Apple

How to AI color grade Apple Log footage in Final Cut Pro

Flat logRec.709
The same sample still, shown flat and then with contrast restored. A color wash marks this curve. It is not footage from the camera.

One sample still. Left is flattened like log. Right is the contrast restored. The fields below are this curve's illustration palette.

ProfileApple LogColor spaceRec.2020EditorFinal Cut Pro

iPhone 15 Pro and later models recording Apple Log. Eddie converts Apple Log / Rec.2020 to Rec.709 on an MP4 render and in the player, before a grade. In Final Cut Pro, decode that published curve and color space, export an sRGB still, match a reference, and apply the .cube after the input transform.

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Step by step

  1. Flat logRec.709
    The same sample still, shown flat and then with contrast restored. A color wash marks this curve. It is not footage from the camera.

    18% grey on this curve

    01

    Decode Apple Log / Rec.2020

    Decode Apple Log with the manufacturer's published Apple Log curve and Rec.2020 color space. Eddie converts that pair to Rec.709 on an MP4 render and in the player, before a grade. A timeline export keeps the camera file, and the export note names Apple Log. In Final Cut Pro, apply the manufacturer's input transform for Apple Log / Rec.2020 before the creative LUT.

  2. A prepared sRGB still, the kind of frame you export after the input transform.JPEG · PNG · WebPsRGB

    02

    Export a representative sRGB still

    After the conversion, export one JPEG, PNG or WebP of a typical Apple Log frame at the sRGB display stage. Keep exposure and white balance typical of the shot. The still can be up to 20 MB and 40 megapixels.

  3. Sample still before the match. A prepared low-contrast sRGB image, not footage from a specific camera.Your still
    The same sample still with an Eddie LUT applied.Matched

    03

    Match a reference in the image-to-LUT tool

    Open the image-to-LUT tool with a reference photo or film still prepared as sRGB, and the still from the Apple Log footage. Eddie compares the visible pixels in the browser and writes a 33- or 65-point .cube. The preview uses the same table as the download. The matcher compares sRGB stills. It does not decode camera log.

  4. After the input transform

    Final Cut Pro

    04

    Apply the .cube in Final Cut Pro

    Add the Custom LUT effect and select the .cube. Apply it at the same sRGB stage as the still, and check the effect's input and output color space. Then scrub faces, changing light and shadows. A match on one frame is a starting point for the rest of the shot.

Apple Log in another editor

Other curves in Final Cut Pro

Image to LUT

Questions

Does the image-to-LUT tool decode Apple Log?
The matcher compares two sRGB stills. It does not decode camera log. Eddie's separate conversion turns Apple Log / Rec.2020 into Rec.709 on an MP4 render and in the player, before a grade. In Final Cut Pro, apply the manufacturer's input transform, then the .cube.
Which cameras use the Apple Log conversion?
iPhone 15 Pro and later models recording Apple Log.
Where does the .cube go in Final Cut Pro?
After the Apple Log / Rec.2020 input transform, at the same sRGB stage as the still you matched. sRGB and Rec.709 are not interchangeable input labels. Add the Custom LUT effect and select the .cube. Apply it at the same sRGB stage as the still, and check the effect's input and output color space.
What if the footage uses a different curve?
Convert that curve with the manufacturer's input transform, export an sRGB still, then match it. S-Log2, S-Log3 / S-Gamut3, Canon Log and Canon Log 2, Canon Log 3 in Rec.709 or BT.2020, D-Log M, F-Log and F-Log2, N-Log, LogC and Log3G10 stay on that path.