I suggest when using curves for the purpose that you were demonstrating is to pin the middle grey first. The reason the waveform is jumping up or down is lessened if you pin the points on the curve. In Resolve you can of course just click the black mid and white and the points will be placed on the curve then you can pull each up or down etc.
I hit the Like button THREE times!! :D But seriously, great video showing the differences in methods and principles behind my LUT for accuracy, the Buttery LUT for an Arri style look, and FilmConvert for the crazier stuff. Thanks for the vote of confidence :)
@@visceralpsyche Hello Paul, I purchased your LUTs for Sony a few weeks ago. I watched the Videos by Gerald Undone, Jason Anthony as well as your short ETTR tutorial. Unfortunatelly, it does not matter how much I overexpose, after applying your LUT the footage is horribly dark. Doing it exactly the way you show in your ETTR tutorial results in very dark footage (and very noisy because of the high ISO I have to use). I have tried the LUTs on different PCs using Premiere and DaVinci. They seem to affect the footage in a completely different way than the ones Gerald and Jason use. What could be the reason for that? Can LUTs "brake"? I look forward to an answer. If you have the time I would appreciate it if you could accept my request for the facebook group.
@@DVZM. The LUTs have a linear luma curve which can darken the shadows, but if you follow the LUT with one of my Apollo Pro Quickies (download them for free from my website) you can raise the shadow details without clipping the highlights. You can stack multiple instances if needed without any additional noise. HTH!
Hi I’m just now learning to tattoo, got my kit on Amazon and everything. Anyway, I was gonna offer to do your tattoo for free, just for experience. DM me if you’re interested.
Gerald, could you please do an update to this video since Paul's Leeming LUT has been updated and the same for the Phantom LUT which many people love. I would like to know which is more color accurate and also gives you a best out of camera result. Thanks.
This was super helpful, thanks for taking the time to put this together. I've been using buttery luts but your results from the leeming luts are making me think about trying them out.
Gerald you are killing it man. Not many others are putting out the quality of stuff that you do. The information you give out is based on fact and evidence. You are the Sheldon Cooper of cameras. :)
Fantastic, thanks so much for this. I was the the first person to receive Paul Leeming's new LUTs last week and I was struggling with it looking so dark as you stayed many do. Being new to using LUTs and hearing endless youtubers saying to expose HLG3 in the middle, I finally realised after watching this that each LUT you commit to requires you to expose specifically for that LUT. In Leeming LUTs case that means expose to the right (quite a bit) which I realized in my tests. Thanks for clearing up so much. I've subscribed , Cheers!
I am really happy using Leeming Luts. It really adjusts color and luma in a way that it almost exactly looks like how my eyes see the scene (with custom WB). Makes the grading part so much easier.
Hi there. Trying to get the "leeming lut pro blackmagic design v4 film", but can not find it online. I'm using Blackmagic Studio Pro cameras. Anybody able to help with this
I just started messing with VLOG on the GH5S and oh boy, that's a lesson. I keep pushing the exposure so I don't get noise in the shadows but when I bring down the highs to fix things and not look weird, my highs are around 70, which seems a bit dark.
If it's just a shot of you, I'd just aim to put your skin on the ideal level for you. And then just aim to repeat that every time. Which I'd say is probably around 60-65% for your complexion.
Evertime I see a video about LUTs and FilmConvert, I always notice that pretty much nobody mentions a superior way of emulating color film IMO. I've tested out a lot of LUTs, but the VisionColor ImpulZ 35mm LUTs are my favorite by far. I see them as a hidden gem, tbh. It may have a rather different approach compared to others, but that's def. one of their stenghts because it's very modular. It took me some time to really understand how it works and how it's used, but now I've even made my own custom application. The saturation on the rec.709 LUTs is a bit low for my taste, so I use the LOG LUTs instead, which have a much richer color reproduction of the various film stocks.
I'm not an expert colorist but what I've learned so far is that if you intent to apply a Rec709 correction LUT, it's good practice to apply it in the creative LUT section. And then add another Lumetri FX underneath (or adjustment layer on top) to play with your creative look. Since the correction LUTs are destructive, it gives you room "before" your Rec709 LUT to balance the footage. This is for Premiere. It's a bit easier in Resolve since you just leave an empty node at the beginning, 2nd node correction LUT, and then following nodes whatever your creative grade is going to be. Although I do prefer using Resolve Color Management instead of correction LUTs, because it's non destructive. For example, you can test this outdoors where clipping highlights is more likely and easier to spot how much you can recover. You'll notice that when you apply a Correction LUT and then try to recover highlights, you'll bring them down but they'll stay clipped. This is just one of many issues you can encounter. Great video as usual, Gerald! Cheers!
That's a commonly recommended strategy and I think it's definitely viable. However, for this workflow since I was using raw, I didn't think it was necessary since I can do most of the corrections in the raw panel before it ever hits the LUT. It's a good tip, though, in some circumstances. Although, in my experience, it doesn't work as well for the Leeming LUT. I find it works better if you put the base LUT in the top line and then use little creative style looks in the creative section. It's also the only way to get to look the same as Resolve does when you add the LUT there.
@@geraldundone Oh yeah, absolutely! when working with RAW files, your method was perfectly fine. I meant it for other workflows when using HLG profiles and things like that.
Thanks for making this! I’m just starting out with even THINKING about LUTs and color grading. But this helped it seem not TOO intimidating. Once again, thanks for sharing this with us! Cheers!
Leeming LUTs is carefree happiness. I'd try the FilmConvert and Buttery but neither support my cameras. Vectorscope looked like a spirograph! I think there are a few color eagle eyed viewers unconscious by their desks. Thanks Gerald. I'm stuck with Leeming but I'm ok with that.
Have to say Paul Leeming's LUT for the DJI Mavic 2 Pro (using 10 bit D-Log M) and setting as the LUT was intended for - works very well and I do recommend it over the others I have tried. Davinci Resolve studio 17
Gerald quick question: If using Black Magic Raw does it make sense to first apply either Leeming or Buttery to convert to Rec 709 then follow it up with FilmConvert to apply a specific film look or skip the first step and go straight to FilmConvert? I'm shooting mostly natural history video so skin tone accuracy is not an issue. Thanks!
Hey Gerald! Just wanted to say thank you for the content you´re making. It helps me a lot to get better in grading and understanding more and more my Sony A7iii. Really appreciate your videos! Great Great work. Thank you. Have a great one and see you in the next Video. Cheers from Switzerland. Robert
Also, you say the Leening is accurate but then you decrease the sat 13 points. Would the Buttery be more accurate if you increase the sat 13 points? Maybe if you had increased the contrast on the Buttery instead of modifying the curve it would have looked better quicker? Sorry for all the questions but I am debating which one I should buy. Thanks
Saturation changes at that level in post don't really change the accuracy of the color, neither does a luma curve. The colour accuracy segment was checking to see how accurate the hues were from the chart I shot on a vectorscope. The Leeming LUT is more colour accurate regardless. Adjusting the contrast for the Buttery LUTs would have produced a similar result to the curve, I was just showing two ways to do it. You can either increase the contrast or make a subtle S-curve. Contrast might be easier, because it's a slider, but the curve will give you more control. Hope that helps.
Thanks a lot for your responses. To me it seems the Buttery might be less accurate but more pleasant which is what I personally care the most, particularly if it’s closer to a more filmic look like the Arri. As far as exposing 2 stops over I personally really don’t think it’s a good idea particularly with digital cameras, where recouping the highlights is very difficult, not like it was with Film. So even in this case the Buttery seems a better and more versatile LUT option since it seems to work perfectly in low light. Thanks again for your help, greetings from Germany
A more general point -- As a new user of video editing tools (I'm more familiar with audio editing) -- it's nice to have a 'scope' display that objectively tells you when a shot is 'property' balanced (or in what ways it isn't). Cool
Thanks for this - interesting stuff as always. One thing, though, that I have yet to see discussed, or even mentioned really, in any instructional material on colour grading from log to Rec.709 is the business of getting the log image data lined up just right before converting to linear. The important point here is that log and linear operations are not, in mathematical language, 'commutative': operation A followed by operation B is not the same as operation B followed by operation A. Because of this, it is important to get colour temperature and exposure adjusted to perfection in the raw, log, file before converting to linear (and this is true of course whether one uses a LUT or other grading means). The possibility of adjusting both those parameters 'after the fact' is probably the biggest single advantage of using a raw format. This kind of consideration won't matter much if you're going for the FilmConvert route of getting an artistic effect, but if you're more of the Leeming mindset and want a fundamentally accurate grade (at least, before adding the odd arty touch) there's a lot to be said for spending a minute or two adjusting both colour temp and exposure in really quite tiny increments and checking the results via various scopes. At the very least, those with a scientific background (yes, that's me!) will take some satisfaction from knowing that the result has been achieved with the minimum number of steps.
