Convert or adjust HDR clips in Final Cut Pro

You can use the HDR Tools effect to convert wide-gamut HDR video clips from one color space to another or to set the maximum brightness of a clip. For example, you might use the HDR Tools effect on any of the following kinds of wide-gamut HDR source clips:

MOV or MXF files that were encoded directly using the HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) or PQ (Perceptual Quantizer) standard. This could be media originating from a camera or media exported from Final Cut Pro, Motion, Compressor, or another app.
A source file that is not HLG or PQ (it could be log or RAW, for example) but has a LUT applied (either a camera LUT or a custom LUT effect), where the LUT is designed to output HLG or PQ video. See Apply LUTs in Final Cut Pro.
A compound clip that has been set to either PQ or HLG. For example, you might color correct a PQ project (a project configured for Rec. 2020 PQ), and then create a compound clip of the entire timeline and place it in an HLG project. For information about compound clips, see Intro to compound clips in Final Cut Pro. For information about wide-gamut HDR project settings, see Use wide-gamut HDR color processing in Final Cut Pro.

If, instead, you want to fix incorrect or missing metadata, see Change a clip’s color space metadata.

In the Final Cut Pro timeline, select a wide-gamut HDR clip.
Open the Effects browser, select the Color category on the left, then double-click HDR Tools to add the effect to the clip selected in the timeline.
If the Video inspector isn’t already shown, do one of the following:
- Choose Window > Show in Workspace > Inspector (or press Command-4).
- Click the Inspector button on the right side of the toolbar.
Click the Video button at the top of the inspector.
Click the Mode pop-up menu in the HDR Tools section of the inspector, then choose one of the following settings.
Note: The first three settings in the menu may require further adjustments to the image to fine-tune the look. For best results, arrange the order of the effects so that the HDR Tools effect is applied after your color correction effects. See Change clip effect order in Final Cut Pro.
- HDR to Rec. 709 SDR: Apply this generic conversion setting to any HDR clips in Rec. 709 projects to convert the clips to Rec. 709 standard-dynamic-range (SDR) luminance levels. For the best results, determine whether the clips are HLG or PQ variants of HDR, then use one of the more specific conversion options below.
- HLG to Rec. 709 SDR: Apply this setting to HLG HDR clips in Rec. 709 projects to convert the clips to Rec. 709 SDR luminance levels.
- PQ to Rec. 709 SDR: Apply this setting to PQ HDR clips in Rec. 709 projects to convert the clips to Rec. 709 SDR luminance levels.
- PQ Output Tone Map: Apply this setting to reduce the brightness of PQ clips down to the level you set in the “Peak Brightness (nits)” slider, and to apply a soft rolloff to the highlights so that they don’t clip abruptly. Use this setting in PQ projects only, and apply it as the last effect.
- HLG to PQ (Rec. 2100): Apply this setting to HLG clips in PQ projects to convert the clips from HLG to PQ. This setting results in PQ clips that appear on PQ displays identically to how the HLG clips would appear on an HLG display. The conversion uses the HLG reference OOTF in accordance with Rec. ITU-R BT.2100-1, with peak luminance corresponding to the level you set in the “Peak Brightness (nits)” slider.
- PQ to HLG (Rec. 2100): Apply this setting to PQ clips in HLG projects to convert the clips from PQ to HLG. This setting results in HLG clips that appear on HLG displays identically to how the PQ clips would appear on a PQ display. This conversion uses the HLG inverse OOTF in accordance with Rec. ITU-R BT.2100-1, with peak luminance corresponding to the level you set in the “Peak Brightness (nits)” slider.
To set a clip’s maximum luminance on a display to a specific level, drag the “Peak Brightness (nits)” slider, for example, to 1000 nits.
To optionally set the amount of the original image to be blended with the adjusted image, drag the Mix slider.

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Final Cut Pro User Guide

Convert or adjust HDR clips in Final Cut Pro