FilmFade is a DCTL tool for DaVinci Resolve Studio from Passion Fuels Ambition (PFA), designed for filmic black levels, split toning, and independent color shaping across shadows, mid-tones, and highlights. Instead of building complex RGB curves manually, FilmFade translates these adjustments into an intuitive single-node control system.

FilmFade 2.0 centers around a 9-slider system covering Red, Green, and Blue independently across the three primary tonal regions: Shadows, Mid-Tones, and Highlights. This structure allows colorists to create shadow fades, balance color throughout the tonal range, and develop combinations such as cool shadows with warm highlights.

FEATURES

• 9-slider tonal control system
• Independent Red, Green, and Blue controls
• Separate Shadows, Mid-Tones, and Highlights adjustments
• Single-node split toning
• Filmic Gray black-level shaping
• Shadow fading without manually building RGB curves
• Independent shadow color control
• Independent mid-tone color control
• Independent highlight color control
• Warm/cool tonal separation
• GPU-accelerated processing
• 32-bit floating-point precision
• Non-destructive processing
• Designed for film emulation and look development
• Native DaVinci Resolve Studio workflow

9-SLIDER TONAL CONTROL

FilmFade translates RGB curve manipulation into nine direct controls:

SHADOWS

• Shadow Red
• Shadow Green
• Shadow Blue

MID-TONES

• Mid-Tone Red
• Mid-Tone Green
• Mid-Tone Blue

HIGHLIGHTS

• Highlight Red
• Highlight Green
• Highlight Blue

Each tonal region can be shaped independently through its RGB channels, providing direct control over both perceived brightness and color bias.

FILMIC GRAY & SHADOW FADE

One of FilmFade's primary applications is creating subtly elevated, film-inspired black levels.

Raising all three Shadow RGB values equally can move the black point toward a neutral Filmic Gray.

Adjusting the RGB channels independently makes it possible to combine the fade with color styling, including:

• Cool shadows
• Warm shadows
• Colored black fades
• Matte blacks
• Cyan, blue, green, or other shadow biases

SPLIT TONING

Independent Shadows, Mid-Tones, and Highlights controls allow split-tone looks to be created without building multiple nodes or complex RGB curves.

Applications include:

• Cool shadows with warm highlights
• Cyan or blue shadow toning
• Orange or yellow highlight toning
• Independent mid-tone adjustments for skin balance
• Tonal color separation
• Cinematic palette development within a single node

MID-TONE CONTROL

Mid-Tone RGB provides a dedicated control region between shadows and highlights.

This is particularly useful for maintaining skin tones or important subjects while stronger split-toning is applied to the outer tonal ranges.

HIGHLIGHT CONTROL

Highlight RGB provides independent color control over brighter areas.

It can be used to introduce warmer highlights, modify highlight color response, or establish complementary color relationships with the shadows.

GPU PROCESSING

FilmFade is GPU-accelerated and processes color using 32-bit floating-point calculations.

Unlike a fixed LUT grid, the DCTL calculates its transformations directly from pixel data, providing precise tonal and color processing throughout the grade.

WORKFLOW

FilmFade can be positioned after initial exposure and white-balance correction and before subsequent creative look-development stages.

A typical workflow:

1. Balance exposure and white balance.
2. Add FilmFade to a node.
3. Adjust Shadow RGB to establish the black level and shadow color.
4. Shape brighter regions with Highlight RGB.
5. Refine the middle range with Mid-Tone RGB.
6. Balance the relationship between all three tonal regions.
7. Continue with the remaining look-development pipeline.

VERSION

Current Version: FilmFade DCTL 2.0

FilmFade 2.0 uses a 9-slider system for RGB control across three tonal regions.

COMPATIBILITY

• DaVinci Resolve Studio 17 or later
• Windows
• macOS
• Linux
• CUDA, OpenCL, or Metal GPU support
• DaVinci Resolve Free is not compatible

NOTE

FilmFade DCTL requires DaVinci Resolve Studio. PFA currently lists FilmFade 2.0 alongside Color Slider 2.0, SkinMatch 2.0, and Movie Density 2.0 in its DCTL collection.

The tool is specifically focused on Filmic Gray creation, split toning, and RGB control across Shadows, Mid-Tones, and Highlights.