Arri has launched Film Lab, an OpenFX plugin designed to bring authentic film aesthetics to digital footage inside professional color grading environments. According to PetaPixel, the plugin works in DaVinci Resolve, Baselight, and Nuke, simulating specific film stocks with granular control over grain structure, color response, halation, and gate weave.
What sets it apart:
Stock-specific emulation for iconic film stocks like 50D, 200T, and 500T, including color engines that match classic print stocks, reversal films, and techniques like bleach bypass
Halation simulation recreates the signature reddish-orange glow around bright highlights from light scattering in film emulsion—a detail missing from most digital film look tools
Camera-agnostic design that works with any RGB footage, but with a key advantage for Arri shooters: upcoming on-set preview for Alexa 35 cameras via firmware update, using Arri Textures and 3D LUTs to visualize the final film look during capture
Post-grade integration designed to respect existing color grades and LUTs, letting you slot Film Lab into established workflows without reworking your pipeline
Includes nearly 90 Arri Look Library LUTs (each in three intensities) developed by Arri colorists
Pricing: $25/month, $250/year, or $500 for a perpetual license—squarely professional tier. This puts it in competition with tools like FilmConvert Nitrate and Dehancer, which dominate the indie and midrange sector but don't offer in-camera preview integration.
The takeaway: For post teams already working with Arri cameras, the on-set preview capability is a genuine workflow advantage. For everyone else, this is another high-end option in an increasingly crowded film emulation space—the proof will be in how well it handles complex, multi-camera projects and whether that grain and halation simulation holds up under scrutiny.
