Color Gain Node

Color Gain sits between Brightness Contrast (too basic) and Color Corrector (too complete). It offers the fundamentals (Gain/Gamma/Saturation) per channel + a very effective Balance tab to quickly tint an image by tonal range.

It usually renders faster than Color Corrector, which makes it attractive for chains that need several successive grades.

• Effects Library: Tools > Color > Color Gain
• Quick add: right-click in the Node Editor → Add Tool > Color > Color Gain

• Input (orange) - required. The 2D image to adjust.
• Effect Mask (blue) - optional. Limits the effect to an area.

MediaIn → Color Gain → Merge 2D → Saver

Gain RGBA

Multiplies the channel values linearly. A stronger effect on bright pixels. Gain 1.0 = no change. Gain 1.2 = 20% amplification.

Lift RGBA

Affects the midrange and shadows. Lift 0.5 raises a pixel from R0.0/G0.0/B0.0 to R0.5/G0.5/B0.5 - it literally lifts the black point.

Gamma RGBA

Adjusts the midtones without touching pure black/white. > 1 = brighter midtones, < 1 = darker midtones.

Lock R/G/B

Combines the 3 RGB controls into a single slider. Handy for a uniform gain adjustment without tinting.

Pre-Divide / Post-Multiply

Turn it on for premultiplied images (3D renders, PNG/EXR). Divides by the alpha before, multiplies after → no halos on the edges.

RGB Saturation

From 0.0 (desaturated, B&W) to 1.0+ (intensified). Per channel or Master. Lets you selectively kill a color (uncheck Lock, Saturation Red = 0 → only the reds are desaturated).

The tab that justifies the node's existence. It organizes the controls by pairs of opposite colors and by tonal range:

• Red ↔ Cyan
• Green ↔ Magenta
• Blue ↔ Yellow

Each pair has three sliders: Highs, Mids, Darks. For example, you can:

• Move the Blue-Yellow Highs slider toward Yellow → yellowed (warm) highlights.
• Move the Blue-Yellow Darks slider toward Blue → bluish (cool) shadows.

Result: a "teal & orange" grade in 2 sliders. Much faster than navigating the ranges of a Color Corrector.

A global Hue shift slider. It shifts the whole color palette by a number of degrees without affecting brightness or saturation. A rotation of the color wheel.

Use: invert the colors (a 180° shift), nudge the render toward a mood (20-30°), or test which mood suits a shot.

Lets you adjust the limits of Shadows / Midtones / Highlights by manipulating splines. The same principle as the Range tab of Color Corrector.

Useful if the defaults do not match what you consider shadow/highlight in your shot.

Brightness Contrast

The simplest. 6 parameters in a single tab. No distinction by tonal range or advanced per-channel control.

Color Gain (this node)

Intermediate level. Per-channel controls (RGBA), a Balance tab for 3 tonal ranges through opposite pairs. Renders faster than Color Corrector.

Color Corrector

The most complete. 4 modes (Colors, Levels, Histogram, Suppress), color wheels per range, automatic matching, hue suppression. Slower to render but fully featured.

Rule: Color Gain when the Balance tab is enough for the mood you want. Color Corrector as soon as you need matching or suppress.

• Quick Teal & Orange - Balance tab: Blue-Yellow Highs toward Yellow, Blue-Yellow Darks toward Blue. A cinema classic in 30 seconds.
• Quick white balance - Gain tab, Gain Red 0.95 to fix a warm cast, or Gain Blue 0.9 to cool it down.
• Global saturation boost - Saturation tab, RGB Saturation 1.2 → an image 20% more saturated.
• Desaturating one channel - uncheck Lock RGB, Saturation Red = 0 → only the reds are desaturated. A classic to calm down overly pink skin.
• Hue shift to test a mood - Hue tab, quickly try +30° / -30° to see whether the overall mood of the shot could benefit from a shift.
• A light second grade after Color Corrector - a chain where Color Corrector does the heavy lifting and Color Gain adds a quick final adjustment (cheaper to render).

• The Balance tab is the killer feature - if your workflow revolves around tinting by tonal range, Color Gain is the most efficient choice. Color Corrector takes more clicks for the same result.
• Faster than Color Corrector - in a scene with a lot of chained grading, Color Gain saves render time.
• Lock RGB checked for a uniform Lift - avoids introducing an accidental color cast when you only wanted to raise the shadows.
• Pre-Divide is a must for any premultiplied CGI.
• For precision grading (matching, suppress, levels), move to Color Corrector. Color Gain remains a mid-complexity tool.