R3D Underwater Color Grading in DaVinci Resolve // Nikon ZR [VIDEO]

Featuring Logan Wood

After your dive, working with R3D footage in DaVinci Resolve is the next step to unlocking the true flexibility of the Nikon ZR. Follow this basic guide, and you'll be on your way to rich, colorful footage in no time.

Scroll down to read the article version of this video.

The clip I'm going to work on today is something I shot in Tiger Beach at sunset of a tiger shark and a reef shark swimming through the scene. I picked this scene because it has a ton of dynamic range, we've got the darks of the ocean floor and corals as well as the highlights of the sun rays coming through the water. Let's dive into it.

Basic REC.709 Conversion

Open Resolve, import your clip, and drop it into a timeline. Find a point in the video that represents the main focal point of the clip and go over to the Color Page.

In the Color Page start in the Camera Raw tab, which is the first camera icon in the toolbar. You'll see that the options are grayed out. To change that, go to the Decode Using dropdown menu and choose Clip. Now the options are available.

Now, if all you wanted to do was just convert this clip to Rec.709 go to the Color Space dropdown menu and select Rec.709 and then from the Gamma Curve dropdown menu select BT.1886. This will give you access to tools like Exposure Adjustment, White Balance, ISO, Tone Map, and Highlight Roll Off.

Nikon ZR R3D Raw Color Grading in DaVinci Resolve for Underwater Videography - Tutorial by Logan Wood for Ikelite Underwater Systems

A basic Rec.709 conversion will give you access to tools like exposure, white balance, and ISO adjustments.

Color Space Transform

If you want to get into more in-depth color grading we're going to work with Nodes.

First, reset the Camera Raw Tab by clicking the three dots (•••) in the right hand corner of the Camera Raw Tab and select Reset. Then keep all of the settings they way they are once you've reset.

Up in the Node Tree hit Option+S and add Nodes (7 Nodes were used for this demonstration). With the last Node selected, navigate to the Search button in the Effects Tab and type in "Color Space Transform" when this selection populates, drag and drop it onto the last Node. Drag and drop Color Space Transform onto your first Node as well.

Now the best way and the most flexible way to edit this footage is to convert it from the RED LOG into DaVinci Wide Gamut. Navigate to the first Color Space Transform on the first Node. Then go to the Input Color Space dropdown menu and select REDWideGamutRGB. From the Input Gamma dropdown menu select RED Log3G10. In the Output Color Space dropdown menu select DaVinci Wide Gamut, and the Output Gamma dropdown menu select DaVinci Intermediate.

The most flexible way to edit this footage is to convert it from the RED LOG into DaVinci Wide Gamut.

Navigate to the last Node, then other Color Space Transform, and convert it from DaVinci Wide Gamut to Rec.709. To do that: Input Color Space select DaVinci Wide Gamut, Input Gamma select DaVinci Intermediate, Output Color Space select Rec.709, Output Gamma select Gamma 2.4.

So now essentially what's happening is we've converted the clip from the RED LOG footage to DaVinci Wide Gamut in the first Node. We're going to make all of our edits in Nodes 2-6 which are in the DaVinci Wide Gamut color space, and then we're going to finally take it from the DaVinci Wide Gamut to Rec.709 in the last Node.

Primary Adjustments

Now the biggest advantage of using R3D RAW video or any RAW video is that you can change the exposure and white balance after the fact. To do that, navigate to the Camera Raw tab and adjust the white balance and exposure.

Use the icon at the top left of each wheel (located here in the green circle) to see which parts of your shot are being affected by each adjustment.

White Balance

This is underwater footage which usually pushes the white balance quite a bit so I already know that I'm going to want to max out my color temperature to make it super warm and then add in some magenta until I feel like the image is balanced. This will be different for your clip depending on your depth and visibility. Use the Color Temp and Tint sliders to adjust to your preference.

Exposure

For exposure you can adjust it using the Exposure Adjust slider or you can adjust it by using the ISO dropdown menu and changing the ISO as if you had changed it in the camera. Because this clip was shot at sunset I want it to be slightly underexposed so I'm going for ISO 500, but adjust your clip according to your needs.

