At NAB 2017, FilmConvert have shown off their upcoming camera matching software, CineMatch. Whilst still only a proof of concept, FilmConvert are hoping CineMatch will become a must-have tool for filmmakers in the future. The colour variations that result from how different cameras post-process raw image data are sometimes stark. Shooting with a mix of cameras will more often than not lead to a large chunk of time being dedicated to colour matching in post. What FilmConvert are working on is software that will take a lot of that work away, making camera matching as easy as just a few clicks of your mouse. FilmConvert say they have taken all the knowledge they have built up from profiling cameras for their film stock emulation software and applied it to CineMatch. This allows the software to intelligently correct for each camera’s subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) differences, and harmonise colours across your rushes. By simply selecting the make and model of cameras from a few drop down menus, CineMatch will get your multiple cameras in the right ball park in a matter of seconds. Users are then given bespoke controls to make final tweaks, which are tuned to respond in different ways, depending on which cameras you’re matching. The version they showed us during NAB had only a basic UI, but beta testing with real-world users will be beginning shortly. FilmConvert hope to have a final shipping version at the tail end of 2017, although there is no word on pricing yet. Watch this space for updates and more information. How much could you see investing in a product like CineMatch? Let us know in the comments below!

A FilmConvert GH5 profile has just been released for the popular color grading and film emulation plugin.   FilmConvert have just announced that the profile for the popular Panasonic GH5 is already available. According to their official communique, they have had the camera for a few days now, and have already put out the new profile so its ready to go by the time you get your hands on that new camera. As usual, it is available to download for free. This new FilmConvert GH5 profile comes with settings for all the different picture profiles that the GH5 has to offer, and even includes a setting for VLog-L – the optional picture profile available for $100 from Panasonic that allows you to capture an extended dynamic range with a logarithmic gamma curve. In case you are not familiar with FilmConvert, it is a plugin compatible with most popular NLEs in the market as well as a standalone software that allows you to easily match the characteristics of various picture profiles from different camera manufacturers to different film stock emulations. In addition to speeding up the grading process, FilmConvert also allows you to match different cameras more easily by allowing you to bring footage from different sources to the same film stock, giving you a ballpark starting point from where to tweak further with the included controls. Although using dedicated tools will always be more flexible, giving your footage that “cinematic look” can take a lot of time and knowledge of colour correction and grading. There are many editors out there who don’t have that level of skill or the time required to achieve it. A tool like FilmConvert can prove to be the perfect middle ground for achieving decent-looking results, with the added benefit of offering a certain level of control over just slapping on a LUT. To download the FilmConvert GH5 Profile, head over HERE, and choose the right camera and operating system from the drop-down menus. Looking forward to FilmConverting your GH5 V-Log footage? Let us know in the comments below!

Filmconvert has just announced their latest camera profile, this time for the DJI Osmo X3 camera. As it is the same piece of hardware internally, the Phantom 4  and Inspire 1 are also included in this free update. Get the Filmconvert Treatment for the Osmo X3 Not so long ago, a log gamma curve for in-camera aquisition was something you could only find in really high end cinema cameras. As time goes by, nearly every decent camera in the market is capable of capturing footage with a higher dynamic range than plain Rec709. At that point, a handy piece of software called Filmconvert comes into play. It not only converts log footage back into good looking imagery, but also adds film grain and certain looks of actual film stocks. Now, even the tiny DJI Osmo X3 camera gets its own Filmconvert profile. For such a small sensor as the Sony 1/2.3″ model, it’s even more important to treat the resulting footage in a way that takes away the digital harshness which is typical for sensors of this type. Oftentimes it comes with a strong video-esque look due to the very deep DOF and other things like ugly moiré patterns. The Osmo X3, just as the Phantom 4 on-board camera, is capable of shooting in D-Log, which is a custom gamma curve created by the engineers at DJI. With it you’ll get a flat looking image, but it has a much higher dynamic range in return. In order to revert that washed out footage back to normal in post, Filmconvert is here to help with its now released profile for that very camera. How to Filmconvert Your Footage Step one: You need to apply the Filmconvert effect from within your favorite NLE such as Premiere Pro CC or, if you’ve already finished editing your piece, it’s available for DaVinci Resolve, too. There’s even a standalone version, but for me it’s much easier to stay in my application of choice and work from there. (Tip: add an adjustment layer on top of your footage and drag the filmConvert effect there to avoid individual FilmConvert clip corrections. Then do minor needed changed on the video clip itself). Step two: Choose the correct profile, in this example the DJI Osmo X3 profile. This will transform the log footage back into the realm of Rec709. Step three: Now you can choose your favorite film stock, such as Kodak 5207 Vision 3, and tweak the settings to your likings. Usually, the amount of film grain is a bit too high, at least to my liking. There you go: after that, your footage will suffer less from that harsh video look. These steps are valid for every available camera profile, of course. Conclusion I really appreciate the progress in which Filmconvert develops new profiles for different cameras. The DJI Osmo X3 is certainly not the best camera in the world, but with the help of its D-Log profile and the Filmconvert treatment it actually looks kind of nice! One more thing to have in mind: you should get a variable ND filter for that camera! Since it lacks a variable aperture, the X3 has to increase the shutter rate like crazy, which results in ugly jittering. It’s a good idea to tackle the problem in the first place by setting the camera to manual (1/50 shutter and ISO 100 for example) and controlling the exposure with the variND only. Filmconvert is $149 for one host application or $219 for the complete bundle, check out their site for more information. Download the new profile on the Filmconvert.com website

