• Avid Media Composer

  Avid-Motion-Avid problems

  Posted by Matt Vest on August 4, 2008 at 12:16 am

  I’ve been working on a short film in Avid (my first time to use Avid in much depth) and am having an issue with gamma or contrast or something changing when going from Avid to Motion and back (have also seen it with Avid-FCP-Avid).

  I’m using Motion to apply some FX to the footage (I don’t know AE very well). My workflow has been to export from Avid as fast export, QT, same as source, Avid Codec, Video Only, 601/709, Native Dimensions.

  When I bring it into Motion, it looks fine. I add effects and export (have tried all sorts of variations, QT Project settings, Animation, Lossless+alpha, Uncompressed 10-bit and 8-bit, Avid DNxHD, Avid 1:1) then import into Avid and it looks kind of washed out. There are some variations in how washed out between codecs, but it is always “flatter” looking than the original. (What’s more, once I edit it into the timeline, it is instantly even more washed out–and yes, i have selected full quality playback. When I match frame, it shows the original just as it appears in the timeline, but when I grab the source from the bin, it again looks like it did before being placed in the timeline).

  I have done some experimenting, sending the same clip through the same Avid-Motion-Avid-Motion cycle and have found that when comparing these in QT, each generation appears more washed out than the previous one.

  I have found some threads on a gamma issue with Avid and AE. Is this the same thing? I haven’t found anything solid as far as a way to avoid this. Does anyone have an answer to this?

  Here are my specs:
  Footage: DVCPro HD (HD720p/60) 23.98
  Avid Media Composer 2.8
  Motion 3.0.2
  Platform: iMac 2.33 Intel Core 2 Duo running 10.4.11

  Matt Vest replied 17 years, 10 months ago 2 Members · 2 Replies
• 2 Replies

• 

  Dylan Reeve

  August 4, 2008 at 9:00 am

  I believe you should export with RGB levels and import the same. Exporting 601 levels will mean the RGB values are restricted to between 16 and 235.

  When importing, if you select RGB the levels are compressed to fit within 16 and 235 (so 0 moves up to 16, and 255 down to 235). If you select 601 levels then the RGB levels of the imported file will remain unchanged (assuming that the black level is sitting at 16 already, and white at 235).
• 

  Matt Vest

  August 6, 2008 at 10:57 pm

  Thanks Dylan,
  Followed your suggestion and the problem is basically solved, but it is still just slightly off (on the RGB Parade, it looks like blues are slightly squashed and reds and greens are bumped up a notch or so.) It’s not really enough to be noticeable though unless you’re scrutinizing. This stuff is so strange. I don’t get whether something has actually been changed with the new footage, or just how it’s being displayed, and I don’t know what to attribute it to.

  I haven’t tested it yet, but I’m assuming any differences that appear in round-tripped footage (including stuff brought in at 601/709 vs. RGB), shouldn’t be noticeably different from non-round-tripped footage once I go to DVD. Does that sound right?

  Just trying to figure out what I do and don’t need to worry about.

  Thanks,
  Matt

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