I've just started thinking about working with colour and video. I've got DaVinci and have watched a couple of getting started tutorials & had a bit of a play. I'm hoping you all have some suggestions on what to learn first and/or good tutorials to get me started. I'm a total beginner and at this stage am hoping for some light editing - I'm not sure full on editing is my bag, but I want to learn a bit. This morning I had a play with the colour warp which seems more intuitive for me than the other options, but clearly I lack skill & finesse at this stage!
This is a quick before/after quick clip of a few seconds and I've put a four shot of screen captures in a comment below - which probably isn't very interesting :D

top two are in the video above; bottom two were little changes to see what happens. Only colour warp was used.

Hi Kristin,

It's difficult to give you here some advice on an encyclopedia like Davinci Resolve.

At the moment, I can't think of any specific color grading tutorials. I should recheck to see if I've saved anything in my YouTube links. Anyway, I don't remember seeing an underwater color grading video that fully satisfied me. They all end with mediocre results. And many of the ones for land footage aren't very useful because they start from situations completely different from ours, or, if you notice, the clips they start with are technically perfect, many times shot in raw. Not exactly common cases.

Anyway, let's say that, in general a sequence could be:

1. Color: If your footage is in Log or RAW, the first thing to do is convert it into your working color space (for example, Rec.709). This is essential for correctly viewing the colors and brightness on your monitor. Skip this one if you shoot in Rec.709

2. White Balance: Use the eyedropper or tools like the color wheels or the "Temp" and "Tint" options to remove any color casts and make the whites and grays truly neutral.

3. Exposure Correction: Adjust the image's brightness. Use the "Lift" (for shadows), "Gamma" (for midtones), and "Gain" (for highlights) controls to fix the general contrast and exposure.

4. Saturation and Contrast: Add or remove saturation and contrast to get a clean and defined image.

All of this is usually called "Primary Correction".

Once your clip looks balanced and technically correct, you can move on to the creative color grading phase. And that's a completely different story.

In the end you apply the final touches as noise reduction, sharpening or midtone sharpening etc..

The tool you used is very powerful and should be used sparingly. I almost wouldn't call it a primary correction tool, and in any case, I would use it for specific interventions on certain parts of the image after adjusting everything else. From what I can see, you're using it like a WB tool.

Do you shoot in Rec.709 or Log?

Do you use lights or natural ambient light?

AWB or MWB?

Davide has given you some good basic pointers to get started, while I'm no video shooter, I've picked up a few things, playing with a little footage. Firstly the amount of adjustment you can make tends to be more limited than what you might be used to on stills, depending on what codec you used. Second getting close on white balance out of camera is going to make your life easier, smaller shifts are easier to deal with and you are less likely to get "lost" along the way and end up with a messy looking clip.

@Davide DB thanks so much. TBH you pretty much lost me early though as I'm not even sure what a "primary correction tool" would be, assumed Davinci could do most things even if it's way more than I'll ever need. I don't even know what I'm shooting in - I put it in the housing and hit the button. I'm using the Insta360 Ace Pro 2. Most of what I've shot is just with the camera tho I have a Kraken video light that I've used a couple of times so far, too.

I suppose I have been thinking of it as an all over white balance. I figured selectively adjusting colour on certain elements in video is well beyond me, I've just been trying to make it not blue. Clearly, I need to try to find some good reading to help me get started not thinking video is the same as photo!

11 hours ago, Kristin said:

I need to try to find some good reading to help me get started not thinking video is the same as photo!

Well, they are cousin 😄

11 hours ago, Kristin said:

I don't even know what I'm shooting in - I put it in the housing and hit the button. I'm using the Insta360 Ace Pro 2. Most of what I've shot is just with the camera tho I have a Kraken video light that I've used a couple of times so far, too.

Chris said what I was about to tell you. That's why I asked my questions, and I didn't remember that you had bought an Insta Ace Pro 2.

Yes, unless you have professional/cinema cameras that shoot in RAW (and even there you have to make some distinctions), we have much, much less possibility for correction with video clips compared to photos. This is why you need to get good images to start with, so you have to do as little work as possible on them later.

To get this, you have two paths, which are also a bit like two philosophies (Blue pill vs Red pill) 😁

• Optimize the camera settings to get images that are as close as possible to the desired final result so that once you download them, you can proceed with the desired editing and not much else. We could call this approach SOOC (Straight Out Of the Camera), and it's definitely the most popular trend on YouTube because it's the reason why so many people get into underwater photography and video with action cameras and their smartphones: film > edit > post or even film > post.
  

