About show LUTs and Daily timing

[LucaM]

Two questions in a row!

1) thanks to Stip i understood the difference between Show LUTs (for shooting) and Look LUTs (for post production). I hope the terms are correct. My question: how do you create a Show LUT, if It’s in pre production? With tests shoots?

2) What’s the role of a Daily Timer? Is a role existing also with digital production or Is limited to film?

Thanks in advance and sorry for the boring questions!

Topic

[dmullenasc]

On many shows, the dailies colorist gets the footage, either shot raw or something like ProRes, converts it from raw if necessary, applies the LUT being used on set for the monitors, applies any shot by shot image adjustments to the LUT sent in by the DIT usually as ASC CDL values, probably applies any letterboxing needed, and outputs in the deliverables that editorial needs and whatever is used for streaming dailies. They will also back-up the data.

[dmullenasc]

Not sure what the difference is between a “show” LUT versus a “look” LUT unless a look LUT refers to things in post like a Vision 2383 print LUT as a base for correction so you don’t work outside of the color gamut that print stock can create.

[LucaM]

Thanks David, you’re always very kind!

 

You are right, my poor phrasing made the question a bit confused. I was referring to this thing Stip explained to me in another post:

Stip wrote:

Look development of a project is usually done before shooting. Colorists call this “Show LUT”. The main driver is mostly the contrast curve and saturation, then there might be some hue rotations or tinting of shadows, highlights. This ‘look’ is applied to all scenes. The LUT is loaded into cameras/monitors and the project is shot under it. Costume or set design choices should be made under the show LUT as saturation and density changes can change a color’s appearance…

So, if i understood, the show LUT is loaded in the camera and the scenes are shot with the LUT on, to obtain in real time an effect close to the final one.  What confuses me is that, being little experienced and self taught, i noticed a common trend around the web, i mean the suggestion of use a LUT for post production (what i roughly called “look LUT”) to speed up the grading (or at least have a decent starting point), but i’ve seen really rarely mentioned the show LUT created. It seems more reasonable and logic to have a “pre” LUT and work around that, instead of altering everything with a “post” LUT (you know, those like “Famous Movie Look LUT” that are everywhere around the web). So my doubt is that if it’s a common practice to use both a “pre” and a “post” LUT, or if the latter is just an unprofessional quick turnaround.

[Author]

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