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Over the last decade, color grading has evolved and grown in usage and workflow. But the tools have fundamentally remained the same, even as Apple, Adobe, and Blackmagic Design push the limits of their respective post-production tools.
Then came Colourlab from Color Intelligence. The team behind the color grading toolkit embraced two buzz-wordy concepts of Silicon Valley to bring the post-production workflow into the 21st century: artificial Intelligence and machine learning.
By utilizing AI via machine learning, the team at Color Intelligence created a robust set of tools to let colorists automatically organize footage, match different shots, and manage color grades across multiple scenes.
But this isn’t the computer simply doing the work for you. Colourlab Ai acts like a virtual post-production assistant, making colorists without support behave like a team of creatives.
Now Colourlab v2.0 has been released as a public beta, with major new features and an entirely new user interface. In addition to the existing deep integration with DaVinci Resolve, Colourlab Ai v2.0 adds support for both Adobe Premiere and Apple Final Cut Pro, as well as several new subscription options for filmmakers and creators.
Colourlab Ai at a Glance
Founded by colorist Dado Valentic, Color Intelligence embraces the tech side of the creative process. By using the Cinematic Neural Engine, Colourlab Ai allows a single colorist to act as a team.
From version 1.0 until now, the tools and workflow of Colourlab Ai focused on matching color grades between shots. This allowed colorists to shorten their prep time and embrace their creativity instead of being their own assistants.
Using their purpose-built neural engine, colorists would color grade a master or hero frame with Colourlab Ai and then allow the software to match the rest of the footage to that frame. Valentic and his team worked out ways to implant this technique even when the lighting would constantly evolve in a scene. They even added the "EL Zone System" developed by Ed Lachman, ASC, to help colorists look at exposure the way cinematographers do.
And this isn't the same as an auto white balance feature in whatever NLE you're using. Colourlab uses several perceptual models to analyze the shot you're working on. Colorists can switch between them as needed to get the best results possible. This saves hours of work, and for larger productions, it saves days.
Another incredible addition to the Colourlab toolkit is Look Designer, a film emulation-styled toolset that is based on the traditional subtractive color process of film and allows creatives to develop their own looks. Filmmakers can export these looks as LUTs for developing an aesthetic in pre-production, using them as monitoring LUTs on set, and then using the looks to drive the creativity of their color grading workflow.
Even in the initial 1.0 version, Colourlab was a robust piece of software. But with version 2.0, so much more is being added to support the creative process.
Look DesignerCredit: Color Intelligence
New Features of Version 2.0
Colourlab Ai v2.0 adds to the existing toolkit with user-requested features. This includes improved camera matching, a Smart LUTs feature, a new Show Look Library, an Ai-supported color adjustment feature, and a shot sorting feature, as well as Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro integration.
Timeline Intelligence lets colorists dynamically sort their shots based on similar image characteristics. By utilizing their Ai analysis tools from the Cinematic Neural Engine, Colourlab can sort all of your shots based on time of day, camera angle, and composition. These shots can then be grouped together to receive the same color grade.
Timeline IntelligenceCredit: Color Intelligence
The Ai-powered Auto Color leans on the same neural engine to produce one-click color adjustment with consistent results. This quick grade can be created from reference images from other projects, as well as grades that colorists have created themselves.
When supported by the new Color Tune toolset, colorists are able to make intuitive changes to their scene without guessing. The new tools control exposure, density, contrast, color, temperature, tint, and saturation.
Color TuneCredit: Color Intelligence
What makes Color Tune so unique is how it showcases your changes in a row of clips. With the current version at the center, colorists can see how exposure or contrast will affect their clip at a glance. This speeds up not only your workflow but the understanding of your changes.
To support these new tools, Colourlab Ai v2.0 has added Smart LUTs. While they can act as traditional 3D LUTs, Smart LUTs are content-aware and contain parametric values that can be adjusted in Look Designer. They also contain a unique content fingerprint created from reference frames for use in Colourlab Ai’s Cinematic Neural Network.
Smart LUTsCredit: Color Intelligence
These work in tandem with the new Show Look library. By combining 3D LUTs with parametric meta-data for Look Designer, colorists can easily create or modify the included film stock emulations. Even your own 3D LUTs can be imported and converted to a Show Look that can be further developed in Look Designer.
All of these features are supported by a new camera matching process that can instantly match shots from different brands in a full color-managed pipeline.
That was a lot of information to unpack, but for those looking for a deeper dive on Colourlab Ai v2.0, here is Valentic himself to explain the new features and how they will affect your color grading workflow.
A Toolkit for the Masses
Colourlab Ai has been used predominantly by post-production houses to elevate their creativity and make their workflow more efficient.
Now with a new version, Colourlab is even more feature-rich with a subscription tier specifically available to creatives. Colourlab Ai 2.0 is available as a Public Beta for Intel and M1 MacOS systems with a seven-day free trial or under the following subscription plans:
- Colourlab Ai Creator
- Includes full Colorlab Ai functionality with Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro
- Price: $129/annually
- Colourlab Ai Pro
- Includes Look Designer, Tangent device control, SDI video output, and DaVinci Resolve integration
- Compatible with Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro, and Livegrade
- Price: $299/annually
- Subscriptions are available for $39/month, $99/quarter, $299/year, or $599 for a perpetual license
Until March 31, No Film School readers can get $20 off any subscription of Colourlab Ai Creator or Pro with the discount code: NFS20.
With these kinds of tools at your disposal, there’s nothing standing in the way of your creativity.
