A Leap Toward ACES

If you work with log or raw footage, the new color management feature in Adobe Premiere Pro will interest you. The latest update integrated ACES (Academy Color Encoding System) as its color working space — a big step forward in post and in standardizing color across the industry.

What is ACES and why does it matter?

ACES is a color-management standard developed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Its main advantage is that it lets you work in a wide, unified color space, compatible with any kind of camera — from the most advanced cinema bodies to mobile devices recording in HDR. In other words, it makes mixing and grading easier without being limited by the brand or model of your gear.

Previously, working in Rec. 709 — the monitoring standard for SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) on TVs, monitors and mobile devices — meant many colors captured by cameras with greater capabilities were lost or “clipped.” With ACES, you can now make the most of the dynamic range of any video source.

Setting up Color Management in Premiere Pro

To enable this new feature in Premiere, follow these steps in Lumetri:

1. Go to Settings in the Color Setup tab.

2. Define the White Gamut and choose the Output Color Space.

3. Set Rec. 709 if you’re working in SDR, or choose HDR if your project requires it.

This workflow makes the image look correct from the start, with no need to apply conversion LUTs. Instead of a desaturated or low-contrast image, Premiere now automatically maps the camera manufacturer’s information to the ACES space.

Key benefits of ACES color management in Premiere

• Consistency across devices and software: ACES is a widely adopted industry standard, and it’s open source.

• More control over color correction: no more conversion LUTs just to view your footage correctly.

• HDR and SDR compatibility: you can monitor in HDR if your gear allows, or keep using Rec. 709 with no issues.

• Sequence- and clip-level editing: allows specific adjustments per shot without affecting global color management.

Conclusion

The arrival of ACES in Premiere Pro is a big step for professional video editing, removing barriers in color management and ensuring creators can work with maximum image fidelity. While it may still take a learning curve for those used to traditional methods, adopting ACES in the Premiere workflow democratizes access to advanced color tools inside a widely used editor.

What do you think of this new feature? Have you tried it on your projects? Drop a comment and let’s talk about the evolution of color in post. 🎬🎨