RESOLVE FX · GENERATE / ANALYZE
Color Palette.
See the colors.
Verify the regions.
An analytical Resolve FX that turns a frame into dominant-color families and three tonal sub-palettes. The useful workflow is not “trust the swatches”: validate Shadow, Midtone and Highlight segmentation first, then compare palettes at a controlled signal state.
Palette · Regions
Shadow · Highlight
8–24 colors
Try the lab: move a threshold, then switch to the matching Region view. The demo deliberately uses an approximation so the concept stays separate from Resolve’s private color-clustering algorithm.
Teaching model, not Resolve. Region classification here uses a simple encoded-RGB luma formula and the palette uses coarse RGB histogram quantization. Resolve’s OFX dominant-color extraction, color-management context and exact tonal classification are private implementation details and are not reproduced. The lab demonstrates parameter ownership and analytical consequences only.
Four actual Inspector captures + an explicitly approximate palette lab.
4 Display Modes · 8–24 colors01ANALYSIS, NOT CORRECTION
Three questions before you read a single swatch.
What signal are you analyzing? How are tonal regions defined? Are you asking a qualitative color-family question or a quantitative scope question?
It is an analyzer, not a grading tool
Color Palette replaces the normal image with an analytical representation of dominant colors and tonal regions. It helps reveal recurring color families and validate the split between shadows, midtones and highlights, but it does not move those colors toward a target palette. Correction still belongs to Primaries, curves, Color Warper, qualifiers and other grading tools.
A patch shows a color family, not an area percentage
In Color Palette mode Resolve shows the most dominant colors in the whole frame plus separate dominant-color sets for the shadow, midtone and highlight zones. The patches are useful for comparing shots, but their size or order should not be treated as an exact measurement of image area, exposure or saturation. This is qualitative analysis, not a scope.
Thresholds define segmentation before interpretation
Shadow Threshold sets the upper boundary of the shadow region, Highlight Threshold sets the lower boundary of highlights, and Midtone Region occupies the interval between them. Any conclusion about a “shadow palette” only makes sense after checking the three Region Display Modes. If segmentation does not match the shot, the tonal palettes describe different areas from what you mentally call shadows and highlights.
Blackmagic context: DaVinci Resolve Color ↗
02THE ACTUAL CONTROLS
Five controls. Four real captures. One analytical contract.
The values 8, 0.330, 0.670 and 1.000 are visible in the capture and treated as references—not universal recommendations.
A · DISPLAY MODE
Choose the question before reading the output
- Display Mode
Display Mode switches the analytical output itself. Color Palette shows dominant-color patches; Shadow Region, Midtone Region and Highlight Region visualize the spatial classification of the selected tonal zone, leaving that region colored/saturated while the rest is shown as black.
CheckDo not tune thresholds while looking only at final swatches. Switch through the Region views first and verify that segmentation actually covers the areas you expect.
B · PALETTE DENSITY
Patch count controls analytical granularity
- Number of Colors
Number of Colors defines how many isolated colors are shown by the palette analysis. The documented Color Palette model allows 8 to 24 patches, with 8 as the compact default. Higher values split nearby hues into finer groups, but also reduce readability and increase the chance of treating minor variation as a distinct design color.
CheckStart at 8 and increase the count only when the extra patch answers a specific question—for example, separating two nearby product or wardrobe colors. Keep the same setting for shot-to-shot comparisons.
C · TONAL SEGMENTATION
Two boundaries create three tonal regions
- Shadow Threshold
Shadow Threshold defines the upper boundary of the shadow region. The real capture shows 0.330; that is a reference value from the screenshot, not a target for every image. Raising the boundary generally broadens the set classified as shadows and simultaneously narrows the midtone interval.
CheckUse Display Mode → Shadow Region. Set the threshold so the region fits the analytical task—for example, separating deep shadows from faces and neutral midtones instead of matching a familiar number.
- Highlight Threshold
Highlight Threshold defines the lower boundary of the highlight region. The capture shows 0.670. Lowering the boundary moves more bright midtones into highlights; raising it reserves the region for brighter values. Midtone Region always remains between the two thresholds and changes whenever either boundary moves.
CheckUse Display Mode → Highlight Region. Confirm that the zone contains the speculars, windows, practicals or bright surfaces you actually care about rather than a large portion of ordinary skin or midtones.
