iPhone Filmmaking: A Complete Colour Workflow
You can now shoot Log on an iPhone, grade it on an iPad, and deliver something that holds up on a big screen — without a computer. Here’s the actual pipeline.
What you need
iPhone 15 Pro or newer (Apple Log requires Pro)
Blackmagic Camera app (free) or Final Cut Camera
DaVinci Resolve for iPad (free) or Final Cut Pro for iPad
A conversion LUT for Apple Log
Shooting
In the Blackmagic Camera app, set the codec to Apple ProRes and the colour profile to Apple Log. Shoot at 4K where you can — you’ll want the resolution headroom for stabilisation and reframing.
Expose to the right, carefully. Log protects highlights well but shadows get noisy fast on a phone sensor. When in doubt, slightly brighter is safer than slightly darker.
Monitoring — the part people skip
Judging exposure on a flat Log image is genuinely hard. Load a conversion LUT as a monitor LUT and the app shows you roughly the final look while still recording full Log.
In Blackmagic Camera: put the .cube file in Files → On My iPhone → Blackmagic Camera → LUTs, then Settings → Monitor LUT.
This changes only the preview. Your recording stays Log. This one step will improve your footage more than any gear upgrade.
Grading on iPad
Import your clips into DaVinci Resolve for iPad.
Colour page → LUTs panel → right-click → Import LUT → select your Apple Log conversion.
Build your nodes: node 1 exposure and balance, node 2 the conversion LUT, node 3 creative grade.
Keeping correction before the LUT and style after it is what separates a controlled grade from a fight.
Delivering
For social, export H.265 in Rec.709. For anything going to a large screen or broadcast, keep levels legal and check your highlights aren’t clipping.
The honest limitations
A phone sensor is small. In low light you will see noise that a larger sensor wouldn’t produce, and no LUT fixes that. Log gives you range, not magic. Light your scenes and the iPhone holds up remarkably well.
We build LUTs specifically for Apple Log — correct transfer function, real gamut mapping, and 65-point versions for RAW finishing. The neutral conversion is free at layrkit.com/free-pack