• Optimize the camera settings to get an image that is as neutral as possible because you plan a workflow to correct the clips in post-production. Since, as I said before, your options for editing are limited (respect to photography), You try to have a starting image that makes the next work easier. This is the classic way of working at all levels: from simple enthusiasts to blue-chip productions.

Who is right? Probably no one!

I prefer the second option, but I'm trying to hide that and be as impartial as possible in this explanation 😇

Really, it all depends on the results you want to get and the priorities and skills you have. If the goal is to come back from your dive, lie on a sun lounger, and immediately post your underwater adventures to your friends, that is, film > post, it's natural to follow the first path. But you have to be realistic about the level of results you can get.

Many of us see beautiful Reels posted on social networks and are convinced that all you need to do is buy the same gear, dive in, and get those results. What's that meme series called? "Instagram vs. Reality"?

When we're disappointed, we keep chasing the SOOC unicorn and run after the latest gadget model with that new feature they are missing. This is also a game played by manufacturers who release new models every year, like fashion collections.

Be careful, I'm not saying that what we see is fake. It's just that many of those fantastic videos we see, are made in more than ideal conditions by people who very often do it for a living. Meanwhile, we use our GoPro for that "one week of vacation" in the Maldives where the water was green!

I also want to add that in both paths, the people who get great results are those who know their camera settings very well and know all the fundamentals of photography perfectly. This is the only way to make the best use of the features and also the limits of these little beasts. Instead of chasing the latest gadget, we should often stop and study the basics of photography and color.

11 hours ago, Kristin said:

TBH you pretty much lost me early though as I'm not even sure what a "primary correction tool" would be, assumed Davinci could do most things even if it's way more than I'll ever need.

Think of dividing the work on color into two big categories. One category is where you make your clip look normal, which means you correct obvious mistakes: it's too dark/light or has too much of one color. This is basically what you did. You had those greenish fish and you brought them back to a color that seems balanced and real to you.

After you do this, the second category (which is completely optional) gives your clips a more personal look. After all, within certain limits, the perception of color is basically subjective. Another analogy on secondary correction (aka grading) is what most people do with their phones posting on IG: they apply filters.

Regardless of the product, I find this simple explanation very good:

Color Correction vs. Color Grading | What's the Difference

Discover the distinctions between color correction vs. color grading. Learn how each process enhances your footage. Get to know expert tips and techniques for achieving the perfect visual balance.

12 hours ago, Kristin said:

@Davide DB thanks so much. TBH you pretty much lost me early though as I'm not even sure what a "primary correction tool" would be, assumed Davinci could do most things even if it's way more than I'll ever need. I don't even know what I'm shooting in - I put it in the housing and hit the button. I'm using the Insta360 Ace Pro 2. Most of what I've shot is just with the camera tho I have a Kraken video light that I've used a couple of times so far, too.

I suppose I have been thinking of it as an all over white balance. I figured selectively adjusting colour on certain elements in video is well beyond me, I've just been trying to make it not blue. Clearly, I need to try to find some good reading to help me get started not thinking video is the same as photo!

@bghazzal has a great tutorial on the site here: https://waterpixels.net/articles/articles_technique/afterhours-magic-ambient-light-video-workflow-for-action-cameras-r161/

This is a great piece on getting better control of your color balance versus having the camera figure out everything, which often fails to capture things we envision. If you’re happy with the automation, maybe that’s the way to go. I think the frame in the lower left looks best to my eye.

To sum up the tutorial: shoot in log or a “flat” mode. Use good quality filters to get back the range of color you would have shooting in bright sunlight above water. And understand this will not make video that looks good straight out of camera ready for social media.

@Kristin

YouTube videos for davinci underwater there are severals videos, it doesn't exist one video show it all, its impossible.

Start with basics tutorials from here

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/training

and here " davinci tutorial for beginners on youtube"

later go here :

underwaterphotobali https://www.youtube.com/@UnderwaterPhotoBali

learncolor grading https://www.youtube.com/@LearnColorGrading

Then go to more complex stuff from here:

daniel batal not underwater related https://www.youtube.com/@Daniel_Batal

cullen kelly https://www.youtube.com/c/CullenKelly/videos

To start :

Go to projects settings and create a few "presets" and choose respective color space, resolutions, output, HDR, SDR (i use davinci YGRB color management , SDR to SDR 2020 ) etc etc

example:

1- default

2- instagram 9:16

3- youtube 16:9

With this save "presets" it will save you tons of time to start new color editing according to the project

You will "load preset youtube 16:9 " with the settings you select before

You will load preset instagram 9:16 with the settings you select before

Add movie to Master, create timeline, and you will notice the tick box "use project settings" that are 1,2 or 3 that you select previously.