Gerald, what about applying LUTs on footage shot using an 8-bit codec? I mean the Panasonic Cinelike D profile. Are 8 bits good enough to grade such footage without creating any banding or/and some noise etc? Best.
Hello Gerald. In premiere pro corrective luts should be applied in the creative tabs, not basic tab. that way your basic adjustment take effect before your corrective lut. The order of the lut setting in basic tabs is incorrect. Then add second lumetri to grade it. Try it and see the difference.
This is not the case with the Leeming lut from what I understand, at least not in FCP where the first thing I do is to apply it as a "camera lut" rather than a "custom lut" directly after adding the clip to the timeline. But perhaps we are talking about different things.
Which LUTs would you recommend for real estate property videos? Interior shots have very high contrast with windows being blown out and we're really struggling to get things right. We shoot on GH5S and Blackmagic Cinema 4k. And... as always... fantastic video. Thank you.
Ha! Thanks a lot. It's actually a really old intro that I kept around because it's fun. But the crazy part is just about the intensity and depth of my interests. "You'd have to be crazy to do that test 115 times." Something like that.
By any chance, is there a similar video related to livestreaming? I'm mixing bmpcc 6k pro with a nikon z6ii and a Canon R6. I've been able to get the canon and Nikon close enough for live streaming, maybe because they both use ninja v's. But the pocket cinema is way off. I just saw a post about leeming LUTs. I think it will work. But for how clear and thorough this video was, I'd love to see this with regards to livestreaming. Thanks.
Awesome Video Gerald! Really helpful since i‘m kinda getting into log video and color grading. I‘m filming with the fuji xt-3 and sadly both the leeming lut (which looked really good to me) and the buttery lut don‘t support the fuji f-log. Are there any luts or colorgrading tips you have especially regarding f-log? Also as a Video Request I think it would be awesome to have a little tutorial to get to know the whole vocabulary and basics of colorgrading like the curves and numbers you used to put the hightlights, midtones, etc. in the right places! Thanks for the video and have a great day!
Thanks so much! Have you tried the F-Log to Eterna LUT that you can get from Fuji for free? It's pretty nice if you're a fan of their Eterna look. Thanks for the suggestion as well. Cheers!
Great video as always! Quick question. I shoot on an A6400. All my footage looks so grainy it makes me puke in my mouth. Even with the lowest ISO possible in everything from slog, hlg, to Cine. As well I’m no expert but I think I’m exposing correctly as well. I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong here. Do you know what might be causing this?
I don't think you are exposing correctly. Turn on zebras and give it more light until the highlights start to blink. Then lower exposure until they stop. (where to set zebras depends on which profile you are using. For Cine2, try 95% or 100%). I use the a6500 in 4K and there is almost no noise.
Thanks for the kind words and sorry you're having troubles. I haven't experienced that, unless my ISO is quite high of course. Certain S-Log situations will give you a noisier image, but you should have that issue with Cine. I don't denoise in post usually and find anything under ISO 1600 to be quite clean on the a6400.
Hey Gerald, great video! Quick question: is the Leeming LUT pretty much unusable in low light? If you have to overexpose 3 stops all the time that means that in low light situations, assuming you are at ISO 3200, at f/1.8, you won’t have any space to overexposed. Am I right? Also it’s gonna make it extremely difficult to use it with the native ISO 400 and you have to shoot most of the times at ISO 800-1000, which is extremely noisy. Correct? Thanks
I shoot my scene at ISO 800 and f/1.4, and it's a pretty dim in here. It's not a night shot, but it's relatively low light. So, no, I wouldn't say that it's unusable in low light. But yes, you'll have to expose about 2 stops beyond exposing to the middle. So if you find that won't work for your shooting style, then maybe that particular LUT isn't for you. Often in extreme low light situations a LUT might not be super helpful anyway since it's more about managing channel clipping and shadow balance, which is something I like to do manually.
I'd like to see further explanation of rec-709. Both of these LUTs output to Rec-709. Sony's CINE-4 and all the non-slog profiles are Rec-709, yet all of these have very different looks. There are also creative LUTS designed to be applied to Rec-709 footage. Rec-709 is often referred to as though it were a standardised starting point. Yet if you apply one of these creative LUTS to, say, Cine-4 and the output from the Leeming LUT you will get very different results. What exactly is the significance of Rec-709?
I think you are using the same term to describe 2 things. One is a standard defining HD (non HDR) video display which defines primary colors, gamma, etc. The second is getting colors in line with that standard. You can have files for non-HDR HD standard where green is more like blue. It'll display on a screen expecting REC 709, but will look like blue, not green. Leeming LUT intends to remove manufacturer idiosyncrasies ("enhancements") and get the colors to be close to a standard. That's my understanding anyway! In practice, color correct first, then grade (if you choose) and don't worry about video standards.
@@rsmith02 I often see LUTs that are designed to be applied to REC709 footage, and people often talk about REC709 is though it is a standardised starting point. But if you take the same scene, shot once in, say, Cine4 and again in, say, DJI standard profile, you will have two very different pieces of footage, although they are both REC709 and are exactly the same scene. If you then apply a LUT designed for REC709 to these two pieces of footage, they will be even further apart.
I see what you are saying. Yes, each maker imparts this footage with its own signature look. Leeming LUT returns footage to a Rec 709 starting point where the primary colors align with the graticals on the vectorscope. That's true for Rec 2020 HLG footage as much as it is for Sony's odd-looking Cine2 footage (or Panasonic Cinelike D or various DJI abominations).
I've been using Film Convert on every video I make for 6 years now (corporate, narrative or music videos), I use it inside DaVinci Resolve on my first node, I like to imagine that I'm starting from a real film stock and then grading "over it". I love it!
Hi Gerald, I love your content. As a new a7iii user it really is helpful! If you have a video on this already; please send me the link. I was wondering if you had a video on the best settings for video SOOC for those beginners who prefer not to grade or need something quickly to use. Thanks!
Hey! I have this video: ruclips.net/video/9E8doNzDymo/видео.html It covers a lot of different topics on the Sony, but for you I'd recommend Cine2. It's pretty easy and looks good right away. And if you find it too flat, you can just increase the contrast and saturation a little in post and you're done.
Great video, but one quick but important question. Since I am a beginner I don't quite understand how I can fix that ETTR on +2.0 on my sony A7III (using leeming cine2 profile settings) since I shoot at 25p 1/50 and 100ISO (with aperture varying from 1.4 to 2.8). For example if I'm filming thru a room with a darker side and brighter desk zone that exposure will vary between 0 and 2. It's there a fix for this? should I go for auto ISO to keep that ETTR at exactly +2? or auto iso for video is a no-no Thank you! and let me say your channel is my new hobby/netflix/wikipedia
I assume you are varying aperture to keep exposure relatively constant? Keep doing that and raise ISO manually if you need to. Auto ISO is more useful for changes like outside to inside.
I just picked up a bmpcc4k, trying to do more professional video, and I was normally shooting on sony. You've helped a lot and from your videos I ended up getting Leeminglut for Sony. Now that I am starting to take it more seriously I wanted to see what you would recommend for professional commercial style work. That super clean consistent style? I will be doing documentary style personal work and some work with cars that is not hypercritical but I'm wanting something to help my workflow at first. What would you recommend for this? I'm mainly shooting BRaw Q0. Thanks for any tips. I am working on grading and making my own stuff but I love things like this that just expedite my workflow.
