-
Is there a color shift when round tripping between FCP and AE?
Hello. I’ve read on threads here and there that say there is a color shift when round tripping between Final Cut Pro and After Effects. A post or two reasoned that the problem is FCP, not After Effects, as it supposedly does on occur in Avid MC.
Is there a indeed a problem with a color shift when round tripping, using the FCP 6 and AE CS4?
What causes it and is there an easy work around?
Thanks in advance,
Chris -
8 Replies
-
I’m sure someone else will come along and post some links, but I believe the problem stems from FCP misinterpreting gamma, as well as issues with converting between RGB and YUV.
And it’s not just After Effects. I’ve exported a clip out of FCP and directly back in, only to notice slight level shifts in the scopes.
The best results I’ve achieved have involved exporting out of FCP in Uncompressed (10 or 8 bit), regardless of original codec, and rendering out of AE as Animation. Sometimes I might take those animation files into compressor for format conversion.
CS3, FCS2
[Note: Using Particular, 3-D Stroke, and now Form do not instantly make your designs “teh awesome.”] -
So would you suppose FCP is shifting color on output, input, or both? If I just save a timeline as a non-self contained QT movie, and roundtrip between motion, is there a color shift then (I never imagined this would be a problem)?
-Chris -
From what I’ve seen, it’s a shift going into FCP. Fortunately, the shifts have been so subtle that I can just correct them with a color corrector and be done with it. I know others have not been so lucky.
CS3, FCS2
[Note: Using Particular, 3-D Stroke, and now Form do not instantly make your designs “teh awesome.”] -
Paul,
I know it’s been a while, but I hope perhaps you’re getting e-mail from this thread.I realize that I am unclear on something — when exporting a timeline from FCP, and reimporting it, you are seeing a gamma shift on the scopes. Is this when exporting QuickTime movie self-contained, non-self-contained, or as using QuickTime conversion?
Also, which QT format would you prefer to get the FCP timeline into After Effects? It would seem like it would want a straightforward, rendered, QuickTime movie (the kind you could just play in QT without FCP), without render files and such (?).
Thanks again,
Chris -
The gamma shift seems to depend on the codec. DVCPro seems to be the main culprit. Also, it didn’t matter whether or not it was self-contained. There still seemed to be a shift. Uncompressed & ProRes422 don’t seem to cause the issue. Though I haven’t done extensive testing.
Typically, when I go from FCP to AE I use either Uncompressed 10-bit, or Animation through QuickTime Conversion (File:Export:Using Quicktime Conversion…). Though I’ve heard people say to avoid QT conversion at all costs. Again, though, I think it depends on the codec.
However, having said that, I think it’s more important with choosing the proper codec to render out of AE. I would definitely go Lossless-Animation out of AE. If absolutely necessary, run that render through Compressor to get your native timeline codec.
Also keep in mind that my experience with FCP-AE-FCP has been shorter graphics. I’ve never done anything like sending a timeline to AE for color correction, etc.
Let me know if you have any other questions, but my last bit of advice is to test, test, test. Send some color bars back and forth in varying codecs and see what happens.
CS3, FCS2
[Note: Using Particular, 3-D Stroke, and now Form do not instantly make your designs “teh awesome.”] -
Paul,
The gamma shift seems to depend on the codec… Uncompressed & ProRes422 don’t seem to cause the issue…Typically, when I go from FCP to AE I use either Uncompressed 10-bit, or Animation through QuickTime Conversion (File:Export:Using Quicktime Conversion…)…. I think it’s more important with choosing the proper codec to render out of AE. I would definitely go Lossless-Animation out of AE. If absolutely necessary, run that render through Compressor to get your native timeline codec.
ProRes is what I prefer to work in HD, although SD uncompressed 10 bit would be fine too. I think I understand the workflow you are using for round tripping so you get max quality. However, if I don’t mind taking a hit in quality (by re-rendering ProRes), could I export a ProRes QuickTime non-self contained file from FCP, import into AE, render it there in ProRes, and then import it back to FCP?
Let me know if you have any other questions, but my last bit of advice is to test, test, test. Send some color bars back and forth in varying codecs and see what happens.
Makes sense to me. Thanks for your help — you’ve already cleared a lot of things up for me.
-Chris -
…could I export a ProRes QuickTime non-self contained file from FCP, import into AE, render it there in ProRes, and then import it back to FCP?
I know several people who use reference Quicktimes (non-self contained) and don’t seem to have any trouble. Try some tests with varying footage (rich colors, fast motion, etc) and see if the results will work for you.
As far as rendering out ProRes from AE, you can try. I tend not to trust After Effects to handle compression. I might do something like that for intermediates, but for final renders, I will always render out Animation, then run through compressor if I need to.
CS3, FCS2
[Note: Using Particular, 3-D Stroke, and now Form do not instantly make your designs “teh awesome.”] -
Paul,
What you’re saying makes sense to me. Many thanks for your time.
-Chris
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up