Summary
CINEFILM for DaVinci Resolve is a pack of more than 20 cinematic .CUBE presets that install into Resolve's LUT folder and apply on the Color page by right-clicking a node. Because it is a creative look rather than a conversion, it belongs on a node downstream of your colour-space transform and your primary correction. Strength is controlled with Key Output Gain or a parallel mixer node. It is $30.00, reduced from $48.00.
What Is CINEFILM?
CINEFILM is more than 20 cinematic colour presets in .CUBE format, inspired by music-video grading. The looks share a signature: warm skin tones, moody shadows and rich Hollywood-style contrast.
- More than 20 presets — a working range of stylised looks rather than minor variations on one.
- .CUBE format — read natively by Resolve, in both the free and Studio versions.
- LOG, RAW and Rec709 — supported footage types, in SDR and HDR workflows, across multiple camera types.
- Instant digital download — $30.00, reduced from $48.00.
CINEFILM — Cinematic Film LUT Pack also runs in Premiere Pro, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, CapCut and Photoshop, so the same look is available wherever the job ends up finishing.
How CINEFILM Works in DaVinci Resolve
Resolve keeps LUTs in a managed folder and lists them in the Color page LUT browser. Install once and the whole pack is available in every project.
- Download and unzip the pack — you will have a folder of .cube files.
- Open the LUT folder — go to Project Settings (the gear icon, bottom right) > Color Management, and click Open LUT Folder. Resolve opens the correct directory in Finder or Explorer.
- Copy the pack in — drop the whole CINEFILM folder inside so the presets stay grouped in their own subfolder rather than scattered among Resolve's defaults.
- Refresh the list — back in Color Management, click Update Lists. The looks now appear in the Color page LUTs panel.
- Set your colour management — either set the project to DaVinci YRGB Color Managed with the right input colour space, or handle the transform manually with a Color Space Transform or conversion LUT on your first node.
- Build your node tree — on the Color page, add serial nodes with Option/Alt-S. Node 01 for the transform, Node 02 for primary correction, Node 03 for the look.
- Correct on Node 02 — lift, gamma, gain, white balance. Get the shot neutral and matched to its neighbours before you style it.
- Apply CINEFILM on Node 03 — open the LUTs panel (the LUTs button top left), find the CINEFILM folder, and drag a preset onto the node. You can also right-click the node, choose LUTs, and pick from the menu.
- Add a trim node — Node 04 after the look for final exposure and saturation adjustments once the grade is in place.
To spread the look across a timeline, apply it once on a group post-clip node or on a timeline-level node in the Clips/Timeline toggle at the top of the node graph.
Why the Look Node Comes Last
Resolve's node graph is an explicit signal chain, and CINEFILM is a creative look designed to receive an already-normalised image.
Put the transform first, correction second, CINEFILM third. If you drop the look on Node 01, it is grading raw log or RAW data. The contrast curve lands in the wrong part of the signal, the shadows block up, the highlights clip early, and every correction you make afterwards is fighting the LUT rather than shaping it.
A reliable serial tree:
- Node 01 — Color Space Transform — or a conversion LUT such as Apple Log LUTs — ProRes Log to Rec709 Conversion, or nothing at all if you are colour managed or shooting Rec709.
- Node 02 — primary correction — balance, exposure, white point.
- Node 03 — CINEFILM — the creative look.
- Node 04 — trim and finish — secondaries, windows, grain, halation.
If you have come from a layer-based editor, our comparison of node-based vs layer-based grading explains why the node order matters so much more here.
Controlling LUT Strength in Resolve
Resolve has no intensity slider on a LUT, which surprises people arriving from Premiere. There are two standard ways to dial it back:
- Key Output Gain — select the node holding the LUT, open the Key tab in the centre palette area, and reduce Output Gain. At 0.5 the node's effect is mixed in at half strength. This is the quickest method and works on any node.
- A parallel mixer — run a clean path and a LUT path side by side, then use the Layer Mixer or Parallel Mixer node's composite opacity to blend between them. This gives you the same control with a clearer visual structure in the graph.
Both approaches let you keep one preset and vary its strength shot to shot, which is usually better than swapping to a different look mid-scene.
Tips for Resolve Colourists
- Use groups — put a scene's clips in a group and apply CINEFILM on the Group Post-Clip node. One change updates every shot in the group.
- Save a still — once a shot is graded, right-click the viewer and Grab Still. Dragging that still onto another clip copies the whole node tree.
- Check the scopes — open the scopes panel and watch the parade after the look node. Our guide to reading waveforms, vectorscopes and parades covers what to look for.
- Node 03 is not sacred — if a shot needs more correction, add it before the look node, not after.
- Free or Studio — .cube LUTs work in both. You do not need Studio to use the pack.
- Keep the folder named — leaving the presets in their own subfolder keeps the LUTs panel navigable once you own several packs.
Conclusion
DaVinci Resolve makes the ordering explicit: transform on the first node, correction on the second, CINEFILM on the third, trim on the fourth. Install the .cube files through Project Settings > Color Management > Open LUT Folder, click Update Lists, and control the strength with Key Output Gain or a mixer. CINEFILM is more than 20 cinematic presets for $30.00, reduced from $48.00.
FAQ
Q: Where do I install CINEFILM in DaVinci Resolve?
A: Project Settings > Color Management > Open LUT Folder, drop the folder in, then click Update Lists.
Q: How do I apply the LUT to a node?
A: On the Color page, right-click the node and choose LUTs, or drag the preset from the LUTs panel onto the node.
Q: How do I lower the LUT intensity?
A: Reduce Key Output Gain on the node holding the LUT, or blend a LUT path against a clean path with a Layer Mixer or Parallel Mixer node.
Q: Which node should the look go on?
A: After the colour-space transform and after your primary correction — typically node three in a serial chain.
Q: Does it work in the free version of Resolve?
A: Yes. .cube LUT support is in both the free and Studio versions.
Q: Does it support HDR projects?
A: The pack supports SDR and HDR workflows, and LOG, RAW and Rec709 footage from multiple camera types.