You’re sitting at the theater watching the latest Michael Bay film when you realize, “I wish my wedding films had an over-saturated bride and groom fighting giant robots!” Well I have good news for you, I can help with one of those things. And no, its not CGI giant robots, you’ll have to learn Cinema4D for that. What I can help you with is using a Look Up Table, or as it is known on the street – a LUT – to color grade your wedding films and make them look awesome.
The α6300 is the flagship APS-C mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera from Sony featuring the world’s fastest 0.05-s AF with the most phase-detection AF points (425), Exmor® CMOS sensor with 24.2 effective megapixels, extra-wide ISO 100-51200 sensitivity range, enhanced 4K movie recording, and XGA OLED Tru-Finder™. Also read: LUTs Premium Teal & Orange. NOTE: This LUT works best with Sony Cine profile footage (a6300 / a6500 / a7s). This LUT will not apply as intended to other footage. This package contains a.cube file that may not be compatible with FCPX. THIS LUT IS MADE FOR FOOTAGE SHOT IN S-LOG2. IT HELPS YOUR COLORS BE BEAUTIFUL. If you like this, you'll love Renegade 2, our S-LOG 2 LUT Pack that lets you add pro color grades to your footage with one click! BEAUTIFUL SONY FOOTAGE RENEGADE 2 IS A COLLECTION OF LUTS MADE FOR S-LOG 2 Add cinematic color grades to yo. Sony Look Profiles are designed to simplify the colour grading process. Supplied as 3D LUT (Lookup Table) files, our Look Profiles convert footage shot in S-Log to the REC.709 standard, making it easy to achieve dazzling images with S-Log, even for beginners. LUTs “Super LUTs” for BMPCC & Sony S-LOG Cube 5 mb. Cinematic tones perfect for indoor, outdoor, travel, vacation, landscape, social media, weddings.
What is a LUT?
In the simplest terms, a LUT is a preset file that contains color, contrast, brightness, and saturation information in the .cube format. LUTs are used for a lot of reasons, including simulating film stock looks, emulating camera colors, or even color calibration. What we will be using them for today though, is to provide a starting point for your color grading. It can save you a lot of time, and allow you to explore new creative colors that you may not have considered before.
What is not a LUT?
A LUT is NOT a one click color grade for your film. You can’t just slap one on and render our your film. LUTs often don’t take into consideration your white balance and exposure settings, so you will still need to color grade your film. With a LUT though, the amount of color grading you will have to do is probably less than you would if you were grading from scratch.
Before we go on with talking about color grading with LUTs though, I would highly recommend watching two of my previous videos. First, watch “My Favorite Picture Profile for the Sony A7Sii, FS5, and a6300,” because I will be using that picture profile with these LUTS. Second, watch “How to EASILY color grade Sony A7Sii, FS5, and a6300 footage using Premiere Pro CC,” because I cover a lot of basics in that video that I will build upon in this one. Of course you are also going to need Premiere Pro CC. Thankfully, Adobe currently offers a free trial of the full Creative Cloud suite that you can use for 30 days.
Now there are a BUTT-TON of LUT options out there for you. Here are my recommendations:
- IMPULZ LUTS – These look great and are made for a variety of cameras. Try out the basics, and if you like them consider the Professional or Ultimate packs.
- IWLTBAP LUTS – I haven’t had a chance to buy these yet, but I would recommend trying out their free LUTs. Hat tip to Kraig Adams for posting about these.
- James Miller’s DELUTS – These are by far my favorite LUTS. I’ve used them in multiple videos and I am a huge fan. Be sure to look at his CINE4, SLOG2, and SLOG3 Set.
For this color grading tutorial I will be using James Miller’s DELUTS, specifically his CINE4 set.
Want to watch more? Check out my reviews of the A7Sii and FS5, as well as a tip for how wedding cinematographers and photographers can get along. I really hope this video tutorial has been helpful for you. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below, or send me a message.
Related
Using Picture Profile presets with S-Log
When shooting in S-Log, use Picture Profile presets PP7, PP8, or PP9.
The PP7 preset combines S-Gamut and S-Log2, while PP8 is S-Gamut3.cine/S-Log3 and PP9 is S-Gamut3/S-Log3. Here, select PP7 (S-Gamut/S-Log2) and leave the preset details as-is. A distinction of this Picture Profile, intended for subsequent color grading, is a gamma broad enough for movie production.
Camera setting and types of Picture Profiles
MENU → (Camera Settings) → [Picture Profile] → desired setting.
- PP1:
- Example setting using [Movie] gamma
- PP2:
- Example setting using [Still] gamma
- PP3:
- Example setting of natural color tone using the [ITU709] gamma
- PP4:
- Example setting of a color tone faithful to the ITU709 standard
- PP5:
- Example setting using [Cine1] gamma
- PP6:
- Example setting using [Cine2] gamma
- PP7:
- Example setting using [S-Log2] gamma
- PP8:
- Example setting using the [S-Log3] gamma and the [S-Gamut3.Cine] under [Color Mode].
- PP9:
- Example setting using the [S-Log3] gamma and the [S-Gamut3] under [Color Mode].
- PP10:
- Example setting for recording HDR movies using [HLG2] gamma.
- Learn more
Why Log video looks faded and low-contrast
Often, gamuts used in professional video applications conform to ITU-R BT.709 (Rec. 709), established for HDTVs. This is illustrated below.
Here, the curved color space represents the range of human vision. The gamut of Rec. 709 is much narrower. In contrast, it is easy to appreciate how much broader S-Gamuts used in S-Log recording are.
When viewed on a screen designed for Rec. 709, Log video lacks contrast because the screen cannot display the full gamut.
The ITU-R BT.2020 gamut outlined in green can be reproduced by 4K equipment. This shows how much broader your creative palette is in 4K than in HD.
Appearance of S-Log2 video on a Rec. 709 screen
Easily reproducing colors on Rec. 709 screens with 3D LUTs
Optimal display of Log video on Rec. 709 screens requires color grading, when you will use lookup tables (LUTs). This conversion prepares the material for display on Rec. 709 screens.
Unlike 1D LUTs, which mainly adjust luminance, 3D LUTs control hue, saturation, and brightness of each RGB color. LUTs simplify color grading, because without them, instant S-Log video display matching the gamut of Rec. 709 screens would be difficult as you adjust tone curves, hue, saturation, and other details two-dimensionally.
When ILCE-7SM3 has recorded movies in the [S-Log3] gamma and S-Gamut3.Cine under Color Mode or S-Gamut3 under Color Mode, you can use this LUT.
Using Gamma Display Assist and external monitors
To make it easier to check S-Log video on a Rec. 709 screen as you shoot, use Gamma Display Assist to apply LUTs. The contrast of viewfinder and monitor display will look as if you were not shooting in S-Log. In this way, Gamma Display Assist enables precise camerawork, whether you are checking subjects or adjusting the focus.
You can also take advantage of LUT-compatible external monitors, which are now more common.
Sony A6300 Used
Comparison of using a LUT on an external monitor
This video introduces shooting in S-Log and shows how effective it can be.
Sony A6300 Guide
When shooting in S-Log, you can choose S-Log2 or S-Log3. Colors are reproduced differently depending on your choice, so use the right option for your workflow.
Sony A6300 Lut Free
In this video, you can see how S-Log2 colors differ from those of S-Log3.