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WHAT ARE LUTS AND WHY DO YOU NEED THEM?
In basic terms, LUTs are "color presets" for your footage.
LUT stands for Lookup Table and is a common term used in video & film color correction. They are used to map one color space to another (or transform), typically with a 3D LUT. When you shoot in Log the footage will usually be milky and desaturated as it preserves image detail and gives the most dynamic range (if shot properly).
SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH SMARTPHONES?
Most smartphone apps today let you shoot in a Log gamma profile including Blackmagic, FiLMiC Pro, Cinema P3, Kino, Moment and more. Using a 15/16/17 Pro series iPhone, even the native camera app shoots Apple Log.
Applying LUTs to footage shot in Log can not only drastically speed up the color correction and grading process, but maybe more importantly - LUTs can quickly and easily get your footage looking great without having to be an experienced colorist.
DIFFERENT LUT OPTIONS
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Today most iPhone LUTs are geared towards Apple Log, but we also have LUT Packs that work with ALL flavors of FiLMiC Pro log including their 10-bit ProRes LogV3+. So that means legacy LogV1, 8-bit LogV2 and 10-bit LogV3 HEVC. And please note that we offer separate LUT Packs for the different versions of FiLMiC Pro log as they all have their own distinct gamma profiles. And note, theses do not work with Apple log.
Apple Log • Film Look LUT Samples
FiLMiC Pro LogV3 LUT & Grading Examples
Color Grading FiLMiC Pro Log with LUTs
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We also offer LUTs for shooting in Cinematic Mode, standard video or ProRes - so that means NON-log shooting, which can be really handy to help quickly create looks. Learn more about those here.
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If you're shooting Dolby Vision 10-bit HDR (with an iPhone 12 or later) we also offer LUTs for that footage too IF you edit in an SDR timeline - not HDR. By doing this in Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve the app can "discard" the HDR metadata and so you get a nice flat image to color grade. Learn more about that here.
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Also regarding normal shooting of Dolby Vision... HDR is not necessarily designed for color grading (it's really a "baked in" look), however, you can still definitely add style in post-production using LUTs and/or other color grading techniques. Note though, we'd primarily suggest using our LUTs when editing in SDR (standard dynamic range), not HDR (although you can as described above).
By the way, If your footage was shot in the "Flat" or "Natural" color profiles with FiLMiC Pro or Cinema P3 - or in the default "standard" iPhone mode - you can still use LUTs. They are not just for Log footage and would simply be applied differently (typically by lowering the "strength" or intensity depending on the shot and the app you're working in). This is a great way to add a stylized and/or cinematic look to your footage.
Our LUTs are compatible with most popular editing and color correction/FX software like Adobe Premiere, After Effects, FCP, Vegas Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Avid, and the popular iPhone/Pad editing apps CapCut and LumaFusion. They will also work in camera apps that support LUTs such as Blackmagic, Kino and FiLMiC Pro.
WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFO?
Watch the LUT overview video below from the guys at Film Riot. And to see our LUT packs in action go here.
Our LUT Packs are affordable, easy to use and available now for purchase and immediate download.
Android users note: This site is geared towards iPhone filmmaking, however, the LogV1, LogV2 and LogV3 LUTs will work on log or flat footage captured with any smartphone using the FiLMiC Pro app and the Moment app, too. FiLMiC Pro LogV3+ (for ProRes) and Apple Log are for iPhone users only.