Our favourite film stock emulator FilmConvert has released a profile for the Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K camera, the popular new offering from Blackmagic Design (which we will feature in our lab tests very soon!). Surprisingly, FilmConvert states that this was the “most requested camera profile of all time”. This has certainly partly to do with the fact that Blackmagic generally takes a while until they actually ship cameras that they announced. In case you hadn’t heard of it, in a nutshell FilmConvert is both a standalone software and extension app for NLE systems like Premiere Pro, Final Cut and Sony Vegas that offers realistic film stock emulation. You start with a base camera profile, tell the software what camera you are using and pair this with a film stock of your aesthetic choice. Grading can then be applied to tweak your desired look. It’s support for the initial process enables you to accurately apply film stock looks to the Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K. Download here. cinema5D readers can benefit from the price reduction as seen below:

FilmConvert has announced support for the Sony a6300, offering accurate camera profiles to start your film stock emulation look on the sub $1k 4K mirrorless camera. FilmConvert made the announcement earlier this month, and we’ve had a chance to apply the new profile to our existing in-the-field test of the Sony a630 above. Click here to read the full article on our first impressions of this camera. Like many Sony cameras nowadays, the a6300 caused a bit of a stir on announcement, bringing APS-C log 4K recording in a mirrorless body at an even cheaper price (sub $1000) than the Alpha 7 series, not to mention its super fast auto focus. In addition to our First Impressions article, we’ve also lab tested the Sony a6300, and taken a good look at its low light capabilities. We’re already seeing accessories like cages starting to pop up, and now support in the post production sector from FilmConvert demonstrates even further that third party vendors are taking note of this camera. In case you hadn’t heard of it, in a nutshell FilmConvert is both a standalone software and extension app for NLE systems like Premiere Pro, Final Cut and Sony Vegas that offers realistic film stock emulation. You start with a base camera profile, tell the software what camera you are using and pair this with a film stock of your aesthetic choice. Grading can then be applied to tweak your desired look. It’s support for the initial process enables you to accurately apply film stock looks to the Sony a6300. Support includes all flavours of S-log 2 and S-log 3, as well as 709, Cine 1 and Cine 4. Download here.

Atomos and FilmConvert have collaborated to release two custom LUTs. Filmmaker Philip Bloom and our very own Nino Leitner have created the two new profiles that will be free to download for existing Atomos users. FilmConvert has been a favorite go-to tool for film stock emulation for some time, offering stand-alone and plug-in support for NLE systems in the form of a very quick and easy to use colour correcting interface. Nino Leitner and Philip Bloom have got on board with the FilmConvert/Atomos collab to provide a pair of free downloadable LUTs they have created. Nino used it on his recent large documentary project in South Africa about the preservation of the rhino, which you can watch here for free. Using Stock & Custom LUTs The campaign is designed to highlight a feature that is often one overlooked of the FilmConvert software; the fact that you can export any of your customized or stock library LUTs into .cube format and load into on-camera devices like an Atomos recorder. The use of LUTs (Look Up Tables) on set can be a powerful tool. Viewing an image in log can be useful for an operator monitoring a captured image, but to the less trained eye (Directors, Producers, end client, etc.a) all that they see is a flat and ugly looking image. Displaying an LUT that is close to the original image can help other (sometimes, more important) eyes see what the final product may look like. Not only used for a view of a final output, custom LUTs can also be used in a more practical form. Converting a flat log image to a Rec 709 profile adds contrast that helps exposure tools such as peaking function better, therefore helping you (the operator). Monitors such as the Atoms Shogun and Ninja Assassin offer simple log to Rec 709 conversion and the new Atomos FLAME line also adds the ability to view the HDR capability of your log input, with a version of AtomHDR coming to the Shogun and Assassin in the near future.  A custom LOOK lut can come into play when exposing the like of Slog for SDR delivery allowing you to ride the high exposure to create a log master that’s ready for HDR but then utilize a LUT that can applys 2 stop reduction to a rec 709 profile that would otherwise look blown out when exposing correctly for S log. It’s very easy to load in custom LUTs into your Atomos recorder, simply drop the .cube file onto your SSD and hit load via the LUT menu. Similar processes can be found on other devices such as SmallHD monitors via SD card. FilmConvert offers export support for any of their stock library LUTs, or ones that you have created. Register and you shall receive To obtain your free LUT pair (along with another complimentary FilmConvert profile of your choice) register your Atomos device here.

