Sony and Picture Shop have partnered to release a set of LUTs exclusively designed with the VENICE 2, Sony's flagship digital cinema camera. The new collection of LUTs was designed by legendary color scientists Chris Kutcka (Kill Bill, Pirates of the Caribbean) and Josh Pines (Saving Private Ryan, Forrest Gump, The Revenant).

Pines is Picture Shop's Chief Color Scientist. He has worked on color grading on dozens of Academy Award-winning movies, from visual effects shot on film to look development on projects shot with digital cinema cameras. Pines describes the series of LUTs and shares examples of the LUTs in action.


The hero of the LUT family is the Lo Con Base LUT. Other LUTs shown include:

Hi Con LUT: This is the high-contrast version of the Lo Con Base LUT.

50-50 LUT: This is the Goldilocks version of the LUT trio with more contrast and saturation than the Lo Con Base LUT.

Look 1: Developed by Picture Shop Senior Colorist Jason Fabbro (Captain Marvel, Thor:Ragnorak, Ready Player One), this look was created using the Lo Con Base LUT. It offers slightly more contrast and saturation, while the reds and highlights have been pulled down to look less digital.

Look 2: Also developed by Jason Fabbro, this look was also created using the Lo Con Base LUT. It offers more warmth to skin tones in addition to added contrast and saturation. Like Look 1, the reds and highlights have been pulled down to look less digital.

In addition to this LUT family, Picture Shop Senior Colorist and Director of Creative Workflow Tony D'Amore (Fargo, Elementary, Daredevil, Mayans MC) has also developed three additional LUTs designed specifically for the VENICE series.

"The Sony VENICE has become more prevalent in the industry for good reason. It provides rich images with graceful, filmic qualities. I've created a few LUTs that work well for dailies through the final grade. The base LUT cools off the blacks and warms up the highlights to give better color separation off the sensor so the image is a little closer to what the DP's naked eye might see on-set. Then during the grade this base LUT provides a better starting point which saves time and opens creative possibilities."

The new family of LUTs can be used with any Sony camera that supports S-Log3/S-Gamut3.Cine. The Josh Pines family of LUTs are available in Rec.709 and HDR color spaces, while the D'Amore LUTs are available in Rec.709. The entire collection of LUTs offer a gentler alternative to the stylized LUTs that Sony and Picture Shop have released in the past. They are now available to download exclusively on the Sony Cine website at no cost. To download the LUTs, please visit sonycine.com under the resources tab.

Special thanks to Film and Digital Times and Abelcine for sharing test footage. Test footage was shot using available light at Abelcine in Industry City, New York, using the VENICE 2 and Cooke Varotal FF Zooms by Jon Fauer ASC.

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