VFX with CLOG2 footage

[Dustin CC]

So I'm working on VFX in AE with some Clog2 footage shot with the Canon C70. I'm not the color corrector nor grader. How can I output my effects with the color as flat as the Clog2 footage but still retain the color information of the VFX? Right now I have colorful effects on flat video which is really going to mess with the color grader's job.

[Mylenium]

The footage needs to be graded to a neutral "master grade", then the VFX applied and then the final grade is done. How would you even design the VFX without a reference from the base grade?

Mylenium

[Dustin CC]

I don't color correct or grade though. You're saying all the footage shot needs to be graded first? That wouldn't even be possible without a lot of work.

[nicholas_7853]

No one does a neutral master pass before vfx. Everyone works under the show lut in a color managed pipeline. Most likely aces. Once you finish your vfx work, you export in a DI space your colorist will be working in. 

[Mylenium]

You need a reference point to work from, so your grading artist at the very least needs to provide a LUT you can use in AE based on actually grading at least one clip/ shot that is representative of the whole thing. You need to know your black and white points and other stuff or else your nice "colorful effects" blow out because you overcranked them and the whole thing becomes unworkable and you can't CC colors without affecting others. Of course you can always work "blind" and send out clips with transparency to whoever does the final assembly and finish, but even that will require some form of reference or you to sit in while the grader dials in the colors.

Mylenium

[Rick Gerard]

Here's my workflow. I place an adjustment layer on Layer 1 so it is over everything, set the Adjustment layer as a guide layer so that it does not render, then apply a generic lut using Lumetri to bring the LOG (camera original) to something that looks pretty good. I then add all of the other parts of the composite and make them look good. The original footage stays at the bottom of the comp and it is also set as a Guide layer. When you render, you end up with log graded composite that can be staked on top of the original footage for final grading. If you want to send the complete composite, do not set the original footage as a guide layer.