FAQ: Changes to RED raw default color space in Premiere Pro

Adobe and RED have recently made changes to the default behavior of RED Raw R3D color space handling in Premiere Pro (14.9).  R3D files will now default to Log3G10/REDWideGamutRGB instead of Rec 709/BT.1886 which was the previous behavior.  Decoding the raw files to wide gamut is necessary to retain the maximum dynamic range of the material and prevent highlight clipping.  But the footage will look flat, so an additional step is required to get the footage to look correct in a Rec 709 timeline.

Premiere Pro does not currently have the ability to change R3D decode parameters project wide but there are still some easy ways to get everything looking correct while maintaining the maximum quality of the image.

Use Lumetri to convert from Log to Rec709

1. Download the LUT linked below or make your own in REDCINE-X with the following steps
   1. Load a clip in REDCINE-X
   2. Generate the desired IPP2 Output Transform, for example a Rec.709 with Medium Contrast and Soft Highlight Roll-off.
   3. Save it as a .CUBE LUT
2. In Premiere Pro, apply Lumetri to a selected clip and specify that LUT as the Creative LUT.
3. Save this Lumetri effect as a preset by right-clicking the hamburger menu at the top of the Lumetri panel.
4. Apply this preset to all your .R3D footage on the timeline
5. OR – you can use an adjustment layer spanning the length of your timeline.

Lumetri order of operations

Lumetri processes from the top down and all the math is done in 32bit floating point.  This means that over exposure in one section of Lumetri can be brought back in another section or another Lumetri instance.  LUTs are a notable exception to this rule, they are destructive and any values driven above 100 IRE by a LUT will indeed be clipped and are irrecoverable.  This is why the LUT should go in the Creative section of Lumetri.  It gets processed after all the Basic corrections, giving you the opportunity to recover overexposed areas with the Basic controls.    

Why not apply the preset as a Source Clip effect to all my footage in the bin?

This can be a convenient option but does not protect you from clipping.  The source clip effect is processed first, so any clipping that may be introduced by the LUT cannot be brought back with an instance of Lumetri on the clip in the timeline.  You can reduce the exposure or highlights in that source side Lumetri effect but remember that this will affect every instance of this media in your project and may not be appropriate.  If this workflow sounds like it will work for you, here are some ways to make is a bit more convenient.  To quickly find all the .R3D clips in your project simply search for “.R3D” in the Project panel search bar.  Creating a Search Bin is another way to quickly find all your RED media. You can then apply the preset to all the clips in the project panel. 

Download the LUT here: RWG_Log3G10_to_REC709_BT1886_with_MEDIUM_CONTRAST_and_R_3_Soft_size_33.cube 

Download the Preset here: RED Log3G10 to REC709.prfpset