With ARRI Film Lab, Munich’s camera giant is bottling more than a century of photochemical experience into a single OpenFX plugin. Available now via RE:Vision Effects, it promises to give digital images the texture and tonality of analog film, complete with adjustable grain, halation, and even gate weave.
Built from the Film Lab Up
Drawing from decades of internal R&D (ARRILASER, ARRISCAN, and REVEAL Color Science among them) ARRI Film Lab offers a full analog emulation layer for RGB images from any camera that enters the ARRI pipeline. Designed for colourists and finishing artists, it runs in real time within DaVinci Resolve, Baselight, Nuke, and other OpenFX-compatible systems. The plugin supports 4K real-time processing and works across LogC3 (AWG3) and LogC4 (AWG4) workflows. Whether the footage was recorded in ARRICORE, ARRIRAW, ProRes, or a third-party codec, Film Lab aims to deliver a consistent analog response. Support for ACES 2.0 is already planned.
The Science of Imperfection
ARRI Film Lab models the key physical characteristics of motion picture film. Grain can be dialled to match the response of 50D, 200T, or 500T negative stocks. The colour engine mimics print and reversal processes, including bleach bypass. A halation control simulates the subtle red-orange glow that occurs when light scatters through film layers, while a gate weave setting introduces the fractional image instability that gives celluloid its telltale flutter. Each control is continuously adjustable, and according to ARRI, any combination of settings will produce a pleasing analog feel. The plugin’s logic ensures that user-made extremes still behave within believable photochemical limits.
On-Set Preview in the Works
A firmware update planned for Q1 2026 will allow on-set simulation of Film Lab looks on ALEXA 35 and ALEXA 35 Xtreme cameras. Using a combination of ARRI Textures and 3D LUTs, the system renders a live preview of the desired film look in the camera’s viewfinder or monitor feed. Nothing is baked in, and no external hardware is required. Once in post, the Film Lab plugin applies higher-fidelity grain and texture processing.
Familiar Looks, Now in Plugin Form
Bundled with Film Lab is a plugin edition of the ARRI Look Library, providing access to ARRI’s established LUT collection directly inside the postproduction environment. This allows colourists to mix predefined looks with Film Lab’s analog simulations for nuanced results across scenes or mixed-camera projects.
Licensing and Availability
ARRI Film Lab is distributed through both ARRI and RE:Vision Effects. A one-week free trial is offered. Individual users can purchase monthly, annual, or perpetual licenses, while companies can opt for per-user pricing. Educational institutions receive discounted rates.
Summary
- Plugin format: OpenFX
- Processing: Real-time 4K RGB
- Supported tools: Resolve, Baselight, Nuke, and others
- Camera compatibility: Any RGB source in ARRI workflow
- Workflows: LogC3 (AWG3), LogC4 (AWG4), ARRICORE, ARRIRAW, ProRes, third-party codecs
- Controls: Grain (50D, 200T, 500T), colour process (print, reversal, bleach bypass), halation, gate weave
- Additional content: Integrated ARRI Look Library plugin
- Future update: On-set preview for ALEXA 35 and 35 Xtreme in Q1 2026
Testing Recommended
As always, new emulation tools should be tested in controlled environments before being adopted in production workflows.
