Ranges Mask Node

The Ranges Mask analyzes the luminance (or a chosen channel) of the image and outputs a mask isolating the pixels that belong to a tonal range. Similar to the Shadows/Midtones/Highlights ranges of a Color Corrector, but exposed as a mask you can connect elsewhere.

The mini spline editor gives you precise control over the limits and the transition between ranges - where a simple threshold (as in the Bitmap Mask) gives hard edges, the Ranges Mask gives a precise, natural falloff.

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

Bitmap Mask + Luminance channel

Low/High Threshold = a hard cut. Soft Edge after the cut. Simple, binary.

Ranges Mask

A Bézier spline editor for the transition. Precise control of the falloff, 3 separate ranges (shadows/midtones/highlights) you can combine. More sophisticated.

Rule of thumb: simple tonal isolation (binary black/white) → Bitmap Mask. Precise grading by tonal zone with a custom falloff → Ranges Mask.

• Input (orange) - the source image to analyze.
• Effect Mask (blue) - optional. A mask to combine through the Paint Mode.

Localized shadow grading:
MediaIn → Color Corrector (lift down) ← Ranges Mask (select Shadows)
       → MediaOut
(the shadows get even darker)

Highlight recovery:
MediaIn → Color Corrector (gain down) ← Ranges Mask (select Highlights)
       → MediaOut
(compresses only the blown-out highlights)

Tinting the midtones only:
MediaIn → Color Corrector (Temperature warm) ← Ranges Mask (Midtones)
       → MediaOut

Shadows / Midtones / Highlights buttons

3 quick presets to isolate a classic range. White pixels in the result = the selected zone.

Channel

The analyzed channel: Red, Green, Blue, Alpha, Hue, Luminance, Saturation. Luminance by default for luma-based masking.

Mini Spline Editor

4 Bézier control points that define where each range starts, reaches its maximum and ends. See the dedicated section.

Soft Edge

Spatial feathering of the resulting mask. Box/Bartlett/Multi-box/Gaussian filter.

Level

Mask opacity (0-1).

Invert

Inverts the mask.

Paint Mode

How it combines with the incoming mask: Merge, Add, Subtract, Multiply, etc.

The editor has 4 control points spread across the 0-1 luminance range:

• Point 1 (ramp up start): where the mask starts to become visible.
• Point 2 (peak start): where the mask reaches 100%.
• Point 3 (peak end): where the mask starts to fall off.
• Point 4 (ramp down end): where the mask goes back to 0.

Each point has Bézier tangents to control how soft the transitions are. For example, this allows a very soft falloff on one side and a very sharp one on the other.

Shadows preset: points toward the left (low values). Midtones preset: points in the middle. Highlights: points toward the right.

• Grading localized by tonal zone - a different tint for shadows vs highlights using 2 Ranges Masks + 2 Color Correctors.
• Highlight recovery - isolate the blown-out highlights and compress them with a negative gain. Recovers detail without touching the rest.
• Localized shadow lift - brighten only the dark areas (recovered shadow detail) without blowing out the highlights.
• Cinematic orange-teal look - an orange tint on the midtones + a teal tint on the shadows with 2 Ranges Masks.
• Selective saturation - boost the saturation only in the midtones to protect skin tones (in the shadows) and avoid oversaturated highlights.
• Glow / bloom on highlights - Ranges Mask set to Highlights + a Blur connected as Effect Mask = a natural glow only on the blown-out areas.
• Mask for localized denoising - noise is often more visible in the shadows. Ranges Mask on Shadows + denoise = precise cleanup.

• Shadows/Midtones/Highlights presets to get started - click a preset, then fine-tune the spline. Faster than starting from scratch.
• Luminance channel by default - the standard behavior. Use Red/Green/Blue/Hue only for a specific need (e.g. masking only the red areas).
• Soft Edge to avoid banding - on soft gradients, a hard-edged mask created by the spline can reveal banding. A Soft Edge of 0.01 smooths it spatially.
• Bézier tangents for an asymmetric falloff - a soft transition toward the midtones but a hard cut toward pure white = a different tangent on each point.
• Several Ranges Masks can be combined - one for the shadows, one for the highlights, Paint Mode Add in a third = a mask that excludes the midtones.
• Saturation channel to isolate vivid colors - Channel = Saturation + Ranges on the high values = a mask of the saturated areas.
• For pro grading, the Color Corrector of the Resolve Color page has its own qualifiers, far more powerful than the Ranges Mask. Keep the Ranges Mask for cases where you stay in Fusion.