LUT
Also known as: lookup table, LUTs, 3D LUT
A lookup table: a file that maps every input color to a new output color, used to convert log footage to normal contrast or to apply a ready-made look.
Updated
What it means
A LUT, short for lookup table, is a small file - usually with a .cube extension - that tells editing software how to remap colors. For every input color it lists an output color. Apply it to a clip and every pixel is transformed at once, which is why LUTs are popular as one-click looks.
A LUT can do two very different jobs. A technical or conversion LUT translates footage from a camera's log profile into a standard color space such as Rec.709, restoring normal contrast and saturation. A creative LUT applies a look, like a film emulation or a teal-and-orange style, and belongs to color grading.
How it works in practice
Camera makers publish official conversion LUTs for their log profiles: DJI offers one for D-Log M on its drones and Osmo cameras, Sony does the same for S-Log3, and other brands with log modes follow suit. Download the file from the manufacturer rather than a random pack, because it is built for that exact sensor and curve.
In DaVinci Resolve you add .cube files to the LUT folder and apply them on a node; in Premiere Pro, Lumetri has an Input LUT field for conversion and a Look field for creative LUTs. A typical order is correction first, conversion LUT next, creative look last - often with the look's strength dialed down to 50 to 70 percent.
What to watch out for
The biggest mistake is applying a conversion LUT to footage that was not shot in that log profile. Putting a D-Log M LUT on standard-profile clips produces crushed, oversaturated results. The reverse happens too: forgetting the LUT and publishing flat, gray log footage.
LUTs are not exposure-aware. A conversion LUT expects footage exposed the way the manufacturer intended, so a log clip that is two stops under will look muddy after conversion. Fix exposure and white balance before the LUT, not after. Treat creative LUT packs with caution as well: a look designed for one camera rarely fits another without adjustment, especially on footage recorded without 10-bit color.
How RawClip handles it
RawClip does not apply LUTs, either conversion or creative ones. If you shot in D-Log M or another log profile, apply the manufacturer's conversion LUT in your editor and export a normal-contrast MP4 or MOV in H.265 or H.264 before upload, so your highlight does not come out flat and gray.