Label the Nodes

To stay organized I recommend labeling your Nodes. For this demonstration I've labeled them WB (white balance), EXP (exposure), CONT (contrast), SAT (saturation), and HUE (hue). There are tons of ways to set up and label your Nodes, but for a basic adjustment this will suffice.

Labeling each Node will help keep you organized and efficient. There are many ways to set up your Nodes, but this basic structure is a good starting place.

White Balance Continued

Even though we've already adjusted the white balance, I can see there's still some changes that need to be made but I can't do that by just adding more magenta. So, I'll go to the WB Node and adjust it there. When adjusting white balance, I want to make sure that the Node is under the Linear Gamma. To do that: Right click the Node, select Gamma, select Linear. Then open the Primary Color Wheels and adjust the Gain.

I prefer to use the Vectorscope as a reference for these adjustments. To do that, Navigate to the Scopes on the bottom right of your screen and select Vectorscope from the dropdown menu. Then, as you make adjustments on your primary wheels you can see the changes on the Vectorscope, ideally you want the highlighted region to be as even and centered as possible. As you do this you'll notice you're losing some saturation and color but you're getting a much more even image.

Contrast

As we add in more contrast you'll notice we're also adding in more saturation, and I feel this is the most natural way to add in saturation. To do this I'm going select the CONT Node and adjust the HDR Wheels and Curves. Adjust these to your preferences and the needs of your clip.

Saturation

I don't typically like using the Saturation Slider as I find it adds too much color to the image globally. Instead, Color Boost is a good option. This will just saturate all of the most desaturated colors. Select your SAT Node and adjust your saturation as desired.

Changing Water Color

Next I'll use the HUE Node to adjust the color of the water. To do that, select your HUE Node then in the Curves section select Hue vs. Hue. Using the Eyedropper Tool, select the blue of the water. In Curves, grab the two outside dots and feather out that selection by moving the dots away from the center dot. In this clip, the water is looking a bit purple and I can adjust that by moving the center dot to more of a blue color.

Then, navigate to Hue vs. Saturation and again use the Eyedropper Tool to select the blue of the water and feather out the selection using the two outside dots. Add in some saturation by adjusting the center dot.

Use the Curves' Hue vs. Hue and Hue vs. Saturation tools to adjust the water color.

Recovering Highlights

To adjust highlights, I recommend switching back to the Waveform graph from the Vectorscope. From this graph you can see that the highlights where the sun is coming through is clipping a bit. Again, the nice thing about RAW is that we can bring those highlights back.

To do that, navigate to your EXP Node and in HDR Wheels choose Specular. Click the sun icon to see which parts of your shot are being affected. I'll start by bringing the exposure of the brightest parts of the image down, you'll see this change reflected in the Scopes Waveform. If you want to make the selection bigger, use the slider on the left side of the Specular wheel. In Specular or Highlights wheels you can also adjust the color temperature of those highlights.

Using the Waveform graph (right) provides the best visual aid when editing your highlights.

At this point I think the clip is looking pretty good, but I'll make some minor adjustments like adding a bit more contrast to the scene, adding a bit more warmth to the shadows. When making these more subtle adjustments, click the icon located at the top left of each wheel to see which parts of the scene you're adjusting.

This was a super quick breakdown of how to edit R3D footage inside DaVinci Resolve. There's tons of ways to do this, but this is what I've found to be the fastest way and the most beginner-friendly way. If you're looking for more editing tips like these, check out the Editing section of our Underwater Photography 101 page. If you have any questions about this process or anything underwater photography related, reach out to our team today.

Equipment Used

200DL Underwater Housing for Nikon ZR 6K Cinema Camera # 71077

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Logan Wood is a published photographer, cinematographer, and Producer at Ikelite. Stemming from a great appreciation for the outdoors and living an active lifestyle, his work focuses on capturing and sharing the natural world through the latest technologies. When not in the studio, Logan can be found cruising on his bike, going to concerts, and researching where to go next. You can see more of his work at loganwood.net and on Instagram @jlowood