Color grading S-Log3 in DaVinci Resolve: my current workflow

I shoot S-Log3 on the FX3 because it gives the most headroom in the highlights and shadows. The tradeoff is that raw footage looks flat and desaturated, which makes monitoring on set harder and grading more work. Here's the workflow that's been working for me.

Starting with a CST node

The first node in my node tree is always a Color Space Transform (CST) to convert from S-Log3/S-Gamut3.Cine to DaVinci Wide Gamut/DaVinci Intermediate. This gets the image into Resolve's native color science where all the built-in tools behave predictably. I prefer this over applying a camera LUT because the CST is tone-mappable — I can adjust how the highlight roll-off behaves without baking it in.

Node 1: CST — S-Log3/S-Gamut3.Cine → DaVinci Wide Gamut/Intermediate
Node 2: Primary correction (exposure, white balance)
Node 3: Creative grade (curves, hue shifts)
Node 4: CST — DaVinci Wide Gamut → Rec.709

The primary correction node

Before any creative work, I set exposure using the waveform (not the histogram — the waveform shows me the luminance distribution per frame width, which is more useful for fixing skies and faces simultaneously). I set white balance by neutralizing a gray card or known neutral surface in the shot. If there's no neutral reference, I use the Color Wheels > Shadows to remove color casts in the blacks.

Matching across shooting days

This is where I spent most of my time on "Interval." Shots from day 1 had a slightly cooler cast than day 3 because the overcast light changed. I built a "match" node between the primary correction and the creative grade that I only enable on mismatched shots. Using Resolve's Color Match feature as a starting point (with a reference frame from the "correct" day) gets you 80% there; the remaining 20% is manual curve adjustment.