Auto Detect Log not working for C-Log 3

[Gabriel36933880ws14]

In Premier Pro 24.3.0 on my M1 MacBook Air Auto Detect Log Video Color Space is not working for my C-Log 3 footage. I went into Lumentri Color > Settings > Project > Auto Detect Log Video Color Space and it did not work. I also went to File > Project Settings > Color > Auto Detect Log Video Color Space and it still did not work. Does anyone know how to fix this issue or what I could be doing wrong?

[R Neil Haugen]

Are you also setting auto tonemapping in the Sequence section?

They are interactive. Auto detect simply tells it to note that it is log, not to do anything with it. Tonemapping then maps the clip to the sequence CM.

[Fergus H]

@Gabriel36933880ws14 when you say Auto Detect is not working, do you mean:

1. Turning it on results in video that has blown out highlights? or:

2. It doesn't change the appearance of the footage at all? 

If the answer is that you get blown out highlights, then Neil's advice to turn on Auto Tone Map Media is spot on. 

However, if turning on Auto Detect isn't making any difference at all - that is, your log video still looks flat - then it's a different issue. Is the log video from a Canon camera? I ask because our Auto Detect function curently only works on Canon video in the MXF container. Video in the MP4 container does not work with Auto Detect. Here's a post with more information:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-discussions/does-my-camera-work-with-auto-detect-log-vid...

@R Neil Haugen "Auto detect simply tells it to note that it is log, not to do anything with it. "

That's not accurate. Auto detect tells Premiere Pro to interpret the clip into its native color space and gamma. While the most common workflow would be to also enable Auto Tone Map Media, not turning it on is a workflow a customer using an HDR working color space might choose. 

Regards,

Fergus

[R Neil Haugen]

Technically true ... and I should have been more specific. As you're right, if working in HDR/HLG, you can leave off tonemapping at times.

[Gabriel36933880ws14]

#2 it is not changing the appearance at all.

[R Neil Haugen]

What's the camera and the specific log form?

With respects to Fergus, my understanding of auto detect log is that it notes the media 'space', but it is still up to the user to do something about that. It would not automagically normalize it in a say Rec.709 workflow unless tonemapping is also turned on.

So I'm still wondering what you expect, and what you want? Do you want it normalized, or do you wish to manually normalize that media to linear?

[Fergus H]

@Gabriel36933880ws14 if the appearance of the log footage isn't changing at all when you turn on "Auto Detect Log Video Color Space" and you're using a Canon camera, check the format of the file you're working with. Auto Detect currently only works with Canon files in the .MXF container. If the file you're working with ends in anything other than .MXF, Auto Detect does not work. In this case, you'd apply a Canon LUT to the footage to change its appearance. 

@R Neil Haugen "With respects to Fergus, my understanding of auto detect log is that it notes the media 'space', but it is still up to the user to do something about that."

That is incorrect. Simply enabling "Auto Detect Log Video Color Space" should significantly affect the appearance of the file. This is very easy to demonstrate with any log footage that's supported by "Auto Detect Log Video Color Space".

[R Neil Haugen]

@Fergus H 

Fascinating ... I would really appreciate a full delineation on here, from you, about what specifically auto detect does under specific circumstances, and how it interrelates to auto tonemapping in all circumstances.

As when, for example, I've had log media before ...it wasn't 'normalized' to Rec.709 by simply having auto detect log "on". Not without adding either a normalization process (manual or LUT based) or the auto tonemapping.

Details matter, of course ... and I do love specific details.

[PoloGibson]

i understand what yo are saying. when you dra filed into your timeline premiere doest not atuo detect the log version and you have to maually override the rec 709 in the settings tabe under lumerti color... i also am having this came problem. but the maual override is perfect.