How to Color Grade LOG Footage: Step-by-Step Node Tree in DaVinci Resolve

LOG footage looks flat, washed out, and terrible straight out of camera. That's by design — it captures maximum dynamic range so you have more latitude in post. But if you don't know how to grade it properly, your footage will look worse than if you'd just shot in standard Rec.709. I've been grading LOG footage professionally for 6+ years (S-Log3, C-Log3, V-Log, BRAW) and this is the exact workflow I use on every single project.

Why LOG Looks So Flat (30-Second Explanation)

Standard video mode (Rec.709) bakes in contrast and color — your footage looks "done" but you can't recover highlights or shadows in post. LOG mode maps the sensor's full dynamic range into a flat, low-contrast image that preserves all the detail your sensor captured. Your job as a colorist is to transform that flat image back into something beautiful — but now you have 2-4 extra stops of dynamic range to work with.

Common LOG formats and their cameras:

The 6-Node Grading Workflow

This is my standard node tree for any LOG footage. I use this same structure whether I'm grading a wedding, a music video, or a corporate film. Once you internalize this order, you'll never feel lost staring at flat footage again.

Node 1: Color Space Transform (LOG → Working Space)

This is the most important node. It converts your camera's LOG/Gamut encoding into a standard working color space. Without this, all your adjustments will fight against the LOG curve.

In DaVinci Resolve:

1. Add a Serial Node (Alt+S)
2. Go to Effects Library → ResolveFX Color → Color Space Transform
3. Set Input Color Space: Your camera's gamut (e.g., S-Gamut3.Cine)
4. Set Input Gamma: Your camera's LOG curve (e.g., S-Log3)
5. Set Output Color Space: Rec.709
6. Set Output Gamma: Gamma 2.4

Your footage should now look "normal" — proper contrast and saturation. If it looks over-contrasty or weird, your input settings are wrong. Double-check your camera's recording format.

Node 2: Exposure & Balance Correction

Now that your footage is in Rec.709 space, correct any exposure and white balance issues:

• Lift — adjust shadow brightness. If shadows look crushed, lift them slightly.
• Gain — adjust highlight brightness. Recover any blown highlights.
• Offset — overall brightness shift. Use this for overall exposure correction.
• Temperature/Tint — fix white balance. Use the eyedropper on a neutral gray/white surface.

Use the Parade scope (View → Scopes → Parade) to ensure your RGB channels are balanced and nothing is clipping.

Node 3: Primary Grade (Contrast & Saturation)

This is where you establish the overall "feel" of the shot:

• Contrast curve — add an S-curve for cinematic contrast. Subtle is better than dramatic. Pull down shadows slightly, push up highlights slightly.
• Pivot — controls where the contrast curve "pivots." Adjust this to protect skin tones from the contrast adjustment.
• Saturation — global saturation boost or reduction. I typically boost 10-20% for wedding work, reduce 5-10% for moody corporate films.

Node 4: Secondary Isolation (Skin Tones, Sky, Specific Colors)

This is where you isolate specific elements for targeted adjustments:

• Skin tone protection: Use the HSL Qualifier (eyedropper) to select skin tones. Adjust hue, saturation, and luminance independently. The skin tone I-line on the Vectorscope is your best friend here.
• Sky enhancement: Qualify the blue sky, darken it slightly, boost saturation. Or desaturate for a moody look.
• Specific color pops: Isolate the bride's red lehenga in a wedding shot and make it pop against a desaturated background.

Node 5: Creative Look / Film Emulation

This is the "vibe" node. Everything before this was technical correction. Now you're making creative choices:

• Teal & Orange: Push shadows toward teal, highlights toward warm orange. The most popular cinematic look — use it sparingly. See our cinematic looks guide.
• Desaturated film: Reduce saturation 20-30%, shift midtones slightly warm, lift blacks for a faded film look.
• LUT application: If you're using a creative LUT, apply it on this node AFTER all your corrections. Never apply a LUT on Node 1 — it'll fight your corrections.

Node 6: Final Output Adjustments

Final touch-ups before delivery:

• Sharpening: Subtle sharpening (Resolve's Blur/Sharpen → Sharpen, keep it under 0.30)
• Film grain: Optional — adds organic texture. ResolveFX → Film Grain at 10-20% opacity.
• Final levels check: Ensure nothing clips at 0 or 100 IRE. Use the Waveform scope.

Common Mistakes (I've Made All of These)

1. Grading before converting from LOG. If you add contrast to LOG footage without a CST, your shadows and highlights will clip unpredictably. Always convert first, grade second.
2. Over-saturating LOG footage. LOG footage has a wider color gamut than Rec.709. If you boost saturation without converting color spaces, you'll get illegal, oversaturated colors that look terrible on most screens.
3. Using a LUT as your only grade. LUTs are starting points, not finishing points. They can't account for your specific exposure, white balance, and lighting conditions. Every shot needs manual adjustment.
4. Matching by eye instead of scopes. Your monitor lies. Use the Parade for exposure, the Vectorscope for skin tones, and the Waveform for overall levels. Trust the numbers.
5. Not shot-matching. If you grade one shot beautifully but the next shot looks completely different, the viewer notices. Use the Gallery (right-click → Grab Still) to A/B compare shots from the same scene.

Camera-Specific Notes

Sony S-Log3

Expose +1.5 to +2 stops above "correct" in-camera. S-Log3 noise lives in the shadows — overexposing shifts your image data into cleaner highlight territory. I set my Sony FX3 to +1.7 stops when shooting S-Log3.

Canon C-Log3

Canon's C-Log3 is less noisy in the shadows than Sony's S-Log3 at equivalent ISOs. You can expose at meter recommendation without the overexposure trick. The color science is gorgeous — Canon skin tones often need minimal correction.

Blackmagic Film

BRAW (Blackmagic RAW) is different from traditional LOG — you can change ISO and white balance non-destructively in Resolve's Camera RAW tab before it hits your node tree. Always adjust these in the RAW tab first, then grade.

FAQ

Related guides:What Is LOG? ·CST vs ACES Color Management ·Nodes Explained ·Skin Tone Grading Guide ·White Balance Method