What Is CINEFILM for After Effects?

What Is CINEFILM for After Effects?

Summary

CINEFILM for After Effects is a pack of more than 20 cinematic .CUBE presets applied with Effect > Utility > Apply Color LUT, or through the Input LUT slot in Lumetri Color. It is a creative look, so it goes above any log-to-Rec709 conversion in the effect stack and after basic exposure and white balance work. Strength is controlled with the effect's opacity or an adjustment layer's opacity. It is $30.00, reduced from $48.00.

What Is CINEFILM?

CINEFILM is more than 20 cinematic colour presets supplied as .CUBE files, inspired by music-video grading. Warm skin tones, moody shadows and rich Hollywood-style contrast are the constants across the pack.

  • More than 20 presets — a working set of stylised looks for professional colour grading.
  • .CUBE format — read by both Apply Color LUT and Lumetri Color in After Effects.
  • LOG, RAW and Rec709 — supported footage, in SDR and HDR workflows, from multiple camera types.
  • Instant digital download — $30.00, reduced from $48.00.

CINEFILM — Cinematic Film LUT Pack also works in Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, CapCut and Photoshop, so a look chosen in After Effects carries over to the edit.

How CINEFILM Works in After Effects

After Effects has two routes for a .cube file. Apply Color LUT is the direct one; Lumetri Color is useful when you want correction and look in a single effect.

  1. Download and unzip the pack — keep the .cube files somewhere permanent. After Effects stores the file path in the project.
  2. Build your comp — import footage and lay out the layers as normal.
  3. Convert first if you shot log — apply your log-to-Rec709 transform on the footage layer itself, at the top of that layer's effect stack, using Apply Color LUT or Lumetri's Basic Correction > Input LUT.
  4. Correct second — add Lumetri Color (or Curves and Levels) below the conversion and set exposure, white balance and contrast until the image is neutral.
  5. Create an adjustment layer — Layer > New > Adjustment Layer, and place it above the layers that share the look.
  6. Apply the look — with the adjustment layer selected, go to Effect > Utility > Apply Color LUT, browse to the CINEFILM .cube file and open it.
  7. Or use Lumetri — alternatively apply Lumetri Color to the adjustment layer and load the preset in Creative > Look, where you also get an Intensity slider.
  8. Set the strength — with Apply Color LUT there is no mix control, so reduce the adjustment layer's Opacity in the timeline (press T) to blend the look back toward the ungraded image.
  9. Trim on top — add Curves or a second Lumetri instance above the look for final adjustments.

Set the adjustment layer's length to the section it should cover. Trimming it in the timeline is the fastest way to scope a look to one sequence in a longer comp.

Effect Order in the Effects Panel

After Effects renders effects top to bottom within a layer, and layers below an adjustment layer are rendered before it. That gives you two levels of ordering to keep straight.

The conversion LUT runs first, correction second, CINEFILM last. The look expects an image already sitting in a normal viewing space. Applied straight to log or RAW data it lands its contrast curve in the wrong place: shadows block, highlights clip, and skin will not correct cleanly afterwards.

A dependable structure:

  1. Footage layer, effect 1 — log or RAW conversion, such as Apple Log LUTs — ProRes Log to Rec709 Conversion for iPhone Apple Log. Skip if the footage is Rec709.
  2. Footage layer, effect 2 — Lumetri Color or Curves for exposure, white balance and contrast.
  3. Adjustment layer — Apply Color LUT with CINEFILM.
  4. Above that — grain, glow, halation, vignette and any output transform.

If you would rather keep everything on one layer, the same order applies within a single effect stack: conversion at the top, correction next, CINEFILM below both. Our step-by-step colour grading guide covers the correction stage in more depth.

Controlling Look Strength

  • Adjustment layer Opacity — the standard method with Apply Color LUT. Opacity at 60% mixes the look in at 60%, exactly like an intensity slider.
  • Lumetri Creative Intensity — if you loaded the preset through Lumetri Color > Creative > Look instead, use the Intensity slider under the thumbnail.
  • Blending modes — leave the adjustment layer on Normal for a straight look. Other modes will alter the maths in ways the preset does not expect.
  • Keyframe it — opacity is animatable, so a look can build across a shot if the edit calls for it.

Tips for After Effects Artists

  • Work in 16 or 32 bit — set the project bit depth in File > Project Settings. Strong contrast curves band badly at 8 bit.
  • Save an animation preset — with the effect selected, Animation > Save Animation Preset. It then appears in Effects & Presets for future comps.
  • Check the scopes — the Lumetri Scopes panel works in After Effects too. Watch the waveform once the look is applied.
  • Do not double up — one creative look per comp. Two stacked presets compound the contrast and wreck the skin tones.
  • Precomp with care — if you precompose graded layers, make sure the adjustment layer either goes inside the precomp or stays above it, not both.
  • Add texture last — grain and Halation belong above the look, not underneath it.

Conclusion

In After Effects, CINEFILM is an Apply Color LUT effect on an adjustment layer, sitting above your conversion and correction, with the layer's opacity acting as the intensity control. Convert, correct, then style, and keep the project at 16 or 32 bit so the contrast holds. CINEFILM is more than 20 cinematic .CUBE presets for $30.00, reduced from $48.00.

FAQ

Q: How do I apply a .cube LUT in After Effects?
A: Select the layer and go to Effect > Utility > Apply Color LUT, then browse to the .cube file. Lumetri Color also loads .cube files.

Q: How do I lower the intensity of the LUT?
A: Put the LUT on an adjustment layer and reduce that layer's Opacity, or use Lumetri Color > Creative > Look and its Intensity slider.

Q: Where does CINEFILM go in the effect stack?
A: After any log-to-Rec709 conversion and after your exposure and white balance correction. It is a creative look, not a transform.

Q: Can I apply it to a whole comp?
A: Yes. Put it on an adjustment layer above every layer it should affect, and trim the layer to scope it.

Q: What bit depth should I use?
A: 16 or 32 bit per channel. High-contrast looks can band in 8 bit projects.

Q: What does the pack include and cost?
A: More than 20 cinematic colour presets in .CUBE format, $30.00 reduced from $48.00, as an instant digital download.