For those who don’t know the developer: Time in Pixels develops colour workflow utilities such as Nobe OmniScope for professional grading. Nobe LutBake works with DaVinci Resolve Studio and is designed for colourists who need to generate LUTs quickly for set, monitoring, or downstream tools.
A small tool with sharp elbows
Time in Pixels has introduced Nobe LutBake, a macOS utility that captures grades from DaVinci Resolve Studio and exports them as 3D LUT files using a global hotkey. The concept is simple and, for working colourists, appealing. Instead of stepping through Resolve’s built-in export dialogue, LutBake allows users to define the part of the node tree to be baked and trigger LUT creation instantly. One key press. One .cube file on disk.
Two nodes and done
LutBake consists of an OFX plugin and a companion macOS menu bar application. The OFX plugin is inserted into the Resolve node graph. Two LutBake nodes are required. One is placed before the grade to be captured, and one after. The user performs grading as usual, including wheels, curves, qualifiers, and other LUTs. When the global shortcut is pressed, LutBake captures the RGB transform between the two nodes and writes it to disk as a standard .cube 3D LUT.
No timeline render is required. No still export. No navigating menus. The system level hotkey means the user remains in the grading interface. This is not a reinvention of LUT theory. It is an attempt to remove repetitive steps from daily prodcution.
Resolution matters
Time in Pixels states that LutBake can generate LUTs up to 100 by 100 by 100 in resolution. In practical terms, a 3D LUT samples the RGB colour cube at discrete intervals. Higher resoultion means denser sampling and potentially smoother transforms, particularly in wide gamut or high dynamic range workflows.
Tom also claims zero interpolation error when matching HALD sizes. A HALD image is a flattened representation of a 3D LUT used for exchange and validation. A free demo version is available with limited LUT resolution (17x17x17 LUT). The full version is offered as a one-time licence for 55€, with launch pricing detailed on the product page.
RGB in, RGB out
Time in Pixels is explicit about the limits. LutBake captures RGB-based colour transforms only. Spatial effects, such as blur or grain, are not preserved in the exported LUT. Temporal processing is also excluded. This is not a software limitation but a format one. A 3D LUT maps input RGB triplets to output RGB triplets. It does not encode spatial context, motion, or texture-dependent operations. For colourists building looks that include noise reduction, halation, or grain layers, this is a necessary reminder. Those elements will not survive the bake.
On set and hardware workflows
LutBake is useful for on-set and monitoring scenarios. It references exporting custom looks from Resolve for use in LiveGrade, Assimilate Scratch and hardware LUT devices such as Flanders BoxIO and TVLogic IS Mini. These devices typically ingest .cube LUTs for display calibration or on-set look management. In such environments, speed matters. A colourist may adjust a look in Resolve and need a matching LUT on a monitor within minutes.
Also: baking complex grading chains into a single LUT to optimise playback performance in other systems. Collapsing a heavy node graph into a single transform can simplify downstream workflows, provided the transform is fully representable in RGB space. Look-sharing between grading systems, NLEs, and compositing applications is another use case.
macOS and Studio only
LutBake runs on macOS 13 or later and requires Resolve Studio with external scripting enabled. The reliance on Studio indicates use of Resolve’s scripting API for communication between the OFX plugin and the external macOS application.
There is no mention of Windows or Linux support yet. There is also no statement about compatibility with the free version of Resolve. The Studio requirement is clear. Studios standardised on macOS grading suites will find this straightforward. Facilities with mixed operating systems will need to review compatibility before deployment.
Naming discipline
The product supports configurable filename templates. This allows users to define how exported LUT files are named. In structured pipelines with strict naming conventions, automated naming reduces manual intervention and the risk of inconsistent file names. This is part of a broader goal of reducing repetitive steps.
A familiar philosophy
Readers of Digital Production will know that we regard Nobe OmniScope as one of the more thoughtfully designed applications in recent years. It focuses on clarity, precision, and usability rather than decorative UI noise. LutBake follows the same philosophy.
What is not specified
The announcement does not detail how LutBake handles complex colour management scenarios, such as ACES pipelines or mixed colour spaces within a project. It does not specify how colour space metadata is treated in the exported LUT. Professionals working in scene referred or HDR workflows will need to validate the output carefully. As with any LUT generation tool, testing in context is essential before deployment in live or client-facing environments.
A pragmatic addition
At its core, Nobe LutBake reduces the number of clicks between a finished grade and a distributable LUT. For colourists who iterate frequently on looks for on set monitoring or cross application exchange, that is not trivial.
It will not replace disciplined colour management.
It will not capture spatial or temporal effects.
It will not make a poor grade better.
It removes friction from a well-understood task. For professionals who export LUTs daily, that may be enough.
Nobe LutBake product page
https://timeinpixels.com/nobe-lutbake/
