HLG footage is not broken when it looks pale on your laptop. It is HDR video being shown on an SDR screen, and the fix is a conversion, not a grade.
What is HLG?
Hybrid Log-Gamma is an HDR format developed by the BBC and NHK (the BBC R&D HDR project page has the background) and standardised in ITU-R BT.2100. The bottom of its curve behaves like normal video, the top behaves like log, so an HDR screen can show the extra highlight range. It records in the wide Rec.2020 colour space.
Many cameras offer it as a picture profile or photo style, including bodies from Sony, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Canon and DJI. iPhone HDR video is Dolby Vision built on HLG, which is why the same flat look turns up when you drop iPhone clips into an SDR timeline.
Why does HLG look flat in my editor?
Two things happen when HLG lands in a Rec.709 project without a conversion:
- The curve is wrong for the screen. The highlight part of HLG is compressed like log, so bright areas look grey and contrast looks low.
- The colours are squeezed. Rec.2020 colours read as Rec.709 come out muted.
HLG was designed to look acceptable on SDR screens without metadata, which is why it looks only a bit off rather than as grey as true log. "Acceptable" is not what you want to deliver, though.
| HLG | Log (S-Log3, D-Log) | Rec.709 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Made for | HDR screens, SDR-compatible | Grading | SDR screens |
| Looks right on an SDR screen | Roughly, but flat and muted | No, very grey | Yes |
| Highlight range | More than Rec.709 | The most | Least |
| Colour space | Rec.2020 | The maker's wide gamut | Rec.709 |
| Needs conversion for SDR delivery | Yes, tone-mapped | Yes | No |
How to convert HLG to Rec.709
Whatever the editor, the conversion needs tone mapping: bringing the HDR highlights down into the SDR range smoothly instead of clipping them.
DaVinci Resolve
Add a node with a Color Space Transform. Set the input colour space to Rec.2020 and input gamma to Rec.2100 HLG, the output to Rec.709 and Gamma 2.4, and turn on tone mapping. DaVinci Resolve colour grading covers node order if you are new to it.
Final Cut Pro
Apply the HDR Tools effect to the clip and set its mode to HLG to Rec. 709 SDR. Do it on one clip, then copy the effect to the rest. See Final Cut Pro colour grading for where the look goes after.
Premiere Pro
Use a Rec.709 sequence and turn on tone mapping for HDR media in the sequence settings, then grade on top in Lumetri. Premiere Pro LUTs covers adding a look after the conversion.
How do I convert a whole folder of HLG clips?
The conversion is the same for every clip from the same camera and profile, so it is a good candidate for a LUT. Two ways to get one:
- Use a published HLG to Rec.709 LUT from your camera maker if they offer one, or a well-documented third-party one.
- Make your own in Resolve. Set up the Color Space Transform above on one
clip, then right-click the clip and generate a 3D LUT as a
.cube. How to make a LUT walks through it.
Then apply that .cube to every clip at once instead of clip by clip.
How BatchTone handles it
Drop the folder in, pick the HLG to Rec.709 .cube, and every clip takes it,
previewed on a frame from each one before anything is exported. BatchTone reads
HEVC 10-bit files directly and writes H.264 MP4 on the Mac's hardware encoder,
with the audio copied across.
- Per-clip strength for the shots where the conversion feels too heavy.
- Photos from the same shoot in the same batch.
- Originals never written to, nothing uploaded.
The same approach works for log: D-Log, S-Log3, C-Log and V-Log. There is a seven-day trial.
Common questions
Is HLG the same as log? No. Log is a flat recording curve meant only for grading. HLG is a finished HDR format that HDR screens show directly; only its top part works like log.
Can I just apply a log LUT to HLG footage? No. A log LUT expects a different curve and colour space, so the result will be wrong. Use an HLG-specific conversion.
Why do my iPhone videos look washed out in my editor? iPhone HDR video is Dolby Vision built on HLG. In a Rec.709 project without tone mapping, it shows the same flat, muted look. Convert it the same way.
Should I shoot HLG or log? HLG if you want footage that looks right with little work and might deliver in HDR. Log if you want the most highlight range and plan to grade every shot.
Do I need to grade after converting? Not always. A tone-mapped HLG conversion often looks close to finished. Add a creative look after the conversion if you want one.