GAMUT01
Which colours?
Primaries and the white point define an RGB colourimetric basis. Gamut is not a tone curve: a wider triangle does not automatically make a picture brighter or better.
THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE IMAGE
Color Science.Understand colour.
Stop guessing.
Why log looks flat, what Rec.709 actually defines and why the same file can look different. Connect light, numbers and the screen — then make deliberate decisions in your grade.
Try the lab: a different encoding does not have to mean a different picture.
LIGHT 01SIGNAL 02DISPLAY 03
SIGNAL LAB
Light → code → light
SDR / sRGBMATCHED PAIR
E(L)sRGB
A synthetic neutral patch: L = 0.18 at 0 EV.
ENCODING
01 / INPUT LIGHTL
02 / ENCODED VALUEE(L)
03 / RECOVERED LIGHTE⁻¹(E(L))
Change the curve: the code changes, but a matching decoder preserves the picture.
What this experiment does — and does not show
The source is an ordinary sRGB photo, not camera RAW or log. It is decoded, multiplied by 2^EV, clipped to 0–1, encoded with E and decoded with its inverse, then re-encoded as sRGB for the browser. “Skip” omits only the middle decoder. There is no quantisation between E and its inverse. Gamma 2.4 is a pure power pair, not full BT.1886. Gamut, white point, tone mapping, camera rendering and HDR are not simulated. The numeric probe is independent of the photograph; physical monitor luminance is not measured.
Method references and image credit ↗01A CLEAR START
First light. Then numbers.
Four chapters connect a physical scene with a defined colour representation. No previous knowledge of Resolve is required.
01CONCEPT ART
Foundation
What is colour
Light, material and observer: why an object does not contain a ready-made RGB value.
Read the chapter
02CONCEPT ART
Vision
How humans see colour
How vision uses context and adaptation, and why the same values can look different.
Read the chapter
03CONCEPT ART
Digital representation
RGB and digital colour
Three coordinates, not three “true colours”. What RGB values need to have a defined meaning.
Read the chapter
04CONCEPT ART
Core concept
What is a colour space
Primaries, white point and encoding. Build a clear model before choosing Rec.709 or P3.
Read the chapter02THREE DIFFERENT QUESTIONS
Gamut is not gamma. A tag is not a transform.
Before changing a setting, identify what it describes: the colour coordinates, their encoding or the target display.
TRANSFER02
Which numbers?
A transfer function relates light to code values. So 0.5 in linear light and 0.5 in sRGB are different levels. Encoding by itself should not change a correctly displayed image.
DISPLAY03
On which display?
An output transform prepares an image for a chosen display. Luminance, gamut, display response and surround set the viewing context. An HDR tag does not turn an SDR monitor into an HDR display.
03KNOWLEDGE MAP
Find the cause, not a random setting.
Six connected topic groups. Search by concept, standard or the abbreviation from your project settings.
From colourimetry to delivery. Open the question you are solving now.
Chapters: 32 / 32
04FOLLOW THE SIGNAL
One image. Different responsibilities.
A colour pipeline is not just a row of boxes. At each stage, ask what the numbers mean and what the next operation expects.
SCENE → DISPLAY
Select a stage. These are responsibilities, not six mandatory nodes.
Reconcile sources before shared processing.
In a managed workflow, input transforms bring sources into a chosen working representation. This may be linear or nonlinearly encoded. Scene-referred and linear are not synonyms; DWG describes a gamut, Intermediate an encoding.
Read the chapter ↗CONTROL QUESTION
Does each tool and LUT receive the representation it expects?
ACES · Output Transforms ↗This diagram organises the concepts. It does not emulate a camera, an ACES output transform or Resolve. In a managed project, some stages take place outside the clip node graph.
05CHOOSE A READING ROUTE
A sequence for your task.
Follow the chapters in order or open the missing step. These routes explain concepts; they do not prescribe one project configuration.
01READING ROUTE
Start from first principles
Connect physical light, perception and RGB before memorising the names of standards.
02READING ROUTE
Build a controlled workflow
From the source state to output. Choose managed processing or explicit transforms, not an accidental mixture.
03READING ROUTE
Explore HDR and ACES
Understand scene/display first, then the management system and target requirements. ACES is not a requirement for HDR.
06FROM SYMPTOM TO EXPLANATION
The questions behind a wrong-looking image.
Start by distinguishing the cause. A curve, a colour space and a viewing problem need different checks.
01Why does assigning a different space change the image?
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The numbers acquire a different meaning. A conversion aims to preserve a defined colour by changing coordinates; an assignment changes how existing values are interpreted. First establish the actual source encoding, then choose the correct input. Do not choose a space simply because it looks nicer.
Read the full explanation ↗W3C · CSS Color 4 ↗02Are Rec.709 and sRGB the same thing?
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No. They share RGB primaries and D65, but that is not the whole definition. Distinguish transfer functions and display context. HDTV reference display behaviour is addressed by BT.1886. sRGB uses a piecewise curve with a linear segment near black, not simply a 2.2 power law.
Read the full explanation ↗ICC · sRGB ↗03Does any wide gamut mean HDR?
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No: gamut and dynamic range describe different properties. HDR needs a defined signal and display system. BT.2100 covers PQ and HLG; mastering targets, the display and viewing conditions still matter. Switching a container to Rec.2020 cannot create highlight detail absent from the source.
Read the full explanation ↗ITU-R · BT.2100 ↗04Should I always put a CST at the beginning and end?
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No. In a managed workflow, the required transforms may already run outside the clip nodes. Establish what the project does and what each node receives first. Use explicit CSTs deliberately, with a known input, output and purpose. They are a workflow choice, not a ritual required by every project.
Read the full explanation ↗Blackmagic Design · Color ↗FROM PRINCIPLE TO PRACTICE
Theory explains why. Color shows how.
Color Science studies how colour is represented and reproduced. The Color encyclopedia explains where to find the controls in Resolve and how to use them. Keep the two routes connected without repeating the same material.
Sources and the limits of the demonstration
The hub explains principles; it is not a display calibration tool or a universal camera transform. Existing chapter illustrations are concept art, not measured gamut diagrams or Resolve screenshots. Detailed references remain inside each chapter.
W3C · CSS Color 4 ↗Colour definitions, sRGB, Display P3 and conversion formulas. W3C work in progress.ICC · sRGB ↗Primaries, D65 and the piecewise sRGB transfer function.ITU-R · BT.709 ↗HDTV parameters. Not a replacement for a display specification with a single gamma label.ITU-R · BT.1886 ↗Reference EOTF for an HDTV production display.ITU-R · BT.2100 ↗HDR systems: PQ and HLG, not simply greater saturation.ACES · Output Transforms ↗From scene values to a target display: rendering and display encoding.Blackmagic Design · Color ↗The practical link to colour management, nodes and Resolve tools.
Lab photo: SpaceX, public-domain sample distributed as skimage.data.rocket. The photo and all chapter artwork were already present in the site’s assets. No screenshot is simulated in this hub. Image source ↗