D · GLOBAL BLEND
Blend mixes the analysis with input; it does not redefine the analysis
- Global Blend
Global Blend performs the final dry/wet between the Color Palette analytical result and the current node input. At 1.000 you see the full effect output; at 0.000 the input returns. Intermediate values visually mix the two states, while Number of Colors and tonal thresholds remain unchanged.
CheckFor reading Region views and swatches, 1.000 is usually clearest. If you lower Blend for context, remember that a softer diagnostic overlay does not mean the segmentation itself changed.
03FOUR DISPLAY MODES
The region views are the calibration step for the palette.
Midtones do not have a third threshold. They are simply what remains between Shadow and Highlight. That makes every threshold move a three-region decision.
Color Palette
Overall + Shadow / Midtone / Highlight palettesFinal analysis view: dominant colors for the whole frame plus separate sets for the three tonal regions.
Compare the same signal state, frame and Number of Colors. Do not read swatches as an exact histogram.
Shadow Region
Below Shadow ThresholdSpatial preview of the area classified as shadows by the current boundary.
Check faces, dark wardrobe and black objects: useful segmentation depends on the task, not the region name.
Midtone Region
Shadow Threshold → Highlight ThresholdEverything left between the two boundaries. The effect has no separate Midtone Threshold.
Recheck Midtone Region after moving either threshold; it changes automatically.
Highlight Region
Above Highlight ThresholdSpatial preview of the area classified as highlights.
Make sure bright midtones have not taken over the region if you are specifically analyzing a specular/highlight palette.
The lab uses encoded-RGB luma for teaching. Resolve’s exact tonal classification and color clustering are not claimed or reverse-engineered here.
04SIGNAL STATE → ANALYZE → GRADE
Make Color Palette a temporary analyzer, not a permanent look node.
A palette before and after a technical transform can be different even when both are “the same shot.” Placement is therefore part of the method.
Temporary analytical node
Place Color Palette late enough to inspect the intended result. Validate Region views first, then read the palettes.
Teaching workflow, not a Resolve screenshot. Color Palette owns analysis; grading tools own correction. In comparison mode the two frames are conceptual analysis inputs, not a literal two-input Color node graph.
Related: node pipeline ↗ · scopes ↗
05BUILD A REPEATABLE ANALYSIS
Four tasks with an acceptance check.
The point is consistency: same signal state, deliberate thresholds, fixed color count and a clearly labeled still or screenshot.
Capture a compact palette for one hero shot
Create a readable color set for discussion with a director, art director or client.
PreparePlace Color Palette as a temporary final analytical node after the signal state you want to describe.
- 01
Start with Number of Colors = 8 so nearby shades do not overwhelm the read.
- 02
Check Shadow/Midtone/Highlight Region and adjust thresholds if needed.
- 03
Return to Color Palette and save a still/screenshot labeled with the shot and pipeline state.
- 04
After analysis, bypass or remove the analyzer node; it is not a delivery look.
You end up with a compact visual reference that supports discussion without replacing scopes or the actual grade.
Diagnose a strange tonal palette
Determine whether the problem is the shot colors or the segmentation.
PrepareKeep Number of Colors fixed and work only with Display Mode/thresholds.
- 01
Enable Shadow Region and note which objects are actually classified as shadows.
- 02
Check Midtone Region after adjusting Shadow Threshold.
- 03
Repeat for Highlight Region and Highlight Threshold.
- 04
Read the tonal color patches again only after validating the spatial split.
Each tonal palette now describes a meaningful part of the image rather than an arbitrary numeric range.
Compare two shots without false precision
Quickly reveal differences in dominant color families under consistent analytical conditions.
PrepareMatching timeline positions are unnecessary, but signal state, Number of Colors and thresholds must be consistent.
- 01
Lock the settings on the reference shot and save a palette still.
- 02
Move to the target shot without changing analyzer controls.
- 03
Compare overall and tonal color families, not just the most obvious patch.
- 04
Correct the target with normal grading tools and repeat the analysis.
The palette becomes a fast visual check rather than an automatic matching engine.
Audit the color language of a scene
Find shots that drift away from the scene’s intended palette.
PrepareChoose representative frames from one scene after a consistent technical transform.
- 01
Capture palettes from 3–5 shots with identical controls.
