TEMPERATURE

The TEMPERATURE control adjusts the overall warmth or coolness of your image, mimicking the colour temperatures of different light sources. Operating on a scale from 0 to 13000 Kelvin, this slider helps correct colour casts or can be used creatively to enhance mood. Higher values warm up the image by adding orange tones, while lower values cool it down by adding blue. This is essential for:

• Correcting various lighting conditions (tungsten, daylight, shade)
• Matching footage from different times of day
• Setting a specific mood or atmosphere
• Harmonising footage from different cameras

The wide range (0-13000K) provides precise control while maintaining natural-looking results, with 6500K representing a neutral daylight balance point and can be set early on in the pipeline or at the end of the chain (EOC) when activated via the checkbox 'WHITE BALANCE EOC'.

TINT

The TINT control provides fine adjustment of the magenta/green color balance in your image. Working in conjunction with TEMPERATURE, but operating on a different axis, TINT helps correct colour casts that temperature alone can't address. Positive values add magenta, while negative values add green. This is particularly useful for:

• Correcting fluorescent lighting colour casts
• Fine-tuning skin tones
• Compensating for atmospheric conditions that affect colour
• Balancing mixed lighting conditions

The slider operates in a range from -0.1 to 0.1, allowing for subtle corrections while preventing extreme shifts that could make the image look unnatural.

EXPOSURE

The EXPOSURE provides precise control over image brightness with a range of -5 to +5 stops. When brightening, it uses traditional exposure multiplication for a natural response. When darkening, it employs gamma correction to preserve shadow detail and prevent crushing of blacks. Applied later in the processing chain, this makes it ideal for creative decisions and final look adjustments.

Key features:

• Natural response in both highlights and shadows
• Preserves colour integrity even with extreme adjustments
• Range of ±5 stops provides ample creative flexibility
• Particularly useful for matching shots or achieving specific creative looks

The placement ensures it works harmoniously with other controls while maintaining a filmic response to large adjustments.

GAMMA

Controls the power function of the mid-tones, effectively adjusting the brightness distribution across your image with emphasis on the middle values. Operating in a range from 0.5 to 2.5 (default 1.5), this control allows precise adjustment of mid-tone contrast without significantly affecting deep shadows or bright highlights. Lower values brighten mid-tones while higher values darken them. This is particularly useful for:

• Fine-tuning overall image density
• Correcting footage that appears too flat or too contrasty
• Adjusting perceived exposure while maintaining highlight and shadow detail
• Compensating for different display environments

The control provides a smooth, natural response that maintains image integrity even with significant adjustments.

CONTRAST

Adjusts the difference between the bright and dark areas of your image, operating on a range from -2.0 to +2.0. This implementation uses a smooth contrast adjustment curve centred around middle grey to prevent harsh transitions or unwanted colour shifts. Positive values increase separation between tones while negative values reduce it. The control is particularly effective for:

• Enhancing or softening image definition
• Matching contrast levels between different shots
• Adapting to different delivery requirements
• Creating specific moods or styles while maintaining natural skin tones

Applied late in the processing chain, this contrast adjustment maintains colour integrity and provides a cinematic response even at extreme settings.

SATURATION

Controls the intensity of colours in your image, with a range from 0.0 (monochrome) to 2.0 (double saturation). This implementation uses luminance-preserving saturation, ensuring colours become more or less intense while maintaining their natural brightness and preventing unwanted shifts in exposure. The adjustment is particularly useful for:

• Fine-tuning overall color intensity
• Matching footage from different cameras
• Compensating for optical or sensor characteristics
• Creating specific looks from subtle to vibrant

The control is designed to provide natural results even at extreme settings, preventing color clipping or "neon" effects that can occur with simple saturation adjustments.

WHITE POINT

Adjusts the luminance level of the brightest parts of your image, operating on a range from 0.5 to 1.5. This control allows you to set the upper boundary of your image's dynamic range, effectively changing where highlights begin to clip. Higher values expand the highlight range while lower values compress it. Particularly useful for:

• Fine-tuning highlight roll-off
• Matching different cameras' highlight handling
• Adjusting for different delivery specifications
• Controlling highlight intensity without affecting mid-tones

Applied near the end of the processing chain, this control provides precise highlight management while maintaining natural-looking results.

