After Effects handles LUTs fine and is organised around a different unit of work from an editor. Knowing which of the three routes to use saves most of the confusion.
The three routes
| Route | Use it for | Adjustable |
|---|---|---|
| Apply Color LUT | A straight technical conversion | Opacity only |
| Lumetri Color | A look, plus corrections in one place | Fully |
| LUT on an adjustment layer | One LUT across several layers | Via the layer |
Apply Color LUT is the plain one: Effect → Utility → Apply Color LUT, choose
the .cube. It does the transform and nothing else, which is exactly what you
want for converting out of log.
Lumetri Color is the same colour engine as Premiere, with the LUT slot inside a panel that also gives you exposure, contrast and curves. Use it when the LUT is a creative look you will then adjust around.
An adjustment layer with either effect on it applies to everything beneath it in the stack. This is how you cover a comp with several layers without applying the LUT to each one.
Which slot in Lumetri
Lumetri has two LUT fields and people put things in the wrong one:
- Input LUT, in Basic Correction, is for technical conversion — log to Rec.709. It is applied first, before everything else in the panel.
- Look, in the Creative section, is for the creative LUT and has a strength slider.
Putting a conversion in the Look slot means it happens after the corrections rather than before, which is backwards and produces results that look almost right. Same distinction as in Premiere, because it is the same panel.
The order that matters
Convert, then look. A creative LUT applied directly to log footage gives the muddy result people blame on the camera — what is a LUT covers why the two kinds of file are not interchangeable.
In practice: Apply Color LUT for the conversion at the bottom of the effect stack, corrections above it, creative look on top or on an adjustment layer.
Where After Effects is the wrong tool
Converting a card.
After Effects works on compositions, not on folders. Importing forty clips means forty layers or forty comps, and the conversion has to be applied to each — or to an adjustment layer per comp, which is the same work with an extra step.
It is also slow at it. After Effects renders everything through the full compositing pipeline, so a straight colour transform on forty clips costs far more time than the same job in a tool built for it.
The sensible division: convert the card before After Effects opens, then use After Effects for what it is for — compositing, motion, effects — on footage that already looks right in the viewer.
How BatchTone handles it
Drop the folder in, pick the camera's conversion, and every clip comes out ready to import. A frame is pulled from each and previewed with the conversion applied.
- Per-clip strength for shots exposed differently.
- Audio copied across untouched rather than re-encoded.
- The Mac's own hardware encoder rather than a compositing pipeline, so a card is minutes.
- Originals never written to.
- Output is standard files that After Effects imports normally.
Then the LUT work inside After Effects is the creative layer on a finished comp, which is what the three routes above are actually good for. There is a seven-day trial.
Common questions
How do I add a LUT in After Effects? Effect → Utility → Apply Color LUT for a straight conversion, or the Input LUT field in Lumetri Color if you want corrections in the same panel.
What is the difference between Input LUT and Look in Lumetri? Input LUT is applied first and is for technical conversion. Look is applied after the corrections and is for a creative grade, with a strength slider.
Can I apply a LUT to multiple layers? Yes — put it on an adjustment layer above them. That is the only route that covers several layers with one instance.
Why is my LUT rendering slowly? After Effects renders through the full compositing pipeline. For a plain colour transform across many clips that is expensive, which is why conversion usually happens before the comp.
Does the LUT affect the alpha channel? Apply Color LUT operates on colour; layers with transparency keep it. Check the edges anyway if you are compositing over something.