Custom Looks

The .hlook format

A .hlook file is a JSON file containing effect parameters:

{
  "hance_version": "0.3.1",
  "name": "My Look",
  "description": "Warm faded vintage feel",
  "keywords": ["warm", "faded", "vintage"],
  "params": {
    "exposure": 0.1,
    "contrast": 1.1,
    "fade": 0.15,
    "white-balance": 5500,
    "subtractive-sat": 0.85,
    "halation-amount": 0.35,
    "grain-amount": 0.2,
    "grain-size": 1,
    "vignette-amount": 0.35
  }
}

Only include parameters you want to change from the default. Anything omitted falls back to the default look.

Input LUT

A look can also carry an input LUT via a top-level preLut field (a sibling of params, not inside it). This applies a pre-grade conversion before the look’s other effects:

{
  "name": "V-Log Base",
  "preLut": "vlog",
  "params": {
    "contrast": 1.05
  }
}

Accepted values are rec709 (default, pass-through) and vlog (Panasonic V-Log → Rec.709).

Where to put looks

Hance searches for looks in two directories:

1. User looks: ~/.hance/presets/
2. Built-in looks: ships with the binary

User looks take precedence over built-in looks with the same name.

Using a custom look

Save your .hlook file to ~/.hance/presets/ and reference it by name:

hance video.mp4 --preset my-look

Creating a look from the UI

Use hance ui to dial in your settings visually, then export the look as a .hlook file.

Sharing looks

.hlook files are plain JSON and can be shared, version-controlled, or distributed as part of a project. Drop them in ~/.hance/presets/ on any machine.