Using LUT’s to enhance video

LUT stands for Look Up Table, and is often referred to as a Color Look Up Table. LUTs are commonly used to add a specific color look to your video. Think of them as a universal color preset. LUTs are applied as an OFX plug-in and can be added, like other video effects, to tracks, video events, source media files (via the Project Media window), or to the entire video project using any of the methods described in this chapter. The one difference is that you will have to browse to the LUT, to select it, from the plugin window.

  1. Open the Video effects window and expand the OFX folder

  2. Drag the effect LUT Filter to the desired location (Media, Event, Track, Main output)

  3. In the Video FX window, click the Browse button

  4. Navigate to where you saved the LUT file, select the file, and click Open

  5. Pick an Interpolation; Linear (good) or Tetrahedral (best)

  6. Adjust the Strength slider to achieve the look you prefer

NOTE

  • Linear (good) intepolation is fast and reasonably accurate where as Tetrahedral is more accurate, but slightly slower.

  • The LUT filter produces an image that is a blend of the original image and the color-adjusted image. The Strength slider controls the mix, or the percentage of the color-adjusted image vs. the original image. A setting of 0 would be equal to no LUT being applied.

LUT Export

The LUT Export feature enables you to package any video effect chain into a .cube file (LUT file) that can then be imported and used in other effects chains within VEGAS Pro or any other software that imports and reads CUBE files.

To export an effect chain as a LUT, create a chain of effects at any of the four effects levels in VEGAS (Event, Track, Master Bus, Media). Once such a chain exists (using an event chain as an example), you have to:

  1. Click the Event FX button in the event header to open the Video Event FX window (if it is not already open)

  2. Deselect the check-box for any non-color-related plug-in to temporarily remove it from the chain (see note below)

  3. Click the Plug-in Chain button to open the Plug-in Chain window

  4. Click the Event Save LUT button

  5. Choose a location and specify a file name for the LUT and save it.

NOTE Keep in mind that a proper LUT can contain only plug-ins and filters that adjust things related to color such as hue, saturation, levels, and so on. A LUT cannot properly reproduce filters or effects that distort the image in some way, such as masking, blurs, shading, pixelation, compositing, and so on. You have to be highly aware of the plug-ins you allow to pass through the LUT export process. If you allow any non-supported plug-ins, the resulting LUT will be unpredictable, and very unlikely to represent what you think it will.