Log footage
Footage shot flat and gray on purpose, so the highlights and shadows survive for the color grade later.
See it
What it is
Log footage is recorded with a logarithmic curve that squashes the camera's full dynamic range into the file instead of baking in contrast and saturation. That is why it looks gray and lifeless straight off the card: it is not broken, it is holding onto detail in the highlights and shadows that a standard profile would have clipped. Every manufacturer ships its own flavor: Sony S-Log3, Canon C-Log3, Panasonic V-Log, ARRI LogC, Blackmagic Film, plus Apple Log on recent iPhones.
Shoot log when you plan to grade: mixed lighting, blown windows behind an interview, footage from two different cameras that has to match, or any project where a specific look gets applied later. Skip it for same-day turnarounds and run-and-gun work: a standard baked profile already looks right for SDR delivery and saves the whole grading pass. HLG is the other option, but only when the delivery path is HDR and color managed end to end, because it is an HDR transfer function rather than a ready-to-post look.
Gotcha: log is not raw, and a LUT is not a grade. The conversion LUT (for example S-Log3 to Rec.709) just puts the image back in a normal contrast range; the creative work starts after that. Log also needs exposure discipline: follow the manufacturer's guidance for your camera and profile and watch your scopes, because the rating that protects shadows on one body clips highlights on another. Underexposed log in an 8-bit codec turns into noisy, banded shadows the moment you push contrast back in.
Ask AI for it
Grade this log clip. First read the camera metadata, or use the Log curve and gamut I supply, then apply the matching input transform into the working and output color space to restore normal contrast. If the profile is unknown, flag it rather than assuming S-Log3 / S-Gamut3.Cine, since the wrong transform gives wrong color. Then grade on top: set white balance, lift shadows off pure black, use the vectorscope skin line as a hue reference for faces, and finish with a gentle filmic contrast curve. Do not stack a creative LUT directly on the untransformed log image.