Power Window

A power window is a geometric mask (typically a circle, rectangle, polygon or bezier shape) drawn directly on a frame in a color grading tool, used to isolate a spatial region for localized grading. The colorist might draw a circular power window around an actor's face to lift it out of shadow without affecting the rest of the frame, an elliptical window over the sky to deepen its blue, or a rectangular window down the center of the frame to apply a vignette darkening the edges. Power windows can be static (fixed across the shot) or animated (keyframed or tracked to follow movement). When a power window is tracked, it follows the spatial movement of a subject — a face moving across the frame retains the targeted grade. Modern grading tools combine power windows with HSL qualifiers (color-based isolation) for surgical precision: a window restricts the qualifier to a specific region (only grade the skin tones within this window, not skin tones elsewhere). DaVinci Resolve coined the term 'power window' which has become generic across tools; Baselight calls equivalents 'shapes,' Lustre 'windows,' Symphony 'spot color.' Animated and tracked power windows are where colorists spend much of their secondary grading time. Reference: Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve Color Page Manual covers power window mechanics in detail.