Tetrahedral color toolkit · DaVinci Resolve DCTL

Six hue vectors.
Total control.

A suite of four colorist tools that grade each primary and secondary hue independently (saturation, remap, and density) with clean tetrahedral matrix math and zero hue bleed unless you ask for it.

4tools
6hue vectors
60°vector spacing
0bleed by default

Live · Hue engine preview

WebGL
HSV test wheel. Hue = angle, saturation = radius. A live preview of the hue engine.
Global Sat+0.00
Global Dens+0.00
RGB Rotate+0.00
CMY Rotate+0.00
Neutral Guard0.00

Live preview

See it on a frame

Drag the divider to compare. The same per-vector moves (saturation, density, and hue rotation, grouped by RGB and CMY) applied live to a real still. Toggle Showcase to map exactly where the grade lands.

Original Graded
Global Sat+0.00
Global Dens+0.00
RGB Rotate+0.00
CMY Rotate+0.00
Neutral Guard0.00
Looks
Tool 01

Hue Saturation

In Resolve: AGE Hue Saturation · the “AGE” prefix is just a sort tag

Controls saturation independently per hue vector using a tetrahedral matrix. Each slider sets how saturated that color region becomes without touching the other five hues. A Global Sat slider offsets all six at once.

Why it's useful

Resolve's built-in hue-sat curves smear across broad hue bands with limited isolation. This gives precise, independent control over each of the six primary/secondary zones with clean matrix math, and no hue bleed unless you explicitly dial in Expand Range.

Neutral GuardExpand RangeShowcase Effect
Parameter
Range
Function
Per-vector saturation
Red Sat
−1 … +1
Saturation gain applied only to the red vector.
Yellow Sat
−1 … +1
Independent gain on the yellow region.
Green Sat
−1 … +1
Independent gain on the green region.
Cyan Sat
−1 … +1
Independent gain on the cyan region.
Blue Sat
−1 … +1
Independent gain on the blue region.
Magenta Sat
−1 … +1
Independent gain on the magenta region.
Global
Global Sat
−1 … +1
Offsets all six vectors simultaneously.
Neutral Guard
0 … 1
Smootherstep fade that keeps the effect off low-saturation grey/neutral pixels.
Expand Range
0 … 1
Gaussian rolloff that spills each vector's effect into its wheel neighbours.
Showcase Effect
toggle
Checker overlay weighted by effect magnitude to reveal affected areas.
Tool 02

Hue Remix

In Resolve: AGE Hue Remix

Pushes each hue vector toward its neighbour on the wheel. Every slider is bidirectional. Red positive pushes toward Magenta, negative toward Yellow; Yellow positive contracts toward Red, negative toward Green. The remap runs through the same tetrahedral structure, so transitions stay clean and artifact-free.

Why it's useful

Subtle hue remapping in look development: nudging skin tones a touch warmer or cooler, pushing foliage greens toward teal or yellow, or pulling a single color off an undesirable cast. Far finer than rotating the whole color wheel.

BidirectionalNeutral GuardExpand RangeShowcase Effect
Vector
− / +
Direction
Per-vector remap (bidirectional)
Red
−1 … +1
− toward Yellow · + toward Magenta
Yellow
−1 … +1
− toward Green · + toward Red
Green
−1 … +1
− toward Cyan · + toward Yellow
Cyan
−1 … +1
− toward Blue · + toward Green
Blue
−1 … +1
− toward Magenta · + toward Cyan
Magenta
−1 … +1
− toward Red · + toward Blue
Global
Neutral Guard
0 … 1
Protects neutral pixels from the remap.
Expand Range
0 … 1
Gaussian spill into neighbouring hues.
Showcase Effect
toggle
Checker overlay weighted by effect magnitude.
Tool 03

Vector Density

In Resolve: AGE Vector Density

Controls density (darkening and lightening) independently per hue vector. RGB primaries respond at full scale; CMY secondaries apply at half scale to preserve their characteristic filmic absorption. Density darkens by subtracting from all three channels of a vertex rather than just the off-diagonals, giving a more subtractive-dye quality than saturation alone.

Why it's useful

Film stocks carry different dye densities per color layer. Replicate that: make reds denser and more saturated at once, or pull density out of cyan to open shadow detail in blue-heavy scenes. The CMY half-scale mirrors how secondary dye layers respond more subtly than primaries.