Dear Gerald, I don't know how to contact with you so I really really really hope that you can read my comment. I've heard recently the PHANTOM LUTS is really good but I feel like it is nowhere near good as the LEEMING one. Can you make the video compare them side by side, that would be great, or can you reply my comment about what you think about PHANTOM
Your videos are honestly very informative. And after watching some of your videos concerning matters I understand well, I know I can trust you on the other stuff too. Could you please specify grading courses where we can actually trust the instructor just like we trust you?
Thank you very much! That means a lot. There's quite a few good ones, but often they're specific to a particular platform or camera. What workflow do you prefer to work with?
I almost always set a custom white balance using a card. That chart that I was holding up can be turned around and used as a white balance card. I set the white balance using the in-camera custom tool. If I'm comparing white balances though, I'll usually just set each camera to 5600K and see if one's warmer than the other, etc.
I’m very much anticipating the new FilmConvert Nitrate for the Cineon LOG emulations. The current version bakes in the response curve of the print film emulation, which I find quite limiting, as it backs you into a corner on some shots. I’ll quite enjoy having essentially a LOG scanned film emulator, with all the nice film color and grain, with freedom to add contrast via curves to my desired taste.
Hi Gerald, thanks for the consistently excellent material you have put out. Thanks to you, I started shooting my Sony cameras in modified PP10 - HLG3, and BT.2020. I edit and grade in Davinci Resolve, and have made the following discovery on how to get the best colors when converting the BT.2020 color space to Rec.709. This assumes that you are using Davinci YRGB as your Color Science (Setting at the top of the Color tab in the Project Settings page), and have your Timeline color space set to "Rec.709 Gamma 2.2". Add a Color Space Transform node (from the OpenFX list). For Input Color Space, set that to Rec.2020, and leave Input Gamma as "Use Timeline". Set Output Color Space to Rec.709, or simply leave it as "Use Timeline" as the Timeline is Rec.709. (And leave Output Gamma as "Use Timeline".) Right off the bat this gives you a pretty good conversion. But the colors are just a bit off. To fix this, go down to the Global Blend slider, and drag it between 0 (which applies the full effect of this transform, and 100, which negates the transform and goes back to the original Rec.2020. I have found that a blend of around 0.3 to 0.7 gives the most accurate and pleasing colors. Now the last part: the transform often gives too much saturation, so go to the Gamma Mapping area, and select Gamma Mapping Method of "Saturation Mapping". Now adjust the Saturation Max. level to get the amount of saturation that you want. This gives you fine grained control over both the resulting colors and saturation. I can get really great skin tones from this, as well as landscape colors. You'll note that I didn't transform the HLG gamma to Rec.709, as that gives some really odd results, and it is far easier to adjust the final contrast of the image using a curve, or contrast slider. To make this easier to apply to all your Sony clips, you can create a Group, and add all the Sony clips in your timeline into that Group. Then apply this grade at the Group level instead of at the Clip level. This is similar to using an Adjustment Clip layered on your other clips, but easier to use in several ways. On your recommendation, I also purchased the Leeming LUTs, and while they work fairly well, I am seeing some odd colors in my footage that aren't correct. The above conversion is definitely more accurate. There is another reason why not to use LUTs if you can avoid them: they result in clipped values ( a bit like a destructive edit in Photoshop), and may fall apart (banding, etc.) if you apply other strong manipulations or LUTs later on in the grade. The Color Space Transform node does not is a bit like a non-destructive edit, in that all values can still be stretched later on in the grade, with no detrimental effect. I hope this is helpful to you and your other viewers. Like your work, this has come after hours and hours of experimentation with different ways of accomplishing this BT.2020 to Rec.709 color transform.
One other problem with LUTs that I should have mentioned: they are very sensitive to how the video is exposed (i.e. require ETTR to work properly.) The Color Space Transform node does not suffer from this issue.
great comment, shame it’s buried in a place nobody will find except me by accident lol). but you’re right using the colour space transform tools provided in resolve is generally the more effective route to go.
@@EpithetMusicTV You got it! Since I first wrote that comment, I made another very interesting discovery: the Color Space Transform tool does a brilliant job converting Sony's S-Gamut3.Cine to Rec.709, giving the excellent colors for both skin tones and landscapes. This is the best color I have seen out of the Sony, and it is right up there with Panasonic, and in several cases is better. So right now, my preferred color space is S-Gamut3.cine. I then wanted to figure out which Gamma setting offered the best dynamic range, from my testing, Cine 2 covers 99% of the situations. If I really was concerned, I might use HLG. But with either of those, I would still use S-Gamut3.Cine as the Color space. Note for those new to this stuff: Gamma controls the contrast, black levels, white levels, etc. and doesn't impact color. And Color Space controls the color space, without affecting contrast.
Aren't the scopes being influenced by the entire frame and not just the area with the Colour Checker? How accurate is it if the graphs include info from your background and your face?
Yeah film convert is pretty fun to use and the highlight rolloff of certain profil is really great, but i wish i can apply only the curve and not the color of a profil or at least apply film convert to the high lights via a secondary luma mask, but, i think that premiere 2019 doesn't allow that, always not. Did you try the "Impulz Ultimate LUTs" ? Some of the LUTs in Photoshop are pretty cool too when loaded in your NLE :)
Gerald: "We'll use this shot here because you're used to it and will easily spot differences." Gerald's thoughts: "I was born in this room and from an early age consumed knowledge via the internet until my brain was too large to fit though the door. Unable to think of a way out, I've accepted the irony of my curse."
Trying to figure out why the Leeming darkens my footage so much that I have to adjust the raw brighter and boost the iso even when it was super bright in the shoot. Happens with gh5 and bmpcc6k.
Hi Gerald. Again, big fan of your videos. To the point, no gimmick, very limited "acting" - you're good! keep it that way. ;) One thing that I would have found VERY helpful was how you setup the shoot itself... How to expose your camera when shooting BEFORE your color grading. The image before the color grading looks overexposed... It's a scary thing for a beginner to shoot that way... For a guy learning color grading or shooting in raw, how does one not create something that is just too overblown or underexposed to save with color grading in post?... just wondering if you have anything that talks about that?....
@@geraldundone I did find the "Exposure Tips for the BMPCC4K & Why I Don’t Use ProRes" video you made a couple of days ago... and it's "kinda" what I was referring to... I think? :) except it's (I think) just for the BMPCC4K. And Wow!... great info here for anyone using the BMPCC4K!! (which I am not) And I'll have to watch that one again to get everything you discuss (if I plan to use a BMPCC4K).. but for sure the fact that you tell users of the BMPCC4K to stick to 400 or 3200 ISO is very helpful. Thanks again for being such a good educator and taking the time to provide us with "no BS" content!!! Much appreciated!!! Have a great weekend!
Do you use Paul Leemings recommended camera settings when applying the Leeming luts, or do you use the settings recommended in your own previous video? (All default except detail -7)
Hey Gerald! This whole purple shadow/green midtones is a new one for me. I tend to just do a lot of blued shadow/warmed midtones on my clips for a natural look. Is the purple/green thing specific to your studio setup where it's intended to be a bit tech-feeling, or would you use this in other contexts?
Hey! I just do is a part of a branding play to associate my channel with purple. I started out doing it a lot more intense and have eased up on it as people have come to recognize the grade.
@@geraldundone Got it! I love the cleverness of introducing a subtle color into the shadows as a branding thing. It's so interesting to think about all the different ways in which a color grade can be used, from creating a certain feel in a film to supporting a cohesive brand on a RUclips channel. Thanks for continuing to lead the way and sharing videos that have something for pros and amateurs alike. :)
Amazing video!! I really enjoy your content. There is something that I would love to ask you. I shoot night events and they are constanly changing color environment. Leeming luts demands to use the WB checker so I am not sure if these luts are useless unless I do accurate white balance or should I still the lut without taking care of that. What do you think are my best options ?
Thanks for this great info Gerald! Q: what do you set your HLG3 saturation to as I find the +15 for the original HLG the Leeming Lut PRO was made for too harsh. TIA!
