How to Copy Color Grading Between Clips in DaVinci Resolve

What a relief you spent 20 minutes to get the perfect grade on one clip and now you have 47 other clips to apply the exact same grade. The idea of having to rebuild that node tree from the ground up for each individual clip makes you almost wish to shut down your laptop and call it a night.

Fortunately, DaVinci Resolve Studio provides at least four unique methods to replicate color grading to a second clip and each has its own best usage depending on how you plan to use them. B&H reviewers regularly state it is the most powerful software for color correction and editing they have ever worked with, and many note that it does essentially everything possible in video editing. Therefore, regardless of whether you are trying to match two interview angles or batch-grade an entire documentary timeline, there is a method that will meet your needs. Even the free version of DaVinci Resolve allows you to perform most of these techniques, although some functionality is only available in DaVinci Resolve Studio.

This article will cover all methods for duplicating a color grade between clips in DaVinci Resolve from the quickest way to the more robust and complicated methods that professional colorists utilize.

Method 1: Copy and Paste Nodes

This is the fastest method to duplicate a color grade from one clip to another in DaVinci Resolve. It operates precisely as you would expect.

Basic Process

Open the Color Page and highlight the clip that has the grade you desire to copy. In the node editor, the display of your node structure in the top-right corner, right-click on the node you wish to copy and select Copy Node. Click on the desired clip in your timeline and right-click in the node editor on the desired clip and select Paste Node. That is it. The node will now reside in the node structure of the target clip with the same settings (including any curves, qualifiers, power windows, or tracking data).

Alternatively, you can replicate the entire node structure. Instead of right-clicking a single node, right-click in the node editor background and select Copy All Nodes. Then paste them onto the desired clip the same way. This is useful when your grade is composed of multiple serial or parallel nodes operating together.

Keyboard Shortcuts

The quicker method is utilizing keyboard shortcuts. Highlight your graded clip, press Control + C or Command + C on a Mac to copy, then select the desired clip and press Control + V or Command + V. By default, this will copy the complete node structure. If you are rapidly passing through a timeline and grading dozens of clips, keyboard shortcuts convert a laborious process to a relatively fast process.

When to Utilize Copy-Paste

Copy-Paste nodes are optimal when you are only implementing a grade to a handful of clips and you don't anticipate needing the grade again. While this is a quick and direct method to implement a grade, it is limited. Once the nodes are pasted, the target clip's grade is independent. Therefore, if you later modify the source grade, those modifications will not be propagated to the previously copied clips. For smaller projects, this is completely acceptable. For larger projects with hundreds of clips, you will want a more systematic method.

Method 2: Saving and Applying Stills

Stills represent DaVinci Resolve's method of saving a snapshot of a clip's grade and applying that grade to any other clip, even in a different project. Think of a still as a bookmark for a grade. A still resides in your Gallery waiting for you to apply it to another clip.

Saving a Still

Highlight the clip that contains the grade you wish to save on the Color Page. Right-click on the viewer (the large preview of the clip) and choose Grab Still. The still will then appear in the Gallery Panel located on the left side of the screen. You can rename the still by right-clicking on the still and selecting Change Label. Developing good naming practices will help you locate a still quickly later, therefore name your stills descriptively. Something similar to "Interview_DayExt_Warm" will tell you more than "Still 1."

Applying a Still

Highlight the target clip in your Timeline. Open the Gallery and right-click on the still you saved earlier and select Apply Grade. The entire node structure from the still will then be applied to your clip overwriting anything that existed prior. If you wish to add the grade to the existing nodes instead of overwriting them, hold the middle-mouse button and drag the still onto the node editor. This will append the still's nodes to the end of your current nodes.

You can also apply a still to multiple clips at once. Highlight multiple clips in the timeline thumbnail strip, hold Control or Command while clicking each clip, right-click on the still and apply. At this point, stills begin to provide an advantage over the basic copy-paste method.

Power Grades and Organization

DaVinci Resolve's Gallery allows you to organize stills into albums and folders. You can also create Power Grades, which are stills that persist across all projects in a global gallery. If you develop a look that you use on every corporate event or wedding, save it as a Power Grade and it will be available in all your projects. The disadvantage of stills is the same as copy-paste: once applied, the grade is independent. Updating the source still will not update the clips to which you have already applied the grade.

Method 3: Shared Nodes for Linked Grades

DaVinci Resolve's best feature is that it allows you to build a live connection between any number of video clips that share the same node. You can change this node and the changes will immediately reflect in all of the connected clips.

Saving a Node as a Shared Node

To begin, you can take any node that you have created (build a grade) and right click on it and choose Save as Shared Node, this will save the node as a "shared" node with a given name. Next, go to any other clip (in the timeline) and right click in the node editor and choose Add Shared Node, the shared node will appear with a slightly different icon so you know it's a shared node and not a standard node.

Live Links and Speed

Now imagine you have created a shared node called Base Grade and you have applied it to 30 interview clips. The client reviews the first 10 minutes of the rough cut and states that the entire piece needs to be a bit warmer. Rather than adjusting 30 individual clips, you make a single adjustment to the shared node on any one of the clips and all 30 are updated instantly. This is why shared nodes are worth learning. B&H reviewers state that one of the main reasons they upgraded from the free version of DaVinci Resolve to DaVinci Resolve Studio was to explore the advanced node workflows such as shared nodes because they were enjoyable to learn and offered a lot of efficiency.

