In today’s tutorial, I’m going to share a shot matching technique that every professional colorist uses while matching shots.

For this tutorial, we have the following three shots from the same location to work with.

What I want to do is create group clips. Right now, we’re working at the clip level, but grouping them will help streamline the process for shot matching.

Clip level means we’re making adjustments to individual shots, and any selected clip will have this orange outline around it, indicating that the changes are applied specifically to that clip.

Now, if I switch to the Timeline level, I can make changes to the entire image. The issue with working at the Timeline level is that if you have graphics or other elements, any adjustments you make—whether it’s look-based or texture-based—will be applied to everything, which is not what we want.

Let’s discover a much better and more sophisticated approach.

Select the 3 shots, right-click on them, and choose Add to a New Group. This will allow us to apply adjustments across multiple shots without affecting individual elements like graphics.

Now, we have two new tabs: one for the Group and one for the Individual clips within that group. This allows us to make adjustments at both the group level and the clip level as needed.

We now have two new tabs: Group Pre-Clip and Group Post-Clip, and the color for each level has changed. This is another way DaVinci Resolve helps to avoid confusion and clearly indicates where you're working at any given moment.

Group Pre-Clip Level

In this level, think of it like working with a camera. We’ll use the Pre-Clip for the IDT (Input Device Transform) and Noise Reduction nodes, as if our image came clean straight from the camera.

Let’s convert the footage and apply a color space transform in the IDT node. Now, instead of applying these changes to all 3 shots individually, I only need to do it once, and it applies to all shots at once.

The next step is to add the Noise Reduction node. Just like with the IDT, we create it once, and it will be applied to all 3 shots in the group automatically.

Clip Level

Balancing the shot, creating any Power Windows, or using qualifiers will all take place at this level, allowing you to make adjustments that affect the entire group or individual clips as needed.

Group Post-Clip Level

Here is where I apply my ODT (Output Device Transform) node, and it gets applied to all three shots. Now, just imagine if you’re working on a 40-minute episode with more than 1,200 shots—using this technique can save you a lot of time.

Next, I can add the QT Look DNA DCTL and QT Charts onto my node tree to fine-tune the look and monitor the color data.

Now, we can apply the Kodak 2383 preset, and it will be applied to all 3 shots at once, ensuring consistency across the sequence.

In my Post QT Charts, I’m going to turn on False Color because it makes shot matching much easier by visually highlighting areas that need adjustments in exposure and saturation.

Now, at the Clip Level, I’m going to create a Balance node and set it to Linear Gamma. Linear Gamma is my go-to color space when balancing a shot, as it gives a more lifelike result, almost like making adjustments directly in the camera.

The problem here is that Linear Gamma adjustments won’t automatically apply to all shots. To fix this, we can set up the base node tree.

For example, let’s say we have these 2 nodes in our node tree (just for tutorial purposes). This is where you can set up your entire node tree and then apply it to other shots, streamlining your workflow.

Now, it’s time to balance our footage using the Gain, because in Linear color space, the Gain functions as the HDR Global Offset.

Let’s adjust the image to be around this point, and then we can apply these changes to the other shots as well.

Let’s see how close the match is between the shots after applying the adjustments.

This looks pretty good. Now, let’s take a look at our Saturation False Color and check the skin tones to ensure they are within the desired range.

Shot-matching wise, we’re looking very good.

Now, let’s go to the Skin Hue Indicator in QT Charts. Here, we can see a bit of magenta in all 3 shots, which is actually a great sign, as it adds a bit of warmth to the skin tones and creates a natural look.

At the Clip Level, we can create some shapes and then apply them to other shots using copy-paste. After that, we just need to make a few small adjustments to ensure consistency across all shots.

Now, let’s go to our QT Look DNA node and have fun building the look, while also appreciating how far we’ve come with the shot matching and adjustments.

This is how a pro uses group clip levels to speed up the color grading process. By applying adjustments at the group level, you can efficiently work across multiple shots.

You can also watch this tutorial on YouTube to get a better understanding of the workflow and see the process in action.

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