LUTs and Presets
The last option on the top bar is Insert LUT or Preset. Clicking on this tool opens a browser for LUTs and Presets. What you see in here will depend on what you’ve purchased or added Color Finale 2 includes a number of LUTs and Presets with additional Presets available from the website.
LUTs
Third-party LUTs in the .cube LUT format are also supported. A LUT is a single, composite correction that cannot be internally altered. When you select a LUT option from this browser, the LUT will be applied via the LUT Utility tool as a layer. You can also create a grade and export that as your own custom LUT via the Gear menu in the inspector control panel.
Tone and Chroma
After a LUT is applied, two trim controls let you adjust the strength of the LUT independently along its tonal and color axes:
- Tone controls how strongly the LUT shapes the image’s contrast and brightness curve. Lower values pull the LUT’s tonal effect back toward the original image while keeping its color character.
- Chroma controls how strongly the LUT shifts the image’s color (saturation and hue cast). Lower values keep the LUT’s tonal shape while easing back the color cast.
These controls solve a common problem with LUT workflows: a LUT often gives you the right palette but is too strong for a particular shot. Lowering global opacity weakens both tone and color together, often killing the contrast you wanted to keep. With Tone and Chroma you can dial each axis independently — keep the contrast character while easing the color, or vice versa — without leaving the LUT layer.
Tone and Chroma are colorimetrically aware: adjustments respect the LUT’s declared output color space, preserve hue, and avoid the color shifts and clipping that simpler blending approaches can introduce.
Presets
Unlike a LUT, a Preset selected from this browser will be applied as a Group containing numerous layers to achieve the creative look. You can enable, disable, or change any layer within the group. Thumbnails for both LUTs and Presets can be previewed with a reference image or as a Live Preview based on the current clip. When applying a LUT, you can change its color space, based on Final Cut’s color space choices.