ARRI Film Lab 1.5: 8mm to 65mm Grain, ACES 2.0, 4x Speed
ARRI Film Lab 1.5 Delivers Expanded Analog Emulation Formats and Enhanced Control
ARRI has released version 1.5 of ARRI Film Lab, its license-based OpenFX plugin that adds the look and feel of film to digital images. The update moves the plugin beyond a single format: users can now start from 8mm, 16mm, 35mm, or 65mm presets, add anamorphic grain behavior, push grain harder than before, and work inside ACES 2.0 pipelines. ARRI also says processing is up to 4x faster. Version 1.5 is a free upgrade for existing license holders and is sold through RE:Vision Effects, which lists the Resolve build as last updated October 7, 2026.
What ARRI Film Lab Does
Film Lab treats film texture as a finishing layer, separate from the creative grade. ARRI describes it as a tool that respects and complements whatever look a project already uses, whether a show LUT built in prep or a grade built in post. The plugin controls five areas:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Film grain | Emulates 50D, 200T, or 500T negative stock grain |
| Rendition of detail | Changes perceived sharpness |
| Color | Print stock characteristics, reversal film, and bleach bypass |
| Halation | Intensity and spread of the glow around bright areas |
| Gate weave | Simulates the slight frame unsteadiness of film transport |
New in 1.5: Film Formats From 8mm to 65mm
Earlier versions centered on a 35mm look. Version 1.5 adds format presets for:
- 8mm
Smaller gauges enlarge the grain relative to the frame, so 8mm and 16mm read coarser while 65mm reads finer. ARRI frames these presets as a starting point. Two parameters, each adjustable from 0.75 to 1.5, refine the result:
- Grain Size: scales the simulated grain. Useful when a format default feels too heavy or too light for the delivery resolution.
Used together, the two controls let a colorist land between formats, for example a texture that sits between 16mm and 35mm. A practical starting point for a period 16mm look: choose the 16mm preset, raise Grain Size slightly, then lower Rendition of Detail until fine edges stop looking digitally crisp.
Anamorphic Ratio Control
Anamorphic lenses squeeze the image horizontally onto the negative. When the frame is desqueezed, the grain and the halation glow stretch horizontally with it. Spherical film emulation misses this, which can give anamorphic footage an obviously digital grain pattern.
Version 1.5 adds an anamorphic ratio setting that recreates this stretch at eight squeeze ratios from 1.25x to 2.0x, according to ARRI. Matching the setting to the lenses used on set keeps grain and halation consistent with the optics. For background on squeeze factors and lens choices, see our anamorphic filmmaking guide.
Stronger Effects and Halation Spread
ARRI says 1.5 extends the maximum intensity of the plugin's settings. RE:Vision Effects lists Grain Intensity as adjustable from 0.0 to 2.0. Halation spread and intensity can be adjusted independently, so a colorist can widen the glow around practicals and window highlights without simply making it brighter.
The higher ceiling matters for found footage, music videos, and heavily stylized work. For most narrative grades, the extra range is more useful as a way to find the limit and then back off. ARRI's position is that any combination of settings, at any intensity, still produces a believable analog result.
Up to 4x Faster Processing
ARRI and RE:Vision Effects both state that 1.5 processes up to 4x faster and delivers real-time 4K playback, citing Apple Silicon MacBook Pro systems among other hardware. These are manufacturer figures, so test on your own system and timeline before planning a session around them. If they hold, colorists can leave Film Lab active during the grade instead of enabling it only at render, which makes it easier to judge grain and halation against the grade as it develops.
ACES 2.0 and Color Management
Film Lab supports LogC3 (AWG3) and LogC4 (AWG4) working spaces, and 1.5 adds ACES 2.0 ACEScc and ACEScct input and output options. That lets facilities apply it inside a scene-referred ACES pipeline instead of converting in and out of an ARRI space.
The plugin works with RGB images from ARRI and third-party cameras, regardless of whether the source was ARRICORE, ARRIRAW, ProRes, or another codec, and it needs no embedded camera metadata. In Baselight, color management applies the correct input transform automatically, according to RE:Vision Effects. Baselight users managing color spaces at the timeline level can compare this with the Truelight colour space changes in Baselight v7.
Host Support and On-Set Preview
Film Lab runs in Resolve, Baselight, Nuke, and other OpenFX hosts. RE:Vision Effects states that a Resolve license also works in Autograph, Baselight, Diamant and Dustbuster+, Flame, Fusion Studio, Mistika, Natron, Nucoda, Nuke, Scratch, and Silhouette. For on-set preview, ARRI points to Resolve Live and Pomfort Livegrade Frontier (version 7.2 and up), which lets a DIT print the intended texture into editorial dailies.
The plugin also bundles a plugin version of the ARRI Look Library, with 87 predefined looks, each offered in three intensities.
How to Put Film Lab 1.5 to Work
1. Look development: test formats on camera tests or dailies early so the DP, director, and colorist agree on texture before the final grade. Our piece on what your colorist wants the DP to know covers that handoff.
Pricing and Availability
ARRI Film Lab 1.5 is available now through RE:Vision Effects. Existing license holders upgrade for free. Individuals can buy weekly, monthly, annual, or permanent licenses; company licenses are priced by number of users, and educational rates are available. A trial version is free to download and adds a watermark after one week without a license. Check the RE:Vision Effects page for current prices before buying.
For more on how manufacturers are reshaping the digital image pipeline, see Blackmagic Generation 6 Color Science for URSA Cine 12K.
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