ColorPalette

ColorPalette is an analytical Resolve FX shown as ColorPalette1 in the archived Fusion Inspector. It is neither ColorCorrector nor a LUT: its purpose is to visualize dominant color families and the image’s shadow, midtone and highlight classifications.

Blackmagic documents Color Palette as a Studio-only Resolve FX Generate tool. This Fusion encyclopedia entry is grounded in two authentic saved screenshots: Controls and the open Display Mode menu. Availability in every edition or Resolve version is not assumed.

Only four Controls are visible: Display Mode, Number of Colors, Shadow Threshold and Highlight Threshold. Do not invent an independent Midtone Threshold, color picker or extra mode that the original captures do not contain.

When Display Mode is Color Palette, the effect displays dominant colors for the whole image and separate groups for Shadows, Midtones and Highlights. A swatch represents a qualitative color family; it is not an exact measurement of image area.

Shadow Region, Midtone Region and Highlight Region are diagnostic views. The documented behavior is to display the selected region in color with other regions black. This image preview must not be misrepresented as a separate mask-output socket.

Number of Colors has a documented range of 8–24 patches. The capture is set to 8, a good readable starting point. Increasing the count can distinguish close hues, but it may also overwhelm comparisons with unnecessary similar swatches.

Shadow Threshold marks the upper shadow boundary; Highlight Threshold marks the lower highlight boundary. Values 0.330 and 0.670 appear in the capture, but are not universal presets applicable to every shot.

Midtone Region does not have its own threshold. It occupies the interval between the two named boundaries, so either threshold changes which pixels count as midtones.

Before reading a palette, visit Shadow Region, Highlight Region and Midtone Region in turn. Verify the diagnostic coverage on actual scene features instead of assuming a particular numeric threshold always isolates the desired regions.

A palette patch is not a numerical exposure, clipping, channel-balance, gamut or image-area metric. Use Waveform, Parade, Vectorscope, Histogram or other measurements when quantitative answers matter.

The source signal matters. A MediaIn before ColorCorrector or ColorSpaceTransform can yield different color groups from the same frame after those operations. For shot comparisons, hold graph position, color management and source time constant.

A single frame may not represent a whole scene. Flickering lights, overlays, changing wardrobe and moving objects affect the extracted colors. Sample beginning, middle and end under the same settings.

ColorPalette can inform brand graphics and title color choices, but it does not automatically export its patches into Text+ or Gradient. Pick artwork colors manually from the reference and use actual color tools to modify an image.

The original screenshot evidence covers Controls and Display Mode, not physical Flow sockets or the contents of the Settings tab. The Input, Effect Mask and Output layout in this article is an editorial wiring model pending host verification.

Do not assume an optional effect mask modifies palette sampling identically to a conventional Fusion processor. In the verified teaching examples, Rectangle.Mask targets a documented ColorCorrector.EffectMask instead of an unverified ColorPalette socket.

Alpha processing, treatment of RGB behind zero alpha, Global Blend availability, and Resolve’s actual color-clustering algorithm remain unverified by these captures. A live test with transparent footage is needed to make precise claims.

The four practical diagrams below have been checked for their typed image and mask connections. They are not importable .comp files or evidence of a DaVinci Resolve native render. They teach controlled analytical comparison rather than promising a particular pixel result.