RESOLVE FX · DECLARE THE SIGNAL
OCIO Color Space.
Name the input.
Deliver the right state.
A config-driven Resolve 21 color-space transform. Learn what Config Source actually controls, why Source is a declaration rather than a look choice, how Output becomes a pipeline contract, and why Family/Encoding/Category filters should never be confused with image processing.
.ocio · version
Source → Output
Look · Direction · scopes
Try “Wrong Source” in the lab: the transform still runs, but it interprets the same RGB through the wrong coordinate system. Then open the filter demo and confirm that metadata filtering does not alter the canvas.
Filter Color Space List · UI only
Visible demo menu entries: Demo Log, Demo Linear, Demo Wide, Demo Display. Changing these filters does not change the canvas.
Independent teaching approximation, not Blackmagic/OpenColorIO rendering. Demo Log/Wide/Display are invented spaces with simplified transfer functions/matrices; the metadata filters only demonstrate menu filtering. Use the lab to understand declarations, routing and mismatch—not to predict a real .ocio transform.
Four native Resolve 21 Inspector captures plus an independent config/transform teaching model.
.OCIO · SOURCE / OUTPUT01THE CONFIG-DRIVEN MODEL
Four decisions keep the transform reproducible.
OCIO Color Space is easy to operate and easy to misuse. The critical skill is not memorizing menu names; it is keeping configuration, input interpretation, output contract and optional creative operations separate.
The config is a transform dictionary, not a LUT
OCIO Color Space does not contain a fixed universal set of camera/log/display conversions. The active config defines spaces, transforms, roles, Looks and metadata from which Resolve builds the UI and conversion.
Source describes what already exists
Source Color Space is a declaration about the incoming RGB values, not a look selector. A wrong Source may produce a mathematically valid transform applied to the wrong coordinate system.
Output is a contract with the next stage
Output Color Space defines the state in which the signal should leave this node. Choose it for compositing, grading, render/display, or another defined pipeline step—not because it merely looks nicer.
Family / Encoding / Category filter menus
Metadata filters help navigate large configs. They may hide unrelated space names in the UI, but they do not add image-processing math to the color transform.
Official Resolve FX description: Blackmagic Design ↗ · OpenColorIO config model ↗
02THE ACTUAL RESOLVE 21 CONTROLS
Read the Inspector in signal order, not screen order.
Four native captures document the panel and menus. The visible sample config contains legacy-style names such as Cineon, REDLog, AlexaV3LogC and raw; those names belong to that config and are not universal Resolve presets.
01 · CONFIGURATION
First establish which config gives the menus their meaning.
- Config Source
Chooses the OCIO configuration source. The native Resolve 21 capture shows System, File and Config. The mode label is not a substitute for verifying which config is actually resolved.
CheckFor repeatable hand-off, record the config source and version. Two workstations with different configs may expose familiar labels while executing different transforms.
- OCIO Config File
With Config Source = File, this field contains the path to the `.ocio` configuration. Blackmagic documents Browse as the way to load the config file for the Color Space transform.
CheckKeep a production config at a stable project/pipeline path. A workstation-specific absolute path is a weak hand-off contract.
- Browse
Opens the `.ocio` file chooser for the file-based source. After changing config, re-check Source, Output and Look because the available entries may change completely.
CheckDo not validate a new config merely because familiar space names still exist. Version and transform definitions matter.
02 · SOURCE COLOR SPACE
Describe the input before asking Resolve to transform it.
- Filter Color Space List
Enables metadata filtering for the Source list. This is a UI/navigation control, not part of the pixel transform.
CheckIf a needed space “disappears,” disable the filter or inspect metadata before substituting a vaguely similar Source name.
- Filter by Family
Narrows the Source list using `family` metadata. OpenColorIO defines family as a logical UI grouping and it does not affect image processing.
CheckFamily names are config-specific. `Log/Cameras/...` in one config need not exist or mean the same thing in another.
- Filter by Encoding
Narrows the Source list using encoding metadata—for example scene-linear, log, or video-like encodings when provided by the config.
CheckEncoding helps find a space but does not prove that it is the correct camera/input transform for a specific clip.
- Filter by Category
Narrows the Source list using categories defined by the config/application workflow. Category is organizational metadata, not an extra grade.
CheckCategories are not one universal vocabulary across all configs. Check the documentation for the actual show/studio config.
- Source Color Space
Describes the actual state of incoming RGB. Blackmagic explicitly notes that the source-space list comes from the loaded profile/config and may vary greatly.
CheckDo not choose Source because one option looks nicer. A wrong Source is a signal-interpretation error that later grading may disguise without actually fixing.
03 · OUTPUT COLOR SPACE
Choose Output for the next operation, not for Viewer taste.
- Filter Color Space List
Independently enables metadata filtering for the Output list. It may be filtered differently from Source and still remains only a selector aid.