Open timeline

1- first click pencil

2- go on top of movie and try to find white area get the highest value possible R-255 G-255 B-255

3- this will adjust color temperature and tint.

4- use contrast between 1.100 and 1.200 without clipping the scopes between 0 - 1023

5- keep the lines above 0 and below 1023 to avoid clipping

6/7/8 - adjust them without clipping

The program is a bit complex for new starters, my advice is "be persistent" because when you learn the basic, is getting easy on each use.

Theres hundreds of settings and specs.

Search for terms on youtube to "change background underwater color from green to blue" for example.

YouTube is full of good tips-

Edited September 1Sep 1 by Nando Diver

Some Tips

When your render keep instagram video below 1gb and use quality 200.000kb/s to maintain the quality

I film in 8:7 on gopro this allows to crop video 16:9 or 9:16 without quality loss

Found the Video that help me a lot when i started

thanks so much, everyone! I have lots of reading & viewing to do now!

I had a lovely little dive today and used the Kraken light for most shots and honestly, I didn't love it. I've had more success on other dives. We had quite variable light conditions and I think the camera struggled with that and the light. Shame as I had a lovely lionfish in midwater but it looks terrible. Good for practice though. And I guess it means I'll just have to go diving more to keep trying! :)

39 minutes ago, Kristin said:

had a lovely little dive today and used the Kraken light for most shots and honestly, I didn't love it. I've had more success on other dives. We had quite variable light conditions and I think the camera struggled with that and the light. Shame as I had a lovely lionfish in midwater but it looks terrible.

Which depth?

How many Lumen has your light?

I mean, if your light is too weak for the environment conditions (shallow, tropical, green water) you find yourself in what we call "mixed light conditions". IIRC. we have several topic on different subforum on this topic, but I strongly suggest to get a cup of coffee 😉 and read this long format article by @bghazzal which summarized everything (and has links to original topics):

https://waterpixels.net/articles/articles_technique/afterhours-magic-ambient-light-video-workflow-for-action-cameras-r161/

Regardless of the suggested solutions, the article describes very well what happen underwater in the different conditions. Of course, the above links on the tools in this thread are valid.

On 9/1/2025 at 1:50 AM, Nando Diver said:

Open timeline

1- first click pencil

2- go on top of movie and try to find white area get the highest value possible R-255 G-255 B-255

3- this will adjust color temperature and tint.

I'm sorry if I'm being a nitpicker but I'm not sure if I understood correctly, or there's an important mistake in the explanation.

If you click on an area that is already white (RGB: 255, 255, 255), the software does absolutely nothing. White is white.

1. The WB (White Balance) function is on the "Color" page.

2. Once you select the "eyedropper" tool, you have to look for an area in your image that you know should be white, but in your picture, you see it as another color, aka with a color cast.

3. By clicking on it, you are telling the software to adjust the color palette so that that area becomes white.

This operation usually requires more than one attempt on different areas, and if you don't get a perfect result, you then use other tools.

1 hour ago, Davide DB said:

I'm sorry if I'm being a nitpicker but I'm not sure if I understood correctly, or there's an important mistake in the explanation.

If you click on an area that is already white (RGB: 255, 255, 255), the software does absolutely nothing. White is white.

1. The WB (White Balance) function is on the "Color" page.

2. Once you select the "eyedropper" tool, you have to look for an area in your image that you know should be white, but in your picture, you see it as another color, aka with a color cast.

3. By clicking on it, you are telling the software to adjust the color palette so that that area becomes white.

This operation usually requires more than one attempt on different areas, and if you don't get a perfect result, you then use other tools.

By using step 2, adjusting RGB to the highest Value, the software automatically adjusts temperature and tint (step 3)

Edited September 2Sep 2 by Nando Diver

Infact you are not selecting a white area. You are selecting an are supposed to be white

6 hours ago, Davide DB said:

Infact you are not selecting a white area. You are selecting an are supposed to be white

Im not expert

But to white balance the footage, the "eyedropper" is one of the recommend tools

It’s for getting your footage to a neutral color grade starting point using white as the reference.

Edited September 2Sep 2 by Nando Diver

A buddy of mine uses white mask and fins, so i know its a good starting point to achieve good reference before cutting any footage.

Rocks, sand, torch light, anything white or close to white it also can be used.

this video is also a good starting point to learn davinci resolve.

Edited September 2Sep 2 by Nando Diver

Yes, yes, we are saying the same thing, but the devil is in the details.

