Hue/Shift Basic is a color-development DCTL plug-in for DaVinci Resolve Studio, developed by PixelTools in collaboration with KaurH. It provides direct control over hue, saturation, and density across six primary and secondary color vectors, making it possible to create deeper, richer, and more natural color without building complex node structures, qualifiers, or Hue Curves.

Basic version 2.1.0 provides the core Hue/Shift DCTL combining Subtractive Saturation, Hue Rotation, Density, Skin Controls, Clean Neutrals, and Saturation Highlight Bypass in a single tool. It is designed for shot-level adjustments, palette development, and integration into fixed node trees.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

• Hue/Shift DCTLe – Icon Version
• Hue/Shift DCTLe – No Icon Version
• 2 PowerGrade DRX files – Icon and No Icon versions
• User Guide PDF

FEATURES

• Independent control over six primary and secondary color vectors
• Red, Yellow, Green, Cyan, Blue, and Magenta controls
• Film-inspired Subtractive Saturation
• Density control per hue
• Hue Vector Controls
• Hue Rotation
• Dedicated Skin Controls
• Skin Vector independent from Red and Yellow vectors
• Clean Neutrals protection
• Saturation Highlight Bypass
• Visual Curve UI and Hue Overlay
• Global Density Control
• Professional color-management support
• Suitable for fixed node trees
• One-time purchase
• No subscription
• Free updates

SUBTRACTIVE SATURATION

Hue/Shift uses Subtractive Saturation to create deeper and denser color rather than simply increasing conventional saturation.

This approach is useful for:

• Developing deeper reds
• Increasing perceived color density
• Avoiding excessively harsh saturation
• Maintaining detail in strongly saturated regions
• Creating more film-inspired color palettes

PER-HUE COLOR CONTROL

Hue/Shift provides direct control over six color vectors:

• Red
• Yellow
• Green
• Cyan
• Blue
• Magenta

Instead of creating multiple points on Resolve's Hue vs Hue curves or building separate HSL qualifiers, each color family can be manipulated directly within Hue/Shift.

DENSITY

Density provides control over the luminance and perceived richness of individual color vectors.

It can be used to:

• Deepen reds
• Create richer greens
• Control luminance by color
• Increase palette depth
• Build richer color without relying solely on saturation

Global Density Control provides additional control over the overall density response.

HUE ROTATION

Hue Vector Controls and Hue Rotation provide direct manipulation of individual color families without requiring additional qualifiers.

SKIN CONTROLS

Dedicated Skin Controls help maintain greater control over skin tones while developing stronger color palettes.

From version 2.0 onward, the Skin Vector operates independently from the Red and Yellow vectors.

CLEAN NEUTRALS

Clean Neutrals minimizes unwanted adjustments in low-saturation regions.

It is particularly useful for protecting:

• Whites
• Grays
• Near-neutral shadows
• Low-saturation highlights
• Surfaces that need to remain neutral

SATURATION HIGHLIGHT BYPASS

Saturation Highlight Bypass reduces saturation processing in brighter tonal regions.

This allows Hue/Shift to concentrate more of its effect in darker ranges while helping preserve highlights and midtones.

VISUAL CURVE UI

Hue overlays provide visual guidance for identifying which vector affects a particular area of the image.

This makes it easier to identify:

• Skin tones
• Red
• Yellow
• Green
• Cyan
• Blue
• Magenta

COLOR MANAGEMENT

Hue/Shift is designed around DaVinci Wide Gamut and supports professional color-managed workflows including:

• DaVinci Wide Gamut / DaVinci Intermediate
• Resolve Color Management
• ACES
• Color Space Transform workflows

It supports footage from major camera systems and color pipelines including ARRI, RED IPP2, Sony, Canon, Panasonic, Blackmagic Design, Apple Log, DJI, and other inputs supported through RCM or CST.

VERSION

Version in use: Basic 2.1.0

Version 2.1.0 adds:

• DJI D-Log support
• Apple Log 2 support
• JPLog2 support

Major changes introduced in version 2.0 include:

• Clean Neutrals controls
• Skin Vector independence from Red and Yellow vectors
• Hover tooltips
• Updated documentation

COMPATIBILITY

• DaVinci Resolve Studio 19 or later
• macOS
• Windows
• DaVinci Resolve Free is not supported

NOTE

This is the Basic edition of Hue/Shift version 2.1.0. It contains only the core Hue/Shift tool and does not include the five dedicated Hue/Shift Saturation, Hue, Density, Contrast, and Crosstalk DCTL plug-ins available with the Pro edition.

Hue/Shift requires DaVinci Resolve Studio because DCTL plug-ins are not supported by the free edition.