CheckThe filter neither converts the image nor changes transform precision; it only changes the visible choices.
- Filter by Family
Restricts Output choices using family metadata from the active config. Useful for separating camera, working, display and utility families in large menus.
CheckDo not replace a pipeline requirement with a convenient family label. The final Output must match the contract of the next stage.
- Filter by Encoding
Filters Output spaces by encoding metadata without altering the transform. It is a faster way to locate the intended group of space names.
CheckA display encoding and a scene-linear working space serve different purposes. Similar labels do not make them interchangeable.
- Filter by Category
Filters Output entries using config categories. In a studio config this can greatly simplify long menus for a specific department.
CheckWhen moving to another config, a category may disappear even if the needed colorspace still exists under a name or alias.
- Output Color Space
Defines the target signal state. Blackmagic notes that the Output list, like Source, is fully determined by the loaded config/profile.
CheckAsk: “What does the next node/application/render expect?” If there is no answer, it is too early to choose Output.
04 · LOOK / DIRECTION
Keep the optional Look separate from the space transform itself.
- Look
Selects an OCIO Look defined by the active config. OpenColorIO treats a Look as a named transform with its own process space; Resolve shows None when no additional Look is selected.
CheckFor a pure technical Source→Output conversion, leave None unless the show pipeline explicitly requires a Look. Watch for a double-look later in the display/output chain.
- Forward
Applies the selected Color Space transform in its declared direction. In the normal workflow this is Source → Output with the optional config-defined Look.
CheckForward cannot fix a wrongly declared Source. Correct input interpretation must come first.
- Reverse
Attempts to apply the inverse direction of the selected transform. Blackmagic describes it as attempting to remove the Color Space changes; practical round-trip fidelity depends on the invertibility of the whole chain.
CheckReverse cannot restore data already lost to clipping, gamut mapping, a LUT/Look, or later nonlinear operations. Verify with difference/scopes.
03MENU METADATA, NOT PIXEL MATH
Family, Encoding and Category help you find a space—they do not become part of the transform.
OpenColorIO exposes metadata so applications can organize large lists. Treat the filters as a search interface. If the image changes, a transform selection changed somewhere too.
Logical UI grouping
Config-defined hierarchy such as camera/log/working families. OpenColorIO explicitly says family has no impact on image processing.
How values are encoded
Metadata such as scene-linear, log or video helps applications organize choices. It narrows menus; selecting a space is what changes the transform.
Workflow visibility
Config/application categories can separate file-io, working-space, display or department-specific entries. Category names are not one universal vocabulary.
Navigation only
Source and Output have independent filters. Use them to reduce clutter, then verify the exact selected space name before handing off a project.
The filter controls shown in the hero lab operate only on its toy menu list and intentionally do not touch the canvas. That is the conceptual behavior being demonstrated—not a reimplementation of Resolve menus.
04A REPEATABLE COLOR PIPELINE
Config → actual signal → Source declaration → transform → Output contract.
Most OCIO mismatches are pipeline-state mismatches, not a broken plugin. Make every state explicit before compensating with grading controls.
Identify the actual signal
Camera metadata, upstream CST/RCM/ACES and baked transforms determine what the incoming RGB actually represents.
Teaching pipeline, not a literal Resolve node graph. Metadata filters belong to menu navigation, not to the signal path.
05BUILD IT IN RESOLVE
Four exercises that expose different failure modes.
Use a known test clip or chart when learning. The goal is to prove the signal state, not to make the most attractive still.
Camera/log → working space
Make an explicit technical transform before compositing or creative grading.
PrepareUse a clip whose input encoding is confirmed by metadata/camera pipeline plus the show OCIO config.
- 01
Lock the Config Source and `.ocio` version.
- 02
Set Source Color Space from the actual input state, not by Viewer appearance.
- 03
Choose Output Color Space for the agreed working/compositing space of the next stage.
- 04
Leave Look at None unless the show pipeline requires it at this exact stage.
- 05
Check scopes and the downstream comp/grade, not just one still.
The next stage receives the expected working-space signal without a hidden creative look or double transform.
Prepare a VFX/department hand-off
Make the transform reproducible on another machine or in another application.
PrepareUse the same versioned OCIO config on both sides of the hand-off.
- 01
Record exact Source/Output names and Direction.
- 02
If a Look is active, record its name and show-config version.
- 03
Provide the `.ocio` or a stable pipeline reference/path available to the recipient.
- 04
Provide a reference still or objective scope target.
- 05
Confirm the same transform on the receiving side before creative work.
The color hand-off reproduces without guessing which config/space/look was used in Resolve.
Verify Forward ↔ Reverse
Determine whether this technical transform is invertible in the current pipeline.
PrepareUse a test chart/plate without clipping and disable unrelated creative operations.
- 01
Apply Forward Source→Output.