If you choose a spot that's already white or very, very close to it, you won't get any result or only a minimal change, even if the image is clearly unbalanced.

This might seem like a small detail, but it's actually a common mistake that I've also made often. It's easy to fall into this trap if the image has heavily overexposed parts (blown-out highlights). If you use the eyedropper on them, they're already with an RGB value of 255,255,255, There is no color information in those pixels; they are simply the maximum light intensity the camera could record. In this situation, the software has no data to process; there are no colors to analyze, only the maximum brightness value. There's nothing to correct. The point is already "pure white" by definition, even if it's chromatically unbalanced. The software doesn't have a "color" to start from to make a calculation and balance the other colors. Classic examples in our uw footage are white tanks, lights, etc. That are easily overexposed.

In fact, in the short you posted, the white (that he knows should be white) on his color checker registers as gray (238,238,238). He clicks on it, and the software uses it as a white reference and shifts the entire palette accordingly.

At the beginning of the video, for a short moment, in the full frame, you can see a spot light on the left that is pure white (blown out). Why didn't he pick that one? For the above reasons.

P.S.

In the past I saw some videos of that guy. Good content.

13 hours ago, Nando Diver said:

heres link of 4 raw videos made today with gopro 13

2x standart videos

2x log videos

No filters, no AOI external wide lens, just 2 x dive lights 2500 lumens each

I can't get accurate colors with LOG compared with what im getting with standart/Natural , maybe you can try to calibrate the LOG videos and share the results back.

Looking forward to see the end result from GP-LOG

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/4vvbaqd9ob7o59943mx9h/AIeRNqsh42ruXzktJhjkHgc?rlkey=pk1zpi0xxwc2dpu7xxq9yqpud&st=th25ealw&dl=0

color GP-LOG

8:7

4K60

wide

WB auto

iso 100-400

ev comp 0.0

Color Natural

8:7

4K60

wide

WB auto

ISO 100-800

ev comp -0.5

CIAO

On a related note, to follow-up on your comments on grading GP-LOG vs. Go Pro Standard/Natural, I gave one of your clips a spin.

I don't use Resolve as my laptop is too old to get fluid playback on it - even with proxy files - but Final Cut Pro X, which integrates better. But results would be the same I think.

The discussion was unrelated to the article but I was curious as I will one day upgrade my action cam to a 10-bit camera, and wanted to see how log worked.

To cut to the chase, I find Go Pro logr to work better for grading.

So, first i imported your GoPro Log clip and non-log clip as is.

I then quickly graded the log clip as is:

Ok results I think.

whereas the standard/natural color clip, ungraded and SOOC was like this, which is quite a different base to work with, obviously....




But since we're dealing with a log profile, normally it has to be converted, so i got the official GoPro12 log conversion lut for that here
https://community.gopro.com/s/article/10-Bit-Log-Encoding?language=en_US

There's probably a GoPro 13 log conversion lut, but doubt it will make much of a difference.

and tried quickly grading again, just to see.

The conversion really gave me more workroom, with the footage coming alive.

Quickly graded results were as such for the converted log clip (saturation is a little high, to show what we have to work with)



vs the following quickly graded results for your standard / natural clip, which still has that odd burned-in contrast issue visible in the SOOC file.



In conclusion, if I had to choose, I would definitely work with the converted LOG file, as it has more leg room and less strange issues for grading, and also makes it easier to deal with the slightly overexposed section of your footage.

Hope this helps.

cheers

Edited September 3Sep 3 by bghazzal

@bghazzal A big Thank you

i didnt know a LUT was required to GP-LOG footage ... its explained why i wasn't able to get good color grading from gp-log

Ive add image after quick color grading

2 pic from left are standart profile

2 pic from the right GP-log Profile with LUT from gopro FW 2.0

ive notice the standart has more detail visible in big screen) but im using FW version 01.30.72 gopro labs and the LUT version might not be correct one.

EDIT:

Official LUT for gopro 13

https://community.gopro.com/s/article/HERO13-Black-10-Bit-Log-Encoding?language=en_US

Found another LUT for Gopro 11/12/13

https://www.leeminglutpro.com

And discussions from gopro labs about luts

GitHub

LUTs for using WIDE with Log 400 (GP-Log), Log 113 (Protu...

The Labs feature WIDE is for a wider color gamut, awesome, until you want to match the look of stock GoPro footage. These LUT help convert the GoPro wide gamut to Rec709 color. LUTs - https://www.d...

Found a LUT (28€) for davinci resolve free

https://xtremestuff.net/store/gp-tune-plugin/

Edited September 3Sep 3 by Nando Diver