Current workflow incomplete /w Color Grading question.

[Starclassic]

Here is my current incomplete workflow. 600D RAW MLV

1. Record MLV 1344X504
2. Tony Beccar's MLV2DNG Batch
3.Import DNG to AE. Apply VisionLog profile. Make WB and exposure correction.
Now here is where my question lies. Do I make color correction of RGB levels and blacks/whites before or after I apply a lut, (currently using Osiris Luts) or should I even use a lut?) What is the best application in AE to color grade? Something that has color wheels, along the same lines as Davinci. After color grading, Neat video plugin for NR. Export as Lagarith codec.
4. Resize via Video Enhancer.
5. Adobe Premiere CC add film grain + audio + transitions.

[jimmyD30]

Most color graders will tell you to apply the LUT first, then adjust levels, and I agree with this approach, but either is acceptable if you end up with footage you want/like.

[DFM]

The OSIRIS LUTs are film emulations, so if you want your footage to retain that emulation they should go last in the stack. You may want to break the emulation for artistic reasons, but grading afterwards means your "Prismo" footage isn't Prismo-colored anymore.

In terms of color correction inside Ae, you have a bunch of bundled low-level effects (curves, tint, levels, etc.) but the most powerful Ae-specific tool is the included copy of Synthetic Aperture Color Finesse LE (see tutorial at http://tv.adobe.com/watch/short-and-suite/color-finesse-workflow-primary-grading-part-1/ ). You can also get third party add-ons like Colorista from Magic Bullet. Which you prefer is a matter of taste and familiarity for most people - they all do the same fundamental things.

If you have a CC subscription then you also have Speedgrade - which is now Adobe's primary application for digital cinema color correction and grading. It's more powerful than the Ae plugins, but has a significant learning curve.

[jimmyD30]

@DFM

Thank you for clarify that Osiris LUTs are film emulation, not simply color correction for normalizing footage. There are times I've converted footage to log space did some primary color correction and then applied a color grading LUT (like Osiris) and was happy with results and stopped there.

That being said, a common workflow is primary corrections (including normalizing LUT like VisionLog) > apply grading LUT (like Osiris) > secondary corrections (like grading with a mask).