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Converting Luts and Looks Into Presets

Guide ,
Jan 22, 2022 Jan 22, 2022

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Hello Everyone.

 

I have many Custom Luts, and I  noticed, every time I want to add a Luts to my Footage, I have to Browse and search for the Luts. So after applying the Luts to my Footage, I saved It as a Preset, and later instead of Looking for the Luts, I just Drag and Drop the Preset Into my footage. Is that Ok?

 

NOTE: I never add a Luts, or any Effects directly Into my Footage, I always use Adjustment Layers, so I can adjust the Opacity. For Example One Adjustment layer for Luts, another Adjustment For Color Correction, and so on. Also, I never depend on Luts only. I noticed many times, like shooting WIDE DR, my Footage looks better when I Color Correct Manually, rather depending on a Luts.

Thanks.

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Editing , Effects and Titles , How to

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correct answers 1 Correct answer

LEGEND , Jan 22, 2022 Jan 22, 2022

First, if you're LUTs are stored in the proper places,  you can easily use the dropdown lists in the Basic and Creative tab without needing to scan folders each time. I'm on a tablet so don't have the chart image available at the moment.

 

But it's something like Program Files/Adobe/Common/LUTs, and then add Technical and Creative folders to the LUTs folder. Park your LUTs there. The ones in the Technical folder will appear in the Basic tab drop-down list, Creative folders in the Creative tab.

 

...

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LEGEND ,
Jan 22, 2022 Jan 22, 2022

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First, if you're LUTs are stored in the proper places,  you can easily use the dropdown lists in the Basic and Creative tab without needing to scan folders each time. I'm on a tablet so don't have the chart image available at the moment.

 

But it's something like Program Files/Adobe/Common/LUTs, and then add Technical and Creative folders to the LUTs folder. Park your LUTs there. The ones in the Technical folder will appear in the Basic tab drop-down list, Creative folders in the Creative tab.

 

Now, adding LUTs to a preset works beautifully also. Especially as you can have a lot of work already setup across the full Lumetri instance, and can even drop it on clips in a bin, so it gets applied to them as a Source setting, shown on the Source tab in the Effects Control Panel.

 

Most colorists use a lot of LUTs for specific things technically, but they tend to make their own. And they don't use them for 'grading' but conversions. It's faster to grade manually than pore through a bunch of LUTs testing out what they look like.

 

Neil

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Guide ,
Jan 22, 2022 Jan 22, 2022

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Mr. Neil

Thank you very much. It Is always a pleasure to listen to  your advice

Thanks Again.

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Guide ,
Jan 22, 2022 Jan 22, 2022

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Mr. Neil.

This is the Where I have Installed my Custom LUTS. This is from Adobe Site:

Thanks

Luts Folder For Windows.jpg

 

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LEGEND ,
Jan 23, 2022 Jan 23, 2022

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They should then appear in the dropdown lists in both the Basic & Creative tabs without needing to search for them ... huh.

 

I have a number of presets that include LUTs applied in the Creative tab drop-down, for normalizing a few different log-encoded formats to Rec.709, for instance. I can drag/drop them on a selection of clips in a bin, and then if any need tonal trimming later to fit within the LUT, it's available through the Source tab of the Effects Control Panel on any sequence.

 

Neil

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Guide ,
Jan 23, 2022 Jan 23, 2022

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UPDATE: UPDATE:

Mr. Neil.

 

I Uninstall, and Reinstall Premiere, and add the Luts. Now It is working. One question, please. So, all the LUT's are going inside the Technical Folder, and all the Looks are going Inside the Creative Folder. What If you add some of the LUT's inside the Creative Folder, Is that ok or not?

Once again Thank You Very Much.

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LEGEND ,
Jan 23, 2022 Jan 23, 2022

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The .look files can only be used in the Creative tab. The .cube files can be used in both places.

 

And I rarely use the Basic tab LUT slot as there's no way to trim the clip's exposure/contrast/saturation to fit through the LUT.

 

 

Neil

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Guide ,
Jan 23, 2022 Jan 23, 2022

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Mr. Neil.

You are the Best

Thank you very much

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Enthusiast ,
Feb 20, 2022 Feb 20, 2022

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How does one import all those LUTs into presets in the effects panel? So that you can easily browse and preview how a LUT may look on your footage?

