ARRI EI Map — OFX Plugin + DCTL for DaVinci Resolve

ARRI EI Map by Driftwood overlays ARRI-style false colour onto your image in DaVinci Resolve, so you can instantly see which parts of the scene fall into six exposure zones, from very bright to very dark.

You now get two versions in one download:
• ARRI EI Map 2.0 OFX plugin (new): fast on the GPU, with more display options. Works in DaVinci Resolve free and Studio. Mac now; Windows coming soon.
• ARRI EI Map DCTL v1.6 (encrypted .dctle): the DCTL you know, now corrected. Needs DaVinci Resolve Studio.
One installer puts both in place. Use whichever suits you.

In super simple terms, if you're an ARRI camera user (Digital Imaging Technicians, Colorists & Post-Production Teams, Cinematographers, VFX Artists, Filmmakers, Live Broadcast Teams), this is for you:

1. You pick your camera curve (LogC3 cameras such as ALEXA Mini, Mini LF, LF, SXT and Amira; LogC4 ALEXA 35; or LogC4 ALEXA 265) and the exposure index (EI) you shot at.

2. ARRI EI Map looks at each pixel's brightness in that LogC signal and works out which of six zones it belongs to:
   • Very bright, nearly clipping (red)
   • A bit less bright, on the way to clipping (yellow)
   • Mid-bright (pink): light skin tones may sit here
   • Middle grey (green): good all-round exposure and skin tones
   • Shadows (blue): near the edge of shadow detail
   • Deep shadows / noise floor (purple)

3. It colours each pixel by its zone, so as you grade or frame you immediately see what's clipping, what's sitting on middle grey, and what's in shadow and noise territory.

4. Anything outside the six zones shows as plain grey, as on the camera, or as your normal picture.

An optional legend draws a colour key with labels such as "1/3 STOP BELOW CLIPPING", "MIDDLE GREY" and "NOISE FLOOR", so you always know what each colour means in stops.

In everyday talk: ARRI EI Map paints your image with six easy-to-read colours, so you always know whether something is too bright, too dark, or sitting at middle grey. No more guessing from tiny waveform scopes.

Built from ARRI's own specification
Every zone boundary comes from ARRI's "LogC False Color: Exposure Zones and Key" specification (January 2025): ARRI's achromatic calculation and its published LogC3 and LogC4 bounds, for full-range and legal-range (SDI) signals. The plugin has been checked against the specification value by value. Version 1.6 of the DCTL corrects the ALEXA 35 shadow zones at EI 1280 and above.

New in the OFX plugin
• ARRI greyscale, original image or dimmed background
• Zone opacity, and a switch per zone to isolate one exposure level
• Zebra stripes for the clipping zones, so highlight detail stays visible
• Legend as a bottom strip, side panel or full screen
• Camera and EI label for client reviews and screenshots
• Independent EI mode for LogC4
• Fast on the GPU with Metal on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs

Requirements
• OFX plugin: DaVinci Resolve (free or Studio), macOS 12 or later, Apple Silicon or Intel. Activate each computer with a free licence key; the manual shows how.
• DCTL: DaVinci Resolve Studio.

Includes: installer (OFX plugin + DCTL v1.6), PDF manual, and a licence for two computers.

Already bought the DCTL? Email driftwood.brighton@gmail.com for the update.

ARRI, ALEXA and LogC are trademarks of ARRI. This is an independent product, not endorsed by ARRI or Blackmagic Design.