From Unseen Data to Unforgettable Story: A Deep Dive Case Study into Grading a Short Film from RAW to Final

From RAW to Release: A Practical, Case-Study Walkthrough for Grading RAW Footage in DaVinci Resolve

If you’ve just yelled “It’s a wrap!” and opened a timeline full of flat-looking camera files, this guide is for you. We’ll walk through grading RAW footage in DaVinci Resolve—from ingest to delivery—using a real-world case study (“The Last Lighthouse Keeper”). Along the way we’ll fold in cinematic color grading tactics, smart use of LUTs for DaVinci Resolve, ACES-aware decisions, restrained noise reduction, and tasteful film grain. You’ll see where presets/LUTs accelerate the look, where manual work matters, and how to QC for rock-solid release.

Before we dive in, a quick resource for creators who want pro looks fast: try a versatile LUT starter set like Cinematic LUTs for Premiere Pro, Filmora, DaVinci & More, then browse the broader Cinematic LUTs collection to match genres and lighting. Pick a few and build your base—then refine shot-by-shot. Try them today—Buy 3, Get 9 FREE.

Why RAW still wins

RAW captures the sensor’s fullest data, so you can repair highlight roll-off, lift shadow detail, and correct white balance with far fewer artifacts than compressed codecs. In practice, that latitude buys you cleaner primaries, more believable skin, and headroom for creative color separation later. The flip side: RAW looks flat out of camera and can be heavy to process—so you need a tidy workflow.

Case study setup: “The Last Lighthouse Keeper”

A coastal, character-driven short, captured on a cinema body in high bit-depth RAW. The director wanted isolation and quiet resilience—muted sea tones, weathered stone, dusk light. Our target look: desaturated, cool exterior ambiance with gentle warmth in skin and practicals.

Experience note: I graded a very similar coastal short last winter; the biggest wins came from disciplined primaries, restrained noise reduction, and a single, consistent grain profile that unified the cut without calling attention to itself.

Phase 1 — Foundation: Organize, conform, and keep it fast

Project architecture: Create a Resolve project with matching resolution, frame rate, and color management. For teams comfortable with color pipelines, evaluate an ACES-aware setup for predictable transforms and delivery flexibility (see the Academy’s overview of ACES for context).
Ingest & metadata: Bring in the RAW clips; preserve timecode, lens data, and camera IDs for reliable reconform and matching.
Conform: Link the editorial timeline (XML/AAF) to camera originals. Confirm reel names and edge codes early to avoid late-stage relink headaches.
Proxies for agility: Generate ProRes/DNx proxies for edit and grade, then relink to RAW for final renders. Think of proxies as your sketchpad.

Phase 2 — Primaries: Make the image honest before you make it beautiful

White balance with intent: Use reference frames (charts/gray) where available. Correcting WB in RAW preserves fidelity and makes later creative shifts more predictable. (If you grade in Premiere for selects or dailies, review Lumetri Scopes fundamentals and basic color correction options to match Resolve decisions.)
Exposure & contrast: Normalize exposure using waveform/histogram. Aim for cinematic contrast with breathing blacks—avoid crushed shadows that kill coastal texture.
Color management sanity checks: If you’re using a LUT for base normalization, use it only as a technical starting point; then dial primaries underneath for true neutrality. (Adobe’s “Looks & LUTs” primer explains the distinction between Input/Creative LUTs and where to apply them: Adobe’s guide to Looks & LUTs.)

Phase 3 — Secondaries: Surgical, story-driven adjustments

Skin first: Isolate faces with power windows and HSL qualifiers; keep hue on the skin line and protect micro-contrast. If you build dailies in Premiere, see Adobe’s “Correct skin tones” walkthrough for quick vectorscope checks.
Atmosphere shaping: Lean cool in shadows (sea/sky), leave highlights nearer neutral, and add a whisper of warmth in practicals to anchor the character.
Noise reduction—never overdo it: Prioritize luminance NR at low strength; preserve edge detail and fabric texture. Add fine-grain later to re-introduce tactile feel.

Phase 4 — Build the look: Desaturated, timeless, and cohesive

For “Lighthouse Keeper,” we pulled saturation from midtones, protected greens/cyans in sea/sky, and introduced a consistent grain to quiet digital smoothness.

Creative baseline with LUTs: A well-chosen LUT can snap your tonal separation and hue relationships into place. Start with a subtle, neutral-leaning LUT (e.g., a minimalist filmic set) and tune. Explore a flexible option such as the Trending Cinematic LUTs Bundle for fast “first-looks,” then refine node-by-node.
Depth via light sculpting: Shape exposure with windows to pull the eye to faces, hands, or key props; let fog and spray lift the toe slightly outdoors for believable air.
Continuity across the cut: Build a “hero” still per scene; shot-match to it, then nudge by hand. Keep sky cyans consistent across angles; nothing breaks immersion faster than drifting blues.
Grain choice: One profile for the whole film, adjusted by scene brightness at most. Too much variance reads as noise, not intent.