BLACK POINT

Controls the luminance level of the darkest parts of your image, with a range from -0.5 to 0.5. This adjustment sets the lower boundary of your image's dynamic range, determining at what level true black begins. Positive values lift the blacks while negative values deepen them. Particularly useful for:

• Setting the depth of shadows
• Compensating for viewing environment
• Matching black levels between different sources
• Creating specific looks from rich blacks to muted shadows

Applied near the end of the processing chain, this control maintains smooth shadow gradients while preventing unwanted colour shifts in dark areas.

PROFILE BRIGHTNESS

Applied before the Film profile, this control (range 0.0 to 2.0) provides subtle adjustments to the film profile's brightness characteristics. Operating in Linear space, it simulates exposure adjustments to the film negative before development. This approach:

• Influences how the film profile responds to different brightness levels
• Provides more nuanced control over the film look
• Maintains the natural characteristics of the chosen film stock
• Allows fine-tuning without compromising the film profile's unique qualities

This is different from regular exposure control as it specifically affects how the film profile interprets the image, similar to adjusting exposure during the photochemical process.

FILM PROFILE BLEND

Controls the intensity of the selected film stock emulation, with a range from 0.0 to 1.0. This precise control determines how strongly the chosen film characteristics are applied to your image. At 0.0, no film emulation is applied; at 1.0, you get the full film stock effect. This is essential for:

• Fine-tuning the strength of film emulation
• Creating subtle hybrid looks between digital and film
• Maintaining flexibility while working with film profiles
• Balancing between different creative requirements

The control provides smooth blending that maintains colour integrity and natural transitions, allowing you to dial in exactly the right amount of film character for your image.

PRINT STOCK BLEND

Controls the intensity of the print film stock emulation, with a range from 0.0 to 2.0. This control simulates the characteristics of motion picture print films, affecting contrast, colour, and grain structure in ways specific to the printing process. Higher values intensify the print stock effect while lower values reduce it. Particularly useful for:

• Adding authentic print film characteristics
• Fine-tuning the balance between negative and print stock looks
• Creating period-specific aesthetics
• Achieving traditional motion picture colour and contrast responses

The extended range up to 2.0 allows for both subtle print stock influences and more dramatic print film effects while maintaining natural colour behaviour.

PRINT BALANCE

Controls the colour balance adjustments using a specialised cross-tint matrix, with a range from -0.5 to 0.5. Operating similarly to traditional film lab printer lights, this control emulates the subtle colour timing adjustments made during optical printing. This approach:

• Provides nuanced colour shifts that primarily affect highlight areas
• Maintains natural colour relationships while adjusting balance
• Creates authentic optical printing colour characteristics
• Preserves overall image density during adjustments

The symmetrical range allows for precise control over colour balance while retaining the natural look and feel of traditional film printing techniques, making it particularly useful for final colour timing adjustments.

TONE RESPONSE

Controls the balance between the input gamma transform and the original signal, with a range from 0.0 to 1.0. Operating in the early stage of the processing chain, this control determines how strongly the gamma transformation affects your image. This approach:

• Provides precise control over the image's contrast response
• Allows blending between linear and gamma-corrected signals
• Maintains highlight and shadow detail during adjustment
• Creates flexible tone mapping for different source materials

The control acts as a sophisticated mix between the original and gamma-transformed image, making it particularly useful for optimizing your image's tonal response while preserving natural-looking results.

CROSSTALK

Controls the amount of inter-channel colour mixing, with a range from -0.2 to 0.2. Operating at a fundamental level in the colour processing chain, this control emulates the natural interaction between colour layers found in photochemical film. This approach:

• Creates organic colour mixing similar to film emulsion layers
• Helps reduce colour noise in underexposed areas
• Provides subtle colour support between channels
• Adds film-like cohesion to digital source material

The control allows for both positive and negative mixing effects, making it particularly useful for enhancing the organic feel of digital footage while maintaining natural colour relationships.

DOMINANCE

Controls the intensity of the most prominent colours in your image, with a range from -0.2 to 0.2. Operating through secondary cross-channel mixing, this control allows selective enhancement or reduction of dominant colours while preserving overall colour balance. This approach:

• Enhances or reduces impact of strong colour sources
• Maintains natural colour relationships in neutral areas
• Provides targeted control over prominent colours
• Preserves overall scene colour balance

The control is particularly effective for managing strong practical light sources like neon signs, emergency lights, or any dominant colour elements while maintaining a natural look in the rest of the image.

SECTION 3