Question
What is the definitive guide to Paul Rogers's clean color grading technique?
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Paul Rogersclean color gradingdefinitive guide
Answer
From Paul Rogers0 votes
Here is the “clean color pop” technique uses and teaches, distilled into a simple, repeatable workflow in DaVinci Resolve:
- Set up your project right
- Match your timeline color space to your delivery (usually Rec.709).
- Use proper transforms (CST or color management) instead of random LUTs.
- Balance exposure and white balance before any “look” work.
- Build a simple node tree
- Node 1: Technical fixes (WB, exposure, contrast).
- Node 2: Skin tones (subtle adjustments, hue vs hue/sat).
- Node 3: “Pop” node using HSV (the secret sauce).
- Node 4+: Look, vignette, grain, etc.
- The clean saturation trick (HSV method)
- Add a new node after your base corrections.
- Change node color space to HSV.
- In the gain wheel, push the green channel up slightly.
- This increases perceived saturation without the chunky noise and clownish colors you get from global saturation.
- Aim for small moves (0.02–0.05); if it looks like a TikTok filter, you have gone too far.
- Keep it natural
- Always watch scopes: vectorscope for saturation, parade for channels.
- Compare against a neutral reference or previous graded projects.
- If skin starts to oversaturate, pull it back with a qualifier or hue vs sat.
- Finish with consistency
- Build a base grade powergrade you reuse for all similar footage.
- Apply your LUT (if needed) after your technical corrections and HSV node.
- Check a few different shots to ensure the look holds up across the timeline.
Would you like this broken down as a step‑by‑step checklist you can pin next to your monitor while grading?