@geraldundone I am experimenting with loading custom LUT's into my GH5 so they are applied to the HDMI output for my live streaming. I wonder if you have an in camera GH5 LUT that you can share with us ?
Gerald Undone I’ve been live streaming from my GH5 and purchased vlog and then made a LUT with colorfinale in FCP following your video. The benefit being that my live stream has the LUT applied without any post production, or introducing an atomos or other HDMI processing device before my capture card.
So im really trying around to get good results. But If I use HLG and the Lemming Lut, I get harsh colors. I mean the sky looks like like unhealthy ice cream and I look like a freakin orange
Hey Gerald, do you change the saturation level on Sony Picture Profiles by Leeming's recommendation? For example in cine2 he tells you to change saturation to -5. Do you do it, or is it ok to leave it all at default? Thanks so much!
@@geraldundone Appreciate the answer! Also is the combo pack all the LUTs? I couldn't find an answer on that.. You should partner up with him to get some sort of commission 😂
Very helpful vid, as usual! Thanks dude, I'm learning a lot! I'm curious what bitrate you exported this video in? Did you use the standard "4K RUclips High Bitrate" preset or something else?
Might be a dumb question, but why do you need the Leeming LUT if you already have a color checker and some know how? Couldn't you use your color checker to manually adjust a frame in Photoshop, then save your own LUT?
Because Paul makes them with a $1000 hand-measured chart. But yes, you can do all of this in your editing software (no Photoshop needed) if you have the skills and tools.
What about if on set you're trying to create a specific lighting scheme, something stylistic, do these color charts or white balancing essentially neutralize what you're trying to achieve? If so, how do you ensure proper skin tones, etc, without destroying the look you're gaffer created?
I suppose that would depend on the intention. Most of these LUTs are usually based on a neutral white balance and even exposure. So they don't really undo that. So if you had contrasty lighting or a warmer white balance, that would stay. It might not be by the books accurate, but your look would be achieved. In that case though, you might prefer to do it manually in post.
@@geraldundone That makes sense thank you! Those LUTS aside, do you have a recommendation about whether you should / how white balance a scene when a gaffer is making a stylized look?
@@weightlessfilms5651 If you aren't going for perfectly neutral and you wanted to maintain the temperature, I would probably just do it by eye. Start at 5600K and look at the scene, then look at the display, and just try and dial it in close to what your eyes see. If you want to neutralize it, just use a custom white balance on a grey card.
With Leeming LUT I noticed one of the requirements we to have a white balance card or grey card. Is that a must? Or can I just use the AWB on my Sony a7III?
Hi Gerald, does it make sense to use the Leeming Lut as a converter from BTS 2020 to Rec709 and combine it afterwards with FilmConvert to grade the footage?
Hey Gerald! Thanks to you I'm using HLG and leeming LUTs. I've started using it all together not so long ago. What I can't find on your channel is how to actually shoot/expose HLG. Do you have a video that explains HLG shooting outside? Love your channel btw
Hey! Thanks for the kind words. I don't have a video on that specifically, but for the Leeming LUT he recommends exposing ETTR, which I talk about quite a bit in my recent Blackmagic video. ruclips.net/video/hV7ixU2AmLE/видео.html go around the 8:00 mark. Also, Paul Leeming has a guide on this as well found here: ruclips.net/video/P_bDdQPAtas/видео.html
Hey Gerald. First: thanks for all the good content! I have a question. When filming with the A6400 and AIII with HLG3 - is it normal, that the picture gets darker after applying the leeming LUT? I always have to set my "white slider" to around 80 or more to get the peak to the top. I expose it like it is recommended by leeming LUT.
What do you do if you're color blind? I am and honestly many of the changes you made I can't even see -- like even a little bit. Its frustrating and kinda discouraging...Uhh. Yeah. Think I grab a spoon now and scoop the eyes out of my head. Its interesting content that's new to me. Putting in the time to learn the material isn't the problem, my question is if I should bother to go down this path when my eyes are basically incapable of seeing what it is I am suppose to be correcting. Thank you for sharing. I'll look into this further and try to understand what it is I am looking at and how these programs improve my images and /or footage.
Generally it's treated the same. We all have the same blood making our skin that hue, it's just the melanin that darkens or lightens it. So you expose different for darker skin, but you still stick to the same skin tone line. Some people are rosier or more yellow than others, but they'll still be close to the line.
Goddamn Gerald. You're quickly becoming the most essential video/film channel on RUclips--at least in terms of technical aspects of imaging. Film Convert looked similar to the film look LUTs that come with Resolve and Premiere. What else does it offer to differentiate from those? I know that Philip Bloom uses it a lot, so it must be good
Thanks a lot, Phillip! I think for FilmConvert it's about faithful emulation and grain control. They're releasing an update soon to give a much more expanded grain control and I believe curve control as well. Just to try and dial in that film quality.
Question. I now use Leeming lut to bring hlg back to normal. Then when adding filmconvert, do I choose my camera with generic rec.709 or hlg? The lut confirms to rec 709 so im a little confused on what to choose.
Man, your videos are so helpful and not half assed like other creators. Thank you!
Thanks a lot, Sebastian!
I suggest when using curves for the purpose that you were demonstrating is to pin the middle grey first. The reason the waveform is jumping up or down is lessened if you pin the points on the curve. In Resolve you can of course just click the black mid and white and the points will be placed on the curve then you can pull each up or down etc.
I hit the Like button THREE times!! :D But seriously, great video showing the differences in methods and principles behind my LUT for accuracy, the Buttery LUT for an Arri style look, and FilmConvert for the crazier stuff. Thanks for the vote of confidence :)
And LOL at the two minute mark or so. "Apply LUT, contrast, done". That's EXACTLY my intention :D More time for the fun stuff!
@@visceralpsyche
Hello Paul, I purchased your LUTs for Sony a few weeks ago. I watched the Videos by Gerald Undone, Jason Anthony as well as your short ETTR tutorial.
Unfortunatelly, it does not matter how much I overexpose, after applying your LUT the footage is horribly dark. Doing it exactly the way you show in your ETTR tutorial results in very dark footage (and very noisy because of the high ISO I have to use).
I have tried the LUTs on different PCs using Premiere and DaVinci. They seem to affect the footage in a completely different way than the ones Gerald and Jason use.
What could be the reason for that? Can LUTs "brake"?
I look forward to an answer. If you have the time I would appreciate it if you could accept my request for the facebook group.
@@DVZM. The LUTs have a linear luma curve which can darken the shadows, but if you follow the LUT with one of my Apollo Pro Quickies (download them for free from my website) you can raise the shadow details without clipping the highlights. You can stack multiple instances if needed without any additional noise. HTH!
Try Leeming LUT Pro II which are less dark
@Digital Mr. Neder Try his Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/LeemingLUTPro/
Next intro: and middle grey is my favorite shade of grey.
nah, 17% wins all day
Screw it, I’m going to tattoo a color card on my arm.
😜👌
hell yes! right on your face!
it won't be color accurate :)
Do it
Hi I’m just now learning to tattoo, got my kit on Amazon and everything. Anyway, I was gonna offer to do your tattoo for free, just for experience. DM me if you’re interested.
Gerald, could you please do an update to this video since Paul's Leeming LUT has been updated and the same for the Phantom LUT which many people love. I would like to know which is more color accurate and also gives you a best out of camera result. Thanks.
"and I read 50 shades of middle grey"
"and I'm a redundant audio solution"
"and my cyan is almost gone"
"and I grade against the grain"
This was super helpful, thanks for taking the time to put this together. I've been using buttery luts but your results from the leeming luts are making me think about trying them out.
Thanks, Mitch! Glad to hear it. Cheers!
Very thankful for all the hard work you put in to ensure we are educated.
