LUTs and Color Wheels Are Like Makeup and Lighting for Your Footage

Let’s say you’ve just wrapped a corporate shoot in Raleigh. The interviews are solid. The b-roll looks good. But when you load the footage into Premiere Pro, everything looks like it was filmed in a dentist’s waiting room. Flat. Dull. Sad beige.

Enter: LUTs and color wheels—the secret weapons behind professional video color.

If your footage was a person, LUTs and color wheels are the glam squad that steps in before the red carpet. They don’t change what’s there. They make it shine.

So what’s the difference between a LUT and a color wheel?

A LUT (Look-Up Table) is like a filter. It’s a preset that transforms the colors in your footage based on math and magic. Load it. Apply it. Boom. Instant transformation.

A color wheel is where the finesse happens. You tweak shadows, mids, and highlights manually. You can warm things up, add contrast, or fix weird skin tones.

You use LUTs for big changes. You use color wheels for control. And together? They’re unstoppable.

Here’s how to use LUTs and color wheels without making your video look like an Instagram post from 2012.

  • Start with the right LUT. Don’t just download something trendy. Pick one that fits your brand.
  • Apply the LUT lightly. Don’t max out the intensity like you’re seasoning fries.
  • Use the color wheels to fine-tune.
  • Match skin tones. Always. If people look sunburned or seasick, you’ve gone too far.
  • Adjust black and white points. Make sure your footage has depth.

Still not sure how to tell if your color is on point?

Here’s a quick checklist:

  • Do your whites actually look white?
  • Are the shadows crushed or do they still have detail?
  • Does everyone’s face match their actual human tone?
  • Does the overall mood match the message of your video?

That last one is where LUTs and color wheels really earn their paycheck.

A recruitment video should feel warm, inviting, and vibrant. A high-end product video? Cool, clean, and sleek. A nonprofit testimonial? Natural and honest.

You’re not just correcting color. You’re guiding emotion.

Some pros create custom LUTs for their brand. That way, every piece of content looks consistent—whether it’s a video shot in Gastonia or one filmed in Asheville.

Others rely on DaVinci Resolve’s color wheels to dial in the look for each individual scene.

Either way, you’re using science and art to control how your video feels.

Here are 5 things you should never do:

  • Don’t crank saturation to 200%. Your CEO doesn’t need to look radioactive.
  • Don’t ignore skin tones. Viewers notice weird faces more than weird backgrounds.
  • Don’t use a LUT that fights your lighting. It’s like wearing wool in July.
  • Don’t skip testing on different screens. What looks perfect on your monitor might look like a crime scene on your phone.
  • Don’t forget to match shots. One angle shouldn’t look like summer and the other like Halloween.

Remember: People judge video quality in the first two seconds. Not by the gear you used—but by how it looks and feels. That’s why LUTs and color wheels matter. They don’t just polish. They persuade.

If your video feels “almost there,” chances are your color work is the final step. LUTs bring the vibe. Color wheels bring the precision.

Together, they bring the magic.

Citations:

Adobe (2024). What is a LUT and How to Use It in Post-Production
PremiumBeat by Shutterstock (2023). How to Use Color Wheels Like a Pro
Frame.io Insider (2023). Matching Skin Tones in Post: A Colorist’s Guide
Wistia (2022). How Video Quality Affects Viewer Trust
Blackmagic Design (2024). DaVinci Resolve Color Workflow Essentials