Presets & LUTs vs manual grading (and how to combine them)

Where LUTs/presets shine: Speed, consistency, and creative starting points—especially when deadlines are brutal or deliverables span social/broadcast/web. See our deep dive on pack selection in the best LUTs for DaVinci Resolve (2025).
Where manual work is irreplaceable: Shot matching, skin nuance, edge fixes, selective desaturation, and windowed relighting.
The hybrid workflow: Normalize → apply a low-intensity creative LUT → re-balance primaries → targeted secondaries → grain → format-specific trims.

First-hand note: I tested a restrained LUT at 30–50% intensity during a wedding shoot; it standardized camera A/B quickly, then I massaged skin/whites scene-by-scene. It saved hours without locking me into a “one-size” look.

Shot-type playbook (quick wins)

Wide coastal exteriors: Cool the shadows, protect highlight neutrality, lift the toe slightly for atmosphere. De-saturate any stray bright colors in background signage/gear.
Moody interiors: Add subtle warmth to key light for humanity; keep saturation low elsewhere. Use gentle midtone contrast to hold detail in worn textures.
Night/practicals: Clamp chroma noise first, then add very fine grain. Keep saturation modest to avoid neon halos on skin.

Toolbox & references for color decisions

Scopes you’ll live on: Waveform for exposure, vectorscope for skin line, RGB parade for channel balance (Adobe’s Lumetri Scopes primer is a good refresher even if you finish in Resolve).
Palette planning: Map complementary/analogous relationships before you commit; Adobe Color’s harmony tools make it quick to preview story-appropriate palettes.
Color management: If you’re delivering across HDR/SDR and platforms, an ACES-aware pipeline helps keep transforms consistent (see the Academy’s overview of ACES).

Deliverables & QC: Don’t skip the “boring” part

Creative sign-off: Screen with the director; collect notes on skin warmth, sky intensity, and interior mood. Tweak; re-check your hero stills.
Technical QC: Pass for banding, aliasing, crushed blacks, clipped highlights, gamma mismatches. Watch real-time, then step through edits.
Renders: Archive-grade mezzanine (e.g., ProRes 4444 XQ), platform-optimized masters (H.264/H.265), and festival/broadcast variants as needed.

Fast-track looks with the right packs

When you need range—moody drama one week, branded content the next—build a small shelf of reliable LUT packs. For timeless, soft-contrast moods try Vintage Vibes Cinematic LUTs. For high-energy edits, explore 300+ Music Video LUTs. If you’re flying, start with 70+ Cinematic Drone LUTs. You can always refine with secondaries.

Prefer a broad, grab-and-go toolkit? Browse 700+ Cinematic Video LUTs or sample styles inside the Trending Cinematic LUTs Bundle, then taper intensity and finish by hand.

Cross-platform trims

Delivering to Reels/Shorts as well as festivals? Start with our 2025 short-form guidance in the best LUTs for Reels/Shorts, and keep motion continuity tight with clean cuts—see five must-have Resolve transitions. If you mix mobile edits into the pipeline, learn how LUTs translate on CapCut/VN in our mobile LUTs deep dive. For Resolve-specific color wisdom and pack curation, bookmark the DaVinci Resolve Blog Series.

Quick pro tips (copy, paste, use)

Normalize exposure before creative moves; set WB in RAW controls first.
Keep one grain profile project-wide; adjust strength per scene, not per shot.
Mask faces early; protect skin saturation while you desaturate the world.
When using a creative LUT, start at 20–40% and grade around it.
Lock a hero reference still per scene; match to it religiously.

Need install support?

If you’re new to presets/LUTs, our FAQ links to “How to Install Lightroom Presets” and “How to Import and Apply LUTs,” plus licenses and support.

FAQ

Should I grade in ACES or stick with DaVinci YRGB?

Both work. ACES can simplify multi-camera, HDR/SDR, and multi-platform delivery. If your pipeline is Resolve-only and SDR, DaVinci YRGB with disciplined transforms is perfectly fine.

Where should I apply a LUT in my node tree?

After normalization and basic primaries. Keep it early enough to influence creative shaping, but not so early that it fights camera-space corrections. Reduce intensity before adding secondaries.

How do I keep skin natural in a cool, desaturated world?

Key skin with a window + HSL, keep saturation modest, and leave a touch of warmth in the key light. Use scopes to hold the skin line, and desaturate competing background colors.

What grain settings feel cinematic, not noisy?

Fine grain with low strength. Add per-scene trims: slightly more in bright exteriors, slightly less in dark interiors. One profile across the project reads as intentional.

What if my shots don’t match?

Create a hero still, balance exposures to it, then adjust channel bias. If drift persists, compare hue/sat of sky/greens and neutral objects. A small secondaries stack (curves + selective sat) usually closes the gap.

Wrap-up (and where to start)

Grading RAW is equal parts discipline and taste. Start with honest primaries, add restrained secondaries, then finish with a cohesive creative layer and consistent grain. If you’d like a fast, reliable launchpad, try 700+ Cinematic Video LUTs and explore the wider Cinematic LUTs collection. Building a photo/video ecosystem too? Keep your look aligned with our Lightroom Presets collection—and remember, Buy 3, Get 9 FREE makes testing styles painless.

External references for further learning: Adobe’s guide to Looks & LUTs, Adobe’s guide to Lumetri Scopes, Adobe Color harmony tools, and the Academy’s ACES overview.

Written by Asanka — creator of AAAPresets (10,000+ customers).