I'm just starting to figure out LUT's, grading and how they work, so thank you
Gerald, you are one of the most helpful youtubers. Thank you so much 🙏🏽
I've been doing video for several years and I know next to nothing about curves. So thank you for timestamp 8:40!
just started color grading with Da vinci tho
Gerald you are killing it man. Not many others are putting out the quality of stuff that you do. The information you give out is based on fact and evidence. You are the Sheldon Cooper of cameras. :)
Thanks a lot, Ben! Means a lot. 😃🙏
Fantastic, thanks so much for this. I was the the first person to receive Paul Leeming's new LUTs last week and I was struggling with it looking so dark as you stayed many do. Being new to using LUTs and hearing endless youtubers saying to expose HLG3 in the middle, I finally realised after watching this that each LUT you commit to requires you to expose specifically for that LUT. In Leeming LUTs case that means expose to the right (quite a bit) which I realized in my tests. Thanks for clearing up so much. I've subscribed , Cheers!
I think Resolve is a great color grading tool.They have been doing this longer than anybody.
Agree somewhat
I am really happy using Leeming Luts. It really adjusts color and luma in a way that it almost exactly looks like how my eyes see the scene (with custom WB). Makes the grading part so much easier.
As always great vid Gerald! I remember when I first joined your channel. You had almost 1K followers and look at you reaching the 70K! OUTSTANDING
Hi there. Trying to get the "leeming lut pro blackmagic design v4 film", but can not find it online. I'm using Blackmagic Studio Pro cameras. Anybody able to help with this
Just ordered the Leeming LUTs. No more sloppy jalopy!
I just started messing with VLOG on the GH5S and oh boy, that's a lesson. I keep pushing the exposure so I don't get noise in the shadows but when I bring down the highs to fix things and not look weird, my highs are around 70, which seems a bit dark.
If it's just a shot of you, I'd just aim to put your skin on the ideal level for you. And then just aim to repeat that every time. Which I'd say is probably around 60-65% for your complexion.
Evertime I see a video about LUTs and FilmConvert, I always notice that pretty much nobody mentions a superior way of emulating color film IMO. I've tested out a lot of LUTs, but the VisionColor ImpulZ 35mm LUTs are my favorite by far. I see them as a hidden gem, tbh.
It may have a rather different approach compared to others, but that's def. one of their stenghts because it's very modular. It took me some time to really understand how it works and how it's used, but now I've even made my own custom application. The saturation on the rec.709 LUTs is a bit low for my taste, so I use the LOG LUTs instead, which have a much richer color reproduction of the various film stocks.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts/experiences. Cheers!
Very well explained and thanks for the comparison of the 3 LUTs Mr G. A pity that Leeming is not available for Nikon cameras, not even the Z6.
Thanks, Peter! At one point, if I remember correctly the Nikon was a work in progress for Leeming, not sure if it still is.
@@geraldundone definitely would be interested for the Z6 as well. Fingers crossed.
It's out for Nikon Z: www.leeminglutpro.com/
thank you! I love Leeming lut for bmpcc4k. The colors get pretty close to what my eyes see
I'm not an expert colorist but what I've learned so far is that if you intent to apply a Rec709 correction LUT, it's good practice to apply it in the creative LUT section. And then add another Lumetri FX underneath (or adjustment layer on top) to play with your creative look. Since the correction LUTs are destructive, it gives you room "before" your Rec709 LUT to balance the footage. This is for Premiere.
It's a bit easier in Resolve since you just leave an empty node at the beginning, 2nd node correction LUT, and then following nodes whatever your creative grade is going to be. Although I do prefer using Resolve Color Management instead of correction LUTs, because it's non destructive.
For example, you can test this outdoors where clipping highlights is more likely and easier to spot how much you can recover. You'll notice that when you apply a Correction LUT and then try to recover highlights, you'll bring them down but they'll stay clipped. This is just one of many issues you can encounter.
Great video as usual, Gerald! Cheers!
That's a commonly recommended strategy and I think it's definitely viable. However, for this workflow since I was using raw, I didn't think it was necessary since I can do most of the corrections in the raw panel before it ever hits the LUT. It's a good tip, though, in some circumstances. Although, in my experience, it doesn't work as well for the Leeming LUT. I find it works better if you put the base LUT in the top line and then use little creative style looks in the creative section. It's also the only way to get to look the same as Resolve does when you add the LUT there.
@@geraldundone Oh yeah, absolutely! when working with RAW files, your method was perfectly fine. I meant it for other workflows when using HLG profiles and things like that.
More advanced grading tutorials from Gerald? Umm hell yes please.
🙏😃💜
Thanks for making this! I’m just starting out with even THINKING about LUTs and color grading. But this helped it seem not TOO intimidating. Once again, thanks for sharing this with us! Cheers!
Leeming LUTs is carefree happiness. I'd try the FilmConvert and Buttery but neither support my cameras.
Vectorscope looked like a spirograph! I think there are a few color eagle eyed viewers unconscious by their desks.
Thanks Gerald. I'm stuck with Leeming but I'm ok with that.
Haha. Thanks, Jay! Your comments always crack me up. 😃
Gimme some vectorscope action l say!
@@geraldundone Are Alister Chapman correction Luts for Sony also recommended or are Leeming the golden standard?
Thanks!
Have to say Paul Leeming's LUT for the DJI Mavic 2 Pro (using 10 bit D-Log M) and setting as the LUT was intended for - works very well and I do recommend it over the others I have tried.
Davinci Resolve studio 17
Gerald quick question: If using Black Magic Raw does it make sense to first apply either Leeming or Buttery to convert to Rec 709 then follow it up with FilmConvert to apply a specific film look or skip the first step and go straight to FilmConvert? I'm shooting mostly natural history video so skin tone accuracy is not an issue. Thanks!
Hey Gerald! Just wanted to say thank you for the content you´re making. It helps me a lot to get better in grading and understanding more and more my Sony A7iii. Really appreciate your videos! Great Great work. Thank you. Have a great one and see you in the next Video. Cheers from Switzerland. Robert
Thanks a lot, Robert! Really appreciate that. Cheers!
Also, you say the Leening is accurate but then you decrease the sat 13 points. Would the Buttery be more accurate if you increase the sat 13 points? Maybe if you had increased the contrast on the Buttery instead of modifying the curve it would have looked better quicker? Sorry for all the questions but I am debating which one I should buy. Thanks
Saturation changes at that level in post don't really change the accuracy of the color, neither does a luma curve. The colour accuracy segment was checking to see how accurate the hues were from the chart I shot on a vectorscope. The Leeming LUT is more colour accurate regardless. Adjusting the contrast for the Buttery LUTs would have produced a similar result to the curve, I was just showing two ways to do it. You can either increase the contrast or make a subtle S-curve. Contrast might be easier, because it's a slider, but the curve will give you more control. Hope that helps.
Thanks a lot for your responses. To me it seems the Buttery might be less accurate but more pleasant which is what I personally care the most, particularly if it’s closer to a more filmic look like the Arri. As far as exposing 2 stops over I personally really don’t think it’s a good idea particularly with digital cameras, where recouping the highlights is very difficult, not like it was with Film. So even in this case the Buttery seems a better and more versatile LUT option since it seems to work perfectly in low light. Thanks again for your help, greetings from Germany
A more general point -- As a new user of video editing tools (I'm more familiar with audio editing) -- it's nice to have a 'scope' display that objectively tells you when a shot is 'property' balanced (or in what ways it isn't). Cool
Thanks for this - interesting stuff as always. One thing, though, that I have yet to see discussed, or even mentioned really, in any instructional material on colour grading from log to Rec.709 is the business of getting the log image data lined up just right before converting to linear. The important point here is that log and linear operations are not, in mathematical language, 'commutative': operation A followed by operation B is not the same as operation B followed by operation A. Because of this, it is important to get colour temperature and exposure adjusted to perfection in the raw, log, file before converting to linear (and this is true of course whether one uses a LUT or other grading means). The possibility of adjusting both those parameters 'after the fact' is probably the biggest single advantage of using a raw format. This kind of consideration won't matter much if you're going for the FilmConvert route of getting an artistic effect, but if you're more of the Leeming mindset and want a fundamentally accurate grade (at least, before adding the odd arty touch) there's a lot to be said for spending a minute or two adjusting both colour temp and exposure in really quite tiny increments and checking the results via various scopes. At the very least, those with a scientific background (yes, that's me!) will take some satisfaction from knowing that the result has been achieved with the minimum number of steps.
