• Apple Final Cut Pro Legacy

  Gamma shift when importing from AE back into FCP

  Posted by Steven Sanders on September 16, 2007 at 7:49 pm

  Hi everybody. Here is a problem I originaly posted on the AE forum. Here’s the situation:
  Capture HDCAM footage using a Blackmagic card.
  Select HD Prorez 422 1080i (HQ) 25 frames
  Edit in Final Cut Pro 6 (latest update version)
  Export to AE 8 using a “not self containing” movie. A quicktime reference.
  Just let the footage render in AE without any FX applied.
  Select Animation codec or Prorez codec (have tried them both)
  Put the rendered clip back in the FCP timeline and notice…
  A big gamma difference! Darker.

  Here’s a copy of my latest tests I already posted on the AE forum.

  “Thanks for the post. I did try that, but it made no difference. I did run some more tests though. It seems that the rendered quicktime file is displayed with a darker gamma ONLY in Final Cut Pro. I managed to simulate this by opening the rendered movie with the quicktime player and changing the settings of the color compatibility with final cut studio. So it has something to do with the way FCP, MY FCP anyway, displays this piece of rendered footage. So, what’s the difference between the captured file and the AE modified file? Well, the first is captured with a Blackmagic card, the other is not. I now may sound like an idiot, but could it be that these clips have a different color profile?”

  So, what do you think guys? Can anybody solve my problem?

  Thanks in advance!

  Rafael Amador replied 18 years, 8 months ago 4 Members · 3 Replies
• 3 Replies

• 

  Chris Tomberlin

  September 17, 2007 at 2:26 pm

  Hi,

  I’ve had some problems with AE rendering out movies with shifted gamma. My problems show up in FCP and Color as well. The best work around I’ve found so far is to check the “use OpenGL renderer” box in the render settings. If you’ve got a decent graphics card it shouldn’t hurt your render times too badly.

  -Chris
• 

  Andrew Commiskey

  September 17, 2007 at 3:17 pm

  Try right clicking the footage in the timeline to bring up item properties. when the window comes up check the Gamma settings. Unless otherwise set-up in the FCP prefferences it will bring in GFX as with their native gama. Try resetting it to 1.8 or 2.2. This worked on animation/ alpha footage I created in Motion. Hopes this helps.
  Drew

  Chaos is the beginning of everything.
• 

  Rafael Amador

  September 18, 2007 at 9:24 am

  You can not avoid that since AE always render in RGB. However, as Chaos Wrangle points, FC 6 allows to change the gamma of the footage and graphics on the brownser.
  There is a very good article about this issue by Charless Poynton (this guy really knows a lot):
  “Mergin computing with studio video: Converting beteen R’G’B’ and 4:2:2”. Is a must-to-read for anybody that works with FC and AE.
  cheers,
  rafael

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