Is darkening video available in the free version of Resolve?
Yes. The Color page, the colour wheels, the HDR palette and the scopes are all in the free version.
Free · runs in your browser
How to darken a video in DaVinci Resolve
The Color page gives you several ways to bring an over-bright clip down. Here is the quickest dependable method, plus the HDR palette for difficult skies.
To darken a video in DaVinci Resolve, go to the Color page and select the clip. In Primaries – Color Wheels, drag the master wheel under Gain to the left to lower the bright end, and the one under Gamma to lower the midtones. Use the Highlights control below the wheels to pull back a bright sky, then check the Waveform scope and render from the Deliver page.
Resolve’s free version includes all of this. Its tools are more precise than a phone editor’s but take longer to learn; if you just need one clip turned down, the browser tool at the top of this page is quicker. The steps here are based on Blackmagic Design’s manual; the layout can shift slightly between versions, so look for the names rather than the exact positions.
Darken a clip on the Color page
Open the Color page
Click Color at the bottom of the window and select your clip in the thumbnail timeline.
Lower Gain and Gamma
In Primaries – Color Wheels, drag the master wheel under Gain left until the brightest areas sit below the top of the waveform, then drag Gamma left to bring faces and walls down.
Recover highlights and set contrast
Lower Highlights in the controls below the wheels to bring back sky detail. Raise Contrast in the bar above the wheels if the shot looks flat, and lower Lift for deeper blacks.
Render from Deliver
On the Deliver page, choose a render preset, click Add to Render Queue, then Render All.
Lift, Gamma, Gain and Offset in plain words
- Lift moves the dark end of the image and has least effect on the bright end.
- Gamma moves the midtones and leaves the two ends almost alone.
- Gain moves the bright end most and the dark end least, much like exposure.
- Offset shifts everything by the same amount.
For an overexposed shot the usual pattern is: Gain down a little, Gamma down a little more, Lift down slightly to restore black. Pushing one wheel hard tends to look worse than moving all three gently.
The HDR palette for difficult skies
The HDR palette divides the range into zones, such as Shadow, Light, Highlight and Specular, each with its own exposure control. Lowering the exposure of the Light or Highlight zone brings bright areas down with a smoother roll-off than the primaries. It is the most effective way in Resolve to calm a sky without touching the foreground.
Blackmagic’s manual also notes the Highlights control can retrieve blown-out highlights in HDR material. That works when the source holds data above normal white, as log and many HDR files do; it can’t restore an area that was recorded as flat white.
Check it on the waveform
Open the Waveform scope (Workspace → Video Scopes). Overexposed footage shows a dense band pressed against the top line. After the fix, the brightest detail you want to keep should sit just below it, and the darkest parts close to the bottom. Any straight line along the top is clipped. The overexposure explainer covers why.
For a quick fix without opening Resolve, the tool on this page reports clipping in its Levels graph and sets a correction with Auto fix, all in the browser.
Darkening in DaVinci Resolve: questions
Which is better for darkening: Gain or Gamma?
Gain lowers the bright end most, so it fixes glare. Gamma lowers the midtones, so it fixes faces and walls that look too light. Most overexposed shots need some of both.
How do I copy a grade to other clips in Resolve?
Select the target clips on the Color page and middle-click the graded clip, or save a still in the Gallery and apply it.
Why does the sky go grey when I lower Gain?
The sky is probably clipped, so it holds no colour or detail. Lowering it turns white into grey. Use a gentler adjustment and let it stay white.
Can Resolve fix overexposure automatically?
The Color page has an auto balance option for colour and level, but results vary. Manual adjustment with the scopes gives the most dependable result.