Gerald, could you please do the same but Phantom LUT vs Leeming LUT please?
Gerald, what about applying LUTs on footage shot using an 8-bit codec? I mean the Panasonic Cinelike D profile. Are 8 bits good enough to grade such footage without creating any banding or/and some noise etc? Best.
Hello Gerald. In premiere pro corrective luts should be applied in the creative tabs, not basic tab. that way your basic adjustment take effect before your corrective lut. The order of the lut setting in basic tabs is incorrect. Then add second lumetri to grade it. Try it and see the difference.
This is not the case with the Leeming lut from what I understand, at least not in FCP where the first thing I do is to apply it as a "camera lut" rather than a "custom lut" directly after adding the clip to the timeline. But perhaps we are talking about different things.
Gerald, do you notice any difference in how the Buttery LUT affects footage shot at (blackmagic) Constant Bitrate 3:1 vs 12:1 ?
Which LUTs would you recommend for real estate property videos? Interior shots have very high contrast with windows being blown out and we're really struggling to get things right. We shoot on GH5S and Blackmagic Cinema 4k. And... as always... fantastic video. Thank you.
Thank you so much!!! This is what I’m looking for.
Gerald, I've always wondered, but what exactly makes you "crazy"? I'd consider you to be quite methodical and well adjusted.
Ha! Thanks a lot. It's actually a really old intro that I kept around because it's fun. But the crazy part is just about the intensity and depth of my interests. "You'd have to be crazy to do that test 115 times." Something like that.
great tutorial!
I appreciate your effort to promote us great knowledge of color grading!
Thanks, Victor! Appreciate it.
By any chance, is there a similar video related to livestreaming? I'm mixing bmpcc 6k pro with a nikon z6ii and a Canon R6. I've been able to get the canon and Nikon close enough for live streaming, maybe because they both use ninja v's. But the pocket cinema is way off. I just saw a post about leeming LUTs. I think it will work. But for how clear and thorough this video was, I'd love to see this with regards to livestreaming. Thanks.
Awesome Video Gerald! Really helpful since i‘m kinda getting into log video and color grading. I‘m filming with the fuji xt-3 and sadly both the leeming lut (which looked really good to me) and the buttery lut don‘t support the fuji f-log. Are there any luts or colorgrading tips you have especially regarding f-log?
Also as a Video Request I think it would be awesome to have a little tutorial to get to know the whole vocabulary and basics of colorgrading like the curves and numbers you used to put the hightlights, midtones, etc. in the right places!
Thanks for the video and have a great day!
Thanks so much! Have you tried the F-Log to Eterna LUT that you can get from Fuji for free? It's pretty nice if you're a fan of their Eterna look.
Thanks for the suggestion as well. Cheers!
Great video as always! Quick question. I shoot on an A6400. All my footage looks so grainy it makes me puke in my mouth. Even with the lowest ISO possible in everything from slog, hlg, to Cine. As well I’m no expert but I think I’m exposing correctly as well. I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong here. Do you know what might be causing this?
Same here, I use a different Sony, but Gerald, do you DeNoise? is the DeNoise in Handbrake any good?
I don't think you are exposing correctly. Turn on zebras and give it more light until the highlights start to blink. Then lower exposure until they stop. (where to set zebras depends on which profile you are using. For Cine2, try 95% or 100%).
I use the a6500 in 4K and there is almost no noise.
Thanks for the kind words and sorry you're having troubles. I haven't experienced that, unless my ISO is quite high of course. Certain S-Log situations will give you a noisier image, but you should have that issue with Cine. I don't denoise in post usually and find anything under ISO 1600 to be quite clean on the a6400.
Hey Gerald, great video! Quick question: is the Leeming LUT pretty much unusable in low light? If you have to overexpose 3 stops all the time that means that in low light situations, assuming you are at ISO 3200, at f/1.8, you won’t have any space to overexposed. Am I right? Also it’s gonna make it extremely difficult to use it with the native ISO 400 and you have to shoot most of the times at ISO 800-1000, which is extremely noisy. Correct? Thanks
I shoot my scene at ISO 800 and f/1.4, and it's a pretty dim in here. It's not a night shot, but it's relatively low light. So, no, I wouldn't say that it's unusable in low light. But yes, you'll have to expose about 2 stops beyond exposing to the middle. So if you find that won't work for your shooting style, then maybe that particular LUT isn't for you. Often in extreme low light situations a LUT might not be super helpful anyway since it's more about managing channel clipping and shadow balance, which is something I like to do manually.
I use Leeming LUT with Cine 2 and it's fine in low light. If you expose well you'll be fine.
I'd like to see further explanation of rec-709. Both of these LUTs output to Rec-709. Sony's CINE-4 and all the non-slog profiles are Rec-709, yet all of these have very different looks.
There are also creative LUTS designed to be applied to Rec-709 footage. Rec-709 is often referred to as though it were a standardised starting point. Yet if you apply one of these creative LUTS to, say, Cine-4 and the output from the Leeming LUT you will get very different results.
What exactly is the significance of Rec-709?
I think you are using the same term to describe 2 things. One is a standard defining HD (non HDR) video display which defines primary colors, gamma, etc. The second is getting colors in line with that standard.
You can have files for non-HDR HD standard where green is more like blue. It'll display on a screen expecting REC 709, but will look like blue, not green. Leeming LUT intends to remove manufacturer idiosyncrasies ("enhancements") and get the colors to be close to a standard.
That's my understanding anyway!
In practice, color correct first, then grade (if you choose) and don't worry about video standards.
@@rsmith02 I often see LUTs that are designed to be applied to REC709 footage, and people often talk about REC709 is though it is a standardised starting point. But if you take the same scene, shot once in, say, Cine4 and again in, say, DJI standard profile, you will have two very different pieces of footage, although they are both REC709 and are exactly the same scene. If you then apply a LUT designed for REC709 to these two pieces of footage, they will be even further apart.
I see what you are saying. Yes, each maker imparts this footage with its own signature look.
Leeming LUT returns footage to a Rec 709 starting point where the primary colors align with the graticals on the vectorscope. That's true for Rec 2020 HLG footage as much as it is for Sony's odd-looking Cine2 footage (or Panasonic Cinelike D or various DJI abominations).
As always man great information and well thought out. Thank you for the wonderful content !
Thanks, Tom! Really appreciate that.
Very good, I pressed the thumbs up button three times !
I've been using Film Convert on every video I make for 6 years now (corporate, narrative or music videos), I use it inside DaVinci Resolve on my first node, I like to imagine that I'm starting from a real film stock and then grading "over it". I love it!
Nice! Thanks for sharing. That's a fun way of looking at it.
Great video fella!
I'd love to see you grade XT3 Log footage to see how you'd approach it
Thanks, Dean! And I appreciate the suggestion. Cheers!
Great video. Refreshing to have a proper analytical approach. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Liam!
Hi Gerald, I love your content. As a new a7iii user it really is helpful! If you have a video on this already; please send me the link. I was wondering if you had a video on the best settings for video SOOC for those beginners who prefer not to grade or need something quickly to use. Thanks!
Hey! I have this video: ruclips.net/video/9E8doNzDymo/видео.html It covers a lot of different topics on the Sony, but for you I'd recommend Cine2. It's pretty easy and looks good right away. And if you find it too flat, you can just increase the contrast and saturation a little in post and you're done.
Great video, but one quick but important question. Since I am a beginner I don't quite understand how I can fix that ETTR on +2.0 on my sony A7III (using leeming cine2 profile settings) since I shoot at 25p 1/50 and 100ISO (with aperture varying from 1.4 to 2.8). For example if I'm filming thru a room with a darker side and brighter desk zone that exposure will vary between 0 and 2. It's there a fix for this? should I go for auto ISO to keep that ETTR at exactly +2? or auto iso for video is a no-no
Thank you! and let me say your channel is my new hobby/netflix/wikipedia
I assume you are varying aperture to keep exposure relatively constant? Keep doing that and raise ISO manually if you need to. Auto ISO is more useful for changes like outside to inside.
