Guides

Short, honest answers to the questions that come up every time someone applies a LUT. Written by the people who built ChromaMimic, and updated when the editors change.

• Why your LUT looks flat on S-Log3 (and how to fix it in Resolve, Premiere and Final Cut)

  A creative LUT built in Rec.709 will look flat, milky or blown out on S-Log3, V-Log, C-Log or LogC footage. Here is exactly why, and the one node to add in DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro and Final Cut so the LUT lands the way it was designed.

  6 min read

• How to create a LUT from a reference image, in your browser, for free

  Step by step: turn an original frame and a reference still into a .cube 3D LUT you can load in DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro or Final Cut. Free, runs in your browser, no account needed to grade, nothing uploaded.

  7 min read

• Free LUT generators compared: ChromaMimic, fylm.ai, LUTBuilder.ai, Imagen, Luttie and SammaPix

  An honest comparison of the LUT from image tools: what is actually free, whether you need an account, whether your frames are uploaded, which formats and LUT sizes you get, and which match a pair of frames versus a single reference.

  8 min read

• How ChromaMimic keeps your frames on your machine, and how to check for yourself

  ChromaMimic's colour engine runs entirely in your browser. No frame, thumbnail or histogram is sent to a server. Here is how that works technically, why it matters for client and unreleased footage, and a two minute test you can run to prove it.

  4 min read

• DaVinci Resolve LUT folder location on Mac, Windows and Linux, and why your LUT is not showing up

  Exact paths to the DaVinci Resolve LUT folder on macOS, Windows, Linux and the Mac App Store build, how to open it from inside Resolve, the Update Lists step everyone forgets, and the fixes when a .cube still will not appear.

  5 min read

• Custom .cube LUT not loading in Premiere Pro: the 65 point problem and every other fix

  Premiere Pro refuses some .cube files silently. The usual cause is a 65 point LUT on an older build. Here are the fixes, the right Lumetri slot for a creative LUT versus a log conversion, and where to put files so they appear in the dropdown permanently.

  5 min read

• How to use a custom .cube LUT in Final Cut Pro: Camera LUT versus Custom LUT

  Final Cut Pro has two LUT mechanisms and they are not interchangeable. The Camera LUT converts log footage; the Custom LUT effect applies a creative look. How to load a .cube into each, in what order, and what to do when it does not appear.

  4 min read

• Export a LUT as a Lightroom preset: what the .xmp and .dng from ChromaMimic are for

  Lightroom cannot load a .cube directly. ChromaMimic exports an .xmp preset that carries the grade for Lightroom and Camera Raw, a 16 bit .dng of the graded still, and the .cube for video. What each file contains, where to import it, and how to get a real LUT into Lightroom via a profile.

  5 min read

• What is a .cube LUT file? 17, 33 and 65 point LUTs explained, with a look inside the file

  A .cube file is a 3D lookup table: a grid that maps every input colour to an output colour. What the file actually contains, what 17, 33 and 65 mean, which editors read it, and how to tell a good one from a broken one.

  5 min read