Premiere Pro Color Export is Different

[Houses5C18]

Hi! I've been using Premiere Pro for years, and this is something new for me. I do all my color correction with Lumetri Color and I make sure my levels are good an all, but after exporting I notice some subtle color changes. Furthermore, I'll attach the pictures below

Workflow : Blackmagic Raw, I then use a log conversion LUT, and after that a color grading LUT from LUTIFY.ME. 

Computer Specs: 

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid-2014)

2.2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7

16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Apple SSD SM0512F

Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB

This is a screenshot I took directly from Premiere Pro. 

And this is how they look after the actual export.

[R Neil Haugen]

Which OS do you have on that Mac? And by after export, how are you viewing the image?

Neil

[Houses5C18]

I just upgraded to masOS Big Sur. I'm just clicking space bar to preview off of Finder

[R Neil Haugen]

The Mac OS uses the ColorSync utility to do color management. That utility for some reason known only to Apple applies only part of the proper Rec.709 video standards. And that is the heart of the problem.

While working in PrPro, make sure you use the "Diplay color management" option in the Preferences/General tab. This tells PrPro to look at the ICC profile of the monitor in use, and remap the image internally within the program so the monitor shows a correct Rec.709 image.

But the problem comes at export. As Colorsync applies part of the Rec.709 standards, and ignores or misapplies a couple of the parameters, there will be differences visually as you've found.

Exported as PrPro chooses to means that file will look close to what you would feel is correct on most TVs and most color managed systems. It will never look identical, because every flipping screen out there is different to begin with. Many, way different. This is the way pro colorists work: produce media on systems set rigidly to the Rec.709 standard, and let it go.

You never ever see exactly what they see on their systems either ... did you realize that? True.

Now ... you can change things so it looks 'better' to your eyes after export on the Mac. But ... then the files will typically be dark and 'heavy' looking on Rec.709 compliant screens.

It's a problem, and there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution.

Neil