- 02
On the next test node, apply the matching Reverse of the same transform.
- 03
Compare the input and round-trip using difference/scopes.
- 04
If error is large, inspect Look, config version, and any tone/gamut operations between the nodes.
You know whether the chain is practically reversible and where irreversible changes enter.
Diagnose a wrong Source
Separate a color-management error from ordinary creative grading.
PrepareUse the problematic shot plus confirmed camera/input encoding information.
- 01
Bypass the FX and inspect the incoming scopes/appearance.
- 02
Re-enable the FX and temporarily remove the Look.
- 03
Compare the declared Source against the actual signal state.
- 04
Check for upstream CST/RCM/ACES or a baked conversion.
- 05
Fix Source/pipeline before compensating with wheels/curves.
The transform describes the real input and creative tools no longer mask a technical error.
06CHOOSE THE RIGHT TOOL
OCIO Color Space is one part of the color-management toolbox.
Choose by responsibility: space conversion, display rendering, file transform, or a Resolve-native CST.
Config-defined Source → Output
Best when the production already uses a shared OCIO config and you need an explicit colorspace conversion inside the node chain.
Resolve-native definitions
Use CST when you want Resolve’s built-in color space/gamma system rather than a show OCIO configuration.
Display / View responsibility
Use OCIO Display for config-defined display/view rendering rather than treating a display view as a generic working-space conversion.
Apply an external transform file
Use File Transform when the hand-off is a LUT/file transform rather than a Source/Output colorspace relationship from the config.
07TROUBLESHOOTING
Fix the signal contract before grading against the error.
Most OCIO failures become easier to solve once config, actual input state, selected spaces and optional Look are inspected separately.
01After the transform everything is too contrasty/saturated or looks “processed twice”.
Likely cause: A double transform is likely: the input was already converted upstream, or the same Look/display transform is applied again.
Repair: Bypass stages one at a time and record signal state before/after each conversion node. Remove the duplicate transform instead of grading against it.
02The needed Source/Output is missing from the list.
Likely cause: A different config is active, or Filter Color Space List is hiding the entry by Family/Encoding/Category.
Repair: Disable filters first, then verify Config Source/path/version. Do not substitute a similar-sounding name.
03The same Source/Output names produce a different result on another workstation.
Likely cause: The configs or their versions differ; a space name alone does not guarantee an identical transform definition.
Repair: Synchronize the versioned `.ocio` and dependent LUT/resources, then repeat an objective comparison.
04Look = None looks correct, but enabling Look breaks the image.
Likely cause: The Look may expect a specific process space or may already be applied elsewhere in the show/display pipeline.
Repair: Check the Look definition and intended insertion point in the config. Do not use Look as a substitute for Output Color Space.
05Reverse does not return the original.
Likely cause: The chain contains clipping, a non-invertible Look/LUT, gamut/tone mapping, or another information-losing step.
Repair: Build a minimal Forward→Reverse test without creative stages and inspect difference. Add stages back one at a time.
06The picture changed after enabling a Family/Encoding/Category filter.
Likely cause: The filter itself should not alter pixels; the selected Source/Output entry was likely changed at the same time.
Repair: Restore the previous Source/Output names and compare with identical transform selections. Treat filters only as menu navigation.
08BEFORE YOU LOCK THE NODE
A short contract check catches most OCIO mistakes.
09FAQ
Practical OCIO Color Space questions.
How is OCIO Color Space different from Color Space Transform?
OCIO Color Space builds the conversion from the active OpenColorIO config and its definitions. Resolve CST uses Resolve’s built-in color-space/gamma definitions. OCIO is especially useful when multiple applications must follow one show/studio config.
What does raw mean in the list?
It is a space/role/name from the specific OCIO config. Its meaning is defined by the config author; it is not automatically Resolve’s Camera RAW decoder or a universal standard.
Do Family, Encoding, and Category change the image?
Not by themselves. They are metadata used to organize/filter color-space menus. Pixels change only when the actual transform selection or another processing stage changes.
Can I use a Look instead of Output Color Space?
No. Output describes the technical target state, while a Look is an additional config-defined correction applied in a process space. They serve different pipeline responsibilities.
Why does Reverse not always restore the original?
An inverse transform can only work with information that remains. Clipping, gamut/tone compression, a non-invertible Look/LUT, and later creative operations may make an exact round trip impossible.
10SOURCES & BOUNDARIES
Native UI evidence and OpenColorIO semantics are kept separate from the teaching approximation.
Blackmagic documents the Resolve FX behavior; OpenColorIO documents config metadata and Looks. The interactive lab is intentionally synthetic and does not execute a real .ocio file.
The lab uses invented Demo Log/Linear/Wide/Display spaces, simple transfer functions and matrices. It is not a reverse-engineered Blackmagic/OpenColorIO implementation and does not claim production transform values.