Resolve working space
The official DWG geometry, DaVinci Intermediate formula, 18% grey, scene-referred working model, RCM/CST workflows and the crucial distinction from Blackmagic Wide Gamut.
DaVinci Wide Gamut defines colour coordinates, while DaVinci Intermediate encodes relative scene light. Together they form Resolve's internal working representation: broad enough for modern cameras, but intended for grading rather than direct delivery.
Quick reference
From the official DaVinci Intermediate specification.
In the nominal mapping up to encoded 1.0.
DAVINCI WIDE GAMUT
DAVINCI INTERMEDIATE
DaVinci Wide Gamut defines RGB primaries and a white point — the geometry of the gamut volume. DaVinci Intermediate defines a log-based OETF — the distribution of relative scene luminance within that volume. In Resolve this is a clear example of why Colour Space and Gamma/transfer are not one parameter.
Blackmagic defines DWG in CIE 1931 xy as R (0.8000, 0.3130), G (0.1682, 0.9877), B (0.0790, −0.1155), with D65 white (0.3127, 0.3290). Some primaries lie outside the spectral locus/physically reproducible display colours. This is a deliberate mathematical working gamut whose purpose is to safely contain transformed camera data without clipping it before the output stage.
A working space does not have to correspond to a real display. Its purpose is to provide a coordinate system into which diverse camera gamuts can be brought with room for saturated values and image processing. Blackmagic positions DWG as a practical maximum for modern capture devices and compares it with Rec.709, P3, Rec.2020, ACES AP1 and ARRI Wide Gamut. Large geometry is a pipeline tool, not a promise that an ordinary monitor will show more colours.
In the official specification, Intermediate is a log-based OETF. Below a linear threshold it uses a linear segment; above it, a log2-based function. The forward function uses DI_A=0.0075, DI_B=7.0, DI_C=0.07329248, DI_M=10.44426855 and DI_LIN_CUT=0.00262409. It is not 'Gamma 2.4 in reverse' and not a display transfer; it is designed for a high-precision intermediate scene representation.
Blackmagic specifies the mapping: relative scene 0.18 → 0.336043; 1.0 → 0.513837; 10.0 → 0.756599; 100.0 → 1.0. This represents more than 9.1 stops above 18% grey within the nominal 0…1 encoded interval. Values may also exist outside ordinary bounds in floating processing; the key is not to interpret 1.0 as automatic display white before output rendering.
Intermediate represents relative scene light while output contrast is not yet tied to a specific monitor. Exposure-like operations before the DRT/Output Transform therefore act on scene relationships, and highlights can occupy substantial headroom without deciding yet whether they will become 100-nit SDR white or a 1000-nit HDR highlight. The render target is chosen later.
In DaVinci YRGB Colour Managed / Custom you can set Timeline Colour Space to DaVinci Wide Gamut / DaVinci Intermediate. Resolve converts clips from their Input Colour Spaces into the timeline state and then performs the output conversion. In mixed-camera projects this removes repeated Input CST nodes from every node tree and centralises the technical state — provided the input tags are correct.
In DaVinci YRGB you can build SOURCE → INPUT CST (camera gamut/log → DWG/Intermediate) → BALANCE/LOOK → OUTPUT CST (DWG/Intermediate → target). This pipeline is useful for learning and for complex local branches, but it requires discipline: Group Pre/Post-Clip, timeline nodes and output LUTs can easily create a hidden second transform.
Resolve uses Timeline Colour Space for more than an export label. Colour-space-aware grading tools and some effects take the working context into account, so changing timeline space after a grade has been built can alter the feel of controls and the appearance. The working state should be part of project setup before the main grade, not an experimental switch at the end.
DWG/Intermediate can contain scene values that do not fit Rec.709/P3 or the luminance target. At the output stage, the Resolve DRT/tone mapping/gamut mapping must turn them into a display-referred image. A simple matrix+gamma conversion without a rendering policy can hard-clip highlights or saturated colours. Judging 'what DWG looks like' directly is therefore meaningless — it is not yet the finished image.
Blackmagic Wide Gamut is a camera encoding space associated with Blackmagic camera colour science/Film generations. DaVinci Wide Gamut is Resolve's application working space. The names are similar but the roles differ: one describes a source camera state, the other a timeline working state. In CST, a correct transform may literally read Blackmagic Wide Gamut / Film Gen 5 → DaVinci Wide Gamut / Intermediate.
Exporting DWG/Intermediate can make sense as an agreed intermediate/mezzanine inside a controlled pipeline with metadata/sidecar documentation. For YouTube, broadcast, client review or a normal web master, an explicit output transform to Rec.709, P3, PQ/HLG or another target is almost always required. Otherwise the file will look flat or wrong in applications that do not know the intended working state.
For a Resolve project, record separately: Input camera state → Timeline DaVinci Wide Gamut / Intermediate → Output target. Do not shorten the whole pipeline to 'DWG' — gamut and transfer are a pair.
Technical definitions are anchored to standards bodies and primary specifications wherever that distinction matters.
