StretchLearn Course

Grade Your Footage Like a Colorist

Master DaVinci Resolve color science, LUTs, and node-based workflows to give every project a professional, intentional look.

Preview Curriculum Back to Catalog

Beginner9 hrSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

This beginner course covers everything you need to take raw or log-encoded footage and turn it into a polished, cinematic image. You will learn how light, color temperature, and gamma interact with your camera sensor, then apply that knowledge inside DaVinci Resolve using scopes, nodes, and industry-standard LUTs. By the end you will have a repeatable three-step grading workflow applicable to YouTube videos, short films, and social content.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Explain the difference between color correction and color grading and apply each in sequence

Read waveform, parade, and vectorscope monitors to make objective exposure and white-balance decisions

Build a node tree in DaVinci Resolve that separates technical correction from creative look

Apply and trim a creative LUT to achieve a consistent cinematic tone without clipping

Use qualifiers and Power Windows to isolate and grade specific regions of a shot

Export a finished grade as a timeline LUT or DRX for reuse across future projects

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: Color Science Foundations

Understand how cameras capture light, what log and RAW formats actually record, and why that matters before you touch a single slider.

3 lessons

How Cameras Record ColorContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Log Formats and Color ProfilesContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Reading Scopes in DaVinci ResolveContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Node-Based Correction in DaVinci Resolve

Navigate Resolve's Color page, build a logical node tree, and apply primary corrections that prepare footage for a creative look.

3 lessons

The DaVinci Resolve Color Page LayoutContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Primary Correction: Exposure, Contrast, and White BalanceContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Curves and Contrast ShapingContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: LUTs and Creative Looks

Build a personal LUT library, apply creative looks correctly inside the node tree, and trim them to suit your footage.

3 lessons

Working with Technical and Creative LUTsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Building a Signature LookContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Film Emulation and Organic TextureContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Qualifiers, Matching, and Delivery

Isolate and refine specific regions of a shot, match shots across a scene, and deliver your grade to multiple formats efficiently.

3 lessons

Qualifiers and Power WindowsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Shot Matching Across a SceneContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Exporting and Delivering Your GradeContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

color gradingDaVinci ResolveLUTscolor sciencevideo productioncinematic looklog footage