Case study: The Monitoring Problem Explained

Why creative intent must be seen during production

Submit your film and win a custom show LUT
crafted for your production. Normally $1500.

Winners will be announced on 03-10-2025,
entries capped at 100.

Custom LUT FAQ

  • Yes, every shooting day you get on-set with your custom designed LUT is valuable so feel free to submit your production.

  • Yes, we will design the LUT to work with your specific camera or monitor.
    You will receive a LUT for on-set (33×33) and a LUT to use in post (65×65).

    We support every camera manufacturer that uses a log profile. That’s probably every cinema camera you can think of.

  • No problem! That’s actually what you should expect from a good colorist. We will help you develop a vision for the project for free.

  • Show them the difference. Once crew members see how standard Rec709 monitoring leads to different lighting decisions compared to your custom LUT, they immediately understand the value. The demo video at the top of this page illustrates this, demonstrating how wrong monitoring creates poor on-set choices.

  • Potential savings include:

    • Reduced colorgrading time - Less discovery and experimentation needed

    • Fewer revision rounds - Clearer creative intent from the start

    • Better exposure decisions - Less time fixing technical issues

    • Improved client satisfaction - Expectations set correctly on set.

    For larger projects, we’ve saved our clients between $5,000-$20,000+ by reducing post-production time. Your results may vary (obviously).

  • Our Show LUTs preserve your camera's full latitude. While the contrast may look different from standard Rec709 monitoring, you're still seeing the complete dynamic range in both highlights and shadows. The LUT simply remaps how those tones are displayed - it doesn't clip or compress your image data.

    You can always use a waveform monitor or False Color (We prefer the El Zones System because it measures light in actual stops)

  • Yes, a show LUT is only meant for monitoring. Do not bake the LUT into the footage. Always keep your acquisition pipeline in either raw or log to get the best possible quality.

  • Yes, the LUTs we design are incredibly robust and thoroughly tested, we guarantee it works on any shot you throw at it.

    We use special software to test and ensure the LUT will not break, even in extreme conditions.

  • No, the LUT is made to match your specific camera’s gamma and colorspace. Therefor it cannot be used when shooting with a different camera brand.

    However, if your LUT was made for let’s say, Sony, you could use it on a different Sony camera. As long as the colorspace and gamma of the LUT matches the camera.