How I Color Grade Club Footage in DaVinci Resolve

(Low Light, Real Conditions)

If you’ve ever tried color grading club footage, you already know it’s not the same as grading a music video, a short film, or anything shot in controlled lighting.

Clubs are unpredictable.Lights change constantly.Colors fight each other.And the camera is usually doing everything it can just to survive.

In this post, I’m breaking down my real-world process for color grading club footage in DaVinci Resolve, based directly on how I actually shoot and edit — not theory, not perfect conditions, and not staged setups.

👉 Watch the full video breakdown here:

Why You Don’t See Many Club Color Grading Tutorials

One thing I mention early in the video is that you don’t see a lot of club-specific color grading tutorials on YouTube — and there’s a reason for that.

Club footage is hard.

You’re dealing with:

• Extremely low light

• Aggressive red, blue, and purple LEDs

• Constant lighting changes mid-clip

• Skin tones getting wrecked by colored lights

A lot of tutorials skip this environment entirely because it’s messy and unforgiving. But this is exactly why I wanted to cover it — because this is what many creators are actually shooting.

The Camera Matters (And What I Use)

Most of the footage I’m grading here is shot on the DJI Osmo Pocket 3.

That camera punches way above its weight in low-light situations, especially for:

• Club walkthroughs

• Dance floor shots

• Fast, reactive shooting where a full rig isn’t realistic

That said — no camera magically fixes club lighting. Good color grading still comes down to how you manage exposure, color, and contrast in post.

Step One: Accept the Chaos (Then Control It)

One of the biggest takeaways from the video is mindset.

You’re not trying to erase club lighting. You’re trying to shape it.

My early steps focus on:

• Getting exposure under control

• Making sure highlights aren’t blown out

• Preventing shadows from turning into noisy mush

This isn’t where you get fancy — it’s where you make the footage usable.

Color Grading Club Footage Is About Restraint

A mistake I see beginners make (and I’ve made it myself) is pushing too hard too fast.

When you crank saturation or contrast in club footage:

• Reds can explode

• Blues can destroy skin tones

• Faces can disappear under lighting effects

Instead, I work gradually:

• Taming problem colors instead of nuking them

• Letting some color cast exist so the club still feels like a club

• Prioritizing readability over perfection

The goal isn’t “clean.”The goal is watchable and intentional.

Skin Tones Still Matter — Even in the Dark

Even in low light, skin tones are important.

I spend time making sure:

• Faces don’t turn alien under LEDs

• Skin keeps texture instead of looking plastic

• Noise reduction doesn’t destroy detail

Perfect skin tones aren’t realistic in a club — but believable ones are.

Learning the Rules (Then Bending Them)

I also want to be clear about something: I didn’t come up with this in a vacuum.

I learned a lot by studying high-level colorists like Darren Mostyn and Waqas Qazi. Their tutorials helped me understand:

• How color actually works

• Why certain corrections break footage

• How to think like a colorist, not just an editor

What you’re seeing here is me taking those fundamentals and applying them to club footage, then putting my own spin on it based on real shooting conditions.

Before vs After Is Non-Negotiable

If your grade doesn’t clearly improve the image, it’s not done.

I constantly check:

• Does the subject read better?

• Does the footage feel more controlled?

• Does it still feel like the environment it was shot in?

If the “after” doesn’t feel intentional, I pull it back.

Watch the Full Breakdown

This post gives you the philosophy.The video shows the execution — node by node, decision by decision.

👉 Watch the full color grading breakdown here (IF THE EMBED DOESNT WORK): https://youtu.be/uCk_O8_KqzY

If you shoot in clubs, nightlife venues, or low-light environments, this workflow will save you time, frustration, and bad grades.

Be sure to let me know if you have any Questions or Comments! Peace and God Bless!