Gabrielle Blackwood is a director and cinematographer with a stirring portfolio of films, commercials, and music videos. Her directed short Grave Digger, which follows two grave robbers struggling to make it big, is a gripping character study with an acute attention to detail down to the fake "Calven Klair" boxer briefs.

With Fear, a film that memorializes spoken-word artist and activist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Blackwood's cinematography is stunningly poetic. She photographs with a realistic poshness to her images that is a breath of fresh air.

If Variety is looking for rising cinematographers in 2021, she should be on that list. 

But even with a busy schedule, Blackwood found some time to drop a free LUT pack via Instagram for those wanting to experiment with different looks she created. In the post, the Jamaican-based cinematographer points out that she's been asked over and over again how she colors skin tones, suggesting that she's been studying different shades of Black skin in particular.

She wrote in the post, "[...] in the spirit of Black History month, and something I've been working on, I’ve created a FREE GB LUT pack with four LUTS specifically for Black skin."

BlackwoodlutsGB LUTsCredit: Gabrielle Blackwood

The LUTs are compatible with Blackmagic RAW only and Generation 4 color science. Blackwood points out that the LUTs are specific to four shades of skin color, so apply accordingly.

The suggested DaVinci Resolve settings and steps: 

Input Color Science: Gen 4
Output Color Space: Rec.709/ Gamma 2.4

  1. White balance
  2. Expose between 200 and 768 on scopes
  3. Apply LUT
  4. Adjust LUT saturation and opacity for desired look
  5. Render

Slack-imgs_3Credit: Gabrielle Blackwood

The gesture from Blackwood is awesome for those of us starting out. How great would it be if more high-level cinematographers were as forthright.

What if after The Revenant hit theaters, Chivo casually Tweeted out the LUTs he used with the ARRI 65? Or instead of Colorist Factory recreating the look of The Joker, Lawrence Sher could be like, "Oh no, I got you." And he would drop a link on his Instagram.

Obviously, there might be some legality issues in the weeds we may not know about, but wishful thinking, right? 

You can download the LUT pack from Blackwood here. 

Source: Gabrielle Blackwood

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Cinematography & Cameras