Color grading AI-generated video so it cuts with real footage

Clips from AI video generators do not arrive like camera footage. There is no log, no raw, no extra range. They are finished 8-bit Rec.709 with contrast and saturation already baked in. Grade them like camera originals and they fall apart. Grade them like delivered footage and they hold.

What you are starting with

• Rec.709, not log. There is nothing to convert. A log LUT on an AI clip doubles the contrast and crushes it.
• 8-bit and compressed. Skies and soft gradients break into bands if you push them.
• A look is already in there. Often high contrast, strong saturation and a teal-orange lean.
• Every clip is different. Two generations from the same prompt can differ in white balance and black level.

A workflow that holds up

1. Neutralise first. Before any look, match black level, white level and white balance across the clips using the waveform and vectorscope. This is most of the job.
2. Take some contrast out. Lift the blacks a little and soften the highlights, so the look has room to work.
3. Apply a Rec.709 look. Use the Rec.709 version of your LUT, on its own node.
4. Turn it down. Start at half strength. The clip already has a look, and you are steering it, not replacing it.
5. Check skin. Generated faces often run too saturated and too smooth. Bring saturation down on skin and keep it on the skin tone line.
6. Add grain last. A light, even layer of grain over every shot hides banding and is the cheapest way to make generated and filmed shots feel like one film.

Cutting AI shots into camera footage

Grade the camera footage to its final look first. Then bring each AI shot to it, not the other way round. Match in this order: black level, white level, overall balance, saturation, then texture. Sharpness matters too. AI clips are often crisper than a real lens, so a touch of softening or glow on the generated shot helps more than sharpening the real one.

Which file to use

CINELOCO LUT includes a Rec.709 version, which is the one for AI clips, screen recordings, standard phone video and stock footage. Use the log versions only on footage that was actually shot in that log profile.

Common questions