The ability to shoot flat log footage is both a blessing and a curse.
Sure, it can help you maximize dynamic range and maintain the utmost flexibility throughout the grading process, but it can also be a major pain in the ass. That's where LUTs come in. Even if you intend to craft your own creative grade, having a neutral starting point is incredibly helpful. And if you just want great looking shots without the time-consuming process of grading, slapping a LUT on your log footage is a great way to go, especially now that there are so many options on the market.
One of the most affordable (and great looking) options come from a small startup called Rocket Rooster which makes post production tools for indie filmmakers. Their latest product, the Cinema Color II LUTs, emulate classic s35 and s16 film stocks. Here's a sample:
What I love about these Rocket Rooster LUTs is that they're not over-the-top and hyper-stylized in terms of contrast and saturation like many of the preset looks on the market. They're clean, naturalistic looks that look great on their own, but also make a solid base for crafting your own creative grade on top of them. Plus, the Cinema Color II pack comes in three price tiers, all of which are stupidly affordable, ranging from $45 for the entire pack to $25 and $15 for stripped down versions. Plus, Kevin at Rocket Rooster is offering 20% off right now for No Film School readers, so you can snag the Pro pack for $36, the Basic pack for $20, and the Starter pack for $12.
In case you're wondering, here's what you get in each of the different packs.
If you're new to shooting log and applying looks, these Cinema Color II LUTs are a great place to start. They work within whatever editing or grading software you use, they look great, and they certainly won't break the bank. If you're interested, you can learn more about Rocket Rooster and the Cinema Color II LUTs here.
Your Comment
26 Comments
There are so many luts out there, what I like about the vision ones is that they are made for a certain starting point (for example slog2 or vision color profile on canon camera's), the Koji ones or James Miller Luts don't have that and therefore they are pretty much useless, since standard rec709 differs a lot on every camera.
I see its the same for this one, only for standard log & rec709
May 23, 2015 at 12:56PM, Edited May 23, 12:58PM
The pack has LOG support for up to14 separate LOG formats including SLog2 and Slog3. The packs are also regularly updated with new features, so some of the features you don't see now might be there in the future.
Cheers
Kevin from RR
May 23, 2015 at 4:04PM
Ok, thats more interesting I have to admit. Are you also going to support popular picture profiles for various camera's, like cinelike-d for gh4 or cine 4 for the a7s or visioncolor/cinestyle for canon?
May 24, 2015 at 2:04AM
will these updates be free for customers who already bought the pack?
May 24, 2015 at 4:05AM
Might be a dumb question but do they work with ML?
May 23, 2015 at 1:05PM
I am not that familiar with Magic Lantern and whether you're able to load custom LUTs to use in your camera to get baked in looks. You can however use the LUTs with ML footage and the results are much nicer than working with regular canon images.
Cheers
Kevin from RR
May 23, 2015 at 4:37PM
Ok Thanks.
May 23, 2015 at 7:59PM
There's a difference between introducing a new product and a hyping add. I don't want to see NFS slide down that slope. There are free LUTs to try first I'd say.
Try these:
http://juanmelara.com.au/print-film-emulation-luts-for-download/
May 23, 2015 at 5:17PM
When NFS belongs to you, then you can see it do whatever you want.
May 23, 2015 at 9:32PM, Edited May 23, 9:32PM
i think its fine for the editor to add his or her personal opinion, as long as it stays in this boundary and isnt influenced by sponsoring.
in this case, i can see where youre coming from, however the two positive aspects mentioned (no "extreme" looks and the price) are both completely understandable on my end :)
May 24, 2015 at 4:10AM
DOH! Of course you guys post this coupon code the day AFTER I buy the pro bundle!
oh well, on the plus side, I received an update with more LUTs for free today!
May 23, 2015 at 9:09PM
Hi Sean,
Sorry you missed out on the coupon code. You're part of the RR community now so you can bet you'll get discounted products. Hope you like the extra LUTs :)
May 24, 2015 at 8:29AM
The video would be more informative if it showed the before and after LUT application on each shot... As it's presented, it's merely a well graded version of the shot. Doesn't tell me anything about what the LUTs can do.
May 23, 2015 at 9:23PM, Edited May 23, 9:23PM
totally agree!
its also a good way of proving that the achieved look ONLY comes from the LUTs, as one could grab a frame, apply the LUT and compare.
May 24, 2015 at 4:13AM
Hi,
There are some before and after photos on the Rocket Rooster facebook page from this video and I'm doing another video with before and afters.
Sorry it's not that clear, this is more of a trailer.
May 24, 2015 at 8:33AM, Edited May 24, 8:35AM
Hmm... I've been working with VisionColor's LUTs as of late, but I'm kind of intrigued by the low cost of these. At only $20 for the Basic pack, and with some nice looks, I suppose I'll give them a try.
May 24, 2015 at 1:02AM
Thanks, Vision Color LUTs are very nice too :)
May 24, 2015 at 8:36AM
Funny to see everyone jumping on LUTs and call themselves a "color grader". Well, if it is just fashion to shift some colors into another RGB range to get Teal&Organge or similar looks.... which look almost identical on all graded footage.... then it is really sad.
But hey, real colorist have their own style and understand color grading.
Using LUTs in the post process is just lame.
May 24, 2015 at 3:32AM
I agree with you.
That's why these are not Teal and Orange "make my footage look like transformers" LUTs. They're meant to be a foundation for your grade. These are great for Colourists since you still have A LOT of room to play still but have a good place to start.
May 24, 2015 at 8:39AM
please add before / after shots. the sample video is gorgeous, but its easily possible that the LUTs were only partially used aside from other heavy color correction.
and can somebody from NFS please fix the f**king double/triple/quadruple posting bug!
May 24, 2015 at 4:17AM, Edited May 24, 4:17AM
There are some of the Before and After's on the Facebook page and I will do another video that is mainly about Before and After shots. Perhaps you might like the FB page to get a notification for when I've put that up.
May 24, 2015 at 8:42AM
Had to buy, looks great for a good basis for grading.
May 25, 2015 at 2:06PM
They come in pints!?... I'm getting one
May 26, 2015 at 4:44AM
Haha best movie ever!!
May 26, 2015 at 9:34AM
Agreed!
May 27, 2015 at 12:33AM
I've put up an new video with both before and after shots so that you can get an idea of what it looks like https://vimeo.com/129079233
May 28, 2015 at 11:02AM