You can have multiple shared nodes in a project. For example, you may create a Base Grade shared node for the technical aspects of your color grading and a Creative Look shared node for the artistic aspect of your color grading. Therefore, you can easily switch between different looks and your base grade will remain intact.

Using Shared Nodes

Use shared nodes for any project in which you would like to establish some form of control over a grade that will be applied across many clips. Documentaries, multi-camera interviews, events, etc. Anything that requires you to achieve a uniform look across multiple clips is an excellent candidate for shared nodes. The only limitation is that shared nodes apply the same grade to every clip. If one clip requires a slightly different version of the grade, you cannot alter the shared node for that clip. To allow for per-clip variations, you must add a corrective node either before or after the shared node.

Method 4: Groups and Clip Color Tags

Groups provide the greatest flexibility for batch grading in DaVinci Resolve. With groups, you can apply grades to groups of clips and therefore apply a grade to all of the clips within that group simultaneously, however, you can still make adjustments to individual clips within the group.

Creating and Using Groups

Select the clips that you would like to group in the Color page timeline. Right-click and choose Add to New Group. You can also add clips to existing groups. After you have selected your clips, you will see three different grading modes in the node editor: Group Pre-Clip, Clip, and Group Post-Clip.

Group Pre-Clip applies to each clip before its individual grade is applied. This is typically where you would apply a color space transformation for a specific camera model or a technical normalization for a specific shot type. The Clip mode is used for the individual grades for each clip, just like with normal grading. Group Post-Clip applies to each clip after its individual grade has been applied. This is generally used for the creative look or the final contrast adjustment.

For example, if you are creating a film with footage from Camera A and Camera B, place all Camera A footage in one group and Camera B in another. Apply camera-specific corrections at the Group Pre-Clip level, grade individual clips as needed, then apply your final creative look at the Group Post-Clip level.

When to Use Groups

Groups are the best option for any project that involves multiple cameras, multiple locations, or any complex grading scenario where you require layered corrections. DaVinci Resolve also provides a simpler tool called Clip Color Tags for quick visual organization, though it is not as structured as groups. Groups are overkill for a short, five-clip social media edit, but for anything longer they will save you considerable time.

Hardware That Can Speed Up Your Color Grading

You do not need special hardware to copy grades in DaVinci Resolve. A keyboard and mouse can accomplish this. However, if you plan to spend a significant amount of time working in the Color page, having a physical interface to interact with will greatly increase your productivity. The DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor has a search dial and dedicated keyboard shortcuts that significantly speed up navigating between clips, which is extremely important when you are applying grades to a long timeline. It also includes a DaVinci Resolve Studio license, so if you do not currently have a Studio license, the Speed Editor is essentially paying for itself.

Colorists who want more direct control over the actual color wheels will love the DaVinci Resolve Micro Panel. The Micro Panel has three high resolution trackballs and twelve primary correction knobs and connects via USB-C. The act of rolling a trackball to nudge the lift towards blue is far easier and faster than dragging a point around on the screen with a mouse. B&H reviewers that produce content consistently report that purchasing the upgrade to Studio and the hardware panels changed their color grading workflow.

If you're curious whether your computer hardware is capable of handling the demands of real-time playback in the Color page, especially when stacking multiple nodes with qualifiers and power windows, your GPU is the biggest factor. Having more video memory results in smoother scrubbing through graded timelines.

Both the Speed Editor and Micro Panel are also available on Amazon for comparison shopping.

Most working colorists end up using all four methods depending upon the project requirements. You may use groups for the initial base corrections for your camera(s), shared nodes for the creative look, stills saved in your Power Grade Library for approved looks by the client, and quick copy-paste for making one-off adjustments to similar shots. If you are creating a LUT-based workflow for Blackmagic cameras, these grade-copying techniques also work in conjunction with LUTs. Apply your LUT to one node and your manual corrections to another, then copy the entire chain.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I copy color grades in the free version of DaVinci Resolve?

Yes. Node copy-paste, stills, and basic shared nodes all work in the free version. However, there are some advanced features such as HDR grading and certain node types that require the purchase of DaVinci Resolve Studio. However, the four methods for copying grades outlined above are all available for free. Many editors use the free version for years before purchasing a paid version.

Will copying a grade also copy the tracking information and power window settings?

Yes. All associated data is copied along with the nodes, including power windows, tracking data, qualifiers, and curves. However, tracking data is specific to the source clip's motion, so you will need to re-track power windows on each target clip.

What is the difference between a still and a Power Grade?

A regular still is stored in the current project database. A still is only accessible within the scope of the project in which it was created. A Power Grade, however, is saved to a global gallery that exists across all of your projects and databases. If you have created a color grading look that you want to access from anywhere, create it as a Power Grade.

Can I copy grades between different timelines or projects?

Yes. Stills and Power Grades can be transferred between timelines and projects. Specifically, Power Grades are designed to be accessed across different projects. If you wish to move a still from one project to another in a different database, you can export the still as a .drx file and import it into the new project. Node copy-paste only operates within the scope of the current timeline.

How do I copy a grade to multiple clips at once?

Select multiple clips in the Color page timeline (Ctrl+click or Cmd+click), then right-click and apply a still from the Gallery. You can also select multiple clips and paste nodes. For the most efficient batch application, use groups, which apply a grade to all clips in the group at once.

Do shared nodes cause playback slowdown?

No. Shared nodes consume the same processing power as standard nodes. The performance impact depends on what the node is doing (heavy qualifiers or noise reduction), not whether it is shared. If playback is slow, it is more likely a hardware bottleneck.