 

I.e., Add my own LUTS to this --

canvokey_0-1645370529634.png

 

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LEGEND ,
Feb 20, 2022 Feb 20, 2022

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There's a couple ways I can think of to get LUT previews .... one in the Creative tab's preview window, the other in the Effects bins.

 

For the Creative tab's preview window, add your LUTs to the proper place on your computer. NEVER in the Progrram files/Premiere/LUTs folders of course. There are the two types of places that Pr looks for user LUTs ... the simpler to get to is the Program Files/Adobe/Common/LUTs location I think it is (going from memory at the moment here). You need to add the Creative and Technical folders, then add your LUTs in depending on whether you want them to appear in the Basic tab (Technical) or Creative tab (Creative).

 

Restart Pr after you've added LUTs, as it only scans and adds in the ones it sees on launch. (Yea, a bunch of us have wanted a 'refresh' option for years ... ) Then you will see the LUTs from the two folders in the proper drop-downs in the Lumetri panel, and the ones in the Creative tab should be seen in typical computer alpha-numeric sorting order.

 

Now, for having them show in the Effects bins, add one to the Creative tab in Lumetri. Save as a preset named for the LUT in use. That puts a new Lumetri preset with that LUT applied in the Effects panel, and you can sort those into bins as you wish. And it should display the 'stock' head image with the LUT you've got there applied to it.

 

Neil

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Enthusiast ,
Feb 20, 2022 Feb 20, 2022

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thanks for the tips, Neil!

 

The dropdown in CREATIVE is cool, but if you have hundreds of LUTs, it's pretty difficult to audition each look.

 

I'm aware of the Apply Lut in Lumetri then save as a preset option, but what if I have hundreds of LUTs? Gotta be a faster way to do this... right?

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Guide ,
Feb 20, 2022 Feb 20, 2022

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Mr. Neil.

Thanks Again. Its a very Important Issue. Many People are not aware of this.

 

New Version:

fixed.jpg

Older Version

Luts folder never add Luts.jpg

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Guide ,
Feb 20, 2022 Feb 20, 2022

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Windows Luts Correct Folder:

Luts Folder For Windows.jpg

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LEGEND ,
Feb 20, 2022 Feb 20, 2022

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My mind boggles at having hundreds of LUTs ... wow!  😉

 

I'd spend more time trying to figure out which one and at what strength and what mods to it, than it would take me to start from scratch and build a look. Buit then, I'm pretty comfortable with the color controls and playing them against each other. And knowing when Lumetri will suffice, and when I need to bring in the Colorista panel and other RedGiant tools.

 

Actually, the RG Magic Bullet/Universe plugins have a "Look" manager panel that's for working with tons of LUTs. I've done a little bit with it just to learn how it functions. But again, I don't feel a need for a ton of LUTs.

 

I do love the quick Hue/Sat/Values tools in Colorista though. Two side-by-side circular tools. Grab one of the six color dots, on the left one, and you set saturation for that color by going out (upping) and in (lowering) saturation. But you can move them sideways also, so you can quickly say take the Greens towards Cyan and lower saturation at the same time.

 

But go to the right-hand circle, and "out" makes that color brighter, "in" makes it darker. So between them you can quickly make the greens more cyan and darker, while moving yellows more to orange and brighter. As just one possibility.

 

Another factor for me, is that making the colors jump through whatever hoop I can think of is just plain fun.  😉

 

Below is the full chart for where Premiere scans for LUTs on launch. I use the 'all users' option, which to me is the easiest ... Program Files/Adobe/Common/LUTs/  with Techinical and Creative folders.

 

I rarely use the Technical folder/Basic tab dropdown for LUTs ... you don't have control there. The Creative tab allows you to apply a LUT, choose a 'strength' for it, then go back to the Basic tab tonal controls to trim your clip into what the LUT 'needs' to see so  you don't get crushed blacks or clipped whites.

 

Neil

 

RNeilHaugen_0-1645402896056.png

 

 

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Enthusiast ,
Feb 21, 2022 Feb 21, 2022

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Let me explain a little bit about what I'm trying to do here so that it makes a bit more sense. (and thanks for talking shop!)

