DaVinci Resolve — color grade webcam and talking-head footage

Overview

Three primary corrections + one secondary on a skin-tone qualifier = footage that looks like it cost money. The core principle: read the waveform scope, do not trust your laptop screen. Laptop displays are uncalibrated; the scope tells you objectively whether the shadows are crushed or the highlights are clipped.

When to use

Symptoms:

• Webcam footage looks dull, flat, or washed out
• Skin looks orange / green / too red
• Two cameras (e.g. your face cam and a co-host's) do not match
• Want a consistent "look" across episodes
• The phrase "make it look more professional"

When NOT to use:

• You are shooting RAW (.braw, .ari, .r3d) — that needs the HDR Wheels workflow (Colorist Guide pp. 393-406).
• You need to fix a green-screen shot — that is Fusion territory (Fusion VFX Guide ch. 5).
• The footage is already graded and you want to match it to a reference — that is a shot-matching workflow (Colorist Guide pp. 46-71).