I just picked up a bmpcc4k, trying to do more professional video, and I was normally shooting on sony. You've helped a lot and from your videos I ended up getting Leeminglut for Sony. Now that I am starting to take it more seriously I wanted to see what you would recommend for professional commercial style work. That super clean consistent style? I will be doing documentary style personal work and some work with cars that is not hypercritical but I'm wanting something to help my workflow at first. What would you recommend for this? I'm mainly shooting BRaw Q0. Thanks for any tips. I am working on grading and making my own stuff but I love things like this that just expedite my workflow.
Dear Gerald,
I don't know how to contact with you so I really really really hope that you can read my comment. I've heard recently the PHANTOM LUTS is really good but I feel like it is nowhere near good as the LEEMING one. Can you make the video compare them side by side, that would be great, or can you reply my comment about what you think about PHANTOM
Your videos are honestly very informative. And after watching some of your videos concerning matters I understand well, I know I can trust you on the other stuff too. Could you please specify grading courses where we can actually trust the instructor just like we trust you?
Thank you very much! That means a lot. There's quite a few good ones, but often they're specific to a particular platform or camera. What workflow do you prefer to work with?
What I don't understand is why the Leeming Lut is supposed to work for both Cinelike D and HLG on the GH5?
Great video! Thanks for doing this.
Would have been good if you had have discussed how you white balanced the camera for these each method.
I almost always set a custom white balance using a card. That chart that I was holding up can be turned around and used as a white balance card. I set the white balance using the in-camera custom tool. If I'm comparing white balances though, I'll usually just set each camera to 5600K and see if one's warmer than the other, etc.
Really great video! Thanks for doing this!
Solid video as always. Thanks for your hard work!
Thanks, Jeff! My pleasure.
I’m very much anticipating the new FilmConvert Nitrate for the Cineon LOG emulations. The current version bakes in the response curve of the print film emulation, which I find quite limiting, as it backs you into a corner on some shots. I’ll quite enjoy having essentially a LOG scanned film emulator, with all the nice film color and grain, with freedom to add contrast via curves to my desired taste.
Yeah, I'm excited for that too. Going to be doing a video on the Nitrate beta shortly.
Hi Gerald, when using Leeming LUTs, should it be applied it BEFORE or AFTER color corrections (exposure, and white balance)?
Gerald I was completely lost are you setting the camera up or is it the finished photo in light room.
The much awaited video.
Thanks for this video! Super helpful!!
Hi Gerald, thanks for the consistently excellent material you have put out. Thanks to you, I started shooting my Sony cameras in modified PP10 - HLG3, and BT.2020. I edit and grade in Davinci Resolve, and have made the following discovery on how to get the best colors when converting the BT.2020 color space to Rec.709. This assumes that you are using Davinci YRGB as your Color Science (Setting at the top of the Color tab in the Project Settings page), and have your Timeline color space set to "Rec.709 Gamma 2.2". Add a Color Space Transform node (from the OpenFX list). For Input Color Space, set that to Rec.2020, and leave Input Gamma as "Use Timeline". Set Output Color Space to Rec.709, or simply leave it as "Use Timeline" as the Timeline is Rec.709. (And leave Output Gamma as "Use Timeline".) Right off the bat this gives you a pretty good conversion. But the colors are just a bit off. To fix this, go down to the Global Blend slider, and drag it between 0 (which applies the full effect of this transform, and 100, which negates the transform and goes back to the original Rec.2020. I have found that a blend of around 0.3 to 0.7 gives the most accurate and pleasing colors. Now the last part: the transform often gives too much saturation, so go to the Gamma Mapping area, and select Gamma Mapping Method of "Saturation Mapping". Now adjust the Saturation Max. level to get the amount of saturation that you want. This gives you fine grained control over both the resulting colors and saturation. I can get really great skin tones from this, as well as landscape colors.
You'll note that I didn't transform the HLG gamma to Rec.709, as that gives some really odd results, and it is far easier to adjust the final contrast of the image using a curve, or contrast slider.
To make this easier to apply to all your Sony clips, you can create a Group, and add all the Sony clips in your timeline into that Group. Then apply this grade at the Group level instead of at the Clip level. This is similar to using an Adjustment Clip layered on your other clips, but easier to use in several ways.
On your recommendation, I also purchased the Leeming LUTs, and while they work fairly well, I am seeing some odd colors in my footage that aren't correct. The above conversion is definitely more accurate. There is another reason why not to use LUTs if you can avoid them: they result in clipped values ( a bit like a destructive edit in Photoshop), and may fall apart (banding, etc.) if you apply other strong manipulations or LUTs later on in the grade. The Color Space Transform node does not is a bit like a non-destructive edit, in that all values can still be stretched later on in the grade, with no detrimental effect.
I hope this is helpful to you and your other viewers. Like your work, this has come after hours and hours of experimentation with different ways of accomplishing this BT.2020 to Rec.709 color transform.
One other problem with LUTs that I should have mentioned: they are very sensitive to how the video is exposed (i.e. require ETTR to work properly.) The Color Space Transform node does not suffer from this issue.
great comment, shame it’s buried in a place nobody will find except me by accident lol). but you’re right using the colour space transform tools provided in resolve is generally the more effective route to go.
@@EpithetMusicTV You got it! Since I first wrote that comment, I made another very interesting discovery: the Color Space Transform tool does a brilliant job converting Sony's S-Gamut3.Cine to Rec.709, giving the excellent colors for both skin tones and landscapes. This is the best color I have seen out of the Sony, and it is right up there with Panasonic, and in several cases is better. So right now, my preferred color space is S-Gamut3.cine. I then wanted to figure out which Gamma setting offered the best dynamic range, from my testing, Cine 2 covers 99% of the situations. If I really was concerned, I might use HLG. But with either of those, I would still use S-Gamut3.Cine as the Color space.
Note for those new to this stuff: Gamma controls the contrast, black levels, white levels, etc. and doesn't impact color. And Color Space controls the color space, without affecting contrast.
Aren't the scopes being influenced by the entire frame and not just the area with the Colour Checker? How accurate is it if the graphs include info from your background and your face?
Buttery lut suggests to change tint to 0 on the camera. The default is on 10. Did you do that in this test?
Would be great to see a newer 2024 version of this video.
Nice video man! Ha ha sloppy jalopy. Cracking me up. How do you like that blac lk magic? Seems like a really capapable package
Yeah film convert is pretty fun to use and the highlight rolloff of certain profil is really great, but i wish i can apply only the curve and not the color of a profil or at least apply film convert to the high lights via a secondary luma mask, but, i think that premiere 2019 doesn't allow that, always not.
Did you try the "Impulz Ultimate LUTs" ? Some of the LUTs in Photoshop are pretty cool too when loaded in your NLE :)
Great vid mate! Well done
Gerald: "We'll use this shot here because you're used to it and will easily spot differences."
Gerald's thoughts: "I was born in this room and from an early age consumed knowledge via the internet until my brain was too large to fit though the door. Unable to think of a way out, I've accepted the irony of my curse."
Hahaha. 😂💜
Trying to figure out why the Leeming darkens my footage so much that I have to adjust the raw brighter and boost the iso even when it was super bright in the shoot. Happens with gh5 and bmpcc6k.
Hi Gerald. Again, big fan of your videos. To the point, no gimmick, very limited "acting" - you're good! keep it that way. ;) One thing that I would have found VERY helpful was how you setup the shoot itself... How to expose your camera when shooting BEFORE your color grading. The image before the color grading looks overexposed... It's a scary thing for a beginner to shoot that way... For a guy learning color grading or shooting in raw, how does one not create something that is just too overblown or underexposed to save with color grading in post?... just wondering if you have anything that talks about that?....
Thanks for the kind words, Clarke! And I appreciate the suggestion--seems like a good topic for a future video. Cheers!
@@geraldundone I did find the "Exposure Tips for the BMPCC4K & Why I Don’t Use ProRes" video you made a couple of days ago... and it's "kinda" what I was referring to... I think? :) except it's (I think) just for the BMPCC4K. And Wow!... great info here for anyone using the BMPCC4K!! (which I am not) And I'll have to watch that one again to get everything you discuss (if I plan to use a BMPCC4K).. but for sure the fact that you tell users of the BMPCC4K to stick to 400 or 3200 ISO is very helpful. Thanks again for being such a good educator and taking the time to provide us with "no BS" content!!! Much appreciated!!! Have a great weekend!
