Log Color
Definition
Log Color (or "log encoding") is a method of encoding video in which the tonal values of the image are recorded using a logarithmic curve rather than a linear or gamma curve. Log encoding is used in professional digital cinema cameras to maximize the dynamic range of the recorded image by distributing the available data more evenly across the tonal range. Log footage appears flat and desaturated when viewed without a LUT, but it contains significantly more information in the highlights and shadows than a standard gamma-encoded image. Log footage must be color graded in post-production to achieve the final look.
Contextual Usage
The DIT explains the camera settings to the editor: "All the footage is being recorded in ARRI LogC, which is ARRI's log color encoding. The footage will look very flat and washed out in the editing system until you apply the correct LUT. I've included the ARRI LogC to Rec.709 LUT in the project folder — please apply it to all the footage so the editor can see what the image actually looks like."
About this section
Color grading and finishing is the final visual polish of the image — the stage at which the raw footage is transformed into the rich, cinematic image that the audience will ultimately see. A skilled ...
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