ARRI’s Film Lab 1.5 update expands creative control over analog looks in digital workflows by adding 8mm, 16mm, and 65mm looks alongside 35mm, with control of grain size and detail rendition. There is also now a wider adjustment range, allowing stronger analog effects, which was added in response to user feedback.
Additionally, there is also 4x faster processing, enabling smoother real-time 4K playback on Apple Silicon MacBook Pro systems and other hardware.
If you are not familiar with ARRI Film Lab, it is a license-based OpenFX plugin that was designed to bring the look and feel of analog film to digital images. I previously reviewed ARRI Film Lab on the site, and you can read that review here.
More Film Formats
Film Lab’s analog looks were previously based on 35mm film, but as I previously mentioned, you now have the choice to select 8mm, 16mm, 35mm, or 65 mm as a starting point. There are also two new parameters, Grain Size and Rendition of Detail. Grain Size adjusts the scale of the grain, while Rendition of Detail changes perceived sharpness. Both offer a range of 0.75 to 1.5, helping users create looks that fall between the distinct aesthetics associated with each format.
Anamorphic Ratio Control
Film Lab 1.5 also introduces an Anamorphic Ratio control, which offers eight anamorphic squeeze ratios ranging from 1.25x to 2.0x; it lets users fine-tune the horizontal stretching of film grain and halation glow to match footage captured with different anamorphic lenses. A new Halation Spread control also provides further adjustment of the radius and character of the glow around highlights and high-contrast edges.
Stronger Analog Looks
In response to requests from Film Lab users for stronger analog looks, ARRI has now doubled the maximum values of two existing controls. Grain Intensity and Halation Intensity can now each be adjusted from 0.0 to 2.0, allowing more pronounced effects when needed. The existing Negative Stocks, Print Processes, and Gate Weave controls remain available.
Performance Improvements
Performance improvements are claimed to make Film Lab 1.5 up to 4x faster. This allows for super-fast rendering and smooth, real-time 4K playback on many more devices, including Apple Silicon MacBook Pro systems.
ACES 2.0 ACEScc & ACEScct input and output options
The update also expands support for color-managed postproduction. New ACES 2.0 ACEScc and ACEScct input and output options serve workflows in
applications such as DaVinci Resolve and Baselight. In Baselight, OpenFX 1.5
color management integration allows Film Lab to follow the timeline color space automatically and receive the correct input transform, removing the need to select that color space manually in the plugin.
Pricing & Availability
ARRI Film Lab 1.5 is available now from RE:Vision Effects either to purchase for new customers or to upgrade free of charge for existing license holders. It costs $494.60 USD as a one-off payment. You can also subscribe monthly or yearly if you prefer.
