Four color grading plugins not working in Premiere 2025

[georgeb73469922]

I'm having comically bad results with the following four plugins in Premiere Pro 2025. 

FilmConvert Nitrate

FilmConvert CineMatch

CineDream

FreeLab

I'm using Premiere Pro 25.5 in Windows 11 with an RTX 3060 graphics card.

The results look the same from all four plugins: just a mess really, an underexposed hideously contrasty inappropriately colored dump.

My question: Could there be a single setup error (or user error by yours truly) that's causing this? All four plugins formerly behaved normally with the footage I'm shooting with iPhone 17 Pro in Apple ProRes LOG 4K/30.

With Canon C-Log 3 footage from my Canon EOS R6, the plugins do nothing at all - they simply don't work. Nothing happens.

Go figure. Ain't tech fun?

George

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi George,

Thanks for the post. I understand you are having trouble with effects and color. It may have to do with how your project and clips are color managed. How is that set up? See this doc: https://adobe.ly/3LKwajq Any screenshots you provide will be helpful. Sorry for the hassle.

Thanks,
Kevin

[georgeb73469922]

Thank you Kevin. In the meantime, I'm having more serious errors. When I try to open Canon C-Log 3 footage from the Canon EOS R6, there's an error log "Unknown error." 

When I click out of that dialogue box, Premiere displays the attached error. 

When I click out of that error, Premiere tells me that it can't import the file because I don't have a paid version of Premiere. But I've been a subscriber for years and have an active subscription and the version of Premiere that I'm working with was installed with Creative Cloud while logged in to my acount. It also tells me something about HEVC, yet I do have Microsoft's HEVC installed.

Premiere was working fine until very recently. I installed three plugins (CineMatch, CineDream, and FreeLab). FreeLab is still working normally, but neither of the others will run - CineMatch does nothing, and CineDream crashes with a bug-report dialogue box.

I've tried deleting the HEVC related folder as requested in the error, but it doesn't seem to fix anything; I just get the same error dialogue.

I would be fine removing both plugins completely pending a fix from the publishers, but I don't know how to remove them completely and would be grateful for instructions. Meanwhile, thanks for helping.

[R Neil Haugen]

This would likely all depend on the color management settings you are using in Premiere, and you didn't share that. So I can't even take a wild guess.

Please do screengrabs of the entire CM section ... the Settings tab of the Lumetri panel, with everything 'twirled down' open. So we can see what is set to what. From auto detect log through sequence CM settings. Everything. Drag/drop your screengrabs directly onto the text reply area, do not 'add' them to the post.

Dropping the image on the text reply area means the image shows in your post without anyone needing to click to open it.

[georgeb73469922]

Thanks. In the meantime, I'm troubleshooting the larger issue of not being able to import C-Log 3 footage without transcoding, as Premiere has trouble with C-Log 3 footage recorded uising H.265 (HEVC).

"The simplest solution" seems to be converting the H.265 files to DNxHR or ProRes using Shutter Encoder or Handbrake. I do have HEVC codec(s) installed in Windows 11, but Premiere tells me I can't have HEVC unless I buy a Pro subscription to Premiere (which I've had for years).

I'd like at least to try to get Premiere and HEVC codecs to shake hands first, to see if Premiere will import the files directly without converting them. Seems odd that Premiere won't do that for a file spec as common as Canon C-Log 3. 

[R Neil Haugen]

I've seen others that had an issue due to the HEVC codec pack they installed, and on removal of that, so relying on the OS ability to work with HEVC, they got working.

@Ann Bens do you know the deal here?

[Ann Bens]

Premiere does not use MS HEVC codec, it has its own.

Might need to make a new windows account (administrator).

[georgeb73469922]

Thanks, this seems a promising solution. Will give it a whirl at my next Premiere session.

[caroline_edits]

Please let us know how it goes!

Caroline