ColorCompressor

ColorCompressor is a Resolve FX Color processor that can appear in a Fusion 2D image graph. It is neither Color Curves, an automatic color keyer, nor a 3D tool. The Resolve 21 manual labels Color Compressor Studio-only; confirm its availability in the installed edition.

It moves incoming color properties toward a single Target Color. Three independent controls—Compress Hue, Compress Saturation and Compress Luminance—control hue, chroma intensity and brightness. They reduce distance to a target, not the width of an automatically isolated hue range.

Crucially, Target Color is the attraction point, not a selector meaning 'modify only pixels already close to this hue'. Applied to a whole frame, compression can affect both the desired product and unrelated skin/background. Use an effect mask in Fusion, or a qualifier/window in the Color page, for localized work.

At 0 the relevant characteristic is unchanged by its compression control. At roughly 0.5 the property moves halfway to the target; at 1 it meets the Target Color's corresponding property. These are documented Resolve FX interpolation landmarks, not a custom per-channel RGB transfer function.

Set Target Color using the swatch, an eyedropper sample from the Viewer, or Red/Green/Blue values. A specular highlight, noisy pixel or colored spill can make a poor sample; aim for a representative patch of the real surface.

Compress Hue narrows hue variation toward the chosen hue. It can unify colored objects under mixed reflections but overdoing it merges distinct nearby colors and removes natural fabric or skin variation. Check white balance before asking it to solve everything.

Compress Saturation narrows saturation variation toward the target saturation; it is not necessarily a desaturation slider. A highly saturated Target Color may produce a more saturated result. For over-vivid subjects, choose a suitable less-saturated target first.

Compress Luminance moves brightness toward the target's luminance. It cannot recover highlight texture already lost to clipping; it can only remap surviving image values.

The three controls can operate together. If the problem lives on one axis, leave the other two around zero so you can attribute changes and avoid flattening surface texture.

The archived Controls Inspector genuinely shows a Target Color swatch, eyedropper, individual RGB numbers and the three compression sliders. White Target Color (1/1/1) and zero compression are captured UI values, not a recommended creative look.

This article uses the reviewed editorial port contract of primary 2D image Input and optional blue Effect Mask; Output is image RGBA. The captured PNG shows Inspector controls, not physical Fusion sockets, so native socket naming and availability still need host verification.

For a transparent logo, put Text+ → ColorCompressor → Merge.Foreground and inspect alpha against contrasting backgrounds. This node is not a matte generator and its Output is not a typed Mask socket.

Color compression and color-space conversion are different jobs. The working color space and color management of log/HDR material affect target sampling and comparisons. Color Compressor does not replace Color Space Transform, Gamut Mapping or a qualifier.

For A/B, begin with all three compression values at 0, then change one at a time. Check grayscale, nearby background colors, skin, mask feathering and multiple frames. Viewer appearance alone is not evidence of accurate rendered output.

The four exercises below use explicit typed image→image and mask→mask paths in both languages. They are site teaching diagrams, not loadable .comp/.setting compositions; a real Resolve Studio run, physical socket capture and pixel results remain pending.