SCENE 01 / LOOK DEVELOPMENT
Look Development
Creative visual style development and LUT creation for distinctive cinematic aesthetics that define your production's unique identity.
Here is how this works in practice. Look development sets up the visual style and color aesthetic of a production before principal photography starts. Through testing with cameras, lenses, lighting, and LUTs, look development creates reference images and tech specs that guide the entire production toward a unified look.
Here is the short of it. We support look development by setting up camera tests, LUT creation, and joint work between your cinematographer and colorist. Our team arranges testing facilities and tech resources to make sure your production's visual look is defined, logged, and ready to guide steady image capture from day one.
Capabilities
Visual Style Development Excellence
Create distinctive visual aesthetics through comprehensive look development, custom LUT design, and detailed style guides.
01
Creative Design
Unique visual aesthetics that define your production's identity and enhance storytelling.
Distinctive
02
LUT Creation
Custom look-up tables for on-set monitoring and post-production workflows.
Technical
03
Style Guides
Comprehensive documentation ensuring consistent implementation across all phases.
Consistent
04
Workflow Integration
Seamless look management from production through final delivery.
Seamless
Creative Services
Technical Deliverables
Our Look Development Process
We follow a collaborative creative process that ensures your visual vision is fully realized and documented for consistent implementation.
Creative Discovery
We talk about your vision, gather references, and analyze your footage to know the aesthetic goals.
Look Exploration
We develop many look options on key scenes, presenting variations for your review and feedback.
Refinement
We refine the chosen direction, perfecting the look and creating all tech deliverables.
Implementation
We deliver LUTs, style guides, and records for seamless production and post integration.
Why Us
Why Choose Our Look Development
01.
Creative Vision
Innovative aesthetic design that elevates visual storytelling.
02.
Color Science
Advanced tech expertise in color workflow design.
03.
Collaborative Process
Close partnership with filmmakers across development.
04.
Complete Solutions
From start to finish look management from concept to delivery.
On Location
LUT design and show-look development on Baselight and DaVinci Resolve across Lisbon finishing houses
Here is how this works in practice. We set up look development engagements on Baselight (FilmLight) at top Portuguese houses and DaVinci Resolve Studio across LXmedia Studios Lisbon, Tobis Portuguesa (operating. Since 1932), Caleidoscópio, Atalaia Studios, and Estúdios do Carnide — with cross-border options at LightLab Madrid for show LUTs on Iberian co-productions. Look development engagements start with camera tests across the project's chosen acquisition systems (ARRI Alexa 35, Alexa Mini LF, Sony Venice 2, RED V-Raptor, plus anamorphic and spherical lens packages) shot on representative Portuguese locations.
Here is the layout. Lisbon's pastel facades and tile work, Sintra's Romanticism-era palaces, Porto's stone build style, Évora's whitewashed UNESCO town, Algarve coast, Madeira's volcanic landscape, Azores nine-island archipelago, Alentejo's cork-oak plains. Look development outputs have tracking LUTs for on-set DIT carts (ARRI LCS, Pomfort Livegrade), dailies LUTs for edit proxies, ACES IDT and ODT integration for the global ACES pipeline, and show-look reference grades that anchor the eventual final color grade. HDR show-LUT variants cover Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and HLG mastering targets used by Netflix PT, Apple TV+ PT, Amazon Prime PT, and RTP/SIC HDR broadcast deliverables.
Here is the short of it. Portugal's look-development heritage runs through Acácio de Almeida (Manoel de Oliveira's regular cinematographer across the longest active film career in history. Aniki Bóbó 1942 through his final work at 106 in 2015) and Rui Poças's today's lensing on Miguel Gomes's Tabu (Berlin Silver Bear 2012) plus João Pedro Rodrigues's The Ornithologist and Ira Sachs's Frankie (2019 Sintra). Pedro Costa's distinctive digital low-light aesthetic across Vitalina Varela (Locarno Golden Leopard 2019), Horse Money, Colossal Youth, In Vanda's Room, and the Fontainhas Trilogy continues to influence Portuguese arthouse look development.
Here is how the work shapes up. Miguel Gomes's Grand Tour (Cannes Best Director 2024) and Arabian Nights trilogy show-looks were anchored in pre-production camera-test cycles. Global look development credits routing through Lisbon facilities have Indiana Jones 5: Dial of Destiny (Spielberg/Mangold 2023), 1899 (Netflix 2022), and Glória (first Portuguese Netflix first 2021). EUR settlement at 23% IVA, full creative IP retention by client under standard contract.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
When should we start look development?
Here is the breakdown. Ideally during pre-production. Early look development allows you to use tracking LUTs on set, make sure steady dailies, and align all departments on the visual direction. However, we can also develop looks during post-prod if needed.
What do you need to create a look?
Here is what that looks like on the ground. We work best with sample footage from your camera tests or early production, visual references (films, photographs, artwork), mood boards, and a discussion of your creative goals. The more context we have about your story and vision, the better we can serve your project.
How do LUTs work in production?
Here is how the picture comes together. We create tracking LUTs that can be applied to camera feeds and dailies, giving all on set a preview of the intended look. These tech LUTs are optimized for different display types and viewing conditions while preserving full dynamic range in your RAW footage.
Can you match a specific film or reference look?
Here is what we have to work with. We can analyze and recreate aesthetic qualities from references, though we develop unique interpretations rather than exact copies. Our goal is to know what you respond to in references and create a distinctive look that serves your specific story and footage.
Related Services
Productions in Portugal that need this often pair it with Color Correction Services, Color Grading Services, and Online Conform & QC Services for full coverage. Most projects also draw on Narrative & Documentary Editing and Foley Recording Services.
On Set
Ready to Define Your Visual Style?
Let's create distinctive looks that make your production unforgettable.