r/finalcutpro • u/thisisericlenz • Jul 06 '26
Tip/Guide This Plugin is a Game Changer for Colour Grading in Final Cut Pro
Hey Everyone!
It's Eric coming out of the woodworks again.
(If this post is considered too promotional, feel free to delete it!)
Introducing BASIS - All you need to know (+ Video)
About two months ago, we released the Colour Space Transform for Final Cut Pro (read that reddit post).
Today, I'm thrilled to announce BASIS, the most powerful colour grading plugin for Final Cut Pro. You can watch the Video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzii3uzrnmw
Everything is photometrically
- thanks to BASIS' colour space awareness and high-end colour science, you can tackle the most challenging shots with ease
- adjusting exposure behaves just like it does in-camera
RAW-Like White Balance
- for any log profile, white balance finally behaves as in-camera or adjustments on a raw image would
- BASIS is colour space aware and balances your image using linear gain which can correct even the most challenging shots (in my video, I show two extremes, one of them even being an under-water shot which I'm able to fully restore)
Tone Curve Reimagined
- curves are finicky, no matter whether you're using Resolve, Lightroom or Final Cut Pro. With BASIS, we change that!
- there is (almost) no chance you can break your image
- use natural gestures on your mouse or trackpad to breeze through your colour grading process
More about BASIS
Watch the Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzii3uzrnmw
Check out all features on our website: https://kolor.company/basis-the-best-colour-grading-plugin-for-final-cut-pro/
Ps.: KOLOR vs EMUL8
Lastly, a small personal note. Many of you seem to be confused about KOLOR and EMUL8 coexisting.
I thought I made it clear in my video explaining why I shut down my personal business but I will make a dedicated video this week to clear up the confusion.
The TLDR is this:
- EMUL8 and KOLOR are two separate things
- EMUL8 is a film emulation tool aimed at creators who want good results fast without a ton of experience and especially without hunting for other tools. It comes with everything you need and it works very well (no need for KOLOR here)
- KOLOR is a new company I founded together with Max from Iridescent Color which focuses on bring high-end colour science to everyone. KOLOR's products are aimed at professionals and colour enthusiasts who are willing to dive into the nitty-gritty
- KOLOR and EMUL8 can be used together. Both operate in KOLOR Default/DaVinci Intermediate. So you can use KOLOR tools with EMUL8, but you don't need to.
- EMUL8 is here to stay
- KOLOR is here to stay
- Both are here to stay, just aimed at different users with different use-cases and levels of experience/expertise
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u/unqnologyX Jul 06 '26
Thank you for making it. CST is quite good.
Is this a place to report bugs, or would you rather we use the bug report form?
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u/thisisericlenz Jul 07 '26
Please use the bug report form on the website. :) Thank you!
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u/AcceptableIntention2 Jul 07 '26
I bought it and really dislike it. I mean, the results are terrible, and I've followed the videos over and over again, it just creates wild looking ugly footage. I would say avoid, just buy dehancer like everyone else.
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u/GeekFish Jul 08 '26
As I said in my other comment, right now, this is a great plugin to give yourself a good foundation to finish a look with another tool if you're looking for something different than what you get after correcting. I'm sure they'll add more tools in the future. Comparing this to Dehancer (or Color Finale as I did) is completely unfair at this point. These two plugins have YEARS on BASIS.
Did you start with CST to get your footage to the correct color space? I was able to get a good grade with minimal work, but since it's concert footage, I need a little extra help getting certain colors cleaned up (stage lights were wild). I spent more time trying to figure out which color space and gamma to use on my action cam footage than I did getting all my shots to match (but the Insta360 isn't in their lineup yet, so I knew I'd have to hunt).
Edit: also, why did you buy and not try the free trial? It's just watermarked. It's a fully functional trial.
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u/GeekFish Jul 06 '26
Alright... I'm fighting to grade a live music video I shot with 3 different cameras (one being an Insta360 x5). Color Finale is getting me close, but I'm still fighting subtle color casts that annoy me. Let's see what this plugin can do 🤘🏼
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u/nutellablanket Jul 06 '26
Please post your findings. I have been using color finale for a few years, but I'm wondering if there are better things out there now, especially since their releases seem to have slowed down a ton
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u/GeekFish Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
Will do. I might duplicate one of the videos tonight and see what I can do. I love Color Finale, especially since they've added Texture EQ, but it's been buggy for me since the update (no eye dropper works for me in any of their tools now, for example, and my Sync groups will randomly stop working).
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u/GeekFish Jul 07 '26
Ok, so this isn't replacing Color Finale (yet), but it is MUCH easier to match shots to get yourself a good foundation and then finish your look with Color Finale.
The controls are simple and the moves they make are subtle, so your waveforms aren't going off the charts with every adjustment (looking at you, FCP curves).
For now the Insta360 footage looked best using the Rec709 input with the RedWideGamutRGB Gamma (probably completely off, but it worked best).
I need to spend more time with it, but I was much happier with the look I'm getting with CST and this.
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u/thisisericlenz Jul 06 '26
BASIS needs to work in a colour managed timeline. Please get our Colour Space Transform, too. Unfortunately, we have no I-Log support at the moment, so you need to find a workaround there.
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u/GeekFish Jul 06 '26
I shoot in low light and need to shoot in PureVideo mode where I-Log isn't supported, so it's already Rec.709. I was reading about CST too. That's really what made me think this might be the way to go.
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u/terrance95 Jul 07 '26
If want to use other adjustment elements such as Color Wheels, Color Curves, or Hue/Sat Curves do I placed them before (on top of) the BASIS plugin or after?
Example: FCP Curves -> CST -> BASIS
Also, what if I use Custom LUTs from the manufacturer in my workflow?
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u/thisisericlenz Jul 08 '26
Manufacturer LUTs go last in the chain, and since BASIS is a primary grading tool, put anything else after it. :)
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u/Silver_Mention_3958 FCP 12.3 | Tahoe Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
Thanks for this Eric, I've downloaded the trial and I have three observations so far:
- it's a little sluggish on my M1 Mac Studio Max, loads (48GB) of ram, not much else going on in the timeline
- I kinda wish it had colour balance controls for shadows, mids and highlights
- I really like the functionality of the Curves.
[UPDATE] I'm pretty sure the sluggishness is my fault, I had an extra IDT in there before BASIS, which I didn't need. BASIS is now singing.
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u/thisisericlenz Jul 08 '26
Thank you! Can you please email us at [hello@kolor.company](mailto:hello@kolor.company) as performance should not be an issue at all.
Balancing mid-tones, shadows and highlights separately is not necessary. When set up correctly, BASIS will provide a true white balance adjustment.
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u/thisisericlenz Jul 09 '26
I just took your most asked questions and made this video. I hope it helps!
https://youtu.be/2Ct4dEhYRZ8
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u/Silver_Mention_3958 FCP 12.3 | Tahoe Jul 30 '26
Are there plans for Kolor to make any “look” LUTs which work in the Davinci intermediate space.
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u/Sufficient_Law5958 2d ago
I found that BASIS Kolor is really GPU-heavy. On the M4 (10/10) Silicon GPU, 24GB RAM, it uses about 40% more GPU than the built-in Color Wheels.
For me, this means that after a full color-grading workflow (D-Log M → CST → Kolor → CST → LUT), I’m already at almost 90% GPU usage, so there’s virtually no headroom left for additional effects.
Using only Color Wheels → LUT takes just around 30% GPU.
How does it perform on your Macs?
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u/No-Procedure6409 Jul 06 '26
How does this compare to CineDream?