.

   Disable ACES gamut compression. Frame pulls for VFX should have the ACES Reference Gamut Compression (RGC) DISABLED in Resolve, in the Color Management settings. The RGC will be added by VFX in the returned plates.

   

3. c.

   Required naming syntax for image sequences is a dot (.) delimiter before and after the numbering.

   Example

   seq_shot_num.0001.exr

   Input

   seq_shot_num.

   

4. d.

   Disable all grades for your VFX render by using the Enable Flat Pass option on the Deliver page. The basic idea is that VFX returns the ungraded plate to DI with the VFX added, so that DI gets the full quality film plate as if it were filmed that way. DI can then seamlessly insert it back into the conform and grade everything together.

   • Off: DaVinci Resolve always applies each clip’s grade when rendering.
   • With clip settings: For each version of a clip, the system will check that version’s pass flat flag. If it’s turned on, the system disables colour correction for that version of the clip; otherwise that version will be rendered with its grade intact. Versions can be individually flagged by right-clicking a clip’s thumbnail in the Timeline, choosing the submenu of the version you want to flag, and choosing Enable Flat Pass.
   • Always On: When checked, DaVinci Resolve disables the grade of every clip being rendered.

   

5. e.

   Additionally, ensure you meet the following pull requirements:

   Framing

   Handles

   No more than 12 frame handles on each shot (24 frames total)

   Project Settings

   ACES Output Device Transform

   No Output Transform (ACES2065-1)

   Apply ACES Reference Gamut Compress

   Off

   Deliver Page

   Render

   Single Clip

   File Type

   EXR

   Codec

   RGB half, PIZ lossless compression (16-bit half float)

   Render Resolution

   Set to appropriate res

   Enable Flat Pass

   Always On

   

6. f.

   TIP: The setting “Force debayer to highest quality” will automatically select what Resolve considers to be the highest debayering quality for each RAW file on the timeline. This may differ from your own findings — feel free to select your preferred debayering algorithm instead and untick this option if you prefer.

1. a.

   If you have a show look, this should be exported as a LUT so VFX can apply it to the VFX shots’ proxy media for editorial, so everything matches in the edit.

2. b.

   In Resolve, the Generate LUT command can be used to export all enabled colour grades — both in the timeline and the clip, including any CDLs — into a single Shot LUT for VFX to use.

3. c.

   The LUT’s working colour space, i.e. the colour space it was created in, should be noted in the file name (for example, shot01_ACEScct.cube for Resolve). VFX needs to know this to properly process the LUT in comp. It is determined by the Color science field in the Color Management section of the Project Settings which, as above, would typically be set to ACEScct.

Pattern

Show_Scene_Sequence##_Shot##_pl01_####

Frame name

TheTavern_Greyhold_Sq02_Sh04_pl01.0001.exr

The frame number keeps the dot delimiter required in section 03.

Resolve input

TheTavern_Greyhold_Sq02_Sh04_pl01.

Everything up to and including the trailing dot. Resolve appends the numbering.

Several sequences

TheTavern_Greyhold_Sq02_Sh04_pl01.0001.exr

Few sequences

TheTavern_Greyhold_Sh04_pl01.0001.exr

Whichever form you pick, stay with it for the whole delivery. Mixed conventions inside one package cost more time to untangle than either convention costs to follow.