![color grading in final cut pro x color grading in final cut pro x](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/FAAS2BzcS4c/maxresdefault.jpg)
In this example, I used one of their Clean Kodak looks. To this title clip, add LUT Utility and select the desired SpeedLooks LUT (or any other you’ve added) from the pulldown menu. The length of the adjustment layer should span the length of your timeline. You can produce your own using Motion or download one of the free ones from the internet. Since you want to apply a single LUT across all clips, you’ll want to apply a blank, adjustment layer title effect as a connected clip. Next it’s time to apply the creative LUT. If it’s a situation where you want to match the same cameras cutting back and forth – like A and B cameras in an interview – then you might opt to grade the first few clips and then copy-and-paste for the rest. If all shots are different, you might at well copy-and-paste now to have the filter in place with default starting values. Note: At this stage, you can copy-and-paste the Color Grade filter to all other clips or wait until later when you’ve actually started to make adjustments. If the camera clips are reasonably consistent, the creative LUT you select is going to define the tonality of shadows and highlights, so there’s no reason to get carried away with big color balance changes in this grade. I could just as easily use one of the color wheel, color correction filters ( Color Finale, Moods, Hawaiki Color, Colorista III) or even the FCP X Color Board. I like it because the controls are fast and I’ve grown fond of using exposure/contrast/temperature/tint controls in this type of grading.
![color grading in final cut pro x color grading in final cut pro x](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7eqUH93oCVM/maxresdefault.jpg)
I’m using Color Grade from Lawn Road’s Color Precision group. It will be stacked after the LUT Utility filter. Add your preferred color correction effect to the clip. Now copy-and-paste-attributes for just this filter to all clips on the timeline (assuming all clips use the same camera and gamma profile). From the pulldown menu select a camera patch LUT appropriate for the camera (in this case, Alexa log-C). Assuming you have installed the LUTs into the correct template folder, apply LUT Utility to the first clip.
![color grading in final cut pro x color grading in final cut pro x](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QsDmJpaCa28/maxresdefault.jpg)
Disable that in the inspector for all clips. FCP X has built-in LUT processing to convert these clips into Rec 709 color space. For this example, I’m using ARRI Alexa footage that was encoded with a log-C gamma profile. In our grading strategy, the grading filters and/or tools are sandwiched between the first LUT (camera patch) and the second LUT (creative look). Once the first LUT has been applied, you may add the second LUT for the desired look. They even include a patch for generic Rec 709 video. The first stage is a camera patch, which shifts the video (by camera type) into LookLabs’ intermediate log space. To properly use one of their looks requires two stages of LUTs. Since log values vary among camera manufacturers, LookLabs designed their LUTs around a universal log value used within their LUT curves. However, if you want to get the most out of their looks, then it’s best to shoot log and use a log-based LUT. If you have log footage and it has already been corrected to Rec 709, then you could simply use one of the Rec 709 versions. SpeedLooks LUTs are based on log or Rec 709 color space. cube formatted LUT copied into its folder (located in the Motion Templates folder) will show up as a pulldown option when LUT Utility is applied to a clip in FCP X. I use Color Grading Central’s LUT Utility. To use any third-party LUT with FCP X, you have to use some plug-in that reads and applies LUTs as an effects filter. They offer a variety of styles from clean to stylized. In this example, I’m using one of the SpeedLooks LUTs from LookLabs. There is no “easy” button when grading shots on a timeline. You can’t rely solely on the creative LUT for your shot. A creative LUT should only be considered as spice, not as the main course. The approach I’m taking is using a creative LUT to define the overall look and then color correct individual clips for consistency. The main differences are that the Color Board has become a standard color correction effect and that all effects filters now have built-in masking.) However, the fundamental items I discuss herein haven’t changed with the update. (Note: This post was written before the release of FCP X 10.2. In this post, I’m going to follow a similar process for FCP X users. Recently in “Understanding SpeedGrade” I explained a workflow combining color grading tools with LUTs to create custom looks. I’ve expounded on ways to tackle color grading in numerous posts.