Install guide

Get your looks working in five minutes

Every look comes in seven versions. Pick the version by how the clip was shot, then follow the steps for your app. If anything looks wrong, the answer is almost always in section 2.

1. Which file do I use?

Not sure if your iPhone clip is Apple Log? Open it in Photos. Apple Log looks grey, flat and washed out. If it already looks normal and contrasty, it isn't log: use the Rec709 folder.

Apple Log 2 (an option on iPhone 17 Pro and later in some camera apps) uses a different colour space. For these looks, choose Apple Log, not Apple Log 2, in your camera app.

2. Don't convert twice

Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro and some phone apps can convert Apple Log to normal video automatically. If that is switched on and you add an Apple Log look, the clip is converted twice: crushed shadows, harsh contrast and oversaturated colour.

Quick test: before you add a look, does the clip look grey and flat in your editor? Then it's still log, use the log version. Does it already look normal? Then the editor has converted it, use Rec709.

Exposure: the looks expect normal exposure. On a waveform, a mid-grey card in Apple Log sits around 49% (Canon Log 3 about 34%, Canon Log 2 about 40%). Fix exposure before the look, not after.

3. iPhone: record with the look built in

The simplest route. You see the finished look while filming and the video comes out ready to post. The trade-off: there's no ungraded copy, so pick a look that suits the scene.

Blackmagic Camera (free)

1. Install Blackmagic Camera from the App Store.
2. On your iPhone, open the download link from your receipt email and save the zip to Files (iCloud Drive works best). Tap the zip to unpack it.
3. Open Blackmagic Camera, tap the settings icon and set the colour space to Apple Log.
4. Set the codec. Try HEVC for small files. If the recorded clip doesn't match the preview (see step 8), switch to ProRes, which is reliable but uses a lot of storage.
5. In the LUT settings tap Import and choose a file from folder 2 Apple Log Mobile.
6. Switch on Display LUT so the screen shows the look.
7. Switch on Record LUT to Clip so the look is saved into the video.
8. Record a 10 second test and open it in Photos. It should look the same as it did on screen.

Kino (one-off purchase)

Kino is designed for simplicity. Import a file from folder 2 Apple Log Mobile (Kino accepts 33 point files), choose Apple Log, and use Instant Grade to record with the look.

4. iPhone: add the look after filming

Film in Apple Log first: in the Camera app go to Settings, Camera, Formats, turn on Apple ProRes and set ProRes Encoding to Log, or use Blackmagic Camera with Record LUT to Clip switched off.

Adobe Premiere for iPhone (free)

1. Add your clip to a project and select it.
2. Tap Looks, then +, and import a file from folder 2.
3. Check section 2: if the clip already looked normal before the look, use the Rec709 version instead.

LumaFusion

1. Double tap the clip, open Color & Effects and add a LUT effect.
2. Tap the import button and choose a .cube file from Files.
3. If .cube files are greyed out in the picker, another app has claimed the file type: copy the file into LumaFusion's own folder in Files and try again.

VN and other editors

Most editors with a LUT or Filter, Import option accept .cube files. Use folder 2 on a phone. CapCut on iPhone doesn't support importing LUTs at the moment; CapCut on a computer does (section 8).

5. Final Cut Pro (Mac)

1. Select your Apple Log clip. In the Info inspector, set the camera LUT (or log processing, depending on version) to None, so Final Cut doesn't convert it.
2. In the Effects browser, open Color and drag Custom LUT onto the clip.
3. In the Video inspector, open the LUT menu, choose Choose Custom LUT… and pick a file from folder 1. To install a whole folder at once, choose the folder instead of a file.
4. Leave any conversion options in the Custom LUT effect at None: the look does its own Apple Log conversion.
5. Copy the effect and paste attributes onto the rest of your clips.

Prefer to keep Final Cut's automatic conversion on? Leave it on and use the Rec709 version instead.

6. DaVinci Resolve

1. Open Project Settings, Color Management, Lookup Tables and click Open LUT Folder.
2. Copy the Carey Colour folders into it, then click Update Lists.
3. Use DaVinci YRGB (not colour managed) for the log versions. On the Color page, right-click a node, choose LUT and pick the look.
4. Do exposure and white balance on a node before the LUT node.
5. Using DaVinci Wide Gamut or another colour-managed setup? Apply the Rec709 version on a node after the conversion to Rec.709.

7. Premiere Pro (Mac and PC)

1. Premiere may convert log footage automatically. Right-click the clip, choose Modify, Interpret Footage, and set the colour space override to Rec. 709 so the clip stays flat.
2. Open the Lumetri Color panel. Under Basic Correction, open Input LUT, choose Browse and pick a file from folder 1.
3. Prefer the automatic conversion? Leave it on and use the Rec709 version as a Creative, Look instead.

8. CapCut desktop, Photoshop and others

CapCut (Mac and PC): select the clip, open Adjust, find LUT and import a .cube. CapCut may not convert log for you, so use the Apple Log version on log clips.

Photoshop and Lightroom-style apps: add a Color Lookup adjustment layer, choose Load 3D LUT and pick a Rec709 file for normal photos.

Anything else: if an app accepts .cube files, the looks will work. Use 33 point files if it refuses the 65 point ones.

9. Troubleshooting

Crushed, too contrasty or too saturated: double conversion, see section 2.

Still grey and flat: you used a Rec709 file on log footage. Use the Apple Log version.

Too dark or too bright: fix exposure before the look. Log footage is often shot a little bright on purpose; bring it down first.

The app won't open the file: use folder 2 (33 point). On iPhone, unzip the download in Files first.

Colours shift in the recorded Blackmagic Camera clip: switch the codec to ProRes and test again.

Still stuck? Email hello@josephcarey.com with a screenshot and the app you use. If we can't get a look working on your footage, you get your money back.