Resolve Quick Start

Three/Strip™ is a color emulation, not a correction tool, so it works on top of a finished grade. This page assumes your shot is already balanced and exposed on an earlier node. It walks the fastest path to a usable image: pick a process, pick a Look, then set two knobs.

It assumes the plugin is installed. If not, start with Install & Activate.

1. Grade first, then add the node

Balance and expose your shot on an earlier node, the way you normally would. Then add a new node after it for the emulation. On the Color page, open the OpenFX panel, find Three Strip under the PixelTools group, and drag it onto the new node.

Three/Strip applies its dye model to the whole image, so keeping it on its own node lets you turn the look on and off and blend it against the grade underneath.

2. Set color management

Three/Strip decodes your image before it prints it, so tell it what the image is. In the Color Management group, set the Transfer Function to your working space if the project is color-managed, or to the camera’s native log curve if it is not. Leave Link Gamut / Transfer Function on and the Gamut follows. A wrong Transfer Function can introduce noise or banding, so it is worth getting right.

3. Pick a process

Near the top of the panel, just under Color Management, set Process Emulation. Leave it on Three Strip for the full three-color dye-transfer look, or switch to Two Strip for the earlier, more restricted two-color palette. The panel updates to show the controls for whichever you pick.

4. Pick a Look

Open the Look dropdown and choose a preset. Each one sets the main sliders to a different starting point, so this is the fastest way to a usable image. Pick the closest and move on; you can refine it in a moment.

5. Set Vibrancy and Blend

Two knobs carry most of the look.

• Vibrancy drives the overall color intensity. Push it for a richer print, pull it back for a more restrained one.
• Blend mixes the emulation against your graded image. Start at full strength to see the whole effect, then lower it until the look sits where you want against the grade underneath.

6. Fine-tune

If the Look is close but not exact, reach for the character controls. Warmth shifts the print base warmer or cooler. Contrast shapes the film response. Skin Protect holds skin tones natural if the dye color is pushing them too far. The Looks & Controls guide covers every control in both processes.

Next

The Overview explains the two processes and where Three/Strip sits in a grade, and Looks & Controls has the full control reference.