Effects
The full effect stack — every effect Cineon offers and what it controls.
How the effect stack works
Effects in Cineon are organized as layers on top of your image. Each layer has a type, a set of parameters, and an enabled toggle. Layers are processed in order through the GPU pipeline — the output of one feeds into the next.
All effects are non-destructive: you can reorder, disable, or remove any layer without affecting the others. The original image is never modified.
Effects reference
ACES
Industry-standard color science pipeline. Controls how your image is interpreted and displayed.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Input Gamut | Color space of your source image — sRGB, Rec.709, P3, Rec.2020, LogC3, SLog3, CLog2, RED, ACEScg |
| EV | Exposure compensation in stops |
| Bias | Tone mapping bias |
| Display ODT | Output transform — sRGB, Rec.709, P3, or bypass (raw working space) |
Film Grain
Physically-modeled grain running on WebGPU compute shaders with Beer-Lambert light scattering.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Format | Film size — 35mm, medium format, large format (affects crystal size scaling) |
| ISO | Grain density — higher ISO = more visible grain |
| Film Type | Negative or positive (reversal) — different dye cloud behavior |
| Size | Crystal size in pixels |
| Amount | Overall grain intensity |
| Chroma | Color separation between grain channels |
| Roughness | Surface irregularity of grain crystals |
| MTF | Modulation Transfer Function — simulates lens/film sharpness response |
| Shadows / Midtones / Highlights | Per-zone grain density (zonal grain) |
Halation
Simulates light bleeding through the film base behind bright areas — the red/orange glow around highlights characteristic of cinema stocks.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Profile | Preset character (e.g. CineStill, Classic Negative, Custom) |
| Radius | Spread distance of the bleed |
| Amplify | Overall intensity of the effect |
| Hue | Color of the bleed (default warm orange/red) |
| Smoothness | Gaussian softness of the bloom |
| Limiter | Threshold — only pixels above this brightness trigger halation |
| Impact | Blend opacity of the final composite |
Color Grading
Full lift/gamma/gain color wheels plus global adjustments.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Lift | Shadows — hue, saturation, master offset |
| Gamma | Midtones — hue, saturation, master offset |
| Gain | Highlights — hue, saturation, master offset |
| Offset | Global additive shift across all tones |
| Contrast / Saturation | Global contrast and saturation |
| Temperature / Tint | White balance in kelvin-style offset |
| White Comp / Black Lift | Highlight compression and shadow lift |
HSL Engine
Per-color-range adjustments across 8 hue ranges plus whites, blacks, and midtone saturation.
Ranges: Reds, Oranges, Yellows, Greens, Cyans, Blues, Purples, Magentas
Each range has:
- Hue Shift — rotate hue within the range
- Saturation — boost or reduce
- Luminance — brighten or darken
- Width — how broadly the range selection extends
LUT
Apply any .cube LUT file with full pre/post processing.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Opacity | Blend between original and graded result |
| Blend Mode | How the LUT is composited |
| Pre Exposure / Contrast / Saturation | Applied before the LUT lookup |
| Post Exposure / Contrast / Saturation | Applied after the LUT lookup |
| Tetrahedral | High-quality tetrahedral interpolation (vs. trilinear) |
Bloom
Highlights bloom and glow — physically-based light diffusion.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Highlights | Threshold — only pixels above this value bloom |
| Diffusion | Spread of the bloom |
| Amplify | Intensity of the glow |
| Saturation | Color intensity of the bloom |
| Details | How much detail survives in bloomed areas |
Acutance
Edge sharpening that mimics the perceptual sharpness of fine-grained film.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Amount | Sharpening strength |
| Radius | Edge detection radius |
| Threshold | Minimum contrast to trigger sharpening |
| Tonal Range | Limit sharpening to specific tonal zones |
Technicolor
Emulates the two- and three-strip Technicolor dye transfer process.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Profile | Era preset (e.g. Two-Strip, Three-Strip, Custom) |
| Red Boost / Green Shift / Blue Suppress | Per-channel color biases |
| Cross Bleed | Dye contamination between strips |
| Shadow Cast / Highlight Rolloff | Tonal response shaping |
| Grain C/M/Y | Per-channel grain for each dye strip |
Light Leak
Stochastic lens flare — anamorphic streaks and Fresnel ghost rings.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Amount | Overall intensity |
| Temperature | Cool (cyan) to warm (orange) |
| Streak | Anamorphic streak intensity |
| Ghosts | Fresnel ghost ring intensity |
| Seed | Randomization seed — changes the leak pattern |
| Source X / Y | Position of the light source |
Lens Distortion
Optical lens distortion, chromatic aberration, and vignette — all in one shader pass.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| K1 / K2 | Radial distortion coefficients (barrel/pincushion) |
| Breathing | Focus-breathing simulation |
| Field Curve | Field curvature — edges go soft at the plane of focus |
| Swirl | Rotational distortion (Petzval-style) |
| CA | Lateral chromatic aberration |
| Vignette | Lens vignette with exposure falloff |
Chromatic Aberration
Standalone lateral CA with highlight fringing.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Type | Lateral, radial, or custom profile |
| R Offset / B Offset | Red and blue channel displacement |
| Falloff | How CA intensity varies from center to edge |
| Highlight Threshold / Blend | Fringing on bright areas only |
Vignette
Standalone vignette with full shape control.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Profile | Preset character or custom |
| Exposure | Darkening amount |
| Size | Vignette radius |
| Feather | Edge softness |
| Aspect X / Y | Ellipse shape |
| Center X / Y | Offset from image center |
HDR
Local tone mapping for dynamic range compression.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Details | Local contrast enhancement |
| Shadow Lift | Lift shadow detail |
| Highlight Comp | Compress bright areas |
| Vibrance | Selective saturation boost |
| Radius | Local region size for tone mapping |
Litho
High-contrast darkroom lithographic print emulation.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Profile | Preset character |
| Black Lift / White Clip | Shadow and highlight control |
| Screen Freq / Dot Gain | Halftone screen simulation |
| Registration Error | Misalignment between color plates |
| Paper Grain / Ink Bleed | Physical print texture |
| Solarize / Méchanical Wear | Chemical and aging effects |
Dirty Matte
Adds a physical film gate matte with edge imperfections.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
| Matte Height / Width | Gate crop ratio |
| Corner Radius | Rounding of the gate corners |
| Edge Softness / Irregularity | Organic edge character |
| Grain / Dirt | Surface texture on the matte |
| Halation / Vignette | Additional edge effects |
Conversion
Color space conversion utility — converts your image to a target display profile at a given strength.
Exposure
Simple exposure and shoulder control — a fast pre-grade adjustment before the main pipeline.
Black and White
Converts to monochrome with adjustable intensity (partial desaturation supported).
Letterbox / Pillarbox
Adds cinematic aspect ratio bars — letterbox for horizontal, pillarbox for vertical.