RGB full-scaleCMY half-scaleNeutral GuardExpand RangeShowcase Effect
Vector
Scale
Function
Primary vectors, full scale
Red Dens
1.0×
Subtractive darken/lighten of the red vertex.
Green Dens
1.0×
Full-scale density on green.
Blue Dens
1.0×
Full-scale density on blue.
Secondary vectors, half scale
Cyan Dens
0.5×
Half-scale to preserve filmic absorption.
Magenta Dens
0.5×
Half-scale density on magenta.
Yellow Dens
0.5×
Half-scale density on yellow.
Global
Global Dens
−1 … +1
Offsets all vectors at their respective scales.
Neutral Guard
0 … 1
Protects neutral pixels.
Expand Range
0 … 1
Gaussian spill into neighbours.
Showcase Effect
toggle
Magnitude-weighted checker overlay.
Tool 04 · Master

Hue Mastery

In Resolve: AGE Hue Mastery

Combines all three operations (Remix, Saturation, and Density) in one tool, grouped by hue. Each of the six vectors carries its own Sat, Dens, and Remix slider. Global RGB and Global CMY sections add group-level offsets, and a Pass Order dropdown sets the serial processing order across the operations.

Why it's useful

When a look needs coordinated hue, saturation, and density moves, say a film emulation where the red layer is denser, shifted toward orange, and more saturated. Three separate tools means three nodes and no way to see the interaction. Mastery gives you the full three-dimensional character of a hue zone in one place. Pass order matters: Remix first means saturation acts on the remapped position; Sat first means remix moves already-saturated colors.

Per-hue Sat / Dens / RemixGlobal RGBGlobal CMYPass OrderNeutral GuardShowcase Effect
Control
Axes
Function
Per-hue, each vector has 3 axes
Red
Sat · Dens · Remix
Full 3-axis control of the red zone.
Yellow
Sat · Dens · Remix
Full 3-axis control of the yellow zone.
Green
Sat · Dens · Remix
Full 3-axis control of the green zone.
Cyan
Sat · Dens · Remix
Full 3-axis control of the cyan zone.
Blue
Sat · Dens · Remix
Full 3-axis control of the blue zone.
Magenta
Sat · Dens · Remix
Full 3-axis control of the magenta zone.
Group offsets
Global RGB
Sat · Dens · Rotate
Affects only the three primary vectors.
Global CMY
Sat · Dens · Rotate
Affects only the three secondary vectors.
Master
Pass Order
dropdown
Serial order across operations, e.g. Remix→Sat→Dens or Sat→Dens→Remix (all 6 permutations).
Neutral Guard
0 … 1
Master-level neutral protection.
Showcase Effect
toggle
Master-level magnitude checker overlay.

Shared engine

The math every tool shares

All four tools are built on the same foundation: six hue vectors arranged on the wheel, interpolated with a tetrahedral matrix, and gated by the same guard, spill, and visualization helpers.

Red · 0° Yellow · 60° Green · 120° Cyan · 180° Blue · 240° Magenta · 300° Neighbours sit at 60° · 120° · 180° around each vertex.

Six hue vectors & the tetrahedral matrix

Each primary and secondary hue is a vertex sampled at 60° spacing. Rather than the broad hue-band masking Resolve uses natively, the tools interpolate between vertices with a tetrahedral matrix, the same fast, artifact-free interpolation used in 3D LUT engines. That clean structure is why effects stay isolated to their vector with no cross-contamination.

neutral / grey saturated

Neutral Guard

A smootherstep fade keyed to each pixel's input saturation. Low-saturation greys and neutrals are held back from the effect while saturated colors receive it fully, so a red boost never tints skin shadows or a grey wall.

Expand Range

A Gaussian rolloff that spills each vertex's delta into its wheel neighbours at 60° / 120° / 180°. Boost Red and a softened amount lifts Yellow and Magenta too, letting an effect spread naturally across adjacent hues instead of stopping hard at a vector boundary.

Showcase Effect

A diagnostic overlay: a checker pattern whose opacity is weighted by effect magnitude at each pixel. Wherever the tool is doing more work the checker reads stronger, giving you an instant map of exactly which regions of frame are being touched.

Remix Sat Dens one of six selectable permutations

Pass Order (Mastery)

The master tool runs the three operations serially, and the order changes the result. Remix-first saturates the remapped position; Sat-first remaps colors that are already pushed. All six permutations are selectable so you can place each operation exactly where it belongs in the chain.

The membership

Get the Hue Tools, and everything else.

All four hue tools (Saturation, Remix, Density and Mastery) come with the whole Tool Box. Become a Happy Little Noder and unlock every premium tool on the channel, plus every update and new release. One low annual fee that will never be raised. Lock it in once and you're set.

Plenty is free, forever

A whole set of the Tool Box is free, always. Grab the Tool Box Manager and start playing today. The Hue Tools and the rest of the premium kit unlock with a single membership whenever you're ready.

Happy Little Noders
$47.34/ year

Everything you see on YouTube, plus every update, for less than a single film stock LUT pack.

  • All four Hue Tools: Saturation, Remix, Density & Mastery
  • Every premium DCTL & OFX plugin in the Tool Box
  • All future tools & updates included
  • Photo Chemist, Technicolor DRT, Color Slice O'matic & more
  • Price locked, never raised
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