What are LUTs in Video Editing?

First of all, not all LUTs work with every editing program or camera. So make sure the LUT you choose matches the platform you’re using, or the specific camera settings. If you don’t match them correctly, the colors will look weird.

LUTs come in formats like cube or .3dl. Out of these, the cube is the most common and works with almost all editing software. If your software can’t open the LUT file, it won’t work at all, no matter how good it looks. So always use a file format that your software supports. That way, you won’t have to waste time converting it or troubleshooting later.

Applying a LUT alters the overall color and style of your video by adjusting brightness, contrast and saturation simultaneously. Some LUTs add a bold or dramatic flair, others remain understated, but poorly balanced ones can make skin tones look too orange or washed out. This makes the entire scene feel overly dark or artificial. Always test your LUT's impact on color to ensure your footage remains clean and natural, unless you’re after a stylized effect.

When editing videos or working with color, you’ll come across different types of LUTs. Each one has its purpose and level of control. The three most common types are 1D LUTs, 3D LUTs, and CDLs.

1D LUTs are the simplest type of LUT. They change just one thing at a time, usually something like brightness, contrast, or gamma (which controls midtones). Using this type of LUT feels like using a single slider to brighten or darken your whole video. Plus, these LUTs adjust color values along one axis, so they’re great for small corrections.

A lot of editors use 1D LUTs for quick fixes or to normalize footage before applying a more creative grade. 1D LUTs usually come with file extensions like .lut, and they’re good when you just want to make your footage look more “normal” without changing its style too much.

Unlike 1D LUTs, 3D LUTs adjust multiple color properties all at once. It is called "3D" because it works in a three-dimensional color space, giving you much more control.

In addition, you can use 3D LUTs to create very specific looks, like a cinematic vibe, a warm sunset tone, or even a vintage film feel. These LUTs usually use the .cube file format and are used in professional color grading for film, TV, and content creation. They’re perfect for when you want to go beyond basic corrections and really shape the final look.

Now, the CDL is a bit different as it isn’t technically a LUT, but it works in a similar way. It’s a small set of color values that tells editing software how to adjust your footage. Instead of changing every single color value like a LUT does, a CDL focuses on four simple settings: Lift (Offset), Gamma (Power), Gain (Slope), and Saturation. These are the building blocks of basic color correction.

CDLs are often used during early stages of production, like on set or during dailies (daily raw footage reviews), so editors and colorists have a shared starting point. They're also great because they’re lightweight, easy to share, and work across different editing platforms.

Color correction is the first step in making your footage look natural and realistic. Here, you make use of LUTs to fix problems in the image. It could be that the images are too dark, too blue, or the skin looks weird. Whatever the color problem is, LUTs can help fix all of that in one click. Below is how it works.

Let’s say you shot a short film using the Sony A7S III in S-Log3. Straight out of the camera, it looks dull and low-contrast. You can use a LUT like “S-Log3 to Rec.709” to quickly turn that flat footage into something that looks clean, vibrant, and ready to edit.

In Skyfall (2012), many scenes were filmed in flat formats and later corrected using LUTs to balance skin tones, correct lighting issues, and maintain consistency in day-to-night transitions.

Now, a common problem in real-world projects is that different cameras or lighting setups don’t always look the same. Even if you’re filming the same scene, a Canon and a Panasonic might capture colors differently.

Fortunately, LUTs can help match the colors between different shots or cameras, so the whole video plays smoothly. This is especially helpful in weddings, interviews, multi-cam setups, or documentary shoots where you can’t always control every condition.

This is where things get exciting. Creative LUTs are used to give your video a specific “look” or emotion. They go beyond just fixing things, it is more of storytelling. You can make your video look dramatic, romantic, vintage, cinematic, or even surreal, all with the help of LUTs.

This is especially popular in music videos, short films, commercials, and social media content where style matters a lot.