Do you use Paul Leemings recommended camera settings when applying the Leeming luts, or do you use the settings recommended in your own previous video? (All default except detail -7)
Whenever I plan to use his LUTs I always follow his guide. So, I've updated my settings to match his new saturation levels.
Thank you! This is a fantastic tutorial.
Hey Gerald! This whole purple shadow/green midtones is a new one for me. I tend to just do a lot of blued shadow/warmed midtones on my clips for a natural look. Is the purple/green thing specific to your studio setup where it's intended to be a bit tech-feeling, or would you use this in other contexts?
Hey! I just do is a part of a branding play to associate my channel with purple. I started out doing it a lot more intense and have eased up on it as people have come to recognize the grade.
@@geraldundone Got it! I love the cleverness of introducing a subtle color into the shadows as a branding thing. It's so interesting to think about all the different ways in which a color grade can be used, from creating a certain feel in a film to supporting a cohesive brand on a RUclips channel. Thanks for continuing to lead the way and sharing videos that have something for pros and amateurs alike. :)
Amazing video!! I really enjoy your content. There is something that I would love to ask you. I shoot night events and they are constanly changing color environment. Leeming luts demands to use the WB checker so I am not sure if these luts are useless unless I do accurate white balance or should I still the lut without taking care of that. What do you think are my best options ?
Thanks for this great info Gerald! Q: what do you set your HLG3 saturation to as I find the +15 for the original HLG the Leeming Lut PRO was made for too harsh. TIA!
I have seen somewhere a comment, saying that +15 is for HLG 1 or 2. For HLG3 you want to use +5 instead.
@geraldundone I am experimenting with loading custom LUT's into my GH5 so they are applied to the HDMI output for my live streaming. I wonder if you have an in camera GH5 LUT that you can share with us ?
I don't actually have any LUTs on my GH5, but I'll look into it for ya.
Gerald Undone I’ve been live streaming from my GH5 and purchased vlog and then made a LUT with colorfinale in FCP following your video. The benefit being that my live stream has the LUT applied without any post production, or introducing an atomos or other HDMI processing device before my capture card.
So im really trying around to get good results. But If I use HLG and the Lemming Lut, I get harsh colors. I mean the sky looks like like unhealthy ice cream and I look like a freakin orange
Hey Gerald, do you change the saturation level on Sony Picture Profiles by Leeming's recommendation?
For example in cine2 he tells you to change saturation to -5.
Do you do it, or is it ok to leave it all at default? Thanks so much!
I generally follow the guide, yes, when I plan to use his LUT.
@@geraldundone Appreciate the answer!
Also is the combo pack all the LUTs? I couldn't find an answer on that..
You should partner up with him to get some sort of commission 😂
Question... when using waveform to set exposure, do you set it with flat or with the lut , as some luts carry the exposure way higher than the flat ?
Generally do it with the LUT if that's your final goal.
Very helpful vid, as usual! Thanks dude, I'm learning a lot!
I'm curious what bitrate you exported this video in? Did you use the standard "4K RUclips High Bitrate" preset or something else?
Might be a dumb question, but why do you need the Leeming LUT if you already have a color checker and some know how? Couldn't you use your color checker to manually adjust a frame in Photoshop, then save your own LUT?
Because Paul makes them with a $1000 hand-measured chart. But yes, you can do all of this in your editing software (no Photoshop needed) if you have the skills and tools.
What about if on set you're trying to create a specific lighting scheme, something stylistic, do these color charts or white balancing essentially neutralize what you're trying to achieve? If so, how do you ensure proper skin tones, etc, without destroying the look you're gaffer created?
I suppose that would depend on the intention. Most of these LUTs are usually based on a neutral white balance and even exposure. So they don't really undo that. So if you had contrasty lighting or a warmer white balance, that would stay. It might not be by the books accurate, but your look would be achieved. In that case though, you might prefer to do it manually in post.
@@geraldundone That makes sense thank you! Those LUTS aside, do you have a recommendation about whether you should / how white balance a scene when a gaffer is making a stylized look?
@@weightlessfilms5651 If you aren't going for perfectly neutral and you wanted to maintain the temperature, I would probably just do it by eye. Start at 5600K and look at the scene, then look at the display, and just try and dial it in close to what your eyes see. If you want to neutralize it, just use a custom white balance on a grey card.
@@geraldundone Thank you!
With Leeming LUT I noticed one of the requirements we to have a white balance card or grey card. Is that a must? Or can I just use the AWB on my Sony a7III?
You can just use presets like daylight. AWB is a nightmare as you'll have to fix it if it bounces around.
Hi Gerald, does it make sense to use the Leeming Lut as a converter from BTS 2020 to Rec709 and combine it afterwards with FilmConvert to grade the footage?
Nah, I would just let FilmConvert do the whole thing.
You could if you wanted to with HLG. Up to you if you see a benefit from Leeming's superior accuracy.
Hey Gerald! Thanks to you I'm using HLG and leeming LUTs. I've started using it all together not so long ago. What I can't find on your channel is how to actually shoot/expose HLG. Do you have a video that explains HLG shooting outside? Love your channel btw
Hey! Thanks for the kind words. I don't have a video on that specifically, but for the Leeming LUT he recommends exposing ETTR, which I talk about quite a bit in my recent Blackmagic video. ruclips.net/video/hV7ixU2AmLE/видео.html go around the 8:00 mark.
Also, Paul Leeming has a guide on this as well found here: ruclips.net/video/P_bDdQPAtas/видео.html
Hey Gerald. First: thanks for all the good content!
I have a question. When filming with the A6400 and AIII with HLG3 - is it normal, that the picture gets darker after applying the leeming LUT?
I always have to set my "white slider" to around 80 or more to get the peak to the top.
I expose it like it is recommended by leeming LUT.
It's normal. Try the new Pro II LUTs which are lighter. You should have received them already.
Have you tried the Phantom Luts for Slogs yet?
What do you do if you're color blind? I am and honestly many of the changes you made I can't even see -- like even a little bit. Its frustrating and kinda discouraging...Uhh. Yeah. Think I grab a spoon now and scoop the eyes out of my head. Its interesting content that's new to me. Putting in the time to learn the material isn't the problem, my question is if I should bother to go down this path when my eyes are basically incapable of seeing what it is I am suppose to be correcting. Thank you for sharing. I'll look into this further and try to understand what it is I am looking at and how these programs improve my images and /or footage.
Duuuuuuuuuude! Yes!!! Black magic stufff!!!!!!!!!!!
How does the skin line change with different skin tones? Where would it normally fall for a brown or a black person?
Generally it's treated the same. We all have the same blood making our skin that hue, it's just the melanin that darkens or lightens it. So you expose different for darker skin, but you still stick to the same skin tone line. Some people are rosier or more yellow than others, but they'll still be close to the line.
Goddamn Gerald. You're quickly becoming the most essential video/film channel on RUclips--at least in terms of technical aspects of imaging. Film Convert looked similar to the film look LUTs that come with Resolve and Premiere. What else does it offer to differentiate from those? I know that Philip Bloom uses it a lot, so it must be good
Thanks a lot, Phillip! I think for FilmConvert it's about faithful emulation and grain control. They're releasing an update soon to give a much more expanded grain control and I believe curve control as well. Just to try and dial in that film quality.
Question. I now use Leeming lut to bring hlg back to normal. Then when adding filmconvert, do I choose my camera with generic rec.709 or hlg? The lut confirms to rec 709 so im a little confused on what to choose.
You don't need to stack them like that. FilmConvert works from the uncorrected HLG.
If you stack them just don't select a camera profile in FilmConvert. It's Rec 709.
Very helpful (not sure about "entertaining" though!) Seriously, this helps a lot. Not sure if FilmConvert is worth it (yet)
Great, could you add ghalex lut next to this? Thanks
Not at the moment, but perhaps soon. There is supposed to be a new LUT that also works on Blackmagic. Right now it's only GH5, I think.