Applying a professional LUT, or Lookup Table, is one of the fastest ways to establish the mood and aesthetic of your footage in DaVinci Resolve. Whether you are grading raw footage for a cinematic short or adding a specific brand style to a corporate video, importing and utilizing these preset files streamlines your workflow significantly. This guide walks you through the precise methods to get your LUTs working correctly inside the software.
Understanding LUTs and Their Role
Before diving into the import process, it helps to understand what these files actually do. A LUT is essentially a mathematical recipe that tells your software how to map one set of colors to another. In practical terms, this means you can take the flat, neutral image DaVinci Resolve often applies and instantly transform it into a specific look, such as a warm filmic grade or a cool, high-contrast style. They are popular because they apply complex color shifts with a single click, but it is important to remember that they are a starting point, not a final solution.
Preparing Your LUT Files
You can obtain LUTs from a wide variety of sources, including free packs online, professional cinema tools, or custom grades created by colorists. These files usually come in specific formats, with `.cube` and `.txt` being the most common for creative grading. While Resolve supports many formats, it is generally best practice to use the `.cube` extension for 3D LUTs, as this format handles the color transformation accurately. Ensure the LUT is compatible with the color space of your project, such as DaVinci YRGB Color Management, to avoid unexpected shifts in hue or brightness.
Method 1: Importing Via the Color Page
Loading LUTs Directly on the Node
The most direct way to apply a LUT is to do it right on the Color page while looking at your footage. You can load a LUT onto a specific node, which acts as a single step in your processing chain, allowing for non-destructive editing. This method is ideal when you want to apply a unique grade to a specific clip rather than a global project look.
Navigate to the Color page and select the clip you want to grade in the timeline.
Open the "OpenFX" panel located at the top of the interface.
Scroll down and locate the "LUT" option, then click the folder icon to open your file browser.
Find your desired LUT file and click "Open" to apply it directly to that node.
Method 2: Adding to the Master LUT List
Organizing LUTs for Global Access
For efficiency, it is often better to import LUTs into the master list rather than attaching them to individual nodes. By doing this, the LUTs appear in the dedicated popup menu, making them available for any clip on the timeline. This centralizes your creative tools and saves time, especially on projects with multiple looks or when switching between different scenes.
Go to the "Color" page and locate the "LUT" dropdown menu in the top toolbar.
Click the three dots icon next to the dropdown to open the "LUT Manager" or settings gear.
Select "Open LUT Folder" or "Import LUTs" depending on your version.
Browse to the folder on your computer where you store your LUT files and select them.
Confirm the import; the LUTs should now appear in the main LUT dropdown menu for instant access.