 

I'm a Colorista and Magic Bullet Looks lifer - been using those since 2012 (RIP photo looks!!). My problem with both is that you can't save their looks as LUT cube files. They also can struggle in terms of performance compared to just using Lumetri. Since MB look presets aren't agnostic, I can't preview those looks on my camera monitor. I understand why that's the case but it means that I need to create more basic looks for my camera monitor. Also, it drives me crazy that I have to open the Looks panel in order to modify and I can't quickly enough preview another frame or the content in motion without leaving the Look panel. I know it's always been this way, but knowing that I can live adjust with Lumetri makes it a more attractive, though much more limited, tool. I've also become increasingly frustrated with Maxon's take over of Red Giant. Consistent bugs in every release. No worse than Adobe, but historically they've been better. 

 

For example, you used to be able to throw Looks on an adjustment layer in Premiere, open it up and it would preview correctly. Now if you throw Looks on an adj, the preview is just a white square. Looks also doesn't show inherited fx anymore in the preview window (at least in Premire), so if you put Looks on top of Colorista or Lumetri it doesn't show the the other effects stacked in the Looks preview image. Very frustrating. 

 

Just like with Looks, I've become accustomed to having presets that I can look through, either as inspiration or as starting points. Being able to take the LUTs I'm using in-camera and being able to preview them in a grid view, rather than one at a time, would make a huge difference. I shot with LUT B in mind, now I'd like to see how LUT B actually looks, but maybe I'd also like to audition LUT C or LUC Z. To do that I have to select the LUT in the creative dropdown and make it active (you can't audition a LUT if you select it via the dropdown for some frustrating reason). 

 

I've also noticed the dropdown in the Creative panel (back to Lumetri) preview the LUT before any correction made in "Basic Correction" which makes the preview image not the best reference. Should show the look after Basic Correction as that's where it is in the chain. 

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LEGEND ,
Feb 21, 2022 Feb 21, 2022

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There's things about Colorista that are wondrous. The main thing I use if for actually is just that twinned Sat controls they've got, where you can adjust sat per color ... for both intensity of that hue, plus brightness for that hue ... AND at the same time, shift the 'home' point of all six colors, the primaries & secondaries.

 

That gives awesome controls ....

 

I hope you've recently upgraded your Maxon control panel, they've completely rebuilt it, including changing the code language and everything ... and it seems to actually be working again, and quite well. I'd appreciate how it's working on your rig though, as well more data points is always more better.

 

I worked on the whole saving a LUT out of the RG Looks panel, but that was back last year. I think I finally figured out how to do it, but I'll need to try again today and see if I remember what I think I remember. It wasn't easy or near the first five things I'd tried.

 

I totally understand your interest in having a way to preview a range of looks. I know quite a few colorists, and most of course working in Resolve. They all tend to have both their "Powergrades" (BlackMagic doth love renaming things ... ) with 23 fixed nodes, plus a full library of "stills" of previous grades. So often, starting a project, they'll try a number of stills from previous project to get a feel of what the media looks like with different treatments.

 

But once they've decided they like a direction ... they remove the "still" grade from the clip, go to their node tree and get to work building a simliar look 'from scratch' in their large and malleable node tree.

 

I'm not working stuff nearly that elaborate ... most of the time ... and I love to just start playing with the Elements panel's knobs & wheels while watching the screen ... see what happens. And from that quick starting point, it can get kinda dense.

 

At times I've got up to three or four Track Matte "sets" going. Each one is a pair of tracks, duplicates of the clip on V1. The upper of a pair has a Lumetri on it with an HSL key set in black/color mode. The lower of each pair has a Track Matte effect set to pull the Luma from the track above it. Then on that lower clip, "under" the track matte effect, is another Lumetri or two or three, "working" the keyed area of the Lumetri effect on the track above.

 

As that's the only way to get really targeted work done in Lumetri, especially able to pull keys from the original pixels ... for stability of keys.

 

Neil

 

 

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Enthusiast ,
Feb 22, 2022 Feb 22, 2022

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thanks again for jamming, Neil!

 

My Maxon and individual plug-ins is fully up to date except Universe so updating that now. 

 

If you figure out how to export .cubes from Magic Bullet, please post that here! Been trying to figure that out for a while and Google doesn't provide much good intel. 

 

I know that the solve is using Davinci... But I like my Adobe ecosystem and it would be difficult for me to justify switching NLEs. I want to do color and edit in the same app for obvious reasons. 

 

Any luck in "live" video in MB looks? 