- 02
Mark recurring colors that should persist: skin family, wardrobe, production design, practical lights.
- 03
If an unexpected patch appears because of clipping or a lighting change, verify it with scopes.
- 04
Use Color Palette to locate the problem, then solve it with grading tools.
You get a scene-level reference without reducing the entire grade to a handful of swatches.
06COLOR PALETTE IS NOT A SCOPE
Choose the tool that answers the question.
Dominant-color families, spatial exposure zones and quantitative signal measurements are three different jobs.
| Tool | What it shows | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Color Palette | Dominant color families + tonal sub-palettes | You need a qualitative shot/scene color summary |
| False Color ↗ | Spatial map of exposure/luminance zones. | Use it when you care where exposure zones sit rather than which colors dominate. |
| Scopes ↗ | Waveform, RGB Parade, vectorscope and histogram provide quantitative signal information. | Use them for levels, distribution, chroma direction or precise signal-limit checks. |
| Color Compressor ↗ | A creative/technical transform that actually moves colors toward a target color. | Use it when the next step is changing hue/saturation/luminance rather than merely reading the palette. |
07WHEN THE PALETTE MISLEADS
Most failures are method failures, not broken controls.
Start with segmentation and signal state before changing the grade to “make the palette look right.”
01The palette is crowded with near-duplicate shades
Return Number of Colors to 8. Increase it only when extra detail helps a specific decision; more patches do not mean a more accurate grade.
02The “shadow palette” contains skin and ordinary midtones
Open Shadow Region and adjust Shadow Threshold from the spatial preview. Do not argue with the swatches before validating segmentation.
03Midtone Region nearly disappears
Check the distance between Shadow and Highlight thresholds. Midtones are the interval between them; moving the boundaries together mechanically compresses that region.
04The Region preview looks translucent and ambiguous
Check Global Blend. Return to 1.000 for a clean diagnostic output; a mixed result can provide context but makes the matte-like classification harder to read.
05Two visually similar shots produce different palettes
First normalize the comparison conditions: same signal state, same frame intent, identical Number of Colors and thresholds. Then check scopes and actual pixels; Color Palette is not a deterministic shot-match metric.
Keep the analyzer separate from the grade
If Color Palette is only for inspection, keep it on a clearly labeled temporary node at the end of the chain. Bypass or remove it after analysis so the analytical output cannot accidentally reach export.
Record the signal state
A palette before CST/DRT and one after it answer different questions. Label placement when saving stills or screenshots, otherwise comparisons across versions quickly lose meaning.
Confirm decisions with scopes and the image
Color Palette is excellent at exposing color families, but it does not replace Waveform, Parade, vectorscope, clipping checks or normal visual comparison. Treat it as an additional analytical layer.
08FAQ
Practical Color Palette questions.
Does Color Palette change the image color?
It changes the output into an analytical view, but it is not a target-color correction tool. Use Primaries, curves, Color Warper, qualifiers or dedicated FX for the actual grade and keep Color Palette as the analyzer.
Why does Number of Colors start at 8?
The documented effect model uses a range of 8–24, with 8 as the compact default. It keeps color families broad enough for quick reading without immediately splitting the palette into many similar shades.
Are 0.330 and 0.670 the correct thresholds?
Those are the values shown in the real panel capture, not universal targets. Useful boundaries depend on which parts of the particular image you want to analyze as shadows, midtones and highlights. Validate them with the Region Display Modes.
Can the patches measure exact color percentages in a frame?
No. Use them as a qualitative summary of dominant color families. Quantitative signal analysis belongs to scopes, while spatial area measurements require separate masks/analysis tools.
Why does an analyzer have Global Blend?
It is the standard final Resolve FX mix. It can bring back part of the node input for context, but a mixed output is usually less unambiguous while reading palettes or Region views, so Blend 1.000 is often clearer.
Can Color Palette be used for automatic shot matching?
No. It is useful as a visual comparison aid. Matching a few dominant patches does not guarantee matching exposure, contrast, skin, spatial distribution or the full color response. Confirm matches with the image and scopes.
09SOURCES & SCOPE
What is verified—and what is deliberately approximate.
The current page assets are treated as the Resolve 21 UI source of truth. Stable Color Palette behavior is cross-checked against the Resolve reference documentation. The interactive lab is a teaching approximation and does not claim Resolve’s clustering or tonal math.