Editor guide · .cube

LUTs for Final Cut Pro

Final Cut has the simplest LUT workflow of the five: an effect you drag onto a clip, a file picker, and a Mix slider. There is no library folder to install into.

Final Cut reads 3D LUTs with the .cube and .mga extensions, so our files load as-is. If you shot Apple Log on an iPhone, the free True iPhone conversion is the natural starting point before any creative look.

Get 7 free .cube LUTsOne per camera · no purchase

How to add a LUT in Final Cut Pro

  1. 01

    Add the Custom LUT effect

    Open the Effects browser, find Custom LUT under the Color category, and drag it onto your clip.

  2. 02

    Load your .cube

    Select the clip and open the Video inspector. In the Custom LUT effect, click the LUT pop-up menu and choose Custom LUT, then browse to the .cube file you downloaded.

  3. 03

    Set the blend

    Use the Mix slider in the same effect to set how much of the LUT is blended with the original image — 100% is full strength.

  4. 04

    Or set it as the camera LUT

    For a purely technical conversion you can instead select the clip and set a camera LUT in the Info inspector, which applies before the rest of your grade.

Dialling the look back in Final Cut Pro

The Custom LUT effect’s Mix slider dials the whole LUT back, conversion included — on log footage that means fading toward the flat original rather than toward a lighter grade. Downloading at 70% instead gives you a file that keeps the full log conversion and eases only the look on top of it.

Set 50, 70 or 100% in the LUT Library preview and the .cube is regenerated at that strength — the file itself is the lighter grade, so it lands identically wherever you load it.

Shooting log? Start with your camera

Common questions

What LUT format does Final Cut Pro use?+

Standard 3D .cube files. Every one of the 175 grades in the iReelz library exports as .cube, so they load in Final Cut Pro without conversion.

Do I need a separate conversion LUT for log footage in Final Cut Pro?+

Not with the camera packs. Each of those bakes the full log-to-Rec.709 conversion into the same .cube as the look, so it is one effect in Final Cut Pro rather than a technical LUT with a creative LUT stacked on top.

Can I change the LUT strength in Final Cut Pro?+

The Custom LUT effect’s Mix slider dials the whole LUT back, conversion included — on log footage that means fading toward the flat original rather than toward a lighter grade. Downloading at 70% instead gives you a file that keeps the full log conversion and eases only the look on top of it.

Are there free LUTs I can try in Final Cut Pro first?+

Yes — 7 of them, one conversion grade for every camera we support, at https://ireelz.com/luts/free. Full-strength .cube files, no watermark.

New to thisWhat a LUT is, and what it can’t doHow the decode works, the error we measured on our own files, and when not to use one.Read it →

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Music for the edit

Graded footage still gets claimed for its soundtrack. Original music with a licence in your name — start with the free tracks.

Using a different editor?

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