Adobe Premiere Pro 23.6 Announces Improved Color Management for ARRIRAW

Software Update

by Mascha DeikovaAugust 17^th, 2023

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Adobe has announced their new Premiere Pro 23.6 version. This August release focuses on the optimization of the workflow with ARRIRAW, and introduces improved color management for this demanding footage format. The company recommends the update for all users, but let’s take a look at the specifics of what you can now do with ARRIRAW in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Let’s face it: Premiere Pro is rarely the software of choice when it comes to color management and grading. More often than not, users choose other options available on the market or get specialized plugins like the zero-cost Colourlab Freelab, which we described here.

Yet, Adobe knows the drill and is constantly working to improve in this area. Since they included the support of ARRIRAW in their editing software last autumn, a few other iterations followed. Among them were, for example, GPU acceleration and performance boost for the workflow, which allowed ARRIRAW to be played back in real-time without transcoding or proxies (and to export it up to 15x faster). Now, the company also promises new features that will make every sequence in your ARRI footage look great.

Color management for ARRIRAW in Adobe Premiere Pro 23.6

The new color management features for your workflow with ARRIRAW, added in the 23.6 update, are optional. To access them, go to “Interpret Footage” – “Color”. Now, in the “Color Settings”, you can either use the automatically detected Log C media color space, change it, or apply an input LUT. No matter which color space you might select for your sequence, Premiere Pro will convert your footage to match it.

In addition to this, you can go to the Effect Controls panel, select “Source”, and adjust the RAW controls for exposure, white balance, and tint directly in the settings.

What is ARRIRAW and how is it different from other formats?

ARRIRAW is ARRI’s format for uncompressed, unencrypted, and unprocessed sensor data. As the company claims, you can consider it as a digital version of the camera negative. It is also the only format that fully retains the camera’s natural color response and exposure latitude, which is, of course, an amazing starting point for color grading.

If you want to better understand this codec and the specifics of ARRIRAW and how it works, have a look at our thorough guide here. Even if you don’t film with ARRI cameras, it will give you an in-depth understanding of camera sensors and photosites, bit depth, data compression, and color.

Other color management improvements in Premiere Pro

In case you missed it, over the past year, Adobe also introduced other improvements to color in their editing software. For example, the Premiere Pro 23.3 featured a newly-added Automatic Tone Mapping, which allows mixing and matching footage from different cameras in the same SDR timeline, plus editing and color grading those clips without extra steps. The tool supports HDR video, like iPhone HLG, as well as log codecs, including Sony S-Log, Canon C-Log, and Panasonic V-Log.

Since the 23.3 version, Auto Tone Mapping is on by default. So, turn off this feature in the sequence settings if you want to work with LUTs.

Premiere Pro is available for update

Adobe Premiere Pro 23.6 is now available for download from the Creative Cloud desktop app.

Do you often work with ARRIRAW in Adobe Premiere Pro? Did you notice a difference in your workflow since the GPU de-Bayering? How do you feel about the improved color management for raw footage in the latest software update? Please, let us know in the comments below.

Feature image source: Adobe.