FilmConvert is our film look plugin of choice for many of the review videos we shoot here at cinema5D. It’s easy to use, there are integrated versions for Premiere and Final Cut Pro X as well as a standalone version, and in our opinion, there isn’t an easier and faster way to achieve a very sophisticated film look without much more effort (and no, this is not a sponsored post … I just like it!). One of the qualities of FilmConvert is that they develop their presets specifically for each camera, which makes it actually easy to match different cameras across models and even manufacturers using the plugin. On the other hand, you need to download these profile packs individually. Luckily they have become quite fast in implementing new picture profiles for new cameras. There’s the two fairly new Sony RX100 IV and Sony RX10 II cameras, (small sensor, fixed-lens cameras) that have gained popularity among semi pro filmmakers as B-cameras or quick always-in-your-pocket tools. The amount of possible movie mode adjustments in these cameras make them viable tools also for professionals – just look at my colleague Johnnie Behiri’s great video reviews of the RX100 IV as well as the RX10. To make grading easy with these cameras, head over to FilmConvert to download the appropriate plugin pack for free (if you already own the software).

Here at cinema5D, we are truly big fans of the film look software FilmConvert. You have to look hard for any recent video which wasn’t graded using the plug-in or standalone software. A very easy and efficient way to get very distinct and refined film looks as well as matching different cameras with all their custom camera presets. Now, they are looking for entries to their annual Color Up Film Competition again. Your film just needs to be graded with FilmConvert (even their free trial version), and doesn’t need to be specifically created for this competition. Prizes from Sony, Atomos, RØDE, Marmoset, Story & Heart, Stillmotion and more are available for the winners – click here for more details. If you have something that fits in their categories, hurry up to enter because entries are closing on November 1. Here are all the details: Will you make the grade? FilmConvert are rolling out the red carpet for their Color Up Film Competition 2015. Showcasing the creme de la creme of films by the FC User Community with submissions open 10am (PDT) Monday 19th October. The good news is, FilmConvert are not asking entrants to make a new film. Just submit a film that is graded with FilmConvert and tell them how color has enhanced your story. If you’re not currently a FilmConvert owner, you can still submit a film using their trial version (watermark included). Head to their Downloads Page to get your free trial. This year, entrants can submit their films to one of five categories; Wedding, Documentary, Music, Corporate and Creative/Story. There’s also the chance to win the People Choice’s Award which will be selected by public vote. Once entries are closed on 1st November 2015, the FilmConvert Team will choose the Top 50 entries. On the 4th November they will announce the Top 50 and the Judges will then pick one winner for each category. The public also get to pick one winner from the Top 50 to win the People’s Choice Award. This will be chosen based on votes. All winners announced 17th November 2015. FilmConvert have enlisted the help of some top-notch companies this year and entrants won’t be disappointed to hear there are prizes to be won from Sony, Atomos, RØDE Microphones, Marmoset, Story & Heart, Stillmotion and more! Along with fantastic prizes, FilmConvert will also get help from some of the industry’s top creatives. Judges include Patrick Moreau from Emmy-Award Winning Stillmotion, Peabody Winning documentary filmmaker Emily Mc Million, successful Director and Colorist Noam Kroll, Co-Founder of Story&Heart and Emmy-Award Winner Justin DeMers plus more! For more information on the Color Up Film Competition, check out FilmConvert’s website. Links Download Page: http://www.filmconvert.com/download/default.aspx Competition Page: http://www.filmconvert.com/competition_2015/ Key Dates Entries Open: 19th October – 1st November Public + Judges Voting: 4th – 15th November Winners Announced: 17th November Click here for all the contest guidelines.