Input LUT on a source-level Lumetri effect renders out differently than clip-level [timeline] effect

Report · Oct 23, 2023

I'm seeing some strange, unexpexcted behaviors with Source-level effects and Clip-level effects for input LUTs.

I have a test clip:

V3: Adjustment layer with Lumetri: WB and tint adjustment
V2: Adjustment layer with Lumetri for levels. lift, gamma, gain, offset, etc.
V1: clip that only has a source-level input LUT via Lumetri

It renders wildly different than what the Program Monitor shows. Plopping the render back in on V4, and auditioning it, we see crazy levels and hue shifts BUT if we change it so that the V1 has a clip-level input LUT, and remove the source-level input LUT, then the render is identical.

So the adjustment layers don't really "work" on source-level effects.

I have reviewed these two threads and the blog post about the order of operations:

And yet, Premiere is behaving inconsistently.

It has to do with how the adjustment layers interact with the source-level Lumetri effects and the clip-level Lumetri effects.

So the test to try, to replicate the issue, for the engineers, would be to compare two timelines, with these track layouts:

V3: adjustment layer with tint/WB on Lumetri
V2: adjustment layer with exposure adjustment
V1: source-level lumetri effect on clip itself with input LUT

AND

V3: adjustment layer with tint/WB on Lumetri
V2: adjustment layer with exposure adjustment
V1: clip-level lumetri effect on clip itself with input LUT

And here's the kicker: it only shows up in renders, not in the program monitor itself before you render it out.

This was happening in whatever the latest version of Premiere was at the end of August, 2023, but I'm only now getting around to reporting it, but I'd be interested to see if an Adobe engineer could replicate the issue and/or explain what's going on, with this seemingly inconsistent behavior.

Report · Oct 23, 2023

I thnk you're running into a complex processing order issue.

Remember the processing order chain ...

1) Source Effects

2) Clip Effects ... top to bottom within the ECP for that clip.

3) Adjustment Layer Effects ... which are applied:

- Top to bottom of the ECP within each AL

- Lower Tracks First for multiple ALs, meaning 2 before 3, 3 before 4 ...

And by the time you hit this much complexity, it is expected, unfortunately, that processing order can break.

So rather than so many ALs, have you tried nesting the clip, then applying effects to the nested clip? That solves nearly all processing order errors.

Report · Oct 23, 2023

And on re-reading your post, for the life of me, I cannot figure out a best-use case where I'd put multiple adjustment layers simply to apply several parts of Lumetri to one clip.

If I need to apply a track-matte effect for a clean tight key, yea. Or I'm applying a scene or project look, then multiple tracks with an AL might be of use.

But just doing WB, then a bit of exposure/contrast ... then ... ?

I don't get the workflow. So I'm apparently missing something in the what and why of what you're doing. Was this described setup just a way of demonstrating it quickly? Or ... what's the use of Lumetri tabs split over ALs?