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Enthusiast ,
Feb 22, 2022 Feb 22, 2022

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(PS - maybe it works better with CC 22, I just can't use it because of CC 22's HEVC/H265 problem). 

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LEGEND ,
Feb 22, 2022 Feb 22, 2022

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I wasn't able to get to testing the .cube from Colorista/Looks yesterday, but I'll try to get to that today. I've got a couple projects coming up where that would be a big help, so it's even a "need" for me, not just a gee, would be nice.

 

Hey, I work both in Resolve and Pr. I'm a staffer over at Mixinglight.com, the pro colorist's teaching website, so yea, gotta be versed in both. I teach how to come out of Resolve and work in Pr when you have to.

 

Personally, I HATE the Resolve UI, and on top of that, am incredibly frustrated with their business model. Which is to sell software cheap in order to get you to buy their hardware to work with it.

 

For example, my Tangent Elements panel is a  total Swiss army knife in Premiere, not only color tools but resizing'rotating/positioning any screen elements or graphics, working pans/volume in audio Track mixer, all sorts of stuff. And I can control all mapping of anything to that panel.

 

In Resolve, it's fixed to a few things on the color page, that's it. NO user mapping available. And half or more of the panel's controls are dead at any one time. Incredibly limited.

 

But the BlackMagic panels only work in BM software. So if I spent a thou to buy the 'micro' panel, I'd have a hunk of hardware I could only use in Resolve, and have to shove aside the rest of the time. Nope.

 

Now, a good friend from MixingLight group LOVES LOVES LOVES the Resolve UI, and hates the Adobe one. And he's got the Advanced panel, the Mini panel for his second setup, an editing keyboard and the cutting tool thingy, loves all of them ... oh, and has 3D printed mounting holders for his sets of Streamdecks that he puts around his contol panels.

 

To each their own, right?

 

Neil

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LEGEND ,
Feb 22, 2022 Feb 22, 2022

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Yea, no ... as a good friend says when I ask him a lot of "can you do this here?" sort of question.

 

The "look" saved by the RedGiant Looks and by the Colorista seems to all be rgx files ... which are realistically simply presets for various effects in the Colorista and Looks tools panels.

 

So the only way I could get a LUT created from the Colorista or Looks work ... was to use the ol' RedGiant plugin LUT Buddy. Drag/drop both above and below the Colorista or Looks effect in Premiere's ECP. Set the above one to "Draw pattern", the one below to "read pattern". Export a LUT from the bottom one.

 

But that LUT Buddy plugin doesn't work with Pr2022!

 

So ... no, there's no way to get LUT of the work done in the RedGiant tools outta Premiere that I know of. I'll be asking around for any help, but ... at the moment, I'm stuck too.

 

Neil

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Enthusiast ,
Feb 23, 2022 Feb 23, 2022

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Neil - I happen to be stuck in PR 2021 because of Adobe's failure to maintain HEVC support from 2021 into 2022. So this might be a solution for me. Unfortunately (another gripe), Red Giant is impossible since Maxon took over and it's really hard to find legacy tools. (10 minutes of google) Oh here it is! Looks like it hasn't been supported since CC 2015 😞 

 

MB Looks is one of my all time favorite plug-ins. I sometimes use AE for photo processing just so I can use it (RIP photolooks). Would love to be able to use it "live" and I'd love to be able to export those LUTs, but that looks dead in the water on both fronts. Thanks again, Neil. I appreciate it. 

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LEGEND ,
Feb 23, 2022 Feb 23, 2022

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Hey, I understand.

 

Personally I'm kinda ticked about not getting to use LUT Buddy no more ... that's been a big help for me. I'm talking with a Maxon person who says he's asked the crew about reviving it or something like it. Would be a good little tool.

 

And if you need LUT buddy, it's ok to provided it as it was a freebie from them anyway. So ask and ye shall receive ...

 

Neil

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New Here ,
Nov 04, 2023 Nov 04, 2023

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Anyone know how to find LUT buddy these days? I'm running Premiere Pro CS6 so I'd like to be able to use luts

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LEGEND ,
Nov 04, 2023 Nov 04, 2023

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Sent you a private message ...

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New Here ,
Mar 10, 2024 Mar 10, 2024

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R Neil Haugen,  I also use CS6 and have been trying to find LUT Buddy.  I see that you are able to provide it.  Is there any chance that you could provide